The ball is swung to the man you left. A closeout is how you get back to him: sprint most of the distance, then break the sprint down into short chopping steps so you can stop and still move your feet. One hand goes up at the shot, the other stays low.
If you arrive out of control you foul, and if you arrive late you were better off not leaving.
Why coaches use it
Every help defense in the game runs on closeouts. The moment you decide to sag, gap, stunt, rotate or play a zone, you have promised to cover ground later. Closeouts are the payment.
Most teams do not lose on the help. They lose on the recovery, and it is usually one of three things: standing up too early, closing out on a straight line when the ball handler wants to go by, or leaving the ground on a shot fake.
Teach the last third. The sprint is not the hard part.
How it is done
- At a shooter: close short and high. You want to be about an arm’s length away with a hand in his eyes. Better a contested three than a blow-by.
- At a driver: close long and low, with your weight back and your feet angled to take one side away. You are not contesting anything. You are trying to make him a dribbler.
- Distance: break your sprint about a yard (roughly a metre) before you get there, and expect the last stride to be the one that decides it.
- Angle before speed. Close out to his shooting-hand shoulder, not to his chest, and the drive has to go the way your help is.
Draw a kick-out possession, set help depth to Heavy, and watch how far the closeouts have to travel when four defenders were sitting in the lane.