The Man Left Defense

If you take the right side away, you've just given 90% of the opposing players a HUGE disadvantage!

So by forcing and influencing teams to the left, you are already taking away what they're used to - starting from the right. Players are going to be in chaos from the get-go. Teams won't even be able to start their sets because they're out-of-sync.

And even if there is a stud Leftie on your opponent's team, they can't be effective because the Man Left Defense is designed to speed them up, causing them to take unsuccessful shots and turn the ball over.

And remember, Brost's teams end up winning 90% of their games when they force teams to take the majority of their shots from the left side.

So by taking away your opponent's sets and anything going right, you've taken away what they do the most and best!

3) Slant Your Own Time to Offense!

Wouldn't you rather spend more time playing offense than defense?

With the Man Left Defense, you're going to get in and out of defense quickly, and the more time you'll have to score points on your own offense.

And it doesn't matter what kind of offense you run -

Your philosophy might be to play uptempo (like Brost) ...

Or you're a strong proponent of a more methodical offense....

It doesn't matter - with the Man Left Defense, you're going to take them out of their offense by either a turnover or a botched shot...and you'll get the ball and run your offense.

And we all know the more time you're in defense, the higher chance you have of breaking down...even one player who messes up on defense can cause REAL problems for you... so this allows for fewer defensive mistakes and more buckets for you!

4) It's Man to Man - and Simple to Implement

You are still using your man to man defensive principles... with some very important additions. You do not have to start from scratch and build a new defense.

Your players will still pressure, deny, help, front, switch, closeout... just in different scenarios.

What Brost has done well is modify and simplify this system, making it applicable to high school and middle school...and easy for your players to understand and follow:

• The floor is split into thirds, not halves (Left, Middle, Right). Players quickly learn to guard a little differently in each area- you are essentially defending a third of the court.
• The goal is to force the opponent to the "gray area" (the left side of the court, about 10 to 15 feet from the hoop and on the baseline)

You might have seen other "Force Left/Right" or "No Middle" types of defenses out there, but the truth of the matter is that they're way too complex for middle school and high school players.

Just use Brost's simplified approach with drills and tips and you'll be creating chaos in no time!

5) Run it as Your Primary OR Secondary Defense

One really important benefit is that you can run this as your primary defense...or as a complement to your primary to disrupt the pace.

Brost does both. Sometimes he runs the Man Left Defense for the majority of the game, especially against teams that aren't as talented as his because he wants to control the tempo.

Other times, they mix up their defenses with teams that are going to give him a run for his money to disrupt what they do best.

But to get familiar with it, you might just run it occasionally at first, say after a time out or at the beginning of a quarter...just to mess with the offense!

Then you may find it works so well for you that it becomes your mainstay. Either way, it's always in your back pocket for a sneak attack...

At the end of a quarter or the end of the game when you need one stop, pull out the Man Left Defense and you'll blow up their offense!

Because it's man to man, and because of the simplifications Brost has perfected, you'll find it simple to implement (but a headache for your opponent).

6) Spend Your Time on Player Development and Offensive Skills - Not on Scouting and Preparing for the Opponent

The Man Left Defense allows you to use practice time more efficiently. You won't be preparing for the other team's sets because you'll be taking them out of their sets.

So then it also saves time on scouting and preparing for the opponent.

Before Brost started running the Man Left Defense, they'd go over every single set play the other team runs. Now they don't have to do that.

All you need to do is practice the Man Left Defense concepts and that alone will prepare your players for each and every opponent.

You can spend your valuable practice time on more essential things like:

• Offensive Skills
• Universal Offensive Concepts
• Defense
• Offensive Strategy
• Presses and Press Breakers
• Sideline Plays

Creating those skilled, universal decision makers who can play ball!

7) It's Rare - Teams Don't Play Against This or Prepare For This!

Teams are blindsided by the Man Left Defense. In fact, very few teams have figured out exactly what Brost's teams are doing...

So they have no idea how to break the defense. They are broken down instead. It forces them out of their half-court sets and into quick shots.

And Brost shows you how to counter the counters - you don't have to figure it out!

Brost shows you how to take away the other team's offensive sets and quick hitters by:

• Forcing tough shots from the "gray" area on the left side of the court
• Speeding up the tempo so teams rush their shots and turn over the ball
• Stopping their penetration and forcing low % mid-range jumpers from the left
• Eliminating ball reversals so the ball is stuck on the left side

In fact, Brost often hears the frustrated cry of the opposing coach - "Run the offense! Run the offense! Run the offense!" - but they simply can't because the ball is STUCK on the left side of the court!

