I was entering year 3 as the varsity boys basketball coach at my school. The first two years had been solid. We had gone 12-11 & 13-11. Not incredible results, but in that program, back-to-back winning seasons had been rare.

But I was worried. We graduated 8 seniors. Four of them were starters. We lost 77% of our scoring. Our tallest returning player was 6'2.

As we went through the spring and summer, I was convinced we had to try something different.

For years, I'd coached traditional man-to-man defense. We would vary the level of our ball pressure, but we always played squared up on the ball.

While we'd had some success doing that, I was concerned that if we did the same old thing, we'd struggle to get results.

Zigging Where Others Zag . . .

I'd heard about the Man Left defense before and was intrigued. Faced with what I felt was the likelihood of a mediocre season, I decided to give it a try.

There were a couple of reasons that I chose to do this. An important one was that it gave us a different look. Yes, Man Left has become more popular. But the overwhelming majority of teams still play a more conventional man-to-man.

Why does this matter? Because it makes you harder to prepare for. Anytime you do something different, it changes up the prep of the other team. Think of teams who've played you a box & 1. When you zig where others zag, you get the benefit of novelty.

That said, I didn't want to zig so far that we lost our defensive identity. While some coaches like playing really exotic defense, I didn't want to go to that extreme.

Man Left was the perfect solution. It made us just different enough. . .

Man Left in Action: Setting School Records and Shutting Down All-State Players

We worked on forcing left all preseason. I was blessed that I was able to consult with Rob Brost during this time (long before coming to Breakthrough). I felt like we were making strides. But you never know until you get out there.

And once we did, I was amazed. We ended up going 20-3. We set a school record for wins.

We played 2 first-team All-Ohio players that year. Both always wanted to go to their right hand.

• The first was a 6'7 post player. By forcing him left on the perimeter and getting all the way on his left shoulder on every post catch, we forced him into 10-27 shooting & 5 turnovers.
• The second was a 5'10 guard. He averaged 29 ppg and had a 58-point game. He went 6-24 with 10 turnovers.

The fact that we were able to use Man Left successfully against both guards and bigs was important. I am a huge believer in having a cohesive system. Man Left provided that.

5 Reasons Man Left Worked So Well For Me. . . And Can For You, Too

• It created an aggressive mentality - In most man-to-man defenses, the defense is reacting to the offense. Man Left flips that on its head. Rather than allowing the offense to decide which way to go and then trying to stop them, Man Left dictates exactly what the offense will do.

Over the course of the season, our players built a pride in not allowing the ball to go right. Their confidence grew as they felt they were in control of the player with the ball. This confidence spilled over to all other aspects of the game.

• It forced the lowest percentage shots - It takes away 3's because players are into the ball handler's right hip on the catch. Shooting is not an option. It takes away advantage rim finishes because it makes players finish going full speed with the weak hand. What's left? Contested mid-range shots off the dribble going left.

It takes away 3's because players are into the ball handler's right hip on the catch. Shooting is not an option. It takes away advantage rim finishes because it makes players finish going full speed with the weak hand. Not a lot of high school players have that ability.

What's left? Contested mid-range shots off the dribble going left. If you get your opponent to shoot those, you're going to win a lot of games.

• It led to us creating more turnovers - Our turnover percentage was roughly 15%. Our opponents' turnover percentage was just under 24%.

Over the course of a game, that adds up. First, it meant we were getting more shots than our opponent. Second, it led to easier shots as turnovers often lead to transition opportunities.

Why did this happen? Because we were making our opponents make plays with their weak hand. As much as Man Left is about forcing players to finish with their weak hand, it's just as much about getting them to dribble and pass with their weak hand.

• It made rotations easier - Because we always knew which way the ball was going, rotations became easier. If you were to the left of the ball, you would fake & fade. This created indecision and turnovers as the player with the ball often thought full help was coming.

If you were one pass away to the right, you knew you were denying. If you were more than one pass away to the right, you knew you had to be ready to help on a left hand drive. As we got more experienced, those rotations became 2nd nature.

• It made scouting easy(almost unecessary) - most of us take a lot of pride in scouting. But what if you could use that time for something else that would help your team? Man Left opens up that time.

How? Because it doesn't allow teams to run their offense. Almost all offenses enter the ball on the right side. That won't happen against Man Left. That pass is denied. Even if it's not the first pass, at some point, the ball is going to need to be passed left.

Once the offense realizes that isn't going to happen, it becomes about making plays, not running them. Since your opponent is not able to run their offense and their sets, you don't have to do much scouting. That leaves more time for player development or whatever else you want to prioritize.

1 Additional Benefit . . . For Your OFFENSE

As our season went along, I noticed that we were making way more plays with our weak hand. I had always prioritized weak hand development, but I'd never seen these types of results

What was the difference with this group? The fact that every single day in practice we were forcing each other to make plays with our weak hand. There is no substitute for those reps.

So in addition to all the defensive benefits you get from the Man Left, your offense gets significantly better, too!

Force Your Opponent Left To Get Your Team Right

Man Left was transformational for our program. When we adopted it, I wanted to maintain our defensive identity.

That didn't happen. Instead, we completely altered it - for the better! We became harder to play against. We became tougher, physically and mentally. And we became better.

If you're willing to try something a little different, with the upside of taking your program to a new level, Man Left might be just what you're looking for!

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

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