What is the 1-3-1 Press?
A 1-3-1 Press is an extension of the 1-3-1 half-court zone defense. The 1-3-1 press extends the defense usually out to 3/4 of the court. Since it is an extension, the defense is able to press and then drop straight back into a 1-3-1 half court defense. The defensive responsibilities of the half-court defense are basically the same as the 1-3-1 press. This helps players because they are doing the same things but just covering more of the floor.
The 1-3-1 Press tries to get the ball to the sideline to trap with the point and wing right after the ball crosses the half-court line. The 1-3-1 Press is looking to trap in the two corners by the half-court line where the offense is at the biggest disadvantage. The press also keeps a player in the middle of the court to prevent any middle passes from being made.
It is an aggressive press by having 4 players up past half-court to start the press. This leaves long over the top passes and diagonal passes as the hardest passes to defend. When using the 1-3-1 press, the defense is looking to get deflections and steals. It is a good press to use when behind and needing to get back into the game.
What is the Run and Jump Press?
A Man Run and Jump Press is a press where the defense is playing man to man defense but is looking to have one defender leave their offensive player in order to trap the ball. As the closest defender not guarding the ball leaves to trap the ball, the next 3 defenders will all rotate up towards the ball to try and steal any pass coming out of the trap.
The Man Run and Jump Press has to have all 5 defenders working together and in unison. As the trap defender rushes the ball, the other 3 defenders must move together to help cover any potential passes. All 5 defenders must be focused and attentive on what is happening and who is moving. Any defender not moving together with the other 4 defenders will give openings to the offense.
Since the defense is starting out in a man to man defense, the rotations and positions of each defender are going to change on each possession. This can make it hard for teams to run because there is a chance a slower post player will be the player guarding the ball. The post player may also be in the position of deciding when to leave to trap the ball.
The Man Run and Jump Press can be aggressive and trap as soon as the ball comes into play. Or it can have certain rules on when the 2nd defender is to leave their offensive player. The rules can change giving the press the ability to change its style making it hard for offenses to get comfortable in breaking the press.
Best Team Personnel for a 1-3-1 Press
The team personnel for a 1-3-1 Press is the same personnel as the 1-3-1 half court zone defense. The keys to the press and half-court defense to work are the same for the 1-3-1 zone. That is why a team that runs a 1-3-1 half-court zone would be wise to have the 1-3-1 press as their first press installed.
The front player in the press needs to be going 1000 miles per hour. They can never stop. This player is going to get tired. They are chasing the ball sideline to sideline. They are trying to keep it from reversing as much as possible. The taller the front player is, the better. But they need to be moving and chasing at all times. The key is they have to be in the right spot for the trap when the wing comes up. That is the biggest job of the front player.
The wings need to be long and athletic. Short wings are going to allow teams to throw over the trap. They also need to be smart. They are the players initiating the trap. They have to rush at the right time or the press will not work. These two wing players are the key to the 1-3-1 press. The wings have to be long, athletic, and smart.
The back player needs to be fast and anticipate well. The back player has to get to every over the top or diagonal pass. The 1-3-1 press is aggressive meaning the long passes could be open. The fast back player is the key to preventing those long passes over the top. They also need to anticipate the wings rushing the ball for the trap. They need to move with the wings to prevent the sideline pass before the trap is there. This is going to be the fastest player on the team.
Best Team Personnel for a Man Run and Jump Press
The best team personnel for a Man Run and Jump Press is a quicker team full of guards. The initial trap is going to have a defender needing to cover a lot of court quickly so bigger, slower post players do not work well in this type of press. The players need to be quicker and faster because the defense is going to be running and rotating a lot.
Teams that are all guards can switch easily so the run and jump style gives them an advantage. The Man Run and Jump Press is going to have defenders switching on a regular basis. Teams who are all guards can keep switching without worrying about certain defenders getting stuck guarding certain offensive players. The defenders will be able to play free and quick no matter how the rotations and switches end up affecting the defense.
The other personnel great for a Man Run and Jump Press is having one defender who is a lock down on the ball defender. When a defender is able to pressure the ball well enough, the offensive player will be so focused on the defender that they will not see the 2nd defender coming in for a trap. A great on the ball defender gives the defense more of an ability to get really good traps set in the open floor.
When to Use the 1-3-1 Press?
