The Basketball Press Break:
Beating the Full Court Press

Every coach needs a basketball press break in their playbook. Defensive presses - especially full court presses - can be intimidating and cause an unprepared team to give up the basketball simply out of confusion, but this basketball play is designed to turn a press into a scoring opportunity.

A few things about breaking a basketball press effectively:

1. The inbounds pass must be quick - no casually stepping out of bounds and tossing the ball in - the faster the better
   
2. Passes move faster than dribbling - if you want to move the ball upcourt fast, passing does the trick. Dribbling often gets you into trouble, dribbling into traps. Passing is almost always better. But they need to be good passes.
   
3. You need to score - if your focus is just getting over half, your opponent will continue to press you. If you score on them, they will take the press off and make life easier on you.
   
   

This press break will help you effectively handle a full court press, and provide you with several opportunities to score.

How this Basketball Press Break Works

Players set up as indicated in the diagram, roughly in position where they would likely be if they were coming off defense - point guard (#1) on the ball side, guard (#2) moving quickly to a space about three quarters the distance to the half court line, small forward (#3) passing the ball in, power forward (#4) at the top of the key, and center (#5) sprinting all the way down court. The forward inbounding the ball (#3) needs to be a good passer, preferably tall enough to see over the defense, but also needs to be able to dribble if needed, as he will be the safety option in this play

#3 quickly passes the ball in to #1 #3 then immediately steps into play and takes up a position on the opposite side of the court, about 10 - 15 feet from #1, so that he can act as a safety pass if needed #1 pivots to look for open men to pass to #1 does not immediately dribble the ball - as is the point guard's tendency. The first thing he does is see if there is a pass available. #2, #4, and #5 all move to the side of the court where the ball is inbounded to

Full Court Basketball Press Break:
Scoring Option #1

• The first scoring opportunity begins with a pass from #1 to #4.
  
  
• Immediately, #2 sprints to the middle, looking for the pass from #4
  
  
• If the pass to #2 from #4 happens, then #2 dribbles upcourt, looking for #5 coming up to the center. #2 passes to #5
  
  
• At the same time, #1 and #3 are filling the lanes as in a fast break, and when #5 receives the pass from #2 he immediately looks to pass to #1 or #3 as they sprint to the basket to score

Full Court Basketball Press Break:
Scoring Option #2

• The second pass option begins with a pass up the sideline to #2 (this assumes #4 is too closely guarded to receive a pass)
  
  
• As soon as this pass is made, #1 sprints to the middle lane, #4 sprints to the far lane, and #3 hangs back, still as a safety
  
  
• The ball is either:
  • passed back to #1 and he leads the break; or
    
    
  • Passed down the sideline to #5, who immediately looks for #1 cutting hard down the middle.
    
    
• Either pass results in #1 taking the ball down for a fast break, looking to pass on the weak side to #4 as he cuts to the basket, or to #5 as he runs in

Full Court Basketball Press Break:
Scoring Option #3

• If none of the previous options appear, the safety pass is to the small forward (#3)
  
  
• Once this pass is made, several things happen at once:
  
  
  • #2 sprints in from the half to the top of the key, looking for the pass
  • #4 sprints to the sideline, filling that lane
    
  • #1 begins running upcourt, filling the final lane
    
  • #5 sprints to the half court circle, taking care not to cross the half court line and definitely not to straddle it
    
    
• If the pass goes to #2 at the top of the key, #2 looks to the center court line to pass to #5. If this pass isn't available, #2 may dribble the ball himself up court
  
  
• #1 and #4 fill the lanes on the fast break
  
  

Full Court Basketball Press Break:
Scoring Option #4

• If #3 passes to #4 on the sideline, #5 immediately sprints to the same sideline, looking for the pass downcourt from #4
  
  
• If #4 passes to #5 down the sideline, #5 immediately looks to #2 racing down the middle
  
  
• #4 may also pass to #2 in the middle, in which case #2 leads the fast break down court
  
  
• Either set of passes means the ball is in the middle, with #2 leading a fast break and #5 and #1 filling the lanes
  
  

The press break can seem a little complex but once your players have practiced it a few times, they'll pick it up. Players have a fairly rigid set of movements to follow, which will help some players. Others may feel constrained or confused, but it is important to note two things:

• To be effective, the basketball press break must be controlled, not frantic
  
  
• Any zone press requires a double team somewhere - which means someone should be open. Find that hole and take advantage of it.
  
  

And remember to focus on scoring - you must score if you want the defense to let up - you must punish them for putting this press on you, and force them to take it off. If you don't score on them, they will press you all night, which will be exhausting for you. Use this basketball press break to make them pay for making you work.