The Commitment You Make to Yourself. This last point is the most important, because if you aren’t committed to stopping your man, and you don’t have pride in making it difficult for a man to score, none of the other points will matter. You must begin with the sincere desire to be known as a good defensive player. If you have that desire to be a good defensive player, the other four points will be very helpful.
From Dick’s book Stuff
Position of Your Hands. Coaches always urge, “Hands up!” so their players will distract the offense and deflect passes, and players prefer to play with their hands at their sides. Because it is easier to move with hands at your side. (Sprinters don’t raise their hands until they cross the finish line.) In guarding the ball, there are times to play with hands down and times to play with a hand up.
If you are guarding a dribbler, your hands need not be up, they should be down faking at the ball or helping your body stay in good position, on balance. The important distinction regarding your hands comes when you are guarding a player who has the ball but has not yet dribbled. If that player is out of shooting range, your hands can be down at waist or knee level, one to the side and the other stretched out to the ball handler’s belt buckle. (The outstretched hand should be the same as whichever foot is forward. Left foot out, left hand out, and vice-versa.) The outstretched hand should be palm up, always prepared to slap up anytime the ball is held out in front.
If the player with the ball is in shooting range, you should have one hand up, almost touching your shoulder, poised to jab upward, so it is clear to the player with the ball that you are prepared to block his shot (though really all you want to do is distract him by getting your hand up near the ball and your arm in front of his face).
Never raise your body up to block the pass or shot of a player who has not yet dribbled. Stay low, keep your weight back, stay in that bubble and slap upward from the waist if he is out of shooting position, or shake your hand over your shoulder if he is in shooting position.
Dictating the Action of the Ball. A player with the ball can do three things: He can release the ball with a shot or pass (which your bubble defense and hand position try to make difficult) or he can dribble to the right or to the left. It is intelligent to take two of these three options away and battle for the third.
Your bubble defense takes the shot and pass away. He may still shoot or pass, but either will be difficult, which is what defense is all about—making things difficult. That leaves the dribble to either side. So if you overplay to one side, forcing the man to go to his left or to the baseline or to a helping teammate, you take away a second option, leaving him just one opportunity to try to beat you in the direction you have dictated.
The advantage of this type of defense is that you don’t have to be prepared for anything and you don’t have to worry about fakes. You know what the player is going to do. Either he is going to take a bad shot, or he is going to have to make a good pass by your hand, or he is going to have to force the ball in a direction where he is already overplayed—unless he decides to try to beat you in the one thing you are prepared for.
By dictating the action in this way, you not only make it easier for yourself, but also you make it easier for your teammates. With the opportunity for your teammates to see in advance where the battle is going to be fought—where the ball is going to be taken, they have a better chance of getting into effective helping position.
From Dick’s book Stuff
