"1-3-1 "Lob Pass" Zone Defense"

I'd like to stick with the strategy aspect of basketball with this post only now we are going to transition to the defensive side of the ball. I would like to briefly talk about what is known as the 1-3-1 zone defense. The "1-3-1" refers to how the five players are placed on defense and will make much more sense when you look at the picture provided below.

I was introduced to this style of defense in junior high and instantly fell in love with it. It was my absolute favorite zone defense to run. I should probably tell you that a zone defense is when the defenders do not guard or follow a specific player around rather stay in their own "zone of the court and defend any player who comes into or close to their zone. Zone defense isn't used as much in higher levels of the game but is often used to throw the other team for a loop.

So I as I mentioned before, the 1-3-1 refers to where the defenders are placed on the court and looks like this.

I am not a great basketball mind so I would like to use pictures from the post on Breakthrough Basketball, 1-3-1 "Lob Pass" Zone Defense, to illustrate different scenarios in this defense. So if you would like a description what each player is doing during each scenario, please click on the second link above to read the post.

Ball on the Wing:

Ball in Corner:

Skip Pass to Opposite Wing:

One of the main points of this defense is to try and get the offense to comment turnovers when they are attempting to skip pass or lob pass the ball around the court. One of my favorite aspects not covered in the original post is that this defense allows coaches to trap players at various points during the different scenarios. Trapping is when a single ball handler is guarded by two players, also known as a double-team. For example in scenario one, ball on the wing, players 1 and 3 can trap the ball and try to force a turnover. It is important to note that trapping leaves one player unguarded and can be problematic if players are not familiar with rations of the defense so it may be more beneficial to play this defense straight up and incorporate trapping and rotating later on after players have developed a firm grasp of this defense.

Once again credit for the photos goes to Breakthrough Basketball.

"Dribble Moves - Lay-Ups Drill"

So far a lot of my posts have revolved around the theoretical aspect of basketball such as my opinions and thoughts on various things. So today I wanted to talk about something a little different. Today's topic is on something to help you get better! I am going to talk about a drill that I use when I work in camps and a drill used by most of my coaches when I was growing up, it helps players work on their dribbling moves and lay-ups (as you probably guessed from the title). To get a better understanding of the drill I am going to use steps and a diagram from another awesome blog, Breakthrough Basketball.

First take a look at this diagram, become familiar with it and I will break down what is going on in steps right below it.

This diagram illustrates two different lines of players working on the drill at the same time, which is not necessary and can be done with only one line if the number of players is smaller. The cone looking objects are just that, cones, and the object that looks like two conjoined crosses or t's are two chairs.

Step 1. Players 1 and 2 dribble towards the cones. Once they reach the cones they do what is known as a dribble move, at this time players 3 and 4 should begin the drill. Dribble moves that are generally used are a crossover or a behind the back dribble to help the player change direction towards the chairs.

Step 2. Once the player arrives at the chairs they again perform a dribble move of their choice or whatever the coach has instructed. The chairs need to be treated like an opposing player, so pretend like you are trying to dribble by them. The player then heads towards the basket.

Step 3. Once the player has gone past the chairs and gotten to the hoop they should finish with a layup.

Step 4. After the layup the player should return to the end of the line and repeat steps 1-3 once it is their turn to go again.

As I said before this is a great drill to use in practice and can also be used by players anywhere there is a basketball hoop using other items besides cones and chairs.

These steps are explained through my own words but are based off the blog post located here, as well as where the diagram came from.

3 Benefits To Playing Organized Basketball

As I played basketball I began to notice that although it was an absolute blast, it also had its benefits. Now not everyone may see these same benefits, some may agree with all, some, or none of my three main benefits of playing organized basketball, or for playing any organized sport but since this is a basketball blog I am associated them with basketball. So what are these five benefits? The three benefits are; learning to work as a team, learning to follow instructions, helpful in becoming a leader, exercise, and most importantly enjoyment.

Working as a Team

Basketball, as I have said before, is a team sport and yes I know that there are exceptions to this but at its core it is designed to be played as a team. Many people starting out in basketball are relatively young and have never really had any experience working with others to reach a desired outcome, or working as a team. Basketball was my first taste of working as a team and of course I was horrible at it at first but through basketball I become much better working with my teammates as a team. The point of this benefit is that by learning teamwork through basketball I was much better equipped to handle team related activities in both college and at work. As they say, "Teamwork makes the dream work".

