What is a 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 a 2-2-1 Box Press?
A 2-2-1 Box Press is a 3/4 Press with two players starting on the elbows, two starting at half-court and 1 playing back. The four players up front in the press form a box so it is called a 2-2-1 Box Press.
The front two players are trying to force the ball to sideline in order to get a trap on the sideline. The ballside players are working together to try and get the trap. The backside players are rotating back to either the middle of the court or as the rim protector.
The 2-2-1 Box Press can either be an aggressive press that is really working to get traps and steals. It can also be a press that is more passive that is trying to slow down the offense and not give up quick shots. The ability of the 2-2-1 Box Press to be both aggressive and passive gives it an advantage over other presses.
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 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 is not as good as it could be. These two wing players are the key to the 1-3-1 press. The wings have to be long, athletic, and smart or the press is not going to work.
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 forward pass before the trap is there. This is going to be the fastest player on the team.
The middle player can be anybody really. They are not involved with any trapping or rotating. They are in the middle to prevent any pass from coming into the middle of the floor. This can be a bigger, slower player. They just can not let a pass come into the middle of the press.
Best Team Personnel for a 2-2-1 Box Press
In my opinion the middle two defenders are the most important players for a 2-2-1 Box Press. These two players must be smart and able to anticipate. They are going to determine when and where the trap is going to take place. They can not just rush into the trap but wait until just the right moment of when to trap. This timing is key which is why I am always wanting smart players in these two spots.
The front two players must be able to guard the ball well. They are going to force the ball up the sideline. They cannot let the ball be dribbled around them back to the middle of the court. Their job is to get the offensive player worried about them, so they do not see the trap coming from the middle player. They do not have to read the play at all. They just need to put as much pressure on the ball handler as they can while forcing them up the sideline.
The back player is also going to be involved in the press. Some presses have positions where a player can be hidden within the press. The 2-2-1 Box Press uses all 5 players in the execution of the press. The back player is staying in a vertical line with the ball and does not allow a sideline pass when the middle player rushes the ball for the trap. The back player must be fast enough to get to the sideline pass on the trap.
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 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, then it could lead to turnovers.
When to Use the 2-2-1 Box Press?
The 2-2-1 Box Press can be used in two different ways. It can be aggressive and trying to get steals. Or it can be passive in just trying to slow an opponent down to prevent transition opportunities.
The 2-2-1 Box Press can be used when behind to try and speed the game and work to get steals. The middle players in the Box Press will be aggressive in trapping to give the defense chances to get steals and easy baskets. It gives the defense the ability to guard the offense 3/4 court away from the basket giving the players more time to get steals. This can help the defense get back into a game.
The 2-2-1 Box Press can also be a more passive press where the defense is not necessarily trying to trap the ball. It shows like it is going to be up and trapping but the middle players are never going to rush the ball to trap. They are going to retreat back into the half-court as the ball moves up the floor. This type of pressing forces the offense to slow down and not rush into a trap. Against a team that likes to score in transition, this can force them to slow down and play a more half-court game.
Advantages of the 1-3-1 Press over the 2-2-1 Box Press
1) The middle of the floor is covered
The 1-3-1 Press has the middle defender of the 1-3-1 setup stay in the middle of the floor. They do not leave. This middle defender keeps the offense from being able to throw a pass into the middle of the zone press. One of the easiest ways to beat a zone press is to get the ball into the middle of the court. The 1-3-1 Press by keeping a player in the middle of the floor does not give the offense the ability to use the middle of the court.
The 2-2-1 Box Press in its box setup leaves the middle of the court open and relies on players to rotate into the middle of the press to prevent the middle pass. If an offense can get the 2-2-1 Box Press to rotate, then it can pass the ball into the middle of the court while the defenders are in the middle of their rotations. Once the ball is in the middle of the 2-2-1 Box Press, the offense will be able to turn to the basket and attack with the dribble.
The 1-3-1 Press prevents the middle pass from happening by keeping a player always there. The weakness of the 2-2-1 Box Press is the middle whereas the strength of the 1-3-1 Press is the middle because it keeps the middle defender there which makes the offense have to attack the sideline.
2) Easier transition from Press Defense to Half-Court Defense
One problem of any press is the transition from full-court defense to half-court defense. This transition period can have defenders moving from the press setup to the half-court defense setup. This is a time where offensive players can get lost by the defense leading to open shots. A good press defense has to be good in the transition back to half-court defense.
The 1-3-1 press has an easy transition because the press can fall straight back into a 1-3-1 half-court zone defense. The defenders are going to be in the same spots so there is no need for any defenders to be crossing or leaving their zones. It is very easy for the 1-3-1 because all that changes is the amount of space each defender’s zone has. The chance the offense gets an easy shot in the transition should be minimal.
