Quentin Hillsman: Adjustable Full Court Pressure

with Quentin Hillsman,
Ole Miss Assistant Women's Coach;
Syracuse University Head Women's Coach from 2006 to 2021;
2016 NCAA National Runner-Up;
2008 Big East Coach of the Year
all-time winningest coach in Syracuse Women's basketball history

Quentin Hillsman has turned Syracuse women's basketball program into a national power by using a disruptive defensive system that thrives on full court pressure. Coach Hillsman presents his full court pressure defense, which played a big role in his squad reaching the 2016 NCAA Women's Championship game.

Coach Hillsman lays the foundation of the match-up press with all of the critical teaching points you'll need to successfully implement this defense with your team. This defense will put your opponents under constant pressure, force their weaker ball handlers into mistakes, and allow you to surprise them with traps anywhere on the floor.

Covering Inbound Schemes

How your opponent inbounds the ball determines the strategies you'll be utilizing in this style of pressure defense. Hillsman explains what you should scout in your opponent's press break and how this impacts your press.

You'll learn the responsibilities for every player on the floor and the technique required for them to successfully deny the ball based on their location. You'll also see how your press defense can morph to match the alignment your opponent makes in their press break. Hillsman demonstrates how to disrupt common strategies for inbounding the ball, such as 4-Across and Tandem entry sets. The 11 defense lets you shift your defenders around to aggressively deny the ball without getting beat over the top.

Traps and Long Corner Pass Situation

When the ball is inbounded, you'll learn how to jump into a quick trap and how tactics can be altered for long passes to the weak side of the floor. Your rivals will never be able to guess when traps are coming in this press defense due to their unpredictable nature. You'll learn the teaching points behind when to trap and who goes to trap. Hillsman also shows how to deny the passing options out of the trap with interceptors and how your coverage may change depending on where the inbounder moves.

Trapping up the Sideline

Many teams will try to run-and-jump with a trap in front when a team brings the ball up the sideline. Coach Hillsman goes against this approach in explaining that the corner three and the rebound on the opposite side expose the full court pressure defense. Instead, he takes a different approach.

Hillsman demonstrates trapping from behind, starting with the long pass to the corner opposite the inbounder. By "playing it safe," the ball gets trapped after being brought across the half-court line from behind. This forces a risky cross-court pass that result in tips, deflections, and interceptions.

Hillsman explains how to signal traps for players to spontaneously double the ball. Even after the offense has crossed half court, it's never too late to trap! This will confuse and fatigue your opponents as they never get a chance to rest or setup their offense. Additionally, you'll see how he can set up his man-to-man, 2-3 zone, and 3-2 zone defenses after the initial press is broken. You'll also see how to convert from a match-up style to more of a zone press look with simple tactical shifts.

Why concede half the court on every defensive possession? With this video, Coach Hillsman will teach you how to apply maximum pressure to your opponents throughout an entire game.

Produced at the Fall 2016 Baltimore (MD) Clinic.

74 minutes. 2017.