I was chatting with a good friend the other day that has always liked the Run and Jump Press. He was coaching a new team this season that has not been very good for quite a few years. They taught and toyed with the R&J but did not really commit to it until the end of the season when they finally started to use it full time. As they entered the tournament, they came in as an extremely low seed, playing a much higher seed on the opponent’s home floor. The opponent, STRAIGHT UP, was better.
With eight minutes left in the game, behind the Run and Jump Press, my friend’s team held a (19) point lead. The opponent was totally frustrated, leading scorer could not make a basket, and their team was totally out of sync. The game was looking pretty good.
Then, a coaching decision was made. Let’s take the press off and rest the players for the stretch run. The players were looking a bit fatigued. So, they took off the press. All of sudden, the opponent’s scorer got comfortable, the favored team settled down, their confidence soared, and seven minutes later, it was a (2) point game. Thank goodness, my friend’s team held on for a (3) point win.
So, you ask, how did this happen? In my world and in my opinion, it is quite evident the MENTAL PART of the game had TOTALLY SWITCHED, once the Run and Jump Press was taken off and getting it back in those final (8) minutes was simply not going to happen. As I have talked about endlessly, pressing is so much MORE MENTAL than it is PHYSICAL! You are cultivating TOUGHNESS and GRIT and ENERGY. It really helps you on the offensive end as well because you are going to get some easy ones.
SO, LET’S GENERATE SOME FUN WITH THE PRESS!
COACH EDDIE ANDRIST 