Rick Pitino Press Defense

To be a good pressing team, you do not need gifted athletes. You need
1. Outstanding quickness
2. Great anticipation
3. A desire to excel beyond everyone’s norm
Change your presses
1. Jump shot = match-up press
2. Inside the paint shot = 1211 press
3. 3-pt shot = half-court trap

Fouling negates hustle | Rick Pitino Press Defense
Drills
1 on 1 Full Court
• If the offensive player lines up outside the line of the ball, line up to his inside
• If the offensive player lines up inside the line of the ball, line up to his outside
• Play the ball and see the man- thumbs to shoulders position
• Do not close down on the man in a chest-to-chest position- flatten out to the baseline and make
a steal by stepping in
• The ball is every players’ responsibility
• Play from sideline to lane line extended
• Concentrate on both offense and defense in teaching these drills
• Offense- go by the defender and not side to side
• Defense
1. If the player gets by you sideline, pick out a spot ahead of the ball and try to turn the ball
handler by beating him to a spot
2. If the player beats you middle, catch up and tip from behind to a teammate
3. Turn sideline/ tip middle
• Wear down your opponents

Wear down your opponents | Rick Pitino Press Defense

2 on 2 Full Court | Rick Pitino Press Defense
• The speed of the dribbler will determine whether you trap or not- try to get them into an
uncontrolled dribble
• Defense
1. On ball Pressure the ball
2. Off ball see your man, play the ball
3. If you can trap the dribblerboth defenders take 1 shoulder and lock legs
4. If the offensive player pivots, move with him
5. Get a deflection
6. Sprint out of the trap when the ball is passed to tip from behind or stop the ball penetration
7. Do not reach or foul (Fouling negates hustle)
8. If the offense lines up in a tandem, both defenders play to the outside

Rules | Rick Pitino Press Defense
1. Ball pressure
2. If you see the man in a speed dribble, come and trap big
3. If the man is under control, back up and wait for the uncontrolled dribble or just have a
possession with no trapping but constant ball pressure
4. If the ball handler goes middle but the defender is on the side of him, trap the uncontrolled
dribble
5. If the ball hander goes middle and gets by the defender, tip from behind and the second
defender goes to the middle of the floor and must play 2
6. If we can tip from the behind, the player that tipped the ball immediately releases down court
to the sideline to receive a pass for a shot from his teammate
• If we knock the ball out of bounds into a dead ball situationchange your press
• The offense will win 95% of the time
• The goals of this drill are

1. Work out sliding
2. Learn when to trap and get deflections
3. Learn how to back tip
4. Learn how to level a ball handler off

Click on the pdf link to download the basketball coaching clinic notes:

Rick Pitino Press Defense