with Jamion Christian,
Siena College Head Coach;
former Mt. St. Mary's Head Coach;
2017 Ben Jobe Coach of the Year;
2017 Northeast Conference Coach of the Year;
2017 NEC Champions - 2x NEC Champions (2014, 2017)
Jamion Christian's teams have had a lot of success creating a "Mayhem" style of play through full court, pressure man-to-man defense. His former Mount St. Mary's squads consistently ranked among the top five teams in the country for forcing turnovers by making their opponents play at an uncomfortable pace.
In this video, you'll get a complete breakdown of each player's role within Coach Christian's "Mayhem" style of play, along with a teaching progression for the defense and plenty of drills to teach players how to be aggressive
Concepts and Roles
From the start, players must understand the small details and techniques needed to create an advantage. Christian begins his on-court demonstration with a breakdown of roles within the "Mayhem" defense. By pressuring a team for 40 minutes, you can force your opponents to become fatigued and turn the tables into your favor by creating turnovers in the open court.
You'll see how players need to sprint from one spot in a trap to the next in diagonal bursts, causing constant ball pressure. One by one, Coach Christian adds defenders. Players will take their time walking through how to force opponents out of the middle of floor or recover to the middle of the floor out of the trap. Weak side or strong side, Christian demonstrates how you can keep the pressure on your opponent and avoid giving up layups in return.
Drills
With every layer installed in the "Mayhem" defense, you'll get the opportunity to fine-tune your players' misconceptions. Christian uses his Wolf Drills to teach players how to chase down a ball handler and not get into foul trouble by going after and knocking the ball out of their hands. Players must be comfortable sprinting from one end or one side of the floor to the other.
In the Recovery Drill, the second line of defense is added and chasers must force the ball handler to the interceptor, creating another possible trap and turnover situation.
Breakdown
Beginning with a trapping situation in 2v3 full court, players will learn the finer points of trapping - locking hands and being elastic with their feet and bodies. Only a perfect pass will be allowed out of the trap. Christian continuously adds players to build up the defense until you can play 5v5. By keeping your trapping and build-up segments short, players learn to become efficient at trapping and you can emphasize the details athletes will need to be successful.
This is an excellent video for coaches looking for an effective, uncomplicated defense that provides consistently positive results!
55 minutes. 2018.