COACH RICE'S 5 DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES

Mike Rice from Robert Morris outlines his five primary defensive principles (courtesy of Greg Brown):

1. We dictate to you on defensively. We attack

2. Force ball sideline and baseline: our chin on your top shoulder. We don’t drop our feet to open up. We dictate defensively what you do. EXCEPT on baseline or at the top of the key where you are chest-to-chest (defense there at the top of the key is so important because that’s the penetration that really kills you because it is so tough to help on).

3. Make teams play faster than they want to

4. Switch 1-4: You might call us lazy because we don’t want to fight through picks, but I just don’t think I have tough enough or smart enough kids at my level to get through screens. We switch everything – downscreens, backscreens, ballscreens, dribble hand-offs. You need to be strong and athletic to play this (2 things we emphasize heavily in recruiting). Tough kids are so rare today.

5. Energy + Intensity: We have to have it.