Protecting the Rim with Man-to-Man Defense

with Russell Turner,
UC Irvine Head Coach;
4x Big West regular season champions ('14, '16, '17, '19);
2x Big West Tournament champions ('15, '19);
3x Big West Coach of the Year ('14, '17, '19);
former Golden State Warriors Assistant Coach

Teams at every level are shifting their offensive approach to focus on driving and kicking for points in the paint or 3-point opportunities. Drawing from his experience as an assistant coach in the NBA, Russell Turner has implemented a defensive system at UC Irvine that will challenge teams to score inside. In the 2018-2019 season, the Anteaters led the country in 2-point field goal percentage defense. Nobody made it tougher to score at the rim!

In this video, you will learn some of the defensive concepts Turner uses that will help your team improve its interior protection.

Developing a Base of Protection

UC Irvine plays a style of man-to-man that focuses on limiting rotations and switches while forcing opponents away from their tendencies. This system is first established with great on-ball defense to stop the opponent at the point of attack. You will see how to develop great on-ball defenders with the "Defensive Stance Drill." This drill will improve your player's defensive slides by helping them move on balance with their hands up.

Learn how to implement your big men into this system as rim protectors. Coach Turner explains their strategy for changing ball screen defenses with either "Hedge" or "Cover" depending on the athleticism of your post players. In the "Straight Up" drill, you will see how your posts can get airborne to challenge shots at the rim without drawing fouls.

Stopping Dribble Penetration

The "Finish the Defense" series is a great way to progressively teach your players how to defend against dribble penetration. Starting 2-on-2, your posts will learn how to stunt at the ball to deter the drive while the perimeter defender recovers back into the play. Adding a third defender will teach help side defenders to sink into the paint while still arriving on time to challenge the perimeter shot on any skip pass. You will also see how a fourth defender can be added and positions rearranged to work on stunting versus dribble penetration. Additionally, Coach Turner shares a unique approach to determining match-ups that will allow your shot blocker to anchor the rim at all times.

This video will give you exciting new approaches to shutting down dribble penetration without having to implement strategies that will eventually result in breakdowns or mismatches.

46 minutes. 2019.