Press Defenses play
2-2-1 Press: Two-Up Denial of the Point Guard
- Court
- Full court
- Length
- 9 steps
About this play
The 2-2-1 adjustment for the team that inbounds with its point guard and immediately throws it back to him. Why: the point guard is the player who beats a press, so the two-up takes him away. X2 leaves the zone, picks up the inbounder as he steps onto the floor, and shadows him the length of the backcourt so the return pass never exists; X1, X3, X4 and X5 run the normal 2-2-1 behind him. The ball now belongs to a wing or a post who did not expect to dribble through pressure, and that is the player you want making decisions with two defenders closing. What it forces: a weak handler to dribble into the sideline trap because the reverse is denied. What it gives up on purpose: the long cross-court pass to the weak side; it hangs in the air long enough for the goalie to read it, and thrown under pressure it tends to sail out of bounds or get picked off. Counter shown: the offense throws that cross-court pass; the press answers by re-forming on the new side, keeping the denial on the point guard, and trapping the sideline again. Personnel: your best on-ball defender on the point guard, long players in the middle line. I learned the two-up from the 2-Up section of Coach's Clipboard's 2-2-1 zone press page, and the rest of the press from Greg Kampe's open practice on the 2-2-1 on Championship Productions and Basketball For Coaches' 2-2-1 coaching guide; give them a look for the breakdown drills.