Following Instructions

Much like working as a team, being able to follow instructions is something that you are certainly required to learn. In basketball if you have a coach who basically runs the show. He or she determines the offense, defense and who is playing at a certain time. If you can't follow the instructions of the coach then you are going to have a hard time learning the offense or defense and might earn yourself an extended stay on the bench during games. As I mentioned above, learning to follow instructions as also been huge in both my schooling and in the workplace.

Exercise

Exercise as a benefit is a little less of a "life lesson" as the other two but it is still extremely important. The problem with some people and exercise is that they get bored or have no motivation to run on the treadmill, elliptical or bike. Basketball offers people and exciting and fun way to exercise. Getting in games and just playing is physically demanding and even though you may get tired you still push through because you want to play and not because you want to exercise.

Inside Hoops Blog

So I don't know how many of you keep up regularly with the NBA but if you do then you'll know that free agency started on July first and if you don't you have probably still heard about free agency since its that big of a deal in the sports world. I won't get into too much detail on free agency since that isn't the point of the post but it is the time of the year when players whose contracts are up get a chance to pick where they want to play if a team can afford to sign them, its like a holiday for us basketball nuts.

The point of the article is to highlight a particular blog that I frequently go to for my NBA news. I am an NBA fanatic to say the absolute least, I love watching all the games and keeping up to date with all the possible NBA news I can. That is why I wanted to let everyone know about InsideHoops, InsideHoops is where I go to get all the information that isn't put out in places likes ESPN. InsideHoops writers are all true NBA insiders who write professionally on the NBA outside of the blog. They talk about EVERYTHING in the NBA, which means now a good majority of posts are about free agency and the upcoming summer league, but even during the season they talk about much much more they you might not find out about anywhere else.

If you are as much as an NBA nut as I am or are just getting into it I highly recommend to go check out the InsideHoops blog, the link to the blog is located right here.

SKLZ Shoot Around

So a couple weeks ago I was working with a group a kids and we were working on their free throw shooting. One thing I noticed was the group of kids I was responsible for was rather large and in an attempt to be more efficient, I decided to split the kids into groups to go work on their free throws in separate groups. This ended up making things a little more difficult as the kids, who are just learning basketball, were not hitting many of their free throws and had to chase their basketballs all over the place in addition to chasing ones they did make and ended up taking a weird bounce, which is frustrating in itself.

So to the point, when I was younger and shot hoops out in the driveway I remember having the same exact problem these kids were dealing with and kids at their own homes were dealing with as well. I would end up chasing the ball all over the place, out in the street or into the backyard, and wow was it a hassle. I ended up asking a parent or friend to rebound for me which was a hassle as well. One year for christmas I ended up getting something for my basketball hoop to assist me with rebounding and boy was it helpful.

That's is why I decided that I would recommend to my readers the SKLZ Shoot Around. It isn't the same one I used as a child but it is the same concept and a little more updated. It attaches to the hoop and after a shot is made it funnels the ball back out to the shooter so they can continue shooting with much less hassle. They are fairly cheap products and can be bought for anywhere between $10-$20, depending on brand and model you choose. If it is something you are interested in just click here. 

Four Different Shots Used to Score On Offense

For those more experienced players you are probably thinking "only four? there are way more different shots than that on offense" and I agree but I have categorized all the different shots in the game down into four groups. The four groups I have chosen are; jump shots, layups, dunks, and free throws. So yes these groups are very broad and cover a very wide range of specialty shots.

Jump Shots

This is probably the widest group out of the four. The jump shot, as explained in my article Shooting A Basketball, is a pretty basic shot involving a good shooting stance, good handle on the ball and a good release. Jump shots vary in range on the court and can be grouped into three distances; close, medium and long range. Close is generally inside the paint, medium is outside the paint but inside the three-point line, and long is outside the three point line.

Layup

The layup is a fundamental shot taught to basketball players very early on. It involves dribbling or catching a pass really close to the hoop and laying it in, as the name suggests. Layups do not involve the same technique as a jump shot and are usually done off the dribble. More skilled players usually do a form of layup known as the finger roll, where the ball is literally rolled off the players fingertips.

Dunks

I thought about adding this into the layup category because I feel dunks are just an extension of a layup, done by those who are tall enough or athletic enough to dunk the basketball. Most everyone knows what a dunk is but for the sake of things I'll tell you. A dunk is when a player puts the ball through the hoop and the ball does no traveling from the players hand to the hoop. Dunks are a very exciting and entertaining way to score the basketball.

Free Throw

The free throw might very well be the most important shot on the list. The free throw is a shot rewarded to a player who is fouled in the act of shooting the basketball. For a free throw it is much like a jump shot, without the jumping. The player shoots the ball from the free throw line completely uncontested, hence it is free. These shots are only worth 1, as opposed to 2 or 3.