Praise for Coach Silvers Playbooks

I have used several ides and concepts within our basketball program that Coach Silver presents in
many of his playbooks. Coach Silver possess a rare talent which allows him to put detailed
information into a simplistic form that middle and high school athletes can effectively execute. Coach
Silvers playbooks can help you take your program to the next level. Our basketball program here at
Mumford serves as proof. I highly recommend them to basketball coaches at all levels.
Chris Sodek, Mumford, Texas HS

I have bought and used Coach Duane Silvers basketball playbooks for several years now. Coach
Silver has compiled a wide range of playbooks on offense, defense, press offense and defense, out of
bounds plays as well as practice drills. Coach Silver has studies the game from many different
coaches at all levels. He has compiled and is sharing his wealth of information for those who want to
learn and improve their coaching game from beginner basketball through college.
Coach Kelly Combs, Athletes in Action, 2 years High School Coaching, 18 years College Coaching,
5 years International Coaching.

1-2-1-1 Zone Press

Rules & Drills

By Duane Silver

Wiffletree World, LLC

Copyright 2012 by Duane Silver

All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, scanned, or distributed in any printed or
electronic form without permission.

Published by Wiffletree World, LLC

Book cover photo by Carlo San

Table of Contents

Rules of Pressure
Positions And Responsibilities ON the 1-2-1-1 Zone Press
7 Rules of Trapping That Our Defensive Players Must Follow
Important Things to Remember About the 1-2-1-1 Zone Press
1-2-1-1 Zone Press Pass Back to Inbounder
1-2-1-1 100 to 75 Zone Press
1-2-1-1 100 Press Pass to Wide Side of the Floor
1-2-1-1 Rotate
1-2-1-1 Squeeze
1-2-1-1 Zone Press When to Quit
1-2-1-1 75 Press Overview (Alignment and More)
1-2-1-1 Sideline Rule
1-2-1-1 Red Press (Call)
Author

Rules of Pressure
XI Hangs Back: All others go to the offensive boards
Dont Foul
Control the Dribbler
Use Active Trapping
Come Together on all Traps
Know what call has been make (Rotate, Squeeze, 75 etc.)
Sprint out of all Traps!!!

Positions And Responsibilities ON the 1-2-1-1 Zone Press

X4Post Player on the Ball: must be positioned to defend before the inbound passer takes the
ball. This is critical, as the best way to beat a press is to inbound the ball before the defense is
ready. X4 reads the passers eyes, yells to distract and never jumps. X4 needs to be as close to the
baseline as possible. When X4 goes to trap the inbounds pass he should not get split. X4 yells
Ball loudly when the ball is inbounded.
X2Left front man Your Shooting Guard: is usually your next quickest player after your point
guard. Stands near the left elbow. When the ball is inbounded on his side, he must cut off the
sideline drive. He needs to stay on the floor and not jump if the man with the ball makes a pass fake.
The ball is usually inbounded to X2s side of the floor.
X3Right front man Small Forward: starts out on the right elbow. Has the same responsibility
as X2.
X1Point Guard: is the best man for this position. Also called the Interceptor. X1s first
responsibility is to protect from the long pass until X5 can get back. Whenever there is a trap up
front, X1 will cover the ball side sideline and look to steal the pass down the sideline.
X5Your Largest Post Player: while most of the action is up front, this player is the one defender
you can count on to protect the basket. X5 maintains responsibility for the deepest offensive player.
When the ball goes into the trap X5 looks cross-court and anticipates the pass. As the ball comes
down the floor and the press has been beaten, X5 moves toward the ball, but does not match up.
Instead X5 tries to slow things down as teammates purse from the rear.

7 Rules of Trapping That Our Defensive Players Must

Follow
1. Immediately Trap the inbounds pass if it is made below the volleyball line on the court.
2. Trappers come together to form a T with their feet. The trapper runs at his own man.
3. Come into the Trap with hands up to take away the direct pass.
4. Talk in the trap be loud and physical.
5. Dont reach in . Let the officials see your hands.
6. If the ball handler puts the ball above his or her head, the trappers must step in and take away
his or her space to maneuver.
7. If the ball handler is in a triple-threat position and tries to split the trap, the trappers must
retreat a step and look to draw the charge.

