Blitz Pressure Question for Shocked 4 Life + Other Ballers

[Ricky Del Rio]

In the last game, WSU applied blitz/smother pressure in the back court.

P.J. was assigned to pressure the in-bounds passer.

When this kind of pressure is applied, the defender usually faces the inbounder and vigorously harrasses him with arm and leg movement. In our last game, P.J. had his back to the inbounder. After the ball was passed in, P.J. moved to double team the receiver.

I don't think I have ever seen the tactic of the smother player with his back to the passer. Is it atypical?

Am I all mixed up? Did I go back to drinking?

[J&J-Ryan]

I've never seen it the way you described. In HS we would almost always face guard the receivers though...so our back was to the inbounder, but not in a smother type role.

[SubGod22]

In HS we had a press that was similar.

[WUs Your Daddy]

Actually, we did it both ways in the last game with either PJ or Aaron.

Sometimes we'd be right on in the ball, other times we'd start there and then slag off to take away the first pass. I thought we mixed it up pretty well and seemed to keep Pitt State really off balance.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

We did something similar in Middle School.

You dont really see the person doing the inbounds but at the same time anybody coming near the ball is going to be covered.

It worked really effectively for us and from what I saw at the Pitt State game it worked really well there.

[GoShox]

I think it worked extremely well when Ellis guarded the inbound pass. Has to be hard to see around his 6'9" frame and those long arms. Especially, if the opponent uses a guard to inbound with.

[wingbob]

UCLA, under John Wooden, pressed all the time... the 1st guy with his back to the passer

[forevershockerfan]

Under your own basket it may be okay, especially if John Wooden did it. However, under the opponets bucket, I have seen the inbounds passer pass off the back of the defender, retrieve it, and score an easy basket. I noticed us doing that last game, but only under our own basket when they were inbounding the ball.

[MikeShox]

Under your own basket it may be okay, especially if John Wooden did it. However, under the opponets bucket, I have seen the inbounds passer pass off the back of the defender, retrieve it, and score an easy basket. I noticed us doing that last game, but only under our own basket when they were inbounding the ball.

Jason Perez remembers passing off the opponents backside and scoring against K-State. He left me with the impression that it was one of his favorite game memories.

[wingbob]

Under your own basket it may be okay, especially if John Wooden did it. However, under the opponets bucket, I have seen the inbounds passer pass off the back of the defender, retrieve it, and score an easy basket. I noticed us doing that last game, but only under our own basket when they were inbounding the ball.

Yeah, they only did it when they made a basket.

[MikeShox]

Perez

Jason Perez remembers passing off the opponents backside and scoring against K-State. He left me with the impression that it was one of his favorite game memories.

I neglected to mention that Jason did not take full credit for this play. He credited Coach Smithson with recognizing the possibility and telling him to watch for it.