Matthew McCall (3)

It was a suffocating full-court press that helped the Florida Gators win back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Matt McCall, now the head coach at UMass, was an assistant on those Florida teams and has taken that press with him to Tennessee-Chattanooga where he won a Southern Conference championship in 2016 and now to UMass. In this video, Coach McCall teaches the basics of the run and jump press, drills to help implement the press, and adjustments. Goals of the Press Coach McCall begins by talking about the five goals of the press defense as well as five things that must be avoided. Using game film, McCall shows you how four basic rules guide the decision making of defenders on the floor as they work to force traps. He also breaks down how defenders are to close traps and how defenders must rotate to interceptor positions on the inbound pass, speed dribbles up the sideline, and when dribblers get turned. He also discusses opportunities for multiple traps in the same possession. At UMass, McCall uses hustle stats to motivate his players to play at a high level. Press Defense Drills Coach McCall reviews six different drills to build the press. The drills focus on the fundamentals of getting matched up, applying pressure on the ball, closing traps, and rotating to pick off passes. The 4v4 Around the Cone Drill is a great multipurpose drill for building the full-court press as well as half-court offense and defense. One of the best things about this pressure defense is its ability to adapt to different offensive strategies. Coach McCall offers up six different scenarios that can be a challenge for press defenses. Learn how to avoid putting your center in risky matchups. You will also see how to challenge poor ball handlers to initiate the offense, how to defend inbound situations, and much more. This is an outstanding video for anyone looking to install a full-court defense next season or for anyone looking for ideas to improve an existing press

UMass head coach Matthew McCall has had plenty of success everywhere he has been. From his early days of winning national championships as an assistant at Florida to winning Southern Conference titles as the head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga and now as the leader of the UMass program, McCall has always been able to develop players’ offensive skills. In this video, he offers his favorites for getting the most out of your players in the offseason. Cone Drills The presentation starts with different cone drills that help build individual offensive skills. Coach McCall provides on-court demonstrations of drills that teach attacking the basket in the middle of the floor as well as those that focus on different finishes at the rim. Using a pad or a defender, players are taught how to hold off a defender and give players an idea of what to expect in game situations. Three Clean Stops Three Clean Stops is a defensive drill where the defense must get three clean stops before they can get off the floor. The drill forces defensive players to communicate and to be in the proper position in relation to the ball, including on the help side. The drill is competitive and forces players to guard the ball, be in great position at all times, and finish the possession with a box out or by creating a turnover. Find a Home When defenses force the ball out of your point guard’s hands with traps or presses, what do you do? The Find a Home drill helps with this. The ball starts in different areas of the floor with the goal to get into your offensive set from a variety of scenarios. Your team becomes more experienced with getting into the offense from unconventional situations. This is a great video by Coach McCall providing a number of practice drills that help to prepare teams in the offseason on both sides of the ball.

To have success in today’s modern basketball, you have to understand the pick and roll. If there is one thing UMass head coach Matthew McCall knows, it’s the pick and roll. After spending ten years working with Billy Donovan at Florida, McCall understands the ins and outs of the spread pick and roll. In this video, he shares the basics of the offense and how to use it in transition and flow right into your half-court offense. Philosophy First, Coach McCall shares what makes a good spread pick and roll offense. Post players that can shoot from outside and have the ability to pass is a great place to start. This pulls defenders away from the rim. Another element is having guards that can read screens and that can deliver great passes. Transition and Game Situations A strong transition game is important in running the spread pick and roll. McCall wants his players to push the ball down the floor and get the ball to the paint. He then goes into the two basic actions his team uses to flow from transition into the spread pick and roll. The first is 5 Drag where the 5-man trails instead of the 4. They go right into a drag screen and force defenders to go over top of the screen. In Double to Special, both post players trail. This allows the offense to use a double drag screen and open the paint for a roller. Half-Court Offense There are numerous options in the spread pick and roll. The two that McCall highlights in this video are Special and Lift. Special is where post players get to the lane line extended and look to create a screen opportunity. Lift gives multiple scoring opportunities especially if you have a 4 that can shoot and a 5 that is a strong pick and roll player. If you have been searching for more about the spread pick and roll, this video from Coach McCall is a must-have. From philosophy to various actions, Coach McCall shows you how to run the spread pick and roll effectively.