How to break a press in basketball drills

How to Break Any Type of Press & Avoid Turnovers

By Jeff Haefner

Home > Coaching > Basketball Offense > Basketball Press Offense: How to Break Any Type of Press and Avoid Turnovers -- Press Breaker Drills, Offense, and Strategy

In this report and supplemental video you will learn...

• How to attack any type of zone press (including the 1-2-1-1, 2-2-1, half court press, and more)
• How to reduce turnovers and take better care of the ball
• Drills to improve press breaking skills
• Press break drills to improve ballhandling under pressure
• Press break plays
• Tips for youth and advanced coaches

So you'll find a little something for everyone - all the way from beginner youth coaches to seasoned veterans.

Part 1 - PDF Download

Start with this PDF eBook (right click and select Save As to download)

Once you download the eBook you can print it out or view it on screen.

Part 2 - Supplemental Video

Once we get through the PDF ebook, watch this supplemental video:

Download the movie file (You may need to right-click the link and select "Save Target As")

Video Contents:

• Introduction
  
• 6 Keys to Beating the Press - 01:30
  
• How to Get the Ball Inbounds - 05:40
  
• Breaking a 1-2-1-1 Full Court Press - 07:50
  
• Breaking a Half Court 1-2-2 Press - 12:33
  
• Additional Tips - 16:30
  
• Final Thoughts - 23:10
  

Part 3 - Additional Press Break Resources

If you'd like to learn more about breaking pressure and see on-court demonstrations, we have a few DVDs that we recommend.

We found these resources by surveying our own subscriber list and asking them what press break DVDs they thought were the best. We then ordered the DVDs and reviewed them to make sure they were good.

Now in all honesty we have not viewed every press breaker resource available. I'm sure there are other good ones out there. But these are a few that were recommended to us by our subscribers and also get our seal of approval...

Universal System of Attacking Press - By Will Rey - I like this DVD because it gives you a really simple and effective press breaker that works against any press. You'll pick up lots of good advice and I think this is an all around good DVD.

Mike Krzyzewski: Duke Basketball - Breaking the Press - This DVD gives you some additional tips, several good drills, and reinforces important press break concepts. It's also a good all around DVD.

Note for Youth Teams

If you're getting pressed in a youth league, my suggestion is to find a different league. Presses and traps are VERY counterproductive for youth players and slow their skill development. Presses, traps, and zone defenses should be against the rules in youth basketball. If you don't believe me, just listen to pro coach Stan Van Gundy (who also coached his kids' youth team):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ9jTOAMTtk

You can also listen to former NBA player and youth basketball expert, Bob Bigelow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy6LTXtz-60

Give Us Your Feedback

We really hope this report helps you successfully beat pressure and avoid turnovers.

Please leave your feedback below.

Press Break Offense Guide - HoopsKing.com Instructional Basketball Company

A big test for any team is the ability to break a full court or half court press. There are a number of presses a defense can throw at you, but the key to breaking every single one of them comes down to execution of fundamentals and making game time decisions.

Your team must have a solid set of fundamentals such as passing, catching, and dribbling. If you’re team can do these actions well then you’re already a step ahead of the defense. The other area you need to focus on is developing your team to make game time decisions such as knowing when to use pass fakes and taking care of the ball to not commit silly turnovers.

In this article, we’re going to dive into Press Break Offenses. We’ll discuss the keys to a winning press break along with some points of how a press break can fail. This article will show you a universal Press Break but will also have plenty of Press Break tips, Press Break plays, and Press Break drills for you to use your team.

By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll know exactly what your team needs to work on to develop a successful Press Break.

