Fiba Assist Coaches Offense

OFFENSE

ARGENTINA’S MAN-TO-MAN PLAYS �� ZONE OFFENSE �� TWO OFFENSIVE SETS OF THE DALLAS MAVERICKS ��ZONE OFFENSE �� THE KENTUCKY MAN-TO-MAN PLAY “40” �� EARLY AND SECONDARY FASTBREAK ��!��"��#�� ZONE OFFENSE ��$ � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �%%NOTRE DAME BASKETBALL: MOTION OFFENSE ��&��% THE GAME PHILOSOPHY OF THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS ��'��(��%)THE OREGON UNIVERSITY OFFENSE ��&�� *�ATTACKING THE UNORTHODOX ZONE ��+��*�OFFENSIVE OUT-OF-BOUNDS SITUATIONS ��,��-�� DEVELOPING AN OFFENSIVE STYLE OF PLAY ��.�� THE BASIC OFFENSE OF THE HOUSTON COMETS ��/��0�� 1MAN-TO-MAN OFFENSE ��0�� *OFFENSIVE BASKETBALL: AN ASSESSMENT ��+��&�2 �� 3HOW TO BUILD A WELL-BALANCED TEAM ��+��4 Plays To Run as the Shot Clock Expires �� 4 THE ATTACK OF THE detroit pistons ��5��,��6��4)THE ARGENTINA OFFENSE �� 3*OFFENSIVE CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES ��+�,�� 33OFFENSIVE CONCEPTS FROM ONE-ON-ONE ��/��#��2�� Transition offense ��(��7�� WAKE FOREST OFFENSE ��Skip Prosser, ��'�#�� . . . . . . . . . . ��MULTIPLe-CHOICE OFFENSE �� )%THE PICk-ANd-ROLL ON OFFENSE ��8��(��+� ��)4SCOUTING THE 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES ��!��&2��+� ��))A MUTATION OF THE TRIANGLE OFFENSE ��-��+�� 1%HOW TO ATTACK THE ZONE DEFENSE ��,�#�2��7+�� 13THE 3 OUTSIDE - 2 INSIDE OFFENSE �� %ARIZONA HIGH POST SERIES ��5��9��:�!�� 3THE SECONDARY FASTBREAK OF NORTH CAROLINA ��.��:�0�,��'�� % PLAYING BY CONCEPTS ��5�(�2 �� %4TRANSITION GAME ��'��#��5��# �� %)THE OFFENSIVE SETS OF THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS, NBA CHAMPIONS 2005 ��'��(�� **Half court man-to-man offense ��;��7+��9��#�� *3THE IMPORTANCE OF A FREE ATTACK ��'�� %Eurobasket CHAMPION OFFENSE ��'��+�� 4GERMANY’S GAME PLAN ��+�,�� 1BASELINE OUT-OF-BOUNDS SERIES ��5��&�� HOW TO START THE GAME ��"�+�� )SERBIAN UNDER 18 NATIONAL TEAM OFFENSE ��&�#2�� 4�THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRACTICE DRILLS and offensive post play �� 43THE HIGH-POST AND THE TRIANGLE OFFENSEs ��'�� 31THE MARYLAND OFFENSE ��,��#�8�� 3 THE RATIONAL GAME ��2 �� 3)

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FIBA EUROPE

With the Argentinean Men’s Youth Nationalteam, Magnano won the South AmericanChampionship and with the Under 21 teamthe Pan-American Championship in 2000.In 2001 he became also head coach of theSenior Men’s team and won the SouthAmerican, the Pre - World Championshipand the silver medal at the GoodwillGames in Australia. His most recent achievement was winningthe silver medal at the World Champion-ship in Indianapolis. With the Atenas Cordoba club, he wonthree Argentinean titles, two SouthAmerican, one Pan-American and twoSouth American League Championships.

We try to run the fastbreak on every possi-ble occasion. However, if we don’t succeedwith the primary break, we then play in thefollowing way.We don’t usually call the play, but insteadmove offensively depending upon wherethe first pass is made and how the defen-ders react.

