“Uncomfortable teams shoot a low percentage.”
One of the standout sessions from our first annual “SG SoCal Coaches Summit” was led by UCLA Associate Head Coach, Darren Savino, who presented on UCLA’s concepts and drills designed to teach defensive pressure. Coach Savino has been at UCLA Head Coach, Mick Cronin’s, side from Murray State, to Cincinnati, and now UCLA and the duo have consistently built some of the top defensive teams in the nation, applying pressure across the entire court. With a strong focus on ball and lane pressure, Coach Savino explains the techniques, drills, and philosophies UCLA believes in to build their defensive identity.
Coach Savino took to the court at the Coaches Summit to demonstrate how UCLA builds their defensive identity from warm-ups to Scramble Drills. Here are a few key takeaways from today’s clinic…
Gap Integrity & Blind Drives
Being one pass away, Coach Savino illustrates UCLA’s preference for players to have a strong presence in the pass lane, adopting an open stance to the ball with their outside foot and hand held high in the lane.
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Zooming In: A large component of their gap pressure relies on the defender’s ability to read the drive. As shown above, if the ballhandler maintains vision on the court, the defender in the lane will bluff and recover back to their matchup. The initial pass line help should be in line with their assignment, ensuring that upon recovery, they remain in the passing lane. However, if the ballhandler is attacking blind, the defender in the lane will be empowered to attack the dribble…
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Zooming In: As Coach Savino discusses, a key element of UCLA’s ability to strip the ball is their technique of using two hands for the steal. A two-hand strip is less likely to be called a foul compared to a one-hand swipe.
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In UCLA’s ongoing pursuit to keep their opponents uncomfortable and off balance, they use these build-up drills not only to develop technique, but also to reinforce game scenarios where the defense must take calculated risks to attack the ball. Often, these scenarios are non-negotiables; if a ballhandler is driving blindly into an occupied gap, the defender is expected to go.
Steal the Spin
“Steal the Spin” is a defensive strategy we have highlighted in the past, that involves an aggressive help rotation down from the top to attack a blind ballhandler attacking baseline.
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Similarly in UCLA’s defense, when a ballhandler attacks blindly to the baseline and is cut off by the on-ball defender, a teammate should be waiting on the spin to strip the ball with two hands.
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The root of UCLA’s ability to take these calculated risks lies in their capacity to pressure and hawk the ball. When ballhandlers are forced to play sped up, they often struggle to read open space or change pace effectively to exploit the defensive help.
Of course, these calculated risks don’t always result in direct steals, sometimes ballhandlers manage to maintain their composure. In these instances, when the offense has identified the help down, it’s crucial for the defense to have initially helped through the passing lane of their matchup to remain a deterrent against any passes out. Ideally, putting their hands up for a tip, but more often, they will be buying time for the defense to scramble after the pass.
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It is at this point in the clinic that Coach Savino details a few of their favorite scramble drills. If UCLA wants to be aggressive and apply pressure all over the court, their defense must be trained to be comfortable in handling disadvantaged situations.
Hard Blitzing
To close the clinic, Coach Savino discusses the details of UCLA’s PNR coverages, switching and hard blitzing. Coach Savino shares insights into how UCLA bounces out mismatches after the switch, along with their technique to plug the pocket pass with the guard defender while the big steps out on the ballhandler.
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This is a similar strategy to one we have highlighted in the past, when we detailed new Memphis Grizzlies Assistant Coach, Tuomas Iisalo’s, “Hedge and Plug” Defense…
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For anyone who has enjoyed watching Mick Cronin’s tough, stifling defense over the past years, this week’s clinic with Coach Savino provides of variety of terrific teaching points that provide some of the key building blocks of their elite defense.
To watch Coach Darren Savino’s presentation on UCLA’s defensive philosophy and his insights on applying pressure before stepping on the court, visit SGTV…
