Expert: Michael Muro - 1/12/2006

Question
I am the coach of an 8th grade boys basketball team.  We are
getting killed on full court zone presses.  Do you have a simple
yet effective press break I could teach my team?  Most teams are
running a diamond press or 1-3-1.  Thanks in advance!

Answer
When attacking a zone press or zone, you want to do this with patience. To many times we are trying to rush because we do not want a 10-second violation. That plays right into what a press is trying to accomplish. Everybody thinks teams press to steal the ball. That is one option the defense is hoping for but what they are trying to do is take you out of your comfort zone. Make you hurry so you rush a shot, cause a turnover(travel, charge, steal, throw the ball away) or even force a timeout. The biggest key to beating a press is to relax and recognize what kind of press your opponent is running.

Here is a great site with plays and drills. The link I am giving you goes directly to the press breaker page.

http://www.coachesclipboard.net/PressBreak.shtml

I hope this helps...if it doesn't write back and include your fax #. I will fax you what I run against a 1-3-1 press...It is to hard to write down and explain.

Good luck!