3 Defensive Build Up Drills to Improve Team Basketball Defense

• By Grant Young

University of Ohio head coach Jeff Boals is a whiz when it comes to basketball defensive drills. 

During his seven seasons working as an assistant coach at Ohio State, Boals helped develop recruits like Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger, and Aaron Craft into National Players of the Year, first round NBA Draft picks, and all-time steals leaders in school history.

Since arriving at his alma mater of Ohio in 2019, Boals has turned the Bobcats program into a stalwart defensive force within the MAC conference.

Boals is deceptively simple when it comes to defensive strategy. He relies on a series of effective team defense drills that build unity on the defensive end rather than force Boals to rely on his players’ individual athleticism and talent. This allows Boals to sustain defensive excellence every season, regardless of what players he has rostered.

Luckily, Boals discussed these techniques at length through his ‘Drills To Improve Team Defense’ course. He gives a detailed breakdown on how to use these drills, along with how they benefit player development both individually and as a unit, which will turn your defense into a cohesive and intimidating entity.

Here are three of Boals’ drills to improve team defense: 

1 vs 1 - Zig Zag Full Court into Post Defense Defense

The first defensive drill that Boals recommends is called 1 vs 1 Zig Zag Full Court into Post Defense.  

The drill takes place on both sides of the court, with guards starting on one end and bigs on the other. The guards will bring the ball up their half of the court, and when they reach half court is when the drill begins involving the bigs. 

Once the guard on offense crosses half court, they are looking to pass to their big, who is working on the post to get into a ball-receiving position. 

When the big does receive the pass, the offensive guard then sprints to the other side of the court while the two bigs play 1 vs 1 in the post. After the post play ends, the defending big receives the rebound and makes an outlet pass to the next player waiting in line, and the drill starts again with the guard who was on offense acting as the defender. 

Boals explains that the goal in this drill is for the defending guard is to make it as difficult as possible for the big to receive a pass. They’ll do this by trying to deflect the pass, eliminate any potential passing lanes, and keep active hands and moving feet at all times. The defending big is looking to ensure their offensive opponent receives the pass as far away from the hoop as possible, and plays good, tightly-contested defense without fouling. 

2 vs 2 - Wing/Cornerg/Corner

Coach Boals’ second team defense drill is called 2 vs 2 Wing/Corner. 

This drill can take place on both sides of half court (typically with guards) in each corner. There will be two players on offense, two on defense, and a coach available to inbound the ball.

After the inbound, the two offensive players will pass the ball back and forth while the two defenders work to take away the straight-line drive toward the basket, while also blocking clear passing lanes between the two offensive players. Once each pass is made, the defender on that player who receives the ball should be making a closeout, as if the offensive player is preparing to shoot. 

Repetition is the goal of this drill. After about ten passes back and forth, the two defenders will be swapped out for two new players, and the drill will begin again.

With the three-way threat of pass, drive, or shoot, the two defenders will need to be constantly communicating in order to play effective defense and not allow for an open shot. This will also give coaches a chance to gauge which players communicate well with their teammates, potentially informing them about how to set their rotations.

3 vs 3 - Baseline Closeoutsloseouts

The third of Coach Boals’ build up drills to improve team defense is a 3 vs 3 baseline closeouts drill. 

This drill starts with three offensive players out on the perimeter, with three defenders standing along the baseline. The three defenders will pass to each other in succession, and when they release the ball they’ll then sprint out to the offensive player they’re assigned to guard. Upon receiving the last pass, the final baseline defender then passes to the closest offensive player, and sprints to the other side of the court to be a help-side defender. 

The goal for this drill is that each defender get out to their guy as quickly as possible with high hands, active feet, and their head on a swivel. Once the far-side offensive player receives the ball, they’ll make a shot-fake then the play goes live. From this point, the drill becomes a half-court 3 vs 3 game, with a focus on the three defenders executing closeouts, utilizing team defense, and blocking out their opponent when a shot goes up. 

As soon as the defensive rebound is secured, the three players switch on offensive and defense, with the offensive players rushing to the baseline and starting the pass process once again. 

Coaches also have the option to blow the whistle after the initial perimeter passes, in order to optimize closeouts instead of starting the drill’s live portion. 

A crucial aspect to all of Boals’ drills is what he calls the ‘Bobcat Standard’. This is essentially a charting system that grades every play made in practice, assigning and deducting points based on outcomes.

Employing a charting system like this creates an objective way to measure his players’ performance, while also facilitating competition between his players. These metrics heighten the stakes of every practice, and replicate a game-like environment that gets his players used to playing under pressure. 

If these three team defensive drills work for a mastermind like Boals, it will surely work for you and your team’s defense, too.