1-2-2 Half-Court Viking Press Basketball Animation

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The Viking 1/2 to 3/4 court trapping press has given us more difficulty than any other press we've seen. If you have three quick, aggressive athletes (X1, X2 and X3), this press can work for you, with only a minimum risk of giving up a lay-up.

See diagram A. The point defender X1 comes out beyond the half-court line and contains the dribbler, forcing the ball toward one sideline. X1 doesn't need to be tight on the ball at this point, but just contain it and direct it toward the side. X1 closes in tight as the ball approaches the half-court line.

As the ball is dribbled up the side, X3 reads this and slides to the middle, looking to intercept the pass to the middle. X4 slides toward the sideline to intercept a pass up the sideline. X5 reads the offense and if there is an offensive player deep, stays back as a safety against the deep pass. If no-one goes deep, X5 can cheat up and toward the middle.

If O1 crosses half-court with the dribble, X1 and X2 stop the ball and trap. Ideally, you want to "invite" the ball to come just beyond the half-court line where you use the half-court line and the sideline to help complete the trap. So ordinarily you do not want X2 to come across the line (unless it's necessary to stop a cross-over dribble move toward the middle).

1-2-2 half-court press defense

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