Todd Lorensen: Pack Line Defense for Undersized Teams

with Todd Lorensen,
Rockhurst University Head Coach;
Graceland University Head Coach from 2023 to 2026;
2026 America Athletic Conference Champions;
2026 Heart of America Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year;
Graceland University Assistant Coach from 2022 to 2023;
Mount Marty University Head Coach from 2019 to 2021;
Buena Vista University Head Coach from 2018 to 2019;
Southwestern (IA) Community College Head Coach from 2014 to 2018;
2018 NJCAA DII National Tournament (Third Place);
2017 NJCAA DII National Champions;
2017 NJCAA DII National Coach of the Year,
2017 NABC National Junior College Coach of Year;
2x Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Champions

Todd Lorensen's success has relied a lot on his team's defensive presence. With his teams adopting a modified version of the Pack Line defense, they rose to the top of the JUCO rankings and eventually became the 2017 National Champions.

Through the careful observation of Dick Bennett's Pack Line and Washington State's Pack Line, Coach Lorensen has put together an incredible defense. Starting from the first practice and building to the first week or two, Lorensen demonstrates the drill progression he uses in the first 10-15 practices of the year to install the Pack Line defense.

Drills to Build the Pack Line Defense

From closeouts, to gap defense, to defending a shooter or a driver, you'll be able to take these drills and apply them to your team defense. You'll see eight drills to teach the basic principles and concepts of the Pack Line defense. Drills include:

• 2-on-2 Exchange - Focuses on the dynamics of repositioning and the movement patterns to reinforce defensive players being in a position of advantage.
• 4-on-4 Shell Drill - Encourages players to quickly define their positions by where the ball is entered, the importance of vacating the gap quickly, and how to close out on potential shooters.
• Ball Screen 3-on-3 - Coach Lorensen encourages his players to "come together" during ball screens to avoid "slippage" or creating working gaps for the offense. You will also learn how he uses such terms such as "stretching" and "too low" to define possible problems in a player's defensive position relative to the offensive gaps.

Defending the Post

To be successful, your team must be able to diminish the effectiveness of a dominant post player. Discover how to defend the post by full fronting. Lorensen demonstrates an exaggerated leg and arm movement to use when fronting the post and shows how weak-side players must be responsible for not only "walling-up" the post on lob passes inside, but also deflecting or stealing the incoming pass. You'll learn how to teach these concepts through two progressive drills.

With an in-depth look at the Pack Line defense in this video, it will be easy for you to adopt with your team. These drills and concepts are easy for players to understand, which will help them buy into the Pack Line philosophy.

Produced at the Spring 2017 Nike Championship Basketball Coaches Clinic - Kansas City (MO) .

73 minutes. 2017.