AREA 4 : STRUCTURE & STRATEGIES IN BASKETBALL

Basketball is a fast moving, dynamic game, which constantly presents a variety of problems and challenges for players. During training sessions players should practise set moves, in order to meet these various game demands. The principles of the game of basketball can be divided into offensive and defensive principles. When a team are in possession of the ball they are said to be in OFFENCE and when the opposition have the ball, DEFENCE. A structure is the formations and organisations that teams use in different situations. It involves different considerations: roles and relationships, formations, group and team principles, tactical elements. For example in basketball setting out to use a ‘3-2’ defence or ‘I-3-1’ attack. A strategy is the management of the tactics and skills of the game. A feature of an effective team is its application of an appropriate game plan. Strategies consider how different structures can be applied. In terms of strategic planning, a strategy could be defined in two ways. Firstly – an immediate next stage within the game context, eg. ‘setting a zone defence’. Secondly – it could be defined as longer-term planning, such as preparing for a league championship.