But when the man receives the ball, the
guard should retreat one and a half steps
so that he can cover the pivot man and
also any other opponent, cutting by for a
pass. There is no advantage in playing
the pivot man closely after he receives the
ball and, furthermore, this is conducive to
fouling. There is an advantage in play-
ing him loosely because, then, the guard
is in a better position to switch to another
opponent. Of course, this leaves the pivot
man free to make a one-handed shot from
the free throw lane. This, however, is not
a serious threat because of the poor per-
centage on shots of this kind.

The guard, covering the man who is
breaking close to the pivot man for a pass,
should run to the inside of the pivot man
and guard him. He should never follow
his opponent around the pivot man or
bump into the pivot man.

Two Against Three

A large majority of teams use what is
called the standard method of two against
Under this arrangement, the men

three.

 

retreat to positions shown in Diagram 1.
When the center man, near the free throw
area has the ball, guards 1 and 2 feint as
though to charge him in order to bother
him. But 1 or 2 cannot leave their posi-
tions because that would allow the oppo-
nent on the side to run under the basket
for a fast pass and easy shot. Hence,
many times the center man is allowed to
take the best shot on the floor.

This weakness has been successfully
eliminated in a comparatively new method
which, gaining in popularity, has been
tried and proved to be good. The only
drawback is that it is more difficult to
teach.

Assuming once again that the center
man has the ball, as in Diagram 3, note
the difference in the way the guards line
up. Two is unusually the tall back guard ;
1 is usually the small, faster guard. Now
the center man does not have the same
opportunity to shoot that he had under
the first arrangement. ;

Assume that he passes to the man on

“his left, as in Diagram 3. Player 2 shifts

to cover the man who has the ball and 1

 

AN INCORRECT WAY OF SWITCHING

Illustration 9—Guard 1 is playing too close
to 3.

Illustration 10—Guard 1 has switched too
soon, leaving 3 (Illustration 11) free to pivot
and dribble to the basket (Illustration 12).
Guard 1 must wait until 3 passes before mak-
ing a switch.

CORRECT ONE-AGAINST-TWO PLAY

Illustration 13—-The guard should stay
between the men. He should retreat and
feint as if to charge the man with the ball.

Illustration 14—-The guard under the
basket shifts laterally to the left to stop the
dribble.

Illustration 15—The left arm should be
raised and the left leg extended, when block-
ing a shot off the left side. The player’s
back should be kept parallel to the back-
board. If the ball is passed to a team mate
on the guard’s right, he should shift laterally
to the right.

Illustration 16—The player’s back is par-

allel to the board and his right arm and leg

are extended.

retreats in the opposite direction toward
the basket as shown. One watches the
ball as he retreats so that he can inter-

 

 

O

 

 

oD

 

 

 

 

 

 

oy
x

 

Diagram 1. Standard way of playing two

against three.

Diagram 2. A different line-up.

THE ATHLETIC JOURNAL