How to Attack a Zone Full-court Press in Basketball

The zone press is one of the best ways to put pressure on a basketball team, starting at youth levels and going up through high school and even college. Whether it's a 1-3-1 press, a 1-2-2 press or another variation, there are always ways to break down the defense if you have good players who can maintain their composure. Here's how to go about it:

Things You'll Need

• A basketball
• Players who know the system

Instructions

How to attack a zone full-court press in basketball

1. Know your positions. When breaking the press, you'll normally want to have a larger player (normally your power forward or 4 man) inbounding the ball while two of your better ball handlers (normally your point [1] and shooting [2] guards) work to get open in the backcourt and receive the inbounds pass. Placing another good ball handler (your small forward, or 3 man) around midcourt, along with your center (5 man) forces the defense to spread and also keeps your options for a long pass and an easy basket open.

2. Getting the ball in bounds. The zone press isn't necessarily about stealing the ball on the inbounds play, but more trapping the player who has the ball at some point before or just after they cross halfcourt. The best way to start your press break after a made basket is to get the ball to one of your better ball handlers before the opposition can set their defense. If you get the ball in the hands of one of your guards quickly and he immediately starts up court, the first layer of the press will be broken and the defense will have to retreat. However, some zones are designed for a defender to deny the inbounds pass if an offensive player is funneled to their side of the court. In these cases, it's best to have two players rub off each other and split off different ways, making the defender choose who he'll cover and then passing to the open player. If all else fails, you can have your 5 man - stationed around midcourt - sprint into the backcourt to provide a taller target to get the ball in bounds while your 3 man sprints up one of the sidelines toward the inbounds passer as a last resort.

3. Live in the middle. The best way to beat any press in basketball is always by getting the ball into the middle. Whether it be your best ballhandler dribbling or your tallest player holding the ball over his head, having the ball in the middle of the court frees up many options to advance toward your opponents' basket via a pass or dribble. A good-passing center can render a defense helpless on the press by catching the ball around the free throw line and immediately dumping it off to a guard sprinting past him on either side. In that same position, a good ball handler may be able to take care of the press by himself by dribbling across halfcourt, as he'll have at least one defender behind him and lots of space to escape into on each side, thereby avoiding traps. Which leads us too ...

4. Don't dribble into traps. A good zone press will feature speedy defenders who will try to funnel your ball handlers toward the sidelines. Once your ball handler gets near the sideline, a deeper player in the zone will come up to cut off his path, resulting in a trap and creating a chance for a turnover. While you may have one or two players fast enough to dribble past defenders and avoid traps, make sure the rest of your team knows how to avoid them by slowly advancing the ball up court until the defenders converge and either passing back to the safety valve trailing the play in the middle of the court or to an open player in the frontcourt. Remember: You have 10 seconds to get the ball across halfcourt, so there's no need to rush your first pass or two if the defense doesn't have any apparent gaps.

5. Never leave the ball. Even if the press looks defeated, it's still smart to have your inbounds passer trail the play just in case the ball handler gets in trouble. He can always act as an emergency outlet to relieve pressure if the ball handler is trapped, and he'lll also serve as an emergency defender in case of a turnover. Also, once the ball is in play, keeping an offensive player even with the ball on the opposite side of the floor (usually a guard or small forward) is a good idea. This player gives your team the opportunity to throw diagonally over the defense to break the press. He can also read the defense from behind the action, taking advantage of openings by cutting into space to receive a pass.

6. Don't forget to look deep. Just because the defense is trying to take advantage of you in this situation doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the defense if it gets sloppy or lazy. A good inbounds man may be able to throw the ball over the defense to a forward or guard for an easy basket. Also, a center with good passing skills could catch the inbounds pass around halfcourt, pivot and then throw to a guard or small forward in stride who is attacking the opponents' basket.