Youth Man-to-Man play
Youth Man: Closeout
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 11 steps
About this play
A gap defense and a help-side defense both concede the catch, so the closeout is where they pay for it: sprint two thirds of the way, chop the feet for the last third, inside hand high, butt down, and arrive under control. This play runs a whole possession of swings and skips against a sagging defense, so there is a closeout on almost every catch: a short one from the gap, a long one from the help line on the skip, a short one to the corner shooter, and the drive that follows a closeout that was done right. Why the closeout is a sprint and then a chop: the sprint takes away the open shot the sag conceded; the chop takes away the drive the sprint would concede. What the closeout concedes: the shot fake and drive into help, which is the drive the defense wants. Where the advantage lies: an offense that swings the ball against a closeout defense gets contested shots from where the defense chose, and a closeout that is under control turns the drive back into the lane where the help is. Common youth mistakes: sprinting all the way and flying past the shooter, closing out with the hands down, and closing out to the ball instead of to the man's shooting hand. The sprint-then-chop closeout is how Randy Brown teaches it in his Jr. NBA breakdown drill, and Coach's Clipboard's closeout drills are where I would send you next; give both a look.
