Drills play
Drill: 5-on-4 Transition Defense
- Court
- Full court
- Length
- 5 steps
About this play
The transition defense rules under a real deficit: stop the ball, protect the rim, talk, and sprint back to even numbers. Why it works: with one defender touching the baseline the other four cannot match up, so they have to play the rules instead of their man, and the trailer has to learn that his job is the open hole, not the nearest body. Setup: five on offense along the end line, five defenders across the free-throw line extended facing them, the coach with the ball. The coach passes to an attacker and calls one defender's number; that defender touches the baseline before he recovers while the offense attacks on a twelve-second limit. The first defender back stops the ball, the next protects the rim, the four force the ball to one side so a help side exists, no baseline drives, and the trailer fills the weak side as he arrives. On a score, rebound, or steal both teams go 5-on-5 the other way for one possession. A point a score; play for time or to a target. Common mistakes: the defense settling into the 5-on-4 instead of recovering to five, rotating to the ball instead of the rim, and the offense over-passing into the recovering defender. Progression: the MSU progressive series, 2-on-1 through 5-on-5 in one continuous run. High school. I picked this up from The Coaching Toolbox's 5-on-4 to 5-on-5 drill and Greg McDermott's 5-on-3 clinic on Championship Productions; give them a look for the full series.
