Amoeba defense

The amoeba defense is a defensive strategy in the game of basketball.

The amoeba defense was developed by Fran Webster, an assistant for the Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team. In the 1970s, Webster perfected the defense with Pittsburgh head coaches Charles Ridl and Tim Grgurich. Grgurich later became an assistant to UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, who utilized the defense himself.

The amoeba defense is a basketball defense used to wear down an offense. It is a risky defense that mixes the man-to-man and zone defenses together. The defense is set up like a diamond. The two quickest players, usually the point and shooting guards, should be set at the top of the key and just above the free throw line, while your biggest defender, most commonly the center or power forward, is set up under the basket and your other two defenders are set up on opposite sides of the lane just below the elbows.

The defender at the top of the key picks up the dribbler advancing up the court. The defender at the free throw line then sprints out and picks up the entry pass. The top defender then drops back to the free throw line where the defender now guarding the ball previously had been. If the ball handler begins to dribble the defender just below the elbow on the same side as the ball would then double team the ball handler with the defender already defending the ball. The defender below the opposite elbow then drops under the basket while the defender that was previously under the basket fronts the offensive player on the post. The defender originally at the top of the key is now at the free throw line anticipating the next pass in hopes of intercepting the pass and starting a fast break.

When the ball is passed into the corner the defender who started under the basket should sprint out to the ball. The defender originally playing below the elbow then drops to front the offensive post player. The defender originally at the free throw line is now on the wing denying the pass back up to the wing. The defender originally occupying the space below the elbow on the opposite side of the ball has now dropped under the basket and has backside responsibility while the defender originally at the top of the key sits at the free throw line and has top side responsibility.

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