The 1-3-1 Press is best used to extend the 1-3-1 half court zone to be more aggressive on defense. This will force the offense to play against the 1-3-1 defense for a longer period of time. This increased time gives the defense more time to get deflections and steals. It is going to help to speed up the offense as well. Offenses that start playing faster than they want too are more likely to turn the ball over.
The 1-3-1 Press is trying to get steals. It is going to be best used to come back when a team is behind and needing extra baskets to get back into the game. It is going to speed up the offense which should lead to more shots taken and more points scored. So, the 1-3-1 Press can help to give the defense more chances at scoring the points necessary to make a comeback.
The 1-3-1 Press can also be used against a team with either short guards or poor ball handling players. The 1-3-1 Press makes passing hard for the offense so short guards will have trouble seeing through the press to know where and when to make a pass. The aggressiveness of the press is also going to cause problems for teams with poor ball handling. The 1-3-1 press makes the guards have to do a little more with the ball and if the opponents are unable to do the extra ball handling, then it could lead to turnovers.
When to Use the Man Run and Jump Press?
The Man Run and Jump Press is best used if a defense has a lockdown on the ball defender. A good on the ball defender is going to make the offensive dribbler worried with just their defensive pressure. When other defenders are able to leave their player and go trap the ball, the offense is really going to struggle.
The Man Run and Jump Press is also a good press with a half-court man to man defensive team. This gives the defense the ability to extend and press without losing their man-to-man principals. The defense guards’ man to man but keeps one eye on the ball looking for an opening to leave and trap the ball.
The Man Run and Jump Press also gives the defense a press that makes the transition from full court press back to half court man defense as easy as possible. A zone press can struggle transitioning from zone back into man defense when the offense breaks the press. A man press like the run and jump never has the defense in a zone setup so the defense is guarding an offensive player at all times.
Advantages of a 1-3-1 Press Over a Man Run and Jump Press
1) Set Rotations
The 1-3-1 Press is designed to corral the ball to one side and trap it normally right after it crosses the half-court line. As the ball moves up the floor, each defender knows exactly their role, where they should be, and what they should be doing. Each defended has to do their part in order for the press to be successful.
Every defender has set rotations. They have certain areas they are going to be in and there is no confusion or overlap where two defenders are going to be crossing on the court. The spacing of each defender is built into the press and the rotations of the defense keep the spacing so no two defenders are going to be in the same area unless they are trapping the ball. Each rotation is known and has a purpose. When the rotations go away, the press breaks down.
The Man Run and Jump Press has no set rotations. Each defender could have to rotate up or back in every possession. The rotations of the press depend on the location of the ball in relation to the position of the offensive player they are guarding. Every possession can have their offensive player in a different spot in relation to where the ball is at. This changes the defender’s rotations on every possession.
One possession could have a defender as the one pass away defender and they are the player to rotate up to trap the ball. The next possession they could be opposite the ball and they have to rotate back to the basket as the one pass away defender rotates up to trap.
The rotations of the Man Run and Jump Press are also not set in stone as to when they happen. The defense is reading the dribbler and rushing to trap at the moment the offensive player is not looking at the rushing defender. This could be early or late in the possession. This could be 90 feet from the basket or after the ball crosses half-court. The Man Run and Jump Press reacts to the offense so no two possessions are ever the same.
2) Clear Roles
The 1-3-1 Press is great in its clear and concise roles for every player. The front defender is forcing sideline and trapping. The middle defender is preventing any middle pass. The back defender is following the ball and preventing any sideline pass. The wing defenders are either trapping or dropping back to rim protect. Every role knows exactly what to do.
The clear roles help players understand not only what they are doing but what the defense is trying to accomplish against the offense. Every defender knows where each teammate is at. The 1-3-1 Press is a good press because it is simple to execute but it can cause offenses a lot of problems. Each role is known so when players have to switch spots in the press, they should be able to learn the new role quickly. This gives a defense a chance to keep pressing even when the personnel get switched around.
The Man Run and Jump Press is the opposite. The 1-3-1 Press has clear roles. The Man Run and Jump breeds chaos. There are no roles. There are very few rules. If a defender thinks they can rush and get a trap, then they have the freedom to go. It does not matter if it is the point guard or the center. If they see a chance to rush and trap, then go.