Keys to a Winning Press Break Offense

• Force Tempo. The defense will try to control the tempo of the game, but the offense has just as much control over the tempo as the defense does. What tempo does your team want to play at? Once you know the tempo, learn how to integrate this into your Press Break strategy.
• Develop Attitude. A winning Press Break has players that are ready for the challenge. They have practice their game place and know exactly what to do to beat the defense so there’s a confidence instilled in them. They want to be pressed by the defense - just so they can beat it. It’s hard to want to press a team that welcomes it.
• Practice Patience. One of the quickest ways to fail at breaking a press is to rush your decisions. Instead you want to have everything under control and not hurry to make a play. Each player has to be ready to execute and keep themselves under control under the pressure. If your team melts under pressure then you need to devote more time in practice to breaking press defenses.
• Know the Rules. Make sure your team is familiar with all the rules that apply to press break situations. Every single player needs to know every single violation that could penalize your team. They also need to know the rules that may get you out of a tight spot if the defense has you cornered such as running the baseline on an inbounds situation or the inbounder passing to a teammate out of bounds; and they have to know in what scenarios these can be used. Not knowing the rules is a poor reason to lose a possession during a game.
• Make the Defense Pay. The biggest key to a winning Press Break is simply executing your game strategy and scoring. If you can make the defense pay by dismantling their pressure and scoring each time down the court then they’re going to think twice about pressing. Don’t make it easy for them by not be ready for it, but rather practice going against a press defense and you’ll be ready for anything a defense can throw at you. Preparation is the way to make the defense pay!

Keys to a Failing Press Break Offense

• Take you out of your game plan. The whole point of a press defense is to throw something at your team it hasn’t seen before and neutralize your offensive strengths. This is exactly why preparation is to crucial because your team has to know what to do in order to exploit the press and score. If you’re not preparing for a press defense then you should start now otherwise your team will struggle and collapse under pressure.
• Rushed shot selection. To beat any press defense you have to emphasize good shot selection and work hard to get the best shot opportunity. You won’t be successful on offense (and you’ll be playing right into the defense’s hands) if you’re rushing or forcing shots. After having the patience to break the press defense, be sure to use the same patience with your shot selection. You don’t want your team to beat a tough defense just to take a poor and rushed shot.
• More Turnover Possibilities. A big no-no for any offense is turning the ball over and when it comes to attacking a pressing defense the likelihood of turnovers seems to increase. You need your team to be composed and confident along with patient while they’re trying to break the defense. If you can do these three things then your team should easily be able to take care of the ball. Minimal turnovers is a must going against any pressure defense.

Who should use the Press Break Offense?

Every team can benefit from having a Press Break Offense ready to go when your opponent switches things up on the defensive end. Preparing your press breaking game plan is an important part of the game, but one of the least practiced. A Press Break Offense is built for a smart, patient team that can work together and utilize passing the ball to find the gaps in the pressing defense.

I highly recommend a Press Break Offense for a team who knows what offensive tactics to use and execute the game plan accordingly for their team. If each player can understand what to do in the press break then there’s going to be an opportunity to score on every offensive trip down the court.

A team successful with a Press Break Offense needs fundamentally sound players, especially when it comes to passing, catching, and dribbling the ball Players who know how to use skip passes and ball fakes are going do well in this offense. If your team also has players who can take care of the ball and read the defense to stay a step ahead then you will be able to beat any press defense.

Basic Concepts of a Press Break Offense

Coach Chris shows you how to beat a full court press every time by talking about the concept of breaking the press. Every press break will end up looking like this if done correctly. Doesn't matter if it's a half court trap or a full court press. The alignment Coach Chris talks about is how you break it.

The Universal Press Break Offense

Does your team have a go-to Press Break Offense? If you don’t already have a press break strategy then consider using Coach Will Rey’s press breaker. It’s a universal system that can be used to attack any press.

In Rey’s DVD, Universal System of Attacking Presses, he teaches you a system that uses three near outlets, one deep threat, and a trailer.

Essentially, his universal attack is designed to allow the ball handler to make only one quick decision: Am I being double teamed (trapped!) or Am I being guarded by a single defender? Based on this decision, the press attack is initiated.

This Press Offense is a great option because it’s very easy to learn because players only have 2 reads: if there is a trap, you do this and if there’s no trap coming, you do that.

Let’s break it down…

Starting Alignment

Player Positions - this press starts in a 1-3-1 format

• 1 (point guard) is on ball side low block
• 2 is on ball side free throw line extended
• 3 is on opposite side free throw line extended
• 4 is your inbounder
• 5 is at other end of the court in weak side short corner

Basic Actions and Reads

Option 1

• 2 cuts back to the ball and receives the inbounds pass
• 2 catches and faces up the court then looks deep to see if 5 is open
• 2 is also checking if the defense is trapping or not
• As 2 is surveying the court, 1 is diagonal cutting ahead on ball sideline
• And 3 is diagonal cutting to the middle
• 4 steps in and is the trailer (safety)
• 2 passes to 3 open in the middle
• As this happens, 1 cuts to the middle ahead of 3
• 3 passes to 1 and after passing fills the left lane
• 2 runs to fill the right lane

