Shooter Coverage
One of the things that we do many times in every game is to judge the activities of a potential shooter and any defenders who engage with that shooter. We need to do this from the beginning of any attempt through the end of any activity associated with that attempt. There are four words that can help us to remember what we need to observe when we are covering shooters.
The words are UP, DOWN, GROUND and REBOUND. Remembering these can help us to focus our attention.
UP…We need to observe the potential shooter from the beginning of the try for any violations and fouls committed on or by the shooter. On drives to the basket this period of time begins when the dribbler ends his/her dribble.
DOWN…Once the ball is released, if the shooter is our primary responsibility, we need to stay with the shooter as he/she returns to the floor. Again, we are looking for any fouls committed on or by the shooter. Let’s be reminded that a common foul committed by the shooter before landing would result in a player control foul. This would nullify any potential score. A foul committed by a defender after the try has been released but before the shooter lands, would be considered a foul in the act of shooting.
GROUND…Once the shooter lands, our focus needs to remain there for a moment. We need to observe any additional activity that might occur, such as, flopping by the shooter or the defender. If this occurs, we need to follow the appropriate procedures to handle this. As noted in this year’s changes, if a warning situation is appropriate, this should be whistled only after any potential scoring activity has ended regardless of who is guilty. Also, it should be noted that the GROUND is sometimes where taunting can occur.
REBOUND…If we are the primary coverage for the shooter, we should turn our attention to potential rebounding activity only after all of the above has ended. We need to trust our partner(s) to handle the load until then.
While we all handle the UP portion of our responsibilities for a shooter well, some of us need to improve our coverages on the DOWN and GROUND portions of attempted tries for goal.
Tip
