7 Rules for One Pass Away Man to Man Defense

1) Jump to Ball if Moving from On the Ball

The first thing I teach and drill is jumping to the ball on the pass.  When a defender is guarding the ball and the ball gets passed, then the defender needs to jump to the ball.  This is a movement to put the defender into the correct guarding position for being one pass away.  The biggest scoring threat in defending one pass away is allowing your offensive player to cut your face to the basket.  Cut your face is referring to the offensive player cutting between the defender and the ball.  No defender should ever allow their man to cut their face.

By jumping to the ball, the defender is in a position to stop the cut and redirect the cut back away from the ball.  When the defense redirects a cutter, the defense is now dictating where the offense can and cannot go.  A good defense is going to force an offense to do things that they do not want to do.  One of those things is not allowing the offensive player to go exactly where they want to go.

If a defender does not jump to the ball, then the offensive player can cut their face and ultimately run a give and go to the basket.  The offensive player can make a pass, cut to the basket, and get a return pass for a layup.  This is an easy score for the offense.  A defense that moves towards the ball on each pass will prevent any give and go scenario by an offense.

2) Defensive Stance

The defensive stance is the same as when guarding on the ball man to man defense except the inside foot is the one closer to the ball.  The outside foot is the one farther away from the ball.  The inside foot should be high meaning closer to the half-court line.  The outside foot is going to be closer to the basket.

This stance helps to speed up closeouts if a pass is made.  The hope is each defender will be able to guard their offensive player without any help.  So, we are guarding with the thought of being quick to the player the defender is guarding and not quicker to a help position. 

This requires the defenders to use their peripheral vision to see both the ball and their man.  This also means the defenders are seeing more of the floor and all other players as well.  The better vision the defense and each defender has, the less likely an offensive player is going to come open on a cut. 

3) Up the Line

The defender needs to be up the line when one pass away in man defense.  The line is the imaginary line between the ball and the offensive player they are guarding.  The defender needs to be up the line when one pass away.  Up the line means the defender is standing on this imaginary line in between their offensive player and the ball.  If their offensive player the defender is guarding is the end of the line, then the defender needs to have moved up the line. 

Now each defender needs to split this imaginary line into 4 different parts.  The defender needs to be one quarter of the way between their man and the ball.  This puts the defender in the correct position between the ball and their man. 

This gives the defender the ability to help on any drive.  It also puts them in a position to be close enough so their man cannot get a clean shot off if they get a pass.  This positioning can help prevent drives because of the space they are taking up.  And it gives them the ability to closeout to their man preventing them from shooting.

4a) On the Line

Once a defender gets up the line then the team defense needs to decide whether to be on the line or off the line.  Each has its own pros and cons. 

Being on the line means the defenders stay on the imaginary line.  This helps to prevent any passes from happening.  This is the more aggressive of the two.  It makes it harder on the offense to pass the ball which means it becomes harder to run the offense.  A defense is more likely to get deflections and steals. 

The offensive counter to this is to attack the defense with the dribble.  Being on the line the defense is going to be farther away from the lane.  This means a longer distance to move when help is needed on the drive.  An offense that uses a dribble drive concept can be harder for this defense to guard.  Each defender is left much more on their own to guard on the ball. 

4b) Off the Line

If a team is off the line that means the defenders are a step or two back towards the basket once they get up the line.  This is the more passive style of guarding one pass away.  The defense is still in the passing lanes but not to the point of full denial.  The offense has easier access to making passes on the outside of the offense.  The offense will not struggle to keep passing the ball on the outside of the 3-point line.

The strength of playing off the line is the ability to help on drives.  The driving lanes are going to be filled with defenders when playing off the line.  As soon as the on the ball defender starts to get beat, the one pass away defender will be in position to help.  The one pass away defender really only has to open their stance up to the ball to help.  When the one pass away defender is in the right position, they should not have to move to help the drive.

The advantage of playing off the line is helping on drives and taking away the inside game of the offense because more players are closer to the basket.  Teams wanting to drive to the basket are going to struggle because of having to beat not just one defender but usually 2 or 3 to get all the way to the basket.  The disadvantage is playing off the line will open up some better outside shooting for the offense. 

On the line defense is going to deny passes and outside shooting but open some better driving lanes.  Off the line defense is going to take away driving lanes and inside scoring for the offense but open up better 3-point shooting chances.

5) Inside Hand Showing: Palm to Ball and Thumb Down

The inside arm and hand should be extended out into the passing lane.  Inside here refers to the arm and hand closer to the ball.  Much like a baseball player has their hands extended away from them when catching a fly ball, a basketball player with an extended arm has a much better chance of getting deflections.  Sometimes the offense will throw the ball directly into the hand when its in the passing lane without the defender having to do anything.

The palm of the hand should be facing the ball.  In order for the palm to be showing towards the ball, the thumb needs to be pointing straight down.  If a defender can get a deflection, the ability to make the touch with the palm increases the chances of controlling the touch for a steal. 

I want the players to be proactive in trying to get a steal instead of reactive.  Players need to be ready for a steal before it happens so there is no wasted time in having to get ready.  The split second for a player to extend their arm and turn their hand could be the difference in a steal or deflection or completed pass. 

6) Use Peripheral Vision

The defenders one pass away need to be using their peripheral vision.  They need to be seeing both the ball and their man.  They are the next person on the defense to help on any drive.  And they need to be aware if their man starts to move within the offense.  If their man moves, then they need to be moving as well. 

They also need to be ready to stop any cuts by their man.  The offensive player one pass away is a normal cutter in most offenses.  The defender needs to see the ball to help on the drive, but also see their man in case they cut to the basket.

One of the biggest differences between jr. high, JV and Varsity basketball players is being able to use their peripheral vision in processing what the offense is doing.  Jr. High players see one thing on defense.  They are watching their man or the ball.  JV players see two things.  They can see both ball and man.  Varsity players see more than two.  They see the ball, their man, potential cutters, and any possible rotations they need to do.  Peripheral vision is what separates bad defensive players from the good to great defenders.

7) Be Ready to Show Help

The one pass away defender is the first player there to help on the drive.  This help needs to be quick and decisive.  A slow rotation in helping the drive can give the dribbler just enough time and space to beat the help and get to the basket.  A slow rotation can also cause the one pass defender to use their arms in helping which can lead to fouls.

A defender showing help needs to use their feet in covering the driving lane and show their chest.  Showing their chest means they are completely in the driving lane and not having to use their arms to help.  I want the defense to guard without fouling and that means playing defense with the body and not the hands and arms.  This means help needs to happen with the feet and chest.

A good defense is quick in their movements.  They anticipate what the offense is going to do and beat the offensive players to the spots on the floor where the offense is going.  One way to be a good defense is to beat the offense to the driving lanes. 

When a defender is one pass away, they need to be ready to react to a dribble drive.  A non-reaction can lead to offensive layups.  If the offense can never drive straight to the basket, then it becomes frustrating for the offense because it is taking an extra pass or two to get a shot.  This can lead to bad decisions and turnovers.

Conclusion

Good man to man defense starts with on the ball defense.  However, when on the ball defense is not working as well as it should, the one pass away defenders can be there to help.  Teams that utilize this next line of defenders well are the teams with good defenses.  One pass away defenders help take away driving lanes.  They are key to making the offense make an extra pass or take an extra dribble to get a shot off.  These extra passes or dribbles can cause the offense to make a bad decision.  Man to man defense is about the 5 defenders guarding the 5 offensive players.  One pass away defenders start to make man defense about being 5 on 5 and not just 1 on 1.