Option 2

• 2 cuts back to the ball and receives the inbounds pass, checks for traps, and faces up to see there are no open looks up the floor
• No one is open so 2 passes back to 4
• When 4 catches the ball, 3 cuts back to opposite side for reverse pass
• 1 diagonal cuts to the middle
• When ball is reversed to 3, 1 cuts to fill ahead on ball sideline
• 2 then diagonal cuts to fill the middle
• After 4 passes - 1 and 2 make their cuts - then 4 fill opposite side and fills lane
• 3 has options to advance ball by passing to 1 up the sideline or 2 in the middle

No Trap Situation

• Players should still make the same cuts
• Yell CLEAR to communicate to teammates there’s no traps
• 2 dribbles to the middle
• 3 fills the left wing and 1 fills the right wing
• 4 sprints up the sideline and fills short corner on right side
• All players keep an eye on the ball in case a delayed trap happens

Teaching Points

• At the start, 2 does not need to cut all the way to the baseline. You to receive the ball as far up the floor as possible.
• Read if you are being trapped or not on the first pass
• You’re essentially making the same cuts as your advance the ball
• Always have 3 close pass options, 1 deep pass threat, and 1 safety pass option
• Make defense play you sideline-to-sideline and baseline-to-baseline
• All players need to keep an eye back in case a trap occurs after first pass

Need Another Press Break Offense?

Check out the 1-4 Press Break to destroy a man to man press!

In this video, Coach Chris breaks down the 1-4 Basketball Press Break so that you can stop getting trapped on the inbounds pass. If you are facing a Diamond or 1-2-1-1 Press Defense where you get trapped in the corners or have a hard time getting the ball inbounds the 1-4 Across Press Break is a great press break to use.

Press Break Offense Plays

UCLA - Wooden Press Break

Frame 1

• The starting alignment is 1,2,5 in a vertical stack on the ball side. 4 is throwing the ball in and 3 is at center court. Primary options are 1 & 5.

Frame 2

• 1 reads their defender, if defense is playing inside,1 fakes inside and cuts to ball side corner looking for the ball.
• 2 reads 1 and cuts the in opposite direction. 2 needs to time cut to give 4 plenty of time to give 1 a good look.
• After 4 looks at 2, 5 steps toward the basket.
• If nothing is open, 3 comes back to ball.

Frame 3

• 1 receives the pass and looks down the court then fakes a pass to 3.
• 1 passes to 2 as 5 moves over to the weak side and sets a back screen for 4 coming in bounds.
• 5 remains a trailer as the emergency outlet and to balance the floor. Goal is to always have a two-guard front.

Frame 4

• 2 has four options with the ball:
  • Pass to the 3 or back to 5. In this case 2 hits 3 and stays back with 5 .
  • 1 and the 4 are sprinting down the sideline.
  • 3 can pass to 1 or 4 to break the pressure.
  • 4 or 1 can always come back to the ball if needed.

X Press Break

Frame 1

• The starting alignment is 2 ball side in top wing area, 1 is a center court, and 4 is at the top of the key. 3 is the inbounder and 5 is all the way back.
• 2 cuts to the opposite side of the inbounder.
• 4 sets a back screen for 1 who curls around.
• After setting the screen, 4 dives to the ball inbound side.
• Primary entry is passing to 1 who has momentum going up court and can push ball to the middle of the court.

Cuba Press Break

Frame 1

• The starting alignment is your best passer as the inbounder. In this example that will be 1. The rest of your team is lined up in a horizontal line to the ball side of the free throw line.
• 5 cuts hard to the weak side corner
• 2 runs hard down the court looking for a home run pass from the inbounder
• 3 comes to the ball
• 4 cuts back to the weak side hash mark

Frame 2

• 1st option: 2 for a home run score
• 2nd option: 5 in the weak corner who can pass forward to an open 4 followed by looking ahead to see if 2 is open

Press Break Offense Drills

Being a strong press break team comes from developing and preparing your players for these type of pressure situation.

You spend time developing their fundamentals such passing, pivoting, and using ball fakes.