Important Things to Remember About the 1-2-1-1 Zone

Press
1. Trap all inbound passes to short side of the floor below the volleyball line.
2. Have an assistant coach write down where your opponent is making the next pass out of the
first trap. If they are passing the ball back to the inbounder You will need to call SQUEEZE!
3. If teams are getting through the full court 1-2-1-1 (100 Press easily) switch to the (75
court press) some teams have big trouble with court presses.
4. When offensive players up front cross sides of the floor X2 and X3 will always stay on their
side of the floor.
5. When teams do break the press you can get back in either man to man or any type of zone
defense you chose.
6. If you want to press on missed shots it is easy to get in the 753/4 court press. Some teams
have no answer for when you press on missed shots.
7. Fouling on the press Negates Hustle talk daily about not fouling on the press.
8. Pressing can be your best offense.
9. If your players are hustling and working hard they will need to be subbed for every four or
five minutes. Have your assistant coach watch to see what players are out of gas and sub them
out.
10. This system will allow you to play more players because of the fatigue factor.
11. This press works best when you play your 4 man on the ball, 2 and 3 on the wings, your point
guard in the middle (interceptor) and your biggest guy back deep.
12. When you are going to trap, run at your own defensive man that is on the ball to be able to see
a good trap. This will keep you from getting split on the dribble.
13. If the man inbounding the basketball runs the baseline X4 should run with him.
14. This press will NOT work if the players do not sprint out of double teams when the ball is
passed over their heads. They must sprint to ball level.

1-2-1-1 Zone Press Pass Back to Inbounder

3 passes the ball inbounds to 1 and steps inbounds. X4 and X3 trap the ball in the corner. X1 takes
the sideline and X3 takes the middle. X5 stays deep.

1 passes back to 3, X4 will take a proper angle and takes the ball, notice how deep X2 and X3 break
to get us now in a court press. X1 drops deep too.

Here 3 dribbles down the sideline and 3s trapped by X3 and X4 near mid court. 1 tries to steal the
pass to 5, but cannot get there. X5 takes the basket.

In this frame see how we now have a deep trap on 5 by X3 and X1, notice how X2, X4 and X5 rotate.
GENERAL COMMENTS: This is how we will rotate on the pass back to the inbounder. We go
from a full court press to a court press. This must be taught in detail to work properly in a game.

1-2-1-1 100 to 75 Zone Press

1-2-1-1 Alignment: We are not denying the ball inbounds.

3 passes to 1, X2 and X4 trap the ball X1 takes the near sideline as X3 takes the middle, X5 stays
deep.

1 passes back to 3, X4 takes an angle to get on the free throw line as X2 and X3 sprint toward the half
court line. X1 will move deep and stay in the middle.

Here 3 dribbles down the sideline and is trapped by X4 and X3, X2 will take away the pass to the
middle as X1 tries to steal the pass down the sideline to 4. X5 has the goal.
GENERAL COMMENTS: In these frames we will go from the 100 full court zone press and move
into our 75 (3/4 court) press on the pass from out of the trap back to the inbounder. This works great
because the opponent will be worrying about getting a ten second count in the backcourt.

1-2-1-1 100 Press Pass to Wide Side of the Floor

100 Press:

3 passes to 2, on any pass to the wide side of the floor X4 will NOT trap, but get into Rotate
Position. Notice we will move into a Box alignment. Notice how deep X2 gets back.

See the rotation on the 2 to 3 pass. The defense must move quickly to get to their areas to be ready to
set a trap.

Here we have a deep sideline trap between X4 and X2 on ball reversal. See how X3 and X1 rotate
to the middle and ball side of the floor.
GENERAL COMMENTS You must teach X4 on any pass t the wide side of the floor that he will
not trap.

1-2-1-1 Rotate

1-2-1-1 zone press alignment.

3 passes to 1 and steps inbounds. X2 stops the ball, X4 breaks to the ballside elbow, he does not trap,
X1 rotates ballside, X3 rotates to the middle. Box Sideline.

1 passes back to 3, we are now in a Diamond Alignment: X4 takes the ball. See how the players
move here.

3 passes to 2, we are now back in a Diamond Alignment. This is easy to do.

GENERAL COMMENTS: In Rotate, we will only trap the out of control dribbler and try to get a
ten second count on the offense. Who ever is guarding the ball must put on hard ball pressure.
Remember..Box Sideline, Diamond Middle.

1-2-1-1 Squeeze

Regular 1-2-1-1 zone press alignment.

3 passes in to 1 who is trapped by X4 and X2. 3 after passing will step inbounds.

When the ball gets inbounds the Squeeze is on, X4 and X2 trap as X3 takes away the pass back to the
inbounder (3), X1 takes away the sideline pass as X5 takes away the middle pass.

Here we have X5 stealing the pass to the middle. Notice no one is back deep defending the goal. 1 is
usually under so much pressure he will not look deep.
GENERAL COMMENTS: All you the coach will call is Squeeze. It is important for X2 and X3 to
take away the reversal pass or this press will not work. Im sure you realize the ball could be
inbound to either the left or right side of the floor. All five players must play hard and rotate fast for
this press to work.

1-2-1-1 Zone Press When to Quit

3 passes to 1 and we trap him, but 1 passes the ball down the floor to 4. With this pass we will all
sprint back.

