ABC Scramble Pressure Defense for Youth Basketball (Part 1 of 2) - Doug Schakel Basketball 

Sadat- Glad the ABC Defense has been successful for you. And you are right, with JV players, the more advanced Triangle Zone Offense will serve you better than the Modified Triangle Offense. Continued good luck with your team! Best- Doug Schakel

Good questions!! In the video, we press even after we miss a shot and they rebound it. So when that trap is set, we want our point guard to actively find an open spot near the trap. So the point guard must be creative in looking for where he/she can go to get open. Sometimes that might even be BEHIND the trapped player. The trap, of course, has two defenders against one offensive player. But that means, if we can pass out of the trap, we now have 4 offensive players attacking 3 defenders. So, basically, we get it to our point guard and the point guard takes off on the dribble and we are looking for a numerical advantage as we approach the basket for an open shot. If the press comes after a score, we set up with our #2 guard at the top of the circle and three players spread out along the half court line (we call it "Three Across"). The point guard is the inbounds passer. So there is a player on each sideline and one in the center jump circle. Each of those players occupies, vertically, one-third of the court and they can run forward or back in that one-third "lane" as needed. The #2 guard maneuvers to get open and if he/she can advance immediately with a dribble, they do so. If the opponent is trapping the #2 guard, a return pass is made to the point guard who immediately advances up court with a dribble and, of course, can pass ahead to one of the "Three Across" players. If you have any further questions, email me at dougschakel@aol.com or call 913-938-8130. Best- Doug Schakel

@@DougSchakel thank you so much Doug! Great answer, very helpful.

Seth- I used the defense successfully at the top level of high school play (State Champs, State Runner-up and 3rd Place over 3 seasons).

Thanks, Danny. I found out a long time ago that "one size fits all" doesn't apply to basketball. While I do have certain principles that apply no matter what our personnel makeup may be, I discovered early in my 52-year career that it is imperative to adjust offenses and defenses to enhance a particular team's strengths while also minimizing situations that expose their weaknesses. Best- Doug Schakel

z (1) We had one drill where we had a defender run alongside a dribbler with the objective of getting ahead of the ball (not ahead of the dribbler) and cutting the ball off. That tends to get the defender out in front of the dribbler so we don't foul the dribbler. If we tried to cut off the dribbler, we tended to run into the dribbler. Run in front of the ball and either stop or reach back to tap the ball. (2) I think we talk about the intercepting drill in the video to teach anticipating the next pass.