Relentless Full-Court & Half-Court Pressure Defense

with Mike Morrell,
NC Asheville Head Coach;
2023 Big South Regular Season Champions;
2023 Big South Conference Tournament Champions;
2023 Big South Coach of the Year;
2020 Top ‘40 Under 40’ Coaches List;
University of Texas Assistant Coach from 2015 to 2018;
VCU Assistant Coach from 2011 to 2015;
Charleston Southern Assistant Coach from 2010 to 2011;
King University Assistant Coach from 2005 to 2007;
played college basketball and golf for Milligan University

The way the game of basketball is played is ever evolving. Teams and coaches are seeing the benefits of playing pressure defense all over the court. In this video, you will learn high octane, pressure defense! Coach Mike Morrell was mentored by some of the best pressing coaches in basketball, from Coach Oliver Purnell to Shaka Smart.

In this video you will get:

• Benefits of playing pressure defense
• Technique and teaching points
• Player position
• Drills
• Ball screen coverages & more

If you are ready to put more pressure in your defensive philosophy, this is the video for you!

Full-Court Pressure
Coach Morrell begins the clinic by discussing the principles of his full court pressure defense. The technique of guarding the in-bounder, how to play off the ball before and after it is entered, and how to play the ball on the catch.

You will get valuable insights into the little things that make Coach Morrell’s pressure defense successful. Regardless of full-court or half-court, the concepts remain the same – pressure, position, and stunting. Coach Morrell goes into detail of how each of those come into play within his full-court defense.

Next you are shown how to handle different press break alignments, namely one or two guards up. He also discusses how to successfully handle a 4 across the foul line set up.

Moving from there, the proper way, and places, to trap the basketball are outlined. Two ways to trap the basketball are up the sideline when you see the back of the offensive player's head and what Coach Morrell calls “forcing the action.” Typically, the way offenses attack full-court man-to-man is to clear everyone else out. The ‘force the action’ concepts will remedy the problem.

Half-Court Pressure
Once pressure defense is taught full court, it’s time to move into the half-court. Again, the principles and concepts remain the same, which will help your players play more instinctively. Coach Morrell begins by showing their ball screen coverages and how he errs on the side of playing aggressive. Two different adjustments on when and where to trap the ball in the half-court are also shown.

Drills
To finish the video, Coach Morrell shares three drills that incorporate all the things he covers in this video. The No Escape Drill is a two-on-two drill where you as the coach will call out whether the ball is to go up the sideline or to clear out. This way all players get good reps learning to read the different trapping options. Lastly, the 75-75 ‘end of game’ drill will get your team practicing un-scripted late game scenarios.

If it's time to notch up your defensive pressure, you need this video! A simple straightforward approach is taught clearly and concisely.

You will learn how to seamlessly transition from pressuring the basketball in the back court to the front court, sideline to sideline!

71 minutes. 2024.