Need a Press Breaker? Just open this Umbrella.

Basketball coaches who are having trouble combating pressure may find the proper antidote in the Umbrella Press Breaker shown in the accompanying diagrams.

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As you can see, it puts the ball into the hands of your best ball-handlers and attacks the opponents with a versatile and deceptive continuity.

The spokes in Diag. 1 delineate the basic Umbrella configuration. Player 1 sets up in the left corner, 2 in the key (middle man), 3 and 4 deploy on the opposite sides of the key, and 5 is the deep man (opposite 1).

As the coach, you have to teach the players to maintain their spacing to avoid creating double-teams. And there must always be a middleman, a safety behind him, and an outlet over the top.

Your best ball-handler (usually 4) will nearly always take the ball out and initiate the Umbrella by inbounding the ball to player 1 in the corner.

Diag. 2 shows this pass and the conversion of the play into the Umbrella. After inbounding the ball to 1, 4 steps into the backcourt for the return pass from 1, who moves into the key, as 2, 5, and 3 rotate into their Umbrella positions. (Remember, 5 always sets opposite the ball.)

There are numerous ways to set up the Umbrella: We call them "Pairs," "1-4," "Football," and "Volleyball."

Pairs (Diag. 3): 1 and 2 set up in a tandem at the foul line and then split--1 cutting to the left-hand corner and 2 breaking to the opposite flat.

Meanwhile, 3 feints forward and comes back short, while 5 fakes backward and then cuts forward long.

Player 4, after inbounding to 1, will move into the flat on the right and 2 will return to the key (not shown). That will restore the Umbrella configuration, with 3 and 4 set in opposite corners at the baseline, 3 and 5 at opposite ends of the midcourt line, with 5 (as usual) opposite the ball and 2 back in the key.

Diag. 4, 1-4: From a 1-4 set-up, 4 inbounds the ball to 1 coming to 5's side screen in the key, 3 feinting long and coming short over the midcourt line, and 2 feinting short and coming back long. That will put everyone into the Umbrella configuration: 1 and 4 at the baseline, 2 in the middle, and 5 and 3 at the ends of the midcourt line.

Diag. 5, Football: Designed to send a man deep whenever the defense is contracted in the backcourt.

Player 4 takes the ball out, with 2 and 3 at the wings, 1 set at the left block, and 5 at the elbow above 1.

As 1 cuts down the middle of the court, 5 slips into the near corner and 2 cuts for the ball. The ball can be inbounded to either man. 3 feints long and comes back to a spot just over the center line.

The Umbrella will take shape, with 5 and 4 forming the back line, 2 in the middle and 3 and 1 at the ends of the midcourt line.

Diag. 6, Volleyball: Designed especially as a last-second shot.

4 takes the ball out, with 1 at the top of the key, 3 and 2 at the ends of the midcourt line, and 5 way up court behind the opposite foul line.

As 1 cuts to the left side as a possible receiver, and 3 and 2 go deep, inbounder 4 throws the ball long and high. If perfectly timed, the ball and the cutters (3 and 2) arrive at the key at about the same time.

5 will leap high for the ball and (while in the air) tip it to either side for a floating layup by 2 or 3.

As Irving Berlin once said to John Wooden, "Let a smile be your Umbrella."

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By Julious Coleman, Asst. Basketball Coach, Boise State University (ID)