Equipment Needed
- One basketball
- Full court
Build out your practice kit
This full-team press drill just needs a ball and the full court, but a basic coaching-aid kit keeps practice moving.
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- Full team split into offense and defense at one baseline.
- Defense sets up in its press alignment (1-2-1-1 or 2-2-1, based on what the team runs).
Instructions
- On the inbound, the defense executes its press, trapping the ball at a predetermined spot.
- Off-ball defenders read the trap and jump passing lanes rather than guarding their assignment straight up.
- If the ball breaks the press, defenders sprint to recover into transition defense rather than giving up.
- Run 6-8 possessions, then switch offense and defense.
Coaching Points
- The trap only works if the two defenders arrive together - one early trapper just gets split.
- Off-ball defenders anticipate the pass out of the trap instead of reacting to it.
- Sprint to recover the instant the press is broken - a broken press still needs a defense.
Variation
Give the offense a backcourt time limit so both sides play against a real clock, not just space.