The 2-2-1 Box Press has a harder time because the 2-2-1 half-court defense is not something seen very often. So, the defense is going to move from the 2-2-1 Box Press to any number of defenses. This could be man to man defense or a 2-3 zone defense or even a 1-3-1 zone defense. No matter what half-court defense is being used the players are going to have to leave the 2-2-1 setup in the press to a different setup in the half-court. As the defenders are moving into the new setup, certain areas could be left wide open as the defenders are trying to get to their new spots. This is the spot where an offense can take advantage of the pressing defense.
3) It is more aggressive in getting traps
The 1-3-1 Press can trap anytime the ball is on the sideline. The positioning of the players always give the defense the ability to trap. The defenders are in positions where two players are able to converge on the ball when the ball is on the sideline. This gives the press the ability to trap on one sideline and then rotate and converge for another trap if the ball is reversed to the other sideline. The middle defender helps to give the press this ability because the middle pass is not available to the offense.
The 2-2-1 Box Press is able to trap on the initial sideline but will struggle to get a 2nd trap if the ball is reversed. The 2-2-1 Box Press can get the 2nd trap but it is much harder because of the passing lines made available to the offense with the rotation of the defense. A 2nd trap is also going to make the transition back to half-court defense even harder for the 2-2-1 Box Press. All of this makes the 2-2-1 Box Press a one trap and retreat press.
The ability for the 1-3-1 Press to get multiple traps in the same possession makes it a much more aggressive press. The aggressiveness of the press gives the defense more chances for steals.
Advantages of the 2-2-1 Box Press over the 1-3-1 Press
1) More Versatile
The 2-2-1 Box Press can be both passive and aggressive. This versatile allows the Box Press to be used for multiple options during the same game. The Box Press can be an attacking defense trying to get steals one possession and then a press to slow the offense down the next possession. This gives the 2-2-1 Box Press good reasons to use it during the course of any game.
The 1-3-1 Press is not as versatile because it is a press trying to constantly trap the ball. The press is designed to converge on the ball with two players whenever the ball is on the sideline. The 2-2-1 Box Press can be used when the defense is both ahead and behind in a game. The 1-3-1 Press is mainly going to be used to either extend the lead or come back when behind. The 1-3-1 Press is not a good press if the defense is looking to maintain the lead without taking chances to grow the lead.
2) It does not require certain types of players
The 2-2-1 Box Press can be used by every team. The team can be tall or short or fast or slow. The Box Press can work with any team so long as all 5 players can do their job. There is not a position on the press that needs a certain type of player for the press to work. This gives the 2-2-1 Box Press the ability to be used year after year no matter the team personnel. A team that uses the Box Press in Jr. High will know how to run the press in high school regardless of how all the players mature physically. This is a nice thing for program continuity.
The 1-3-1 Press on the other hand needs a long athletic player up front and a quick guard in the back. Short teams are not going to be successful running the 1-3-1 Press. Opponents will be able to pass over the traps because of the lack of height of the defense. The back player in the 1-3-1 Press and 1-3-1 zone needs to be fast because they are covering sideline to sideline. Without this player in the back, the 1-3-1 Press is going to struggle preventing the sideline pass.
3) It can trap in different ways
The 2-2-1 Box Press has a couple varieties in how to trap within the press. The first type of trapping is using the front and middle players on the same sideline to trap. This version is the most used. The front forces the ball to the sideline and the middle player comes down to complete the trap.
The second variation is trapping with just the front two players. The backside front player waits until the offensive player starts to dribble up the sideline and then comes from the back to trap. This requires the on the ball defender to time it just right to cut off the sideline dribble. It is much harder but can be even more effective in getting steals.
The ability to change how to trap within the same press makes it hard for the offense to prepare to play against the defense. As soon as the offense starts to get comfortable, the defense can change and put the offense off-balance again. This is something the 2-2-1 Box Press can do.
The 1-3-1 Press is what it is. It cannot make major changes to the press because it would lose its shape as the 1-3-1 defense. Once an opponent starts to figure out how to beat the 1-3-1 Press, then the defense will most likely need to change out of the 1-3-1 Press.
Which is Better? The 1-3-1 Press or the 2-2-1 Box Press
I have used and continue to use both the 1-3-1 Press and the 2-2-1 Box Press in my coaching career. Some teams the 1-3-1 Press was the better press out of the two and some teams the 2-2-1 Box Press was the better option. It all depending on the players of the team. The 1-3-1 Press is better when a team has long athletic guards. When teams do not have length at the guard position, then the 2-2-1 Box Press was the better choice.
Which press is better? I think it is a draw. Both presses have their strengths and weaknesses. Both presses can be used with the right team. Depending on the team each year, will depend on which press is better for that season. The players will dictate which press is the better each and every season. For this reason, I cannot say one press is better than the other.