Equally, you spend time solely preparing for pressure by putting your team against press defense and different pressure situation.

These type of situation works on patience, decision making, teamwork and game understanding.

Just because you put players in a press break formation doesn’t mean they will be able to do it. You need to spend time in practice working with them passing under pressure and traps.

The best drill to use to prepare for Press Defense is a full-court pressure progression.

Starting with your players playing 1-on-1 (Drill #1) and working up to 5-on-5 (Drill #2).

Switch it up by using more defenders than normal or taking away dribbles.

In Drill #2, you'll see the players going 2 on 3 which means 2 offense player against 3 defense player and they are not allowed to dribble.

By doing this you make your team really work to beat the press defense.

Drill #1: 1-on-1

Drill #2: 3-on-2

Half-Court Press Break Offense

Pressing and traps can happen in the half court as well. It’s always a good idea to have your team prepared for this type of defensive attack.

Here is a solid Half-Court Press Break courtesy of Coach Rey. Check it out!

If your opponent traps in the half court…trap occurs on ball handler with trapper coming from the wing

• Player being guarded by the trapper goes to the middle
• Post player on trapped side moves up and fills wing spot that has been vacated

If your opponent traps in the half court. ..trap occurs on first pass to wing with trapper coming from the top

• Player being guarded by the trapper moves to ball side between trap and half court line
• Opposite wing flashes to middle of the court near free throw line
• Post player on trapped side moves to corner

If your team can execute these basic actions in a half court trap situation then you should be able to bust the defense with these passing options!

Tips for the Press Break Offense

Any press break starts with being able to inbound the basketball. For a successful press break, you want to have a better than average inbounds passer to get the ball inbounds.

It’s not always as easy as it seems trying to get the ball inbounds against a pressure defense. Your inbounder needs to be a strong decision maker with great technique. If your team has this type of inbounder then you’ll be able to limit unnecessary mistakes that could cost your team.

Here are some passing tips for the Inbound Passer:

1. Step out of bounds only after your teammates are set up and ready.
2. Clear the backboard to inbounds the ball.
3. Position yourself deeper than baseline to give yourself space.
4. Read the defense and know where to pass before receiving the ball.
5. Avoid telegraphing a pass by not staring at the pass you want to make.
6. Know your progression of reads - Option 1, Option 2, Option 3.
7. If you make a pass lead a receiver to an open spot.
8. Do not pass over the inbound defender.
9. If defense switches on a screen, look for the screener.
10. Keep a time count in your head.
11. Pass to the safety on the 4 count.

Learn More

The Universal Press Break Offense has the potential to be unstoppable for your team against any press defense. We have given you the foundation to implement this into your game plan, but there’s always more to learn.

The best learning tool on the market is the instructional DVD, Universal System of Attacking Presses, from Coach Will Rey. He uses on-court demonstrations to teach his system and thoroughly covers all aspects and key factors to handling pressure.

No matter what type of press you face by renting our basketball press break DVDs you'll learn the best way to break it and easily score vs. the press. You'll get to the point where you hope teams press you so you can score easy baskets.

Rent from our selection of basketball press break videos from top coaches today by going to HoopsKing.com.

Jun 07, 2020 Coach Chris

• #Press Break
• #Press Break Basketball
• #Press Break Drills
• #Press Break Plays
• #Man Offense
• #Zone Offense
• #Half Court Press Break
• #Will Rey
• #Universal Press Break

How to strengthen fingers and joints

Hello, dear visitors of the website basketball-training. org.ua ! Today I want to tell you again about how to strengthen your fingers. Why did I write again?

The fact is that once this site was under the Joomla content management system (I think that some site visitors remember that time: there was user registration, a terribly terrible commenting form, low traffic and frequent “glitches” of the site itself). At one fine moment, I realized that this could not continue, and the site moved to WordPress, to which I have no complaints yet.

So, when transferring the site, not all materials were copied: one part of them was of poor quality, the other part did not carry a special semantic load. Quite recently, while traveling through sports-related websites, I came across a familiar text! Wow, I thought, it means good advice if they are reprinted and posted! After lengthy negotiations with the administration of the resource, I still managed to convince them that I am the author of the text and get a back link to my site! Guys with " Sporttime "- thanks for the adequacy!

