February 2020 - 27

comes back above the line. The
sideline is considered any area
outside the lane channel of the court.
A " key " could be any action the
coach puts into play for the ball going
below the foul-line extended sideline
and coming back above it. It could be
a pass to the post, or a sideline trap.
Once the " key " is triggered and the
ball is above the foul-line extended, the
front shifts to a 2-1-2 zone and remains
in that set throughout the possession.
If a " key " is triggered, the Scramble
does not have to switch to a 2-1-2. It
could become a man defense, and I
would sometimes even make it a boxand-one
or triangle-two for defensive
possessions before halftime or the
end of the game.
An easier way to communicate
Scramble changes to your players
would be to use your defensive
codes and the word " scramble. " For
instance, the call for our 2-1-2 zone
was " Scramble 21. " When we called
" Scramble five, " it signaled a change
to man-to-man defense.
The Scramble effect
What allows the Scramble to take
place in a reasonably orderly fashion
is that sideline defensive slides for
all zones are basically the same.
If a ball goes sideline on any zone
defense, the slides dictate someone
pressuring the ball and having the
block and elbow/gap area protected.
It usually looks like a 1-2 or 2-2
formation, unless all out pressure is
being applied because of time and
score, in which case it looks like a
3-2. Changing the front of the zone
isn't as confusing as one might think.
The first time our team used the
Scramble, we created 41 turnovers
in a single game. Beforehand, we
were winning games, but we would
sometimes get beat badly. After the
Scramble was installed, we were
beating teams on rematches by much
wider margins. And, if we had lost big
to teams beforehand, we were now
making it a much more competitive
game. Creating confusion allowed us
to match up with stronger opponents.
We constantly drilled players on
trapping techniques, trapping
rotations and moving to the ball a
DIAGRAM 3
DIAGRAM 4
split-second after the ball was in the
air. That meant immediate pressure
was applied on the catch.
Scramble can give your players
that edge to help them play with more
confidence. Your athletes will truly
feel like they have a secret weapon -
a defensive " Kryptonite " to confuse
offenses. That led to indecision among
our opponents, which produced more
turnovers by the other team and more
points for ours.
Scramble in action
DIAGRAM 1: The 1-2-2 Scramble
press sets up at half court. 1 dribbles
the ball up the floor with 2 on the
opposite side. 3 is on the ball-side
deep sideline, 5 is in the middle, and
4 is on the weak-side wing. X1 picks
up the ball hander about 15 to 20 feet
DIAGRAM 1
before half court and forces them to
the sideline. X2 and X3 position to
spring a trap just over half court. X4
plays above and in between 3 and 5,
while X5 is between 4 and 5.
DIAGRAM 2: 1 dribbles over the
midline, and the defenders trap. X3
defends 2, while X4 defends 3 and 5.
X5 defends the middle and the deep
diagonal pass. The defense wants to
deny any middle passes.
DIAGRAM 3: 1 passes to 3 above
the foul-line extended. The defense
reacts accordingly, giving a 1-2-1-1
look while continuing to deny any
passes away from the sideline.
DIAGRAM 4: 3 passes to 4, who
had cut to the ball-side corner. X5
and X4 close out on 4 to set a trap
in the corner. X3 plays 5 in the post,
and X2 cheats down in the lane to
DIAGRAM 2
COACHAD.COM 27
http://www.COACHAD.COM
February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020