Once a defender rushes the ball, everybody else on defense has to adjust. Each player moves into a spot where they are the next available defender should the ball come that way. But then one defender still has to go back to rim protect while everybody else goes forward. These rules are followed not by the role of any player but by the position of each defender to the ball.
The Man Run and Jump Press wants chaos. By having no roles, the offense can never know what is going to happen because the defense is never sure about what is going to happen. And when it works, it can bury an opponent quickly. No roles gives each defender their freedom and this freedom is what makes the Man Run and Jump Press dangerous for opposing teams.
3) Easy Transition from Press to Zone
The 1-3-1 Press is setup in a way where the defenders are pressing and as the offense moves the ball down the court, the defense just drops back closer to the basket. This makes the transition from the 1-3-1 Press back into the 1-3-1 Zone very easy. Each defender will stay in their spot with the same rules but will now be back in a half-court defense.
Offenses can take advantages of the transition from full court press to half court defense when defenders are having to leave their spot in the press to get to their spot in the half court defense. The 1-3-1 Press does not give the offense this chance because the defenders are in the half-court defense but are extending up into a full court press.
This lack of transition from the 1-3-1 Press keeps the defense in good defending spots at all times and does not allow the offense the time or space to score easily because they are never leaving their area. They are keeping their defensive positions and responsibilities the entire time even through the transition.
The Man Run and Jump Press has a terrible transition from full court to half court. The Man Run and Jump Press wants chaos. But with that chaos, the defense can struggle in the half-court if the press does not work. This is for a couple of reasons.
The 1st reason is the rush trap. When a defense rushes the ball and rotates behind, most defenders are now matched up against a new offensive player. This makes the Man Run and Jump Press effective as a press but can be problematic as a half-court defense. If the offense breaks the press, the defense now has different matchups then their initial matchups. These new matchups are normally an advantage to the offense.
The 2nd reason stems from the 1st. When the defense rushes and traps and rotations, each defender is going to guard whoever they are closest too if the offense is able to beat the trap and the press. This could mean the point guard has to guard a center or the center has to defend an offensive guard.
The defense in the transition needs to get 1 defender to 1 offensive player. Then the defense needs to start switching in the half-court to try and get better matchups for that possession. These switches leave time and space open for the offense to attack. It can also have one defender switching and another not because there was a communication breakdown. All of this makes the transition from press to half-court difficult for the Man Run and Jump Press.
Advantages of a Man Run and Jump Press Over a 1-3-1 Press
1) Surprise Traps
The Man Run and Jump Press is built on chaos. The press wants constant pressure on the ball. Then another defender will rush the ball and trap. The rush is not pre-determined. The rush defender is watching the ball handler and waiting for them to be looking away before they rush.
The rush is happening when the ball handler is not looking at the defender. This means that the trap can come from either direction and at any point on the court. And since the ball handler is not seeing the rush defender, they are surprised when the trap occurs. The trapping occurs naturally so any defender could be the on the ball defender and the rush defender.
The defense uses the position of the offensive players to determine who is guarding the ball and who is rushing. The way the offensive player is looking will determine which direction the trap is coming from. All of this produces surprise traps for the offense. They are trapped before they even realize they are in trouble. This leads to rushed play and turnovers. In a word: Chaos.
The 1-3-1 Press is the complete opposite of what the Man Run and Jump Press is doing. The 1-3-1 Press is very set with its defensive positions and rotations and traps. The offense knows where the trap is going to occur and has to work to keep the ball out of these areas. When the offense can stay out of the trap areas, then they will not get trapped. They are only going to get trapped when they put the ball into the trap areas of the 1-3-1 Press.
2) Freedom of Play
The advantage of the Man Run and Jump Press is the freedom it gives the players. They are not restricted with being in certain spots and having pre-determined rotations. The defenders are able to read and react to the offense. This can give the players the ability to just go play without having to think as much. This can allow the defenders to play fast.
Outside of a few different rules, the Man Run and Jump Press is unstructured. There are rules for when to rush to trap. There are rules for rotating behind the rush trap to take away the next available passes. After that it is pretty much go play basketball. Some defenders can struggle with playing in a system. They are having to think too much and the game is too fast for players to constantly have to be thinking about what to do next.