Well, now I want to offer you a revised set of exercises that will help strengthen the fingers - one of the most painful places for many basketball players!

Strengthen fingers - exercises

After digging a little in my old records, I found a couple of interesting exercises that will allow your fingers to become much stronger , which means reducing the risk of injury from an accidental collision with an opponent, a bounced ball or an unsuccessful contact with something else.

Let's start with the very exercises that have already been published. Oh yes, if you regularly perform at least some of the exercises below, then your fingers will become not only strong, but also more flexible and tenacious. And in the fight for a controversial ball (the one in which they try to snatch the ball from the opponent's hands), you will have much more chances.

The first exercise is , it is also the basic one. The starting position is a meter and a half from the wall. Tilt your whole body forward and fall against the wall. And in order to stop the fall, we put our hands forward and rest our fingers against the wall. A sort of "lying emphasis", only you have to lie down on the wall. Try not just to stick your fingers into the wall (and you can break them), but to cushion, spring them.

The second exercise for the fingers consists in squeezing a tennis ball, while squeezing only with your fingers. You can also squeeze any wrist simulator, the main thing is to squeeze with your fingers.

Horizontal bar will help not only to pump up the muscles of the hands, but also to strengthen the fingers. How? Just try to hang as long as possible, holding only your fingers. Grip from below and hold with your fingers. How long will you last?

Finger push-ups can also help in the process of strengthening the fingers. The load on the joints is quite high, so I recommend starting with a few repetitions, and then gradually increase the load. Is it difficult (painful) to do push-ups on your fingers? Try to take an emphasis while lying on your knees - the load will decrease, but the effect will still be good.

The coolest exercise , which involves the hands and fingers, back and shoulders, abs - in general, a number of different muscles. What you need: a gymnastic stick (a leg from a stool, a handle from a shovel, etc.), a rope (a meter and a half long, depending on height) and a weighting agent (dumbbell, sledgehammer head, pancake from a barbell, an old iron). One end of the rope is tied around the middle of the stick, the second - to the weighting agent. We take the stick with both hands, the hands themselves are parallel to the floor. We begin to rotate the stick in such a way that the rope is wound and the load rises from the floor. When screwed to the end - just as slowly unwind back. Change the grip (upper and lower, wide and narrow) and the weight of the weighting agent (pro sports weights ) to get the most out of your workout.

And now a few words about new ways to strengthen the fingers.

Strengthening the fingers - a few more exercises

This group includes exercises used by Russian special forces. The origins of these exercises go to the masters of martial arts. Do not be afraid, I will not agitate you to pierce the boards with your fingers with screams that frighten your enemies. Immediately introduced the Chinese master, who, putting a block shot, pierces the ball with his finger. The sun is warming something, and such thoughts come into my head!

• Exercise #1. Brick work. Try throwing the brick up and catching it with the fingers of one hand. Caught? Now toss it with a spin and catch it again. Happened? Now try to rotate your arm at the elbow, while continuing to hold the brick with your fingers (just don't break the glass of your neighbors).
• Exercise number 2. Lying support. The point is to take the prone position without using your thumb. We stand as long as possible (legs can be thrown to a certain hill to increase the load). Gradually reduce the number of fingers you rely on.
• Exercise #3. Hands in front of you. We are trying to spread the straightened fingers as much as possible. Then - press your fingers to each other as much as possible. This exercise will bring you closer to gaining the ability to take the ball in your hand.
• Exercise #4. Interlock 2 identical fingers of different hands (thumb with thumb, index with index, etc.). Now, for a few seconds, try to break the resulting hitch. Repeat with each of your fingers.

Well, I think that these exercises will be quite enough for to strengthen the fingers . If you have examples of exercises to strengthen your fingers, share them in the comments. Subscribe to site updates (everything you need is in the right column of the site).

I, in turn, wish you successful training and look forward to visiting our site again.

Core workout (press back) - Basi from Russia

Entry posted by Vasilio · February 25, 2014 Share

Fizkult hello!

After a long time, here I am again! I don’t know if anyone was bored or if there were enough small notes in the group “Unreal training with Basi” (http://vk. com/basi_training)!?

Today I will not be very verbose. Less words, more videos! I want to talk about training the muscle corset, the ball of the core or the muscles of the press-back. Whoever likes it.