After the early fastbreak, the initial set isthe two - three. 1 is the playmaker with theball, 4, the power forward, in low post posi-tion, 5, the center, out of the line of thethree-point shot, 2, the guard, on the otherside of the court, and 3, the small forward,on the side of the ball. 1 passes to 5 andmakes a vertical screen for 4, who comesup at the opposite spot of 5, outside of thethree-point shot line. After the screen, 1cuts in the lane and goes to the low post

ARGENTINA’S MAN-TO-MAN PLAYS

by Ruben Magnano

This is the starting five that we have lined up at last year’s WorldChampionships in Indianapolis and the corresponding numbers in thediagrams:

N.1 Pepe Sanchez (playmaker, m. 1,93, Detroit Pistons)N.2 Emanuel Ginobili (guard- small forward, m. 1.98, S. Antonio Spurs)N.3 Hugo Sconocchini (small forward, m. 1,96, Milan)N.4 Ruben Wolkowyski (power forward, m.2,08, Tau Vitoria)N.5 Fabricio Oberto (center, m.2,08, Tau Vitoria)

OFFENSE

area on the opposite side (diagr. 1).

Depending on who rebounds, 4 and 5can exchange their position.5 passes to 4 and, at the same time, 1comes out screening 2, who cuts in thelane and goes to the low post on theopposite side.

After having passed to 4, 5 screens for1 (screen the screener) and 1 comes upto receive the pass outside the three-point shot line (diagr. 2).

4 passes to 1. First option: 2 screens for3, 3 cuts in the lane along the baselineand receives another screen (stagge-red screens) from 5. After having pas-sed to 1, 4 screens for 2 (screen thescreener). 1 can choose whether topass to 3, who comes out of the stag-gered screens of 2 and 5, or to pass to2, who comes up outside the threepoint line (diagr. 3).4 passes to 1. Second option: 3 fakes togo toward the screen of 2 and, instead,pops out of the vertical screen of 4, 2

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cuts in the lane along the baseline, receivesa screen of 5 and goes out to the other cor-ner. 1 can choose to pass to 2 or to 3 (diagr.4).

1 passes to 3, then cuts and goes in the cor-ner on the same side of the ball and 5 repla-ces 1, while 4 comes up and posts himself inmiddle post area, ready to make a screen(diagr. 5).

3 passes to 5 and 5 changes side to the ball,passing to 2. 4 goes to screen 3, who cuts inthe lane and posts himself up in low postarea on the other side of the court. 2 canpass to 3 (diagr. 6).

1, who was in the corner, receives twoscreens (staggered screens), the first onefrom 4 and then another one from 5 and thencomes up high in the middle of the floor, out-side of the three-point line. 2 passes to 1(diagr. 7).

After having passed the ball, 2 cuts in thelane near the baseline and receives threescreens in succession: the first one from 3,the second one from 4 and, at the end, thethird one from 5. 1 passes to 2, who has goneout on the opposite side in the wing position(diagr. 8).

We always start from the same set two -three, as seen in the first diagram. 1 passesto 5. On this pass, 4 goes out and screens for3, while 1 screens 4 (screen the screener). 3cuts in the lane near the baseline and postshimself in low post area on the other side ofthe lane. 2 pops out and receives the ballfrom 5 (diagr. 9).

If X2, the defender who covers 2, plays highand X5, the defender who covers 5 stays low

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to cover the pick and roll, 2 passes the ballagain to 5, who receives a screen from 3,who pops out from the low post position. 2 cuts in the lane along the baseline andgoes to the low post area on the other sideof the court. The ball changes side: 5 pas-ses to 4, 4 passes to 1, who gets free, and 1can passes to 2 (diagr. 10).

If 1 can’t make a successful pass to 2, hereceives a screen from 4 and then 4 recei-ves a screen from 2 (screen the screener),who popped out from the lane. After thescreen, 4 goes in the low post position(diagr. 11).

1 passes the ball to 2 and 2 passes to 4 inlow post position (diagr. 12).

Initial set is the same seen in the first dia-gram, the two - three. 1 passes to 5. On the pass from 1 to 5, 4 goes out andscreens for 2. After the screen for 2, 4receives a screen from 1 (screen the scre-ener).2 cuts on the opposