Rick Pitino Quotes

You put a lot of pressure on your defenders to be able to hold the fort when you go forward.

I like playing size per position defensively.

Offensively, you do what you do best and you do it again and again. Defensively, you attack your opponent's strength.

Offense is spacing and spacing is offense.

The NBA has never drafted a player for defense. At any position, even at center.

That's the key to defending any quarterback: to make them throw before they want to throw.

When I was young, we used to do drills to get a feel for the man you were marking.

You may have to change how you guard somebody because of how they play. But the mindset stays the same - making people uncomfortable, making them do what you want them to do instead them dictating on offense.

I look at like this: Any player I guard, long twos or shots like that, if they make them I still think that's good defense. You can't make those shots at a high percentage the whole game. It's just hard to make long two-pointers, step-backs, fadeaways, off-the-dribble crossovers.

Teams that just play on one side of the floor are going to struggle against defenses that load up on that side.

Think about the deflections. The offense can't score every play. They're just trying to get a good shot. If I can deflect a pass, even if it doesn't cause a turnover, it will throw their timing off half-a-second. That half-a-second might mess up their shot.

In high school, I figured I'd get a few extra baskets by getting steals. I would just pressure up the ball.

I like to get physical on defense. I like to get up on a guy as much as possible. I actually need to calm down, though.

When we're leading during the game, we have to squeeze the opponent.

We must not dive into tackles but force the opponent to run so that maybe they will crack late in the game.

With all the talk of the 3-point line, it's still most important to build your defense inside to out.

I know teams are gameplanning against me, trying to not let me shoot pull-ups, basically trying to take me out of the game as much as they can.

I think I'm pretty good at pressuring the ball, forcing turnovers.

Good basketball always starts with good defense!

The mismatch is not what gets you beat. What gets you beat is giving up the uncontested, open shot.

Defense can't guard two things in a row.

Shaq is such a load. He's so big and strong, but it's possible to play well against him.

I'll knock down the open jumper when it's there, but I want to get after it on the defensive end.

Basketball is basketball, so from a strategic standpoint, having a players' perspective is valuable.

I always like the players to be within 10 to 15 metres of each other. When the attacking players try what I am asking them to do, and it breaks down, there are players close enough to then go and win the ball back and counter press the game.