Defensive advice

We are playing a big game tomorrow. The team we are playing has an excellent pt guard that scores 75% of their points. I'm trying to decide what is the best defensive strategy when one player, that is a guard, is scoring such a high majority of an opponents points. We have an excellent defensive pt guard, and we tried to pressure this girl with our pt guard last game, but she was too good and drove right by her over and over. Any advice?

I take it that you are playing m2m - show a lot of early help when she has the ball.... more like a pack m2m.... don't let her beat you.

Here is something we did from time to time to control a good player.... we called it "BLUFF" meaning, as she starts to dribble, the next player in line takes a few hard steps at her and retreats back to her player... every once in awhile you can trap her to make her give it up and then lock up on her when she gets rid of the ball and don't help with that defender.

What age level are we talking about?

These are JV girls, and yes we typically play mtm. My concern is that since we haven't practiced this, and these are JV girls, would they be able to pull the bluff kind of thing off. They might though.

What do you think about having our pt guard pick this girl up mtm 3/4 ct, and put the other 4 in a box zone?

That could work...

do you have a full court press that you use?

IF you do, show the press and show trap to that girl.... most coaches tell their kids to pass thru zones... once she gives up the ball... don't let her have it back.

hmm...that's interesting...our press is mtm, but I suppose we could double team her till mid ct and retreat to regular mtm

That can work... play m2m... double team her until she gives it up... then lock up on her and don't let her have it back.

How does that sound?

I like it...I may do the press thing for the first half, and come out in the box zone and one in the second...

Sounds like a plan... and you can always go back to what is working best in the 4th quarter or do a combination of both.

Good luck.

Thanks Coach.

Your welcome!

Coach Brad: my suggestion is stay in your man to man but totally deny the good guard the ball, make the secondary ball carrier bring up the ball. You state you have an excellent defensive point guard then motivate her to completely shut this kid down. If she doesnt have the ball she cant beat you..coach mac

Second point, is to tell your good defensive kid not to worry about the ball, simply stay with the person she is guarding. We are talking complete denial, frustration it could work..coach mac

Since your point guard is getting beat anyway, we've gone ahead and placed him on their weakest offensive man and had a 3 or 4 man on the point guard. This does a couple things: our point guard saves energy for our offense, and the 3 or 4 man seems to disrupt the points timing since they are usually bigger and harder to see around. Our point can also sag off his man ready to help double on the point or the man he believes is trying to recieve a pass.