The Man Left Defense also wears down the other team, giving you the end-of-game advantage!

Simple to Teach...
But Very Difficult to Attack Offensively

Below, Coach Dell Leonard of Mountain Home High School in Arkansas, explains how the Man Left Defense is so effective and how it gives them more time to focus on player development and offensive execution during practice...

"Rob Brost's Man Left Defensive System is the most ingenious thing I have seen in coaching.

It is simple to teach, but very difficult to attack offensively. Statistics support the effectiveness of this defense.

Coach Brost does a great job of explaining and breaking down the defense throughout the video. This video has been a great find for our staff and has made a huge difference in our program.

We don't have to spend hours watching and grinding through film.

We don't have to spend so much time in practice walking through and going over the other team's offense because the Man Left System totally takes teams out of their offense and eliminates the ability for them to run their quick hits.

Using Coach Brost's Man Left Defensive System has allowed our staff to spend more time in other very valuable areas such as player development, and precise execution with our offense.

I am so thankful that Coach Brost has shared this with other coaches, and that Breakthrough Basketball has made this video available!

Rob Brost is an ambassador for the game, and I am very thankful that he has shared one of the most effective defensive philosophies that exist in the game!"

What's Unique About the Man Left Defense?

Rob Brost's Man Left Defense is a man to man defense that can be used as your primary or secondary defense.

It relies on the principles of man to man...with some added rules and defensive tactics.

Brost has perfected the Man Left system and made it unique and less complex from anything else out there because it...

• Divides the court into thirds (unlike other systems). You guard each third differently, and are essentially guarding one-third of the floor.
• Is simplified and applicable to high school. Players can learn it relatively quickly and execute it well. Brost shows you exactly how to implement it.
• Contains a help strategy called the Fake & Fade which eliminates 3s and prevents dribble penetration..
• Is rare! Teams don't play against this or prepare for this!

However you use it, you will frustrate other teams. Brost has continually heard other coaches shouting to their teams:

"Run the play. Get it to the right!"

Or... "Swing the ball, swing the ball!"

But guess what? They can't - they're stuck on the left side!

No Need to Change Your Entire Defensive Philosophy

Coach Jason D. from Cedar Rapids tells why the Man Left Defense is simple to implement and teach...

"Very excited to use Man Left Defense. I can use this defense as a stand alone defense for my team or a defense that compliments our regular man-to-man. I don't have to change my entire defensive philosophy to implement this defensive system.

I love how simple it is to implement and teach, and as a coach I would hate to have to face a defense like this, because I'm not sure what I would have my team do on the offensive end. I guess I'll let our opponents worry about that!

Coach Brost is a great teacher. He gives simple, clear, and easy to understand instructions on how to implement along with breakdown drills to help teach the Man Left Defense."

About Coach Rob Brost

Rob Brost is starting his 14th year as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Bolingbrook High School, just west of Chicago, Illinois.

Here are some of his Bolingbrook accomplishments:

• Winningest coach in Bolingbrook school history (371-117 = .76 winning percentage)
• Won at least 22 games in 10 out of the last 11 seasons
• Named Coach of the Year by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019
• Ranked among the Top 20 teams in the nation
• Advanced to the IHSA Final Four twice (best two finishes in school history)
• Coached 21 Division I players, 44 full scholarship players and 2 NBA Players - most notably Boston Celtics guard Brodric Thomas.

Before coming to Bolingbrook, Brost also gained notoriety in these roles:

• 5 seasons as Head Coach at McHenry County College - set 7 School records
• 8 years as a Court Coach for USA Basketball Training Camps
• From 2001 to 2007, he was the manager of basketball operations with the Chicago Bulls Training Academy. The role put him in charge of all youth programs for the Bulls organization.

Besides these credentials, here's what some very well-known coaches have to say about him...

Larry Brown, Assistant Coach at Memphis (former NBA & Kansas Head Coach) - the first coach to win both a NCAA Division I men's national championship and a NBA title:

Rob Brost is one of the top coaches in the country at any level. Having observed his practices and recruited his players, it's easy to see why Bolingbrook High School has been so successful under his direction. Rob cares for his players, is a great teacher of the game, his players play extremely hard for him and they play the right way.

Frank Martin, NCAA Head Coach South Carolina:

Being involved in basketball for the past 37 years has allowed me to meet a lot of people. Rob Brost is as good a teacher and coach of the game as I have come across. His patience in teaching, along with his attention to detail in coaching, allows his players to continue to get better. Anyone that listens to Coach Brost will learn how to become a better player or coach.

