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Library of Schemes
Choose an offense, defense, press or inbounds play. Learn the movements, teaching points and drills for your team’s level.
Search by name, abbreviation or player action. Related actions are labeled; team calls can differ.
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1-3-1 half-court defense
A top defender, three-player middle layer and baseline defender form the half-court 1-3-1. Scariolo varies pressure decisions with the offensive front rather than trapping every catch.
View breakdown →2-1-2 zone defense
One published 2-1-2 version starts the center near the free-throw line, between two guards farther out and two defenders nearer the basket. Some programs instead use 2-1-2 and 2-3 interchangeably.
View breakdown →2-3 zone defense
Video availableTwo defenders farther from the basket and three nearer it combine paint protection with pressure on the ball. In Gels' version, guards normally cover wing receivers; the two outside defenders near the basket cover corner receivers.
View breakdown →3-2 zone defense
Three front defenders and two defenders nearer the basket form a 3-2 zone. In the documented example, the middle front defender stays closer to the high post—the area around the free-throw line—than the front defender in an extended 1-2-2 zone.
View breakdown →Amoeba defense
Video availableA changing pressure defense combining a ball defender with area coverage. This introduction follows the public Tarkanian-style one-guard-front account, not every Amoeba or McCarthy Mayhem rule.
View breakdown →Box-and-one defense
Four defenders guard areas in a box: two farther from the basket and two nearer it. The fifth defender follows one selected scorer.
View breakdown →Defending screens away from the ball
Choose the coverage for the screen and the players involved. France's 2022 women's examples vary by screen type; Lithuania's 2023 men's report describes showing and recovering against down screens.
View breakdown →Drop coverage
In drop coverage, the screener's defender stays nearer the basket than the screen to contain the ball handler and the screener cutting toward the basket. The original ball defender works back into position to guard the ball.
View breakdown →Hard hedge coverage
A hard hedge sends the screener's defender into the ball handler's route to give the original ball defender time to get around the screen and return. Ford's version connects an early screen call, the guard moving close around the screen, and a recovery call from the post defender on the opposite side.
View breakdown →Merrimack / Joe Gallo pressure zone
Video availableGallo's aggressive 2-3 emphasizes disrupting catches and forcing difficult two-point shots. Guards move toward the basket against drives, position between the ball and receivers near the free-throw line, and take over perimeter receivers from forwards so those forwards can return toward the basket. The center has a separate job containing catches near the free-throw line.
View breakdown →No-help: clarify the containment policy
No-help is not a verified universal never-help system. Sicko distinguishes when teammates stay with their own attackers, briefly step toward a driver and return, or leave their assignment to stop a drive after the ball defender is beaten.
View breakdown →No-middle man defense
Jackson's no-middle framework uses ball pressure and defensive positioning to prevent drives through the middle. Teammates help and change assignments together; each defender is not expected to stop every drive alone.
View breakdown →Pack-line defense
Boone's pack-line framework pressures the ball while the other defenders take supporting positions between attackers, inside a reference arc. When a pass travels to their attacker, they move outward to guard the catch.
View breakdown →Point zone defense
Dean Smith's public clinic describes ball pressure supported by four zone defenders. The appearance can change with the offense; it is not defined solely by a starting 1-3-1 or two-guard front.
View breakdown →Switching man defense
On a switch, two defenders trade the players they guard. Before practice, decide which screens to switch, which matchups to keep and what players call out.
View breakdown →Triangle-and-two defense
Two defenders each follow a selected scorer. The other three guard areas in a triangle. Gels starts one farther from the basket and two nearer it; against two guards at the top, he may turn the triangle around.
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