Boomers Bendigo Clinic | Building your defensive base

Currently an assistant coach with his home town Cairns Marlins in the NBL, Coach Williams presented to 35 coaches from the strong Bendigo Basketball Association on some simple drills and teaching points to set young players up for success as defenders. The clinic was part of an ongoing commitment from Basketball Australia and the Boomers to develop coaches and share information to coaches at all levels of the sport. Video of this clinic will follow in the coming weeks, but below are some notes from Coach Williams' presentation, along with information from Basketball Australia's Peter Lonergan in the second part of the clinic.

Coach Kerry Williams – Cairns Taipans and Australian Boomers Assistant Coach

 Three key characteristics of an elite defender

• Toughness
  • Plays with a physical presence
  • Great conditioning
  • Consistently in stance & position
• Multiple efforts
  • Quick conversion from O to D
  • Ability to do multiple things in the one possession
  • Change stance, “next job”
• Disciplined
  • Foul discipline
  • Plays with body not hands
  • Verticality at the rim

• 4 key skill-sets for the elite defender
  • Defend (contain) the ball
  • Off-ball defence – awareness, helping mentality
  • Close-out
  • Navigate screens

1 v 1 Boxer shadow defence

• Establish physical presence on the ball
• On coach command, offence moves the ball from threat to above head
• Defence maintains hand pressure, moves feet to adjust to the ball
• Add 1 bounce on the coach’s whistle

1 v 1 Jump circle contain

• 1 v 1 in the jump circle (or foul-line D)
• Offence has 2 dribbles to get through the line inside the circle (elbows)
• Defence must use feet and body to defend the line
• First player to a score

1 v 1 Halo chase

• Offence and defence at the elbow
• Defence on the hip (offensive advantage)
• Concept of “turn hips and side run” to contain and contest without fouling
• Body in, hands up – “turn your hips, show your hands”
• If defender can get in front and square off offence, contain and contest without fouling
• If defender can get square, jump to contest vertically without fouling

1 v 1 plus 1 shift

• Guard and forward on offence
• Defender guarding the wing
• Guard take one dribble, defence “show help, don’t provide help”
• Concept of “one-way close-outs”, your positioning as your help
• On the pass, close out and play

Peter Lonergan – Director of HP Coaching, Basketball Australia

Drilling and teaching your defence

• Repetition still king – quality time on task of defensive movements and skill
• WMI – what’s most important (Brett Brown)
  • Stance
  • Foot pattern
  • Hand positioning
  • Change of stance
  • Close-out and containment footwork
• Game like situations, game like environment as often as possible – “does it look like basketball”
• Scouting 101 – pressure the ball, contain the ball, jump to the ball, see the ball, rebound the ball
• “Hide the veggies in the spaghetti sauce” – incorporate as many close-outs & containment aspects in drills as you can

2 v 2 plus 1 Drake series

• Start everything with a close-out
• Pass from block to corner and close-out
• Dribble lift out of corner, contain the ball
• Pass to seam (D jump to ball)
• Down screen – “get thin, get wings, get through”
• Play live on the catch
• Build to a DHO seam to wing – contest and disrupt

2 v 2 Bulls react and adjust

• Coach out top
• Player at each elbow, two players at charge circle
• On coach command, one elbow player runs to 3 point line to receive pass
• “Team-mate” runs to opposite corner
• Defence closes out to the ball, 2^nd defender establishes help position
• Play live off the catch

2 v 2 plus 1 Navigate drill

• Offence and defence at the charge halo, unguarded screener at block, 2^nd O and D at seam
• Navigate the screen on the turn-out cut to contest the wing catch
• Reverse back through the seam to the coach, down screen

Navigate drill

• Offence and defence at the charge halo, unguarded screener at block, 2^nd O and D at seam
• Navigate the screen on the turn-out cut to contest the wing catch
• Reverse back through the seam to the coach, down screen
• Navigate down screen, play live on the second catch

Basketball Australia would like to acknowledge Bendigo Basketball Association and Joe Hurst for hosting this clinic and thank the BBA Under 14 girls for assisting as demonstrators.