I get too many questions and see how to increase the jump? How? Where is the secret exercise that will increase the jump immediately by half a meter in a week? If you look at the biomechanics of the jump, then, in addition to the legs, the integral work of the muscles of the press, back and shoulder girdle will be clearly visible. In other words, the whole body. In this post, I felt like talking specifically about the core muscles and giving a few examples of workouts that I did directly (both old and very fresh).

Before proceeding to the video, I will clarify that this recording is unlikely to help those who want a six-pack or a washboard instead of a stomach. I will not reveal to anyone a secret that in this regard there will be more merit of a well-constructed diet and diet.

Well, now let's move on to the video.

The first complex is what started my acquaintance with such training. A good way to strengthen not only the muscles of the press and back, but also the muscles of the shoulder girdle (by the way, exercises similar to movements from swimming are also suitable for recovery from shoulder injuries). Each exercise is performed the same number of times, which is set before the start of the complex. As I remember now, on the first day it was difficult for me to do 15 repetitions of each exercise, and after 10 days we increased this figure to 25.

The second complex is Pilates. I'm going in chronological order, so he's next. Pilates, along with yoga, is the most underrated activity for athletes in my opinion. Despite the fact that now in fitness clubs, Pilates and yoga classes often turn into some kind of boot camp, discarding the study of the very philosophy of these disciplines, they still remain effective in terms of strengthening the whole body, including the abdominal and back muscles. .

The third complex is the plank. If we talk about isometric exercises, then the plank, in this case, will be the best for me. Below is a continuous set of exercises, where the basis is the plank position or the lying position.

The fourth complex is exercises with a heavy (stuffed) ball. The abdominal muscles are the same muscles as any other in our body. Accordingly, they should also be developed in different planes, meaning endurance, strength, explosive strength, and so on. Medicine ball exercises will work well on the explosive strength of the abdominal muscles. If you pay attention, then some of the movements will be slightly similar to the movements of the player on the court.

The fifth complex is one of the variations of aerobic supersets for the abdominal muscles. If at the beginning of a workout it is better to perform several approaches to the press to activate the muscles, then such super-sets can be completed.

The sixth complex is perhaps my favorite. Three exercises with a heavy ball (which, if desired, can be replaced with anything), which very much resemble the work of the core muscles during the game. I will analyze each of them:

1. Diagonal torso raises with the ball hitting the floor - if you look closely, the movement is close to when the player receives the ball in the post, makes one hit to the floor and begins to turn around.
   
2. Diagonal torso lifts with a diagonal removal of the ball in one hand - lay-up on the back of the ring (reverse lay-up).
   
3. Sitting torso rotations - receiving the ball from the side (left or right) and taking it out for a throw. It’s hard to say how it is in Russia, but in the States, when you receive a ball for a throw, they teach you to put your legs so that they are already looking at the ring, respectively, you have to rotate the torso and actively connect the core muscles.
   

The seventh complex is training the core muscles on a fitball (physio ball). Its advantage lies in the need to maintain the balance of the body, which allows you to activate the muscles of the whole body during execution.

As a conclusion, it is worth paying attention to 3 things:

1. Stretching. It is mandatory to perform after a workout, including after training the core muscles. Muscles must be elastic.
   
2. Muscular imbalance. You should follow a simple rule: did the exercises for the press, do at least the same amount on the muscles of the lumbar region. The simplest example of such exercises is hyperextension (back hypers) or superman (superman exercise). If such exercises are avoided, then, most likely, a muscle imbalance will occur, which will lead to pain or discomfort in the lumbar region.
   
3. Self-education and the desire to improve day by day. If you are an athlete, then you simply must know what you are doing. At a minimum, you should be interested in the coach or study yourself what you are doing. The reason is simple - it will be much easier to understand your mistakes and help the coach find ways to solve them with minimal risk of injury.

   ---

   Learn more

   • 
     How to watch basketball playoffs
   • 
     How much do the basketball wives get paid
   • 
     How to get into the olympics for basketball
   • 
     How to get into basketball
   • 
     How to throw a basketball correctly
   • 
     How much does a basketball goal cost
   • 
     How to strengthen hands for basketball
   • 
     How many inches is a basketball rim
   • 
     How do you foul out in basketball
   • 
     How high is a basketball basket
   • 
     How to play 2 ball basketball