Here's What You'll Get in This Video & eBook Package:

Chapter 1 - Introduction to Coach Brost

Coach Brost gives an overview of the Man Left Defense benefits and his teams' accomplishments using it.

Chapter 2 - Introduction to the Man Left Defense - Whiteboard

• Coach Brost explains why he uses the Man Left Defense and how it creates chaos for the opponent
• Whiteboard demonstration of how the court is divided into thirds and where the "gray area" is
• Explanation of the shots they don't allow and in what order
• Why it's unique and what age levels and types of teams can use it

Chapter 3 - Man Left in the Full Court

• Describes the goals of Man Left
• Demonstrates exactly how players defend each third of the court
• Explains why they rarely press while in Man Left

Chapter 4 - Man Left in the Half Court

Coach Brost now gets into the specifics once the ball crosses the centerline. He goes over...

• On-ball defensive rules
• One-pass-away defensive rules

And specifically how to guard in the...

• Middle Third - Why and how to properly influence the ball
• Right Third - Teaching your players when to deny and how to not get beat on the drive
• Left Third - The defender's foot placement is KEY

You'll see how everyone works to get the ball to the left...and when players should gap and when they should help.

Brost also covers these aspects:

• The innovative Fake & Fade strategy that gets players to pick up their dribble AND stops the open 3
• An aggressive approach to shut down the Post player
• The key to preventing a skip pass
• Closeouts - how to avoid long ones and why you must drill, drill, drill better angles to stop the drive right
• Defending and Switching the Cut and Away Screens - if you know a team cuts a lot, Brost shows you how to prep your team to switch all cuts

There are a lot of tips on foot placement to help your players get their Man Left!

Chapter 5 - Man Left Defense Live

Through the shell drill, Brost will give you a breakdown of where players should be positioned while defending in the half-court.

You can also see how Coach Brost coaches and corrects players during practice.

Chapter 6 - Common Offensive Scenarios Versus Man Left

• What other teams have tried to do against Man Left
• Strategies to stop those counters
• "Fix It" philosophy for when defensive mistakes happen

Chapter 7 - Closeouts & Closeout Drills

You're going to see a handful of drills, including an Angles Drill that you should do every day that encapsulates help, gap, denial, closeout angles, talking, and Fake & Fade.

Chapter 8 - Defending Ball Screens

• How to defend ball screens on the left, middle, and right side of the court
• 3 of Brost's favorite ball screen defenses
• 5-Man Ball Screen Drills to simulate the randomness that will occur during a game against Man Left.

Chapter 9 - Post Defense

Brost shows you when you should front the post and when to play behind.

He simply wants his players to get to the right spot by focusing on positioning rather than technique so that...

• Players can do what works best for them
• He wants players to react quickly
• He doesn't want players delayed by too much thinking

Strategies like this help simplify things for your players.

Chapter 10 - Teaching Man Left with Short-Sided Games (or Small-Sided Games)

In this chapter you'll see how Brost uses a unique scoring system in what he calls short-sided 3v3 or 4v4 games to stop these shots and drives:

• Right handed layups
• Uncontested 3s
• Right handed drives

Chapter 11 - Q&A

Here you'll learn things like:

• How you would modify Man Left for youth and middle school
• The reason you don't guard left-handed players differently
• Offensive strategies that could work against Man Left and how Brost counters them
• What the opponent's typical shot chart looks like after Man Left got a hold of them
• Why giving up a contested left handed lay up is much better than giving up a wide open 3

There's also a FAQ section below...

Chapter 12 - Closing Remarks

64 Page Supplemental eBook

For your convenience, we have documented the contents of the 2.5 hour video, including drills and diagrams.

Who Should Consider This System?

If you coach players 12 years old and up, this defense can be used to shut down your opponents.

High School Coaches:

Brost has created a simplified defense that any high school coach can use. It is easy to implement and you can use it right away to start frustrating your opponents.

If you play man to man consistently, Man Left will be easy to add to your defensive arsenal. You can easily implement it and run it as a primary or secondary defense. You can pull it out when you need to give the opponent a little extra frustration.

If you run zone or press and fall back into a zone, Man Left can still work great for you. You can use it occasionally to throw the offense out of whack.

No matter what defense you run, Man Left allows you to quickly get the ball back and spend more of your time on offense - where we'd all rather be.

