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Coach Harrison was a part of Coach Bob Huggins's staff for years both at Cincinnati and West Virginia. The Bearcat teams under Coach Huggins were known for their three-quarter pressure.

Coach Harrison shared during the virtual clinics not just the history behind “Press Virginia”, but also how they taught it in Complete Guide To West Virginia Press Defense.  

The term “Press Virginia” became popular in 2014 when Coach Huggins decided to play more aggressive with a smaller team based on a conversation with former Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey. 

In this Clinic, Coach Harrison discusses:

• How ball pressure and on-the-line, up-the-line positioning works in their full court and half court pressure. While a lot of teams prefer Packline defense, WVU still works on denying passes.
• The importance of back pursuit if the ball gets out of the trap and into the middle of the floor.
• Working on 5 on 4 daily to teach how to guard in outnumbered situations when the offense has the advantage.

Here is what I thought was interesting: WVU’s full-court defense is basically an extension of their half-court man-to-man defense and not a 1-2-1-1. So imagine being able to teach one defense and drill it daily, while being able to play it from different pick-up levels and minor adjustments based on the personnel you are playing against.

You can learn more by watching this clip from Coach Harrison where he shows how their drills are applied in a game.

Drill Applied to Real Game

Thank you Coach Harrison for sharing, to learn more about teaching and running an aggressive press, you can find it by clicking the link below:

Complete Guide to West Virginia Press Defense

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