If 1 beats X3 down the sideline, 4 will X1 will slow the dribbler and the rest of the team will bet
back.

Three throws a baseball pass to 5. If this happens we will all sprint back to the paint.

On a pass to the middle we will no longer try and press. X1 will stop the ball.
GENERAL COMMENTS On any pass or hard dribble down the boards we all sprint back and
play half court man to man defense.

1-2-1-1 75 Press Overview (Alignment and More)

Here is the 1-2-1-1 Zone Press court. We call this 75 because 75 equals .

X4 pressures the ball and must always hustle to it. The key here is X3 keeping the ball out of the
middle. X1 goes to the ballside sideline.

2 passes to 1, X3 stays in front of 5 for two seconds before going to the sideline. This gives time for
X2 time to take his place fronting 5. (Very Important!)

1 dribbles down the left sideline and is trapped by X4 and X3, but throws a lob pass to 3 if X1
cannot intercept the ball he will double-team 3 with X3.
GENERAL COMMENTS: The 75 press is a great way to play if the players will fly around the
court trying to intercept long passes. You must practice with X2 and X3 keeping the ball from being
passed into the middle of the zone press. X5 needs to try and intercept long diagonal passes if he can.

1-2-1-1 Sideline Rule

Notice when the ball goes out on our end of the floor on the sideline we will put the wing man in our
press over the ball NOT X4.

When the ball is passed inbo9unds we will not be in ROTATE and the wings will drop back and we
are ready to press. (75 or court press)

Here the ball is being inbounded on the right sideline so we will put X2 on the ball and we now will
be in ROTATE on the side of the floor.

In this frame, the ball has been inbounded we will go to the (75 press) * See how we move when the
ball is inbounded.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Most teams will put X4 on the ball on the sideline and that is a
mistake. We think it is better to put the wing man (either X2 or X3) on the ball in all sideline deep
situations because it makes the press more effective. This must be taught.

1-2-1-1 Red Press (Call)

Here we are in our denial press (Red means we are not going to let them get it inbounded.) Think
man to man here. Every man finds a man.

Here the ball gets inbounded to 1, notice X4 traps the ball with X2. All the other players look to
steal the next pass.

One passes the ball back to 3; notice how X4 hustles back to take the ball and everyone else stays
with their man.

In this frame, 3 dribbles the ball up the floor and is trapped near mid-court by X3 and X4.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Rules for the Red Press X4 takes the inbounder, X2 takes the first
man on the left side of the floor, X3 takes the first man on the right side of the floor, X! finds third
man and X5 find the fourth man and we do not let them get it inbounds. X4 will trap whomever the
ball is inbounded to. This is really an aggressive press.

Author

At age eleven Coach Duane Silver knew he wanted to teach the game of basketball. While growing
up in Central Missouri he spent many hours studying and playing basketball. After coaching seven
years in Missouri, and moving to Waco Texas in 1977 to coach at La Vega High School, he compiled:

493 wins in 29 seasons

8 district championships

6 regional finalists

9 time coach of the year

Since retiring in 1999, Coach Duane Silver has been involved in more of the business side of
basketball. He is co-founder of CoachSilver.com where he shares his expertise and experience in
basketball. Coach Silver is also available to meet with area coaches for consultations.

duane@coachsilver.com
www.coachsilver.com

PLAYBOOKS ALSO BY COACH DUANE SILVER

Late Game Situation Playbook: Full Court and Half Court
Part 2 Going Deeper Kentucky Offense Original Rules and Sets
Part 1 - Going Deeper Kentucky Offense Original Rules and Sets
Kentucky Dribble Drive Motion Drill Book and Philosophy
The Gun (by Shoot-a-Way) Half and Full Court Shooting Drills
Zone and Man to Man Out of Bounds Plays
The Best Zone Quick Hitters in the World
Team and Individual Shooting Drills
Jerry Tarkanians 3 Out 2 In Pressure Offense and Fast
Kansass 3 Out 2 In Motion Ball Screening Offense
6 Best Man to Man Sets and 6 Best Zone
Spots A Team Offense for SUPER SHOOTER
The Kentucky Dribble Drive Motion Offense
The 2 3 Zone Defense Rules and Drills
Motion Offense Players Can Understand
High Low Motion Offense
The Spread Offense
Triangle Offense for High School Programs
Continuity Zone Offenses
3 Out 2 In Motion Man to Man Offense
The Princeton Offense for High School Programs
Five Game Motion Offense
Ball Screens and the Toughest Things to Defend in the Game
Man to Man Quick Hitters
Breaking the Press Full and Half Court

3 Out 2 In Motion Zone Offense

Box Sets and 1-4 Quick Hitters
Zone and Man Man Out of Bounds Plays
25 Best Team Drills to Boys and Girls
Full Court 2-2-1 Zone Press