NO MIDDLE: Close the middle drive. Influence the ball toward the sideline and baseline while still containing the outside drive.
SUPPORT EARLY: Get into position before the drive becomes an emergency. The direct notes use support rather than help.
STANCE: Stay low and ready for the next action.
HANDS UP: Close passing windows and contest shots.
MULTIPLE EFFORTS: Keep defending through successive closeouts, rotations, shots, and rebounds.
SAY WHAT YOU SEE. SAY WHAT YOU’RE DOING: Use the defensive vocabulary to communicate threats and assignments.
MOVE TOWARD THE BALL: Adjust when the ball moves.
BLOCK-OUT MENTALITY: Find an offensive player and prepare to make legal rebounding contact through every rotation.
On-ball defender
No-middle stance: Position your feet and body to close the middle drive.
High-hand closeout: Contest the shot while getting into the no-middle position.
Outside drive: A drive toward the sideline or baseline. Influence that direction without allowing an easy blow-by.
Beaten defender: The defender whose player has penetrated. Recover into the driving line or scramble to an unguarded player as the team restores coverage.
Bump back: Recover to the ball and release The Man from the on-ball assignment.
One-pass-away defender
On the line, up the line: Denial with a hand in the passing lane, about two steps away from the offensive player.
Post up on defense: Establish position like you want the ball on offense so the post entry cannot get through.
Gap swipe / stunt: Briefly disrupt the drive, then recover into your assignment. This does not make the strong-side defender the drive stopper.
Bump cutters: Disrupt cuts and attempted post-ups through the lane with legal positioning and contact.
Send behind: Make the cutter go behind your position rather than cut across your face.
Face cut: An offensive cut across the front of the defender. Do not allow it.
The Man: Low weak-side support
The Man: The low weak-side defender. Deny the low post, cover the weak-side corner skip, and meet outside drives early.
Outside the paint: Where The Man meets the driver to stop the drive or take a charge.
No strong-side drive help: The drive stopper comes from the weak side. Strong-side defenders may stunt or gap swipe.
Zone mindset: Read the threats in your support area, not only the player you started guarding.
The Nail: High weak-side support
The Nail: High weak-side support, denying the high-post entry and weak-side wing skip.
Drop to low support: Replace The Man when The Man stops the drive.
Dump-off: The short pass to a low offensive player after the defense steps toward the driver.
Pass through to the corner: The driver’s pass across to an offensive player drifting to the opposite corner. The dropping Nail covers this and the dump-off.
The Fill: Replace high support
The Fill: The next closest defender who fills The Nail’s vacated position.
Call NAIL: Announce that high support is covered.
Diver / flasher: An offensive player moving into the high-post passing area.
Two jobs: Deny the high-post entry and the pass through to the opposite wing.
Team actions
Nail Action: The Man stops the drive, The Nail drops, The Fill replaces high support, and the beaten defender recovers or scrambles so the team gets back even.
Contact switch: Make contact with the screener as assignments change. Immediately pressure the ball and deny/front the screener.
Point on switches: Show the exchange with a hand signal as well as words.
DEAD: The ball handler has picked up the dribble. The other four defenders go full denial.
Scramble back to even: Restore coverage after the support rotation, through recovery or taking an unguarded player.
Block out: Take away the offensive player’s path to the rebound without fouling.
Details still to define
Transition priority: The notes send 1, 2, and 3 back, 4 and 5 to the glass, and the shooter to the glass. The overlap still needs clarification.
Triple switching: Listed as future teaching to keep the rim protector inside; not established here as default coverage.
ICE: Listed as future screen teaching; exact coverage is not defined here.
Red: A conflicting later rotation call. This explanation uses the documented Nail Action until Coach defines any change-up.