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While we all know the basics of executing transition defense, Coach Chris Kreider can take your transition defense knowledge to the next level. 

Coach Chris Kreider is in his second season as an assistant coach at SMU. Before that, Coach Kreider served as an assistant coach at Georgia State. 

Coach Krieder’s ‘Transition Defense’ clinic is an excellent resource for any basketball coach who is looking to turn their transition defense into a stalwart force that any opposing team will struggle to score against. 

Things to Consider

Things to Consider

Coach Krieder has five questions that pertain to transition defense that he believes are crucial to succeeding in that facet of the game. 

The first one is: Have we identified and taught our defense assignments in transition (1-5)?

For this one, a coach must make sure that every defensive player knows exactly what their defensive assignment is every second they’re on the court. 

The second question is: How many players do we send to the glass to rebound vs. how many do we send back on transition defense?

While this question is simple enough, it’s also important for coaches to understand why they’re making this specific personnel decision. Knowing the why behind this decision will help any coach decide on the correct numbers to allocate to each scenario.

Transition defense question No. 3 is: How much attention do we give our transition defense on a daily basis?

The amount of practice time a coach allocates to transition defense directly correlates to the amount of success they can expect their team to have in transition. While this doesn’t mean that tons of practice time is dedicated to this facet of the game, coaches ensuring that many of the habits that make for good transition defense are getting practiced will be beneficial during the game. 

Coach Kreider’s fourth question is: How do we hold ourselves accountable in this area (practice and games)?

Whenever a team designates that practice time and those responsibilities on the transition, coaches need to find a means to hold their players accountable for executing them. 

The fifth and final essential transition defense question is: What is our plan when we run into “that team” that challenges our system?

There will always be a team that prides itself on transition offense that will present a true challenge to your team. When that happens, a coach must have a “Plan B” ready for their team to turn to.

Communication - Talk & Point

Communication - Talk & Point

Coach Kreider emphasizes that a little bit goes a long way when it comes to communicating during transition defense. 

In the screenshot above, three Georgia State players can be seen pointing back on defense. This is a great example of players knowing where they’re supposed to be, holding each other accountable to their specific positions, and using hand gestures to communicate. 

It took time for Coach Kreider’s players to understand how important communication is during transition defense, and for them to then instill these changes when they’re in the court. 

But as long as players are seeing a commitment from their coach about making transition defense a priority, they will surely do the same.

Never get out coached,

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