Full Court Press Drills

• By Emily Reich

Full Court Press Drills

Teams utilize the full-court press in basketball for two reasons. The first is to create havoc and, ultimately, turnovers. Those turnovers translate into offensive opportunities to score and, of course, the more of those opportunities a team has the more likely it is to win.

The second reason teams run a full-court press defense is to dictate the tempo of a game. Pressing defenses can force opponents away from their strengths and play a style of basketball with which they are not comfortable. 

Regardless of the reasoning, teams looking to become skilled in the art of pressure defense must drill it on a daily basis. Here are five drills that can turn your team into a nightmare for opponents.

Trap Transition Drill

Trap Transition is a full-court basketball drill in a 5-on-5 situation that teaches defenders to anticipate the first pass out of a trap. The drill begins after an entry pass with the ball in the hands of a guard who has been immediately trapped.

A guard starts with the ball in the trap. The guard must hold the ball for a full two seconds before being permitted to pass. Defenders work on staying knee-to-knee in the trap so the guard cannot split it.

The press can be a man-to-man press or zone. The remaining defenders anticipate the pass out of the trap.

The goal is to get a deflection or interception and a quick score off the turnover. 

The drill can be repeated on different areas of the court.

Circle Trap Drill

The Circle Trap Drill teaches defenders how to trap properly and do so without committing a foul. A trap should not be able to be split. This drill reinforces that. The whole drill takes place in and around the circle at the top of the key.

To begin, three offensive players align around the circle spaced evenly. Three defenders align inside the circle in the gaps between the offensive players.

A coach initiates the drill by passing to one of the offensive players. 

The two closest defenders immediately execute the trap. They position themselves knee-to-knee and use active hands to prevent the split.

The third defender anticipates and attempts to take away any passes to the remaining two offensive players.

The offense must stay outside of the circle.

The drill also helps the offense work on breaking the trap and passing while under pressure.

Fast Breakdown

For whatever reason, there are times when the full-court press breaks down. The offense breaks through a trap and gets the ball ahead of the defense. The result is a 5-on-3 disadvantage situation. The Fast Breakdown drill teaches players how to deal with such a situation.

A ball handler starts with the ball in the backcourt. He dribbles and cannot pass until he gets into the front court. The two trapping defenders trail the ball handler attempting to steal the ball.

The goal of the defense is to prevent a scoring opportunity early in transition.

Once the ball is passed into the front court, the possession can be played out in a 5-on-5 situation.

4-4-4 Drill

The 4-4-4 drill is a great team full court press drill. Players must stay focused and are held accountable in this fast-paced drill. It begins with three teams of four players each. One on one end of the floor, a team in the middle circle, and the third team on the opposite end of the floor.

The team on offense keeps the ball when they score and must inbound against the press. When an offense reaches half-court, the defense on that end of the floor steps up to defend. 

If a defense gets a stop, they become the new offense. The closest team of 4 becomes the new defense. If the offense reaches half-court, remember that the defense at that end steps in to become the new defense.

Score is kept like a regular game.

The goal is for defenders to pressure the offense into turnovers and for the offense to break the press and score.

2-on-2 Run & Jump Drill

In most full-court pressure defenses, the ball gets trapped along the sidelines. The purpose of this drill is to handle situations where the ball is advanced up the middle of the floor. Players execute the Run & Jump instead of the trap in an effort to create a turnover.

Player 1 brings the ball up the middle of the floor. His teammate is on the wing. 

The defender of Player 1 forces him into the wing. 

The defender of Player 2 executes the jump picking up the ball handler. The defender of Player 1 falls back to pick up the wing. Essentially, the defenders are executing a switch in this drill.

If the ball handler pulls the dribble, the two defenders execute a trap.

The drill continues to progress until three Run & Jumps are completed.

Here is an example of the 1-2-2 / 3-4 Court Press by Head Coach Patrick Chambers.