In Volume 3, Number 36 of the Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletter, I write about some of the assumptions and problems with a traditional closeout.
A traditional or controlled closeout, as I was taught, is when the defender runs 2/3rds of the way to the offensive player and breaks down his steps with stutter-steps. The goal is to defend the drive and the shot.
The video below illustrates several game closeouts which do not resemble the way closeouts are taught. Rather than take a number of stutter-steps, the defender usually hops into his stop and then adjusts accordingly. The best clip starts at :09 with the defender running away from the camera.
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