Team defense starts with defending the ball. We should have several goals when we do this. First, get the ball handler to turn over the ball so that we can recover it. Second, make sure the ball handler is unable to successfully pass the ball to another teammate. Third, keep the ball from moving.
Defending the ball should start right when the ball crosses half court. The person defending the ball should get in front of the ball handler and stay an arm’s length away from the ball handler. The defender should move into an athletic ready position and get down low enough so that their eyes are even with the ball handler’s chest. The defender’s hands should be up, one hand should be tracing the movements of the ball. The other hand should be up and blocking the ball handler’s line of vision. The defender should move with the ball handler so that the defender is in between the ball and the goal at all times.
If the ball handler picks up the dribble, that player can now only shoot or pass. When the dribble is picked up, the defender should take a step forward towards the ball handler (i.e. get much closer to them) and continue actively using their hands to defend.
If this is all done right then our defender limits the ball handler being able to move forwards. Our defender can swat potential passes, affect the ball handler’s line of sight and their accuracy, and even interfere with shot attempts.
What if the ball handler passes to another team mate? Then the person guarding the other team mate starts performing the defense described in this post, making sure to keep themselves in between the ball and the goal.
