Quotes About Basketball Defense

#1. If one of our players gets his second foul in the first half, then he must come out of the game and not re-enter until the second half. To play defense and not foul is an art that must be mastered if you are going to be successful.

Chuck Daly

#2. My players on defense must have a hand-up on every shot. If not, they run sprints.

Rick Majerus

#3. It is not overwhelmingly difficult for a committed group of players with only average individual basketball skills to put together a very good team defense.

Del Harris

#4. In all the research you do as a coach, studying other coaches and championship-type situations, you find that all those teams combined talent with great defense. You've got to stop other teams to win.

Pat Riley

#5. Winning is more related to good defense than good offense

Jack Ramsay

#6. I asked them if it wasn't too much trouble, if I wasn't being too pushy, if they could execute what we were trying to do. And if it didn't make them too angry, if they also wanted to play some defense on the other end, that would be great.

Gregg Popovich

#7. If you're not talking, you're not playing defense

Doc Rivers

#8. As coaches we talk about two things: offense and defense. There is a third phase we neglect, which is more important. It's conversion from offense to defense and defense to offense.

Bobby Knight

#9. Your defense will save you on the nights that your offense isn't working.

Adolph Rupp

#10. Players act like the floor is slanted; they run downhill on fast breaks and jog uphill when getting back on defense

Tates Locke

#11. I blame Riley for my broken thumb, not Matt Geiger. That ain't defense Miami is playing. That's just chopping. I have no idea how his team gets away with it. I guess when you've been in the league 30 years you can do it. Respect, he gets it - he's like John Gotti.

Shaquille O'Neal

#12. Defense is what matters. Scoring doesn't interest me.

David Robinson

#13. You have to make shots to win basketball games and we didn't do that. You also have to get back on defense, so it was a double-whammy.

Gregg Popovich

#14. I was taught to play the game from a total team concept-to be able to do everything reasonably well and some things extraordinarily well. If I'm not shooting well, I'll try to be an asset in other ways-like defense, passing, rebounding, and hustle.

Rick Barry

#15. I'm looking for activity. I put players in and take them out based on effort and defense, not making or missing shots

Doc Rivers

#16. My philosophy of defense is to keep the pressure on an opponent until you get to his emotions

John Wooden

#17. We would love to have Gary down here. He's still tenacious on defense, and I know he still wants [a title]. And I'm the only guy in the world who can get him one.

Shaquille O'Neal

#18. Good basketball always starts with good defense!

Bobby Knight

#19. Great defense consists of 3 R's: read, react, and rotate.

Peter P. Carr

#20. Those to whom defense is not important will have the best seat in the game

Rick Majerus

#21. I think I'll always want to improve my defense. That's something that can always be better. Not saying it's bad now, just something you should always work on.

Carmelo Anthony

#22. I wasn't a bad basketball player, but I was far from the world's greatest. Good defense, no offense - that was me.

Chuck Connors

#23. I knew Rick Pitino was going to make them play that outbreak, monkey defense. He's been doing it all his life.

Shaquille O'Neal

#24. Once the Hack-a-Shaq works once, you know I'm going to see it again. The only thing worse for basketball than that defense is the Lack-a-Shaq offense, where I have to go to the bench because of foul trouble. There is no fun in that.

Shaquille O'Neal

#25. Yeah Ernie, its called defense, I mean I wouldn't know anything about it personally but I've heard about it through the grapevine.

Charles Barkley

#26. Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounding wins championships.

Pat Summitt

#27. We teach offense 5-0/5-5 (whole method) and defense by part (1-1/3-3).

Dick Bennett

#28. Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.

Red Auerbach

#29. It's fun to play defense. It's fun to watch the opponent sweat on offense, start complaining to the officials, and eventually be taken out of the game because he's making so many offensive mistakes

Maury John

#30. For us to be successful on defense, we must get back and stop the basketball, eliminate easy baskets, keep the ball out of the lane, and bother the shooters.

Dick Bennett

#31. I'm one of the best defenders to ever play basketball, so I'm still the first option on defense.

Metta World Peace

#32. In going for the last shot of the game most people wait too long to take the shot. Give yourself a chance to get the first shot and tap the ball in. Your players are normally inside the defense.

Norm Sloan

#33. There has never been a great 'silent' defense

Del Harris

#34. If you want team play, you must stress defense. Defense makes players unselfish.

John Brady

#35. Defense is all about helping. No one can guard a good dribbler, You have to walk kids through how to help and then how to help the helper

Bobby Knight

#36. Basketball also helps you learn to move your feet by playing defense and guarding guys, and that all carries over to playing football with staying square and having good footwork.

Calvin Pryor

#37. We have a simple rule for switching. Anytime there is movement over the top of a screen, there has to be an automatic switch. If a blind pick is set on one of our defensive players, there has to be a switch. To play good pressure defense, you have to use the switch.

Ralph Miller

#38. You can't play any defense if the other team is on the foul line.

Mike Krzyzewski

#39. Defense doesn't break down on the help, it breaks down on the recovery.

Chuck Daly

#40. Defense is one man guarding the ball and four others helping him

Mike Krzyzewski

#41. Defense can't guard two things in a row.

Chuck Daly

#42. Criticize on defense and encourage on offense.

John Brady