If you are ready to frazzle the opposing offense by making them play at a pace that's uncomfortable for them - Man Left will take away what opponents do most and best.

Middle School & Youth Adjustments:

A word of caution...this defense would be highly effective at the youth level!

Rarely are youth players highly effective at making shots from the left side of the floor at an uncomfortable pace.

However, we recommend that you still teach basic man to man principles before implementing this defense because you simply don't know what defense your high school program will run.

Then you can implement this defense with advanced youth teams or middle school teams. (Note: We do not recommend this for recreational teams that practice once a week for 8 to 12 weeks.)

At the same time, it could be a great developmental tool to use in practice. By playing against this defense, it will force your players to develop their left hand...They will be better ball handlers and scorers because of it!

This is always a positive thing at the youth level!

Finally... A Resource For High School Coaches!

Here is what Grant K. from Minneapolis, Minnesota said about the Man Left Defense...

"Offensively our team wants to get out and push the pace. Running Man Left will definitely force teams into quick shots and help us play uptempo. I've seen college teams use versions of this effectively and have been waiting to access a resource to help me implement. Couldn't be happier with the format and the presentation by Coach Brost!

In the past teams have hurt us when we "help" to stop the ball and then they dish for a 3. Coach Brost's Fake & Fade strategy should definitely help us with this problem!

I feel like we now have a defensive plan that will help us against the best teams on our schedule. This defense helps stop all of the things good offenses are supposed to do.

I appreciate you sharing!"

What's the Investment?

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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Do you guard left-handed players differently?

No! Coach Brost does not believe in guarding left-handed players differently in the Man Left defense. His reasoning is that great left-handed players are still going to score 30 points no matter what defense they are facing.

For example, Bolingbrook faced Illinois Player of the Year and current LSU guard Adam Miller (a left-handed guard who just transferred from the University of Illinois) while he was in high school. Coach Brost believes that Miller would have had the same level of success going against the Man Left defense as opposed to a traditional defense.

The defense just tries to contest their shots a little bit more. If there are multiple left-handed players on the court, Coach Brost may switch his defense entirely, but he will not modify the Man Left defense.

Aren't you playing into left-handed players' strengths?

The truth of the matter is that only 12% of the world's population is left-handed... and it's even less in the NBA where only 8.5% are left-handed. So you shouldn't design a defense around a very small percentage of players.

But never fear...Man Left is an equal opportunity problem causer - it messes up both right and left-handed players!

1 - You still speed up the left-handed players and rush them into tough shots. Basically, you're going to speed left handed players up so much that it takes them out of their game.

2 - When a right-handed player guards a leftie, their dominant right hand is automatically in line with the shooter's left hand...making it easier to disrupt the shot (or steal the ball).

3 - Coach Brost has found that offenses initiate from the right about 80% of the time.

Are there any offenses that work well against Man Left?

Very few teams have identified effective counters to the Man Left defense. It is hard to say what particular offense is demonstrated to be the most effective against the Man Left defense.

Coach Brost identifies some actions that are difficult to guard, but he also shows how to best defend them. He also explains why it's difficult for high school players to execute these actions.

Basically, the opposition needs a team of REALLY good players that are considerably better than your players to beat it.

Against elite offenses, defenses will inevitably have to pick their poison. It is just a matter of choosing which poison is least deadly!

Seeing as though Bolinbrook has consistently won 22 games in each of the last 6 full seasons, I would say there's not many offensive tactics that can counter Man Left!

What does a typical shot chart look like?

The goal is to allow two-thirds of opposing shot attempts to take place on the left side of the court. If more than half the shots are taken on the left side, Bolingbrook will win 90% of their games.

The main two priorities are: no right-handed layups and no uncontested 3's.

What would you tell coaches who are afraid they will give up too many layups?

First off, the layups are typically rushed and contested, and your opponent makes fewer of them.

Either way, you can start with using the Man Left defense as a secondary defense. Use it sporadically until you are more comfortable with running it on a consistent basis.

You have to drill it in practice to use it in the games. You need game reps for it to become effective. You must accept that your defense will inevitably give up left-handed layups.

As you continue to practice the defense through drills and short-side scrimmages, your team will get better.

Is this just a "junk defense"?

Not at all! The term "junk defense" refers to defenses that are used for short-term benefit, potentially at the expense of long-term gain. In other words, you're not teaching players essential defensive principles that they can transfer to any defense.

Man Left is a man to man defense with closeouts at certain angles. So you are still teaching those extremely important defensive principles.

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