Houston defense was perfect. They forced the guard to come back to the ball to get it. The "extra" defender stopped the ball and made him pass and they contested a 25 foot prayer that went in. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with the point but Houston did everything right IF you're playing off the ball.

 

Just like any other defense, there's a right way and wrong way to do it and it's up to the coach to coach it right. Just like under your own basket, most coaches will put the defender that is on the ball under the basket or in the lane but some will put them straight up on the ball and pressure the pass.

 

Several factors but I think in terms of the passer. If it's 2 seconds or less and he's making a "baseball" pass, I really don't think the defender is effecting that pass very much because the inbounder can go back as far as he wants. In the Houston situation, personally I would put someone on the ball because it makes that 30-40 foot pass tougher, especially with a spot throw-in but they defended it as well as you could.

 

Two things Houston could have done better.

 

1. Don't let the man catch the ball that close to half court - Houston should have applied token pressure and make him go back closer to the inbounder and hopefully catch the ball inside the 3 point arc. Then the man applying token pressure has one job - stop dribbler's momentum, try to make him stop and change direction. Then double team at half court.

 

2. Houston gave the shooter too much space on the catch - It was a good closeout but the defender should have been closer to Poole to make sure he wasn't able to square up and set his feet on the shot like he did.

 

I don't guard the inbounder unless there is one second. If it is going to have to be a catch, perhaps one dribble and shoot by the offense, I guard the inbounder.

 

Also, I agree on fouling when ahead by 3. Syracuse put on a textbook display of it in their most recent game.

Two things Houston could have done better.

 

1. Don't let the man catch the ball that close to half court - Houston should have applied token pressure and make him go back closer to the inbounder and hopefully catch the ball inside the 3 point arc. Then the man applying token pressure has one job - stop dribbler's momentum, try to make him stop and change direction. Then double team at half court.

 

2. Houston gave the shooter too much space on the catch - It was a good closeout but the defender should have been closer to Poole to make sure he wasn't able to square up and set his feet on the shot like he did.

 

I don't guard the inbounder unless there is one second. If it is going to have to be a catch, perhaps one dribble and shoot by the offense, I guard the inbounder.

 

Also, I agree on fouling when ahead by 3. Syracuse put on a textbook display of it in their most recent game.

If you guard the inbounds then you don’t have to worry about letting them catch it so close to halfcourt because they won’t be able to get a pass there anyways.

The ideal situation is that you'd foul, and upon them intentionally missing, the game is over and you win minus a miracle tip in. So to your point, the time does matter.

 

Right. I also hate seeing all four rebounders on the lane in that situation. The offense has two outside the arc because they can only put two in the lane. If you're up 3, that rebound is meaningless. The tip out to the shooter on the arc is all that matters. You have to put two defender outside the arc.

Two things Houston could have done better.

 

1. Don't let the man catch the ball that close to half court - Houston should have applied token pressure and make him go back closer to the inbounder and hopefully catch the ball inside the 3 point arc. Then the man applying token pressure has one job - stop dribbler's momentum, try to make him stop and change direction. Then double team at half court.

 

2. Houston gave the shooter too much space on the catch - It was a good closeout but the defender should have been closer to Poole to make sure he wasn't able to square up and set his feet on the shot like he did.

 

I don't guard the inbounder unless there is one second. If it is going to have to be a catch, perhaps one dribble and shoot by the offense, I guard the inbounder.

 

Also, I agree on fouling when ahead by 3. Syracuse put on a textbook display of it in their most recent game.

 

They did get a little bit caught up on a switch or match up but Michigan set the play up in the front court. You can't just defend the backcourt with no one there.

 

As far as the close out, it was pretty text book in my opinion. You can't just deny him the ball there because it was a 2 point game, not 3. You had to defend both.

If you guard the inbounds then you don’t have to worry about letting them catch it so close to halfcourt because they won’t be able to get a pass there anyways.

 

That's not a guarantee. And if the extra defender is not there to stop the ball and Michigan spreads the floor, that guy is going all the way to the basket. Which, ironically, would have been better than what happened. But on 10 tries I'd rather have Michigan shoot the shot they got 10 times than a drive to the basket 10 times.

guard the inbound pass

 

That's not a guarantee. And if the extra defender is not there to stop the ball and Michigan spreads the floor, that guy is going all the way to the basket. Which, ironically, would have been better than what happened. But on 10 tries I'd rather have Michigan shoot the shot they got 10 times than a drive to the basket 10 times.

Explain to me how an inbounder is supposed to get a pass to halfcourt with the tallest dude standing right in front of him. To get it over him it has to be lobbed and to get it around him it would have to be a bounce pass. There is very little chance they could get a pass in going towards the basket so he would have a hard time getting from one end of the court to the rim in 3 seconds.

Syracuse is the best at this that I've seen...they do it every time.

 

They did a poor job last game, in my opinion. They fouled way too quickly the 1st time but it worked out okay for them.

Explain to me how an inbounder is supposed to get a pass to halfcourt with the tallest dude standing right in front of him. To get it over him it has to be lobbed and to get it around him it would have to be a bounce pass. There is very little chance they could get a pass in going towards the basket so he would have a hard time getting from one end of the court to the rim in 3 seconds.

 

Ball fake. Pass went from left side of the basket to the far right side of the court. Not that hard to imagine. I'm probably putting someone on the ball in that exact situation too but it's not a guarantee that the same pass cannot be made.

 

To the bigger point, it's hard to say "always" or "never" to anything when the situation can vary in so many different ways.

Ball fake. Pass went from left side of the basket to the far right side of the court. Not that hard to imagine. I'm probably putting someone on the ball in that exact situation too but it's not a guarantee that the same pass cannot be made.

 

To the bigger point, it's hard to say "always" or "never" to anything when the situation can vary in so many different ways.

I don’t think a ballfake is enough to open a passing lane for him to make that pass.

Put the best defender with the longest wingspan you have on the guy throwing the ball in.

I guard the inbound under 4 seconds.

I don’t think a ballfake is enough to open a passing lane for him to make that pass.

 

Really? If a man is on the ball, you realize the inbounder can go back a step or two? He would not be up on the baseline. With a ball fake to the left side of the court that gets the defend to jump or move a little bit that side, he couldn't then make a pass to the far right side of the court? Never?

I guard the inbound under 4 seconds.

 

What's your thinking there? Just curious.

What's your thinking there? Just curious.

 

 

My thinking is to get the pass over my biggest guy accurately will have to be done pretty close to the end line. I then guard the ball immediately and make them pick up their dribble and make a pass to half court to hopefully someone coming back for the ball. If they make that, then I lose. A shot within 30 feet is unacceptable.

 

You must practice this as has been stated. I take my chances this way. 4 seconds is a lot of time when you are guarding and hardly any with possession. That is the mindset the players have. I used to make my kids with the ball under 5 seconds count it down. They almost always though it was less time than it really was. Practice, practice, practice. The closer you get to the tournament the more time you spend practicing end of the game scenarios. And there are many of them.