1-3-1 press offense and defense

Recently, coaches have been asking for ideas on 1-3-1 and 1-2-2 halfcourt traps more and more often. The questions seem to be split on either side of the ball; about half of the questions have been about running the defense and the other half have been focused on attacking it. Coach Mike asked for an illustration of the rotations in a halfcourt 1-3-1. Coach Erik asked about running a 1-3-1 vs. running a 1-2-2.

*Standard Disclaimer* If you coach pre-high school kids, TEACH them man to man. I’m not saying you should only run man to man.

But if you don’t break down the defensive fundamentals – i.e. containing the dribble, closing out, providing early help-and-recover, ball-you-man positioning – bumping cutters – your players wont be ready for the transition to high school. The 1-3-1 halfcourt press tends to become a second or, more commonly, a third defense at the high school level.

	Here is a basic 1-3-1 alignment When teams trap out of the 1-3-1, they will trap the wings (x1 and x2 or x1 and x3) and the corners The baseline player is usually responsible for covering both corners, and traps with the wings (X2 and X3).
	Offensively, how you space your players against the trap and whether or not you follow basic zone principles is usually a stronger indicator of offensive success than the specific play that you run. Against an odd-front zone like a 1-3-1- of 1-2-2, an alignment like this – with shooters in either corner, guards on either wing, and the big man in the middle – is a very common and effective alignment due to its spacing and the fact that it places personnel in the gaps. On the pass to the corner the defense wants to try to force lob passes – (indicated in 1′s pass to 4) – lobs are easy to steal, provide the defense extra recovery time, and tend to disrupt offensive rhythm. On the pass to the corner, 5 and X5 are both trying to win the race to the ballside low post. One key goal of playing against a 1-3-1 like this is that you want to catch the defense in a slow rotation. X5 failing to cover the low post would be one example.
	The pass out from the corner to the wing is a pass that provides defensive steal opportunities. The defender should read the passer’s shoulders here. The shoulders are almost always going to point in the direction that the pass goes. As a passer, it’s much easier to be deceptive with the eyes than with the shoulders. With a good trap in the corner the point defender can read the corner passer’s shoulders and slide out to the wing to cover the return pass for a steal.
	Probably the best easy basket opportunity is the weak-side wing cutting into the free-throw area as the pass is received in the corner. 4 should be able to catch the pass from 1 and immediately hit 2 on the cut. Some teams prefer to have the opposite corner player (3 in this case) make the cut to the free-throw line area against a 1-3-1 trap. I prefer to have the weak-side guard (2) step in because 2 can catch the ball in a position to shoot without having to make any footwork adjustments. If 3 cuts to the free throw line area he has to turn and face before shooting, which is a much slower process than simply catching and shooting.
	An important man-to-man principle that can be applied in any zone is shown being applied by x3 here. Weakside defenders should have their “head on a swivel”, surveying the floor for weakside cutters. We want to bump any weakside cutters. x3′s job is not just to stand on the weakside staring at the ball. X3 should be aware of what’s going on on the weakside of the floor and be ready to bump any cutters trying to come to the strongside.
	One of the great strengths of the 1-3-1 is that it affords simple, effective trap opportunities. One of the weaknesses of the zone is that the baseline player has an enormous area to cover. Against inpatient teams this usually isn’t a problem since the shot will go up before a ball reversal occurs. Against patient teams, though, the baseline defender could get quickly worn down.
	On the pass from the corner to the wing, 1 and 2 return to the wing trap. As stated earlier, it can be effective to choose to trap only in the corners – or to trap selectively on the wings – if you run this zone defense extensively.
	As the ball is reversed to 2, x1 and x3 trap, x2 covers the weakside, and X5 makes sure to cover the high post. Note-patient teams will pass back and forth between 1 and 2, effectively wearing one x1 out in the same way that ball reversal can wear out x4.
	For teams that run a 1-2-2 trap, corner coverage becomes easier with two defenders, but middle coverage can become less clear.

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