These same defenders could be much better when they do not have to think as much and are able to just be basketball players. The Man Run and Jump Press can be great for teams with players that just need to go play. The unstructured Man Run and Jump Press can allow these players to just be athletes and play the game. Sometimes the best thing a coach can do is take a step back and let the players just play. The Man Run and Jump Press is a great press when this needs to happen.
The 1-3-1 Press is the structured press that some players can struggle to play within. Each defender has a clear set of directions and rules they must follow. Anytime one of the directions is not followed then the entire press can struggle. Each defender has a job to do and must do that job at exactly the right time and in the right spot. Precision is a must have with the 1-3-1 Press.
The 1-3-1 Press can have the player at the top of the press be given more freedom but the other 4 defenders must be precise in their actions. The top defender of the 1-3-1 Press can chase the ball or play a more passive role in trying to play the passing lanes. They can pick and choose how to play that spot. But they also must be on the ball when it enters the trapping zone. So, even with some freedom the top defender still must be exact when it comes to trapping.
3) Better Initial Matchups
One of the main differences in a man versus a zone is the matchups being created. In a Man Defense, the defense gets to pick who will be guarding each offensive player. This should give the defense an advantage. Against a zone defense, the offense can put each offensive player in a spot to get favorable matchups to gain an advantage.
A Man Run and Jump Press is starting out as a full court Man to Man Defense. The defense will get to decide who is guarding each offensive player. This gives the defense the ability to match up their best defensive player against the best offensive player and so on. So, the offense should not have a situation where one player can just dribble through the press because the defenders are not able to stop them.
The Man Run and Jump Press can be strategic in their initial matchups. If the defense can create 3 or more favorable matchups where the defensive player can really affect the offensive player, then the defense can plan for their unfavorable matchups.
For instance, if there are 3 matchups where the defender is able to guard the offensive player 1v1, then the rush is going to come late. What I mean by that is the other defenders are going to give the lone defender time to get a steal without a trap coming. If the trap is not happening then the defense can still rush the trap later in the possession.
However, on the 2 non-favorable matchups, the defense is going to rush immediately. As soon as the offense gets a favorable matchup for them, the next defender is rushing to get the ball out of the favorable matchup for the offense. This type of game planning helps the defense and hurts the offense. The offense is never in a good spot because as soon as they get a good matchup, the defense is rushing to get the ball somewhere else. All of this is based upon the initial guarding assignments.
The 1-3-1 Press has the front defender and the two wings locked in their spots. The offense can put certain players on a side knowing they are going up against a certain defender. In doing this, the offense hopes the offensive player might be able to just dribble around a defender thus preventing the defense from being able to stop the ball long enough to trap.
The 1-3-1 Press also limits their best on the ball defender to a certain area. When the ball is out of their area, they are waiting for the ball to come to them to do what they do best. The offense can negate a good on the ball defender by keeping the ball on the other side of the floor away from them. By having set positions, the offense can plan ahead for the 1-3-1 Press to give them the best chance of breaking the press every possession.
Which is Better? A 1-3-1 Press or a Man Run and Jump Press
Both are good presses which I have used frequently. The biggest reason I see in preferring one press over the other is how much chaos can you handle as a coach? A coach who wants chaos and free flowing play will prefer the Man Run and Jump Press. A coach who wants more structure and more of a half-court game will prefer the 1-3-1 Press.
But which press is better? I would say the Man Run and Jump Press is the better press. It can be far more effective in creating turnovers and winning games. But the Man Run and Jump Press can be hard to coach at times because it will cause chaos. The players are going to be rushing to trap and rotating behind. Matchups are going to change frequently. The players will at times be chasing the offense.
If you can handle giving up some layups as a coach because of under or over rotations and allow the good times and bad times to play out, then the Man Run and Jump Press can be very effective. But if, as a coach, the players can not play with so much freedom, then the 1-3-1 Press will be better. At times the Man Run and Jump Press can be problematic because the defense is just chasing and the offense is able to play one pass ahead of the defense. As long as this is not happening then the Man Run and Jump Press is better.
However, the 1-3-1 Press is still a good press but the unpredictability of the Man Run and Jump Press pushes it as the better press. The 1-3-1 Press is going to have more structure and require better execution by both the offense and defense. Against a team that is not disciplined the 1-3-1 Press can be really good. But this same structure making it good against an undisciplined team can cause issues when an opponent understands how to attack the 1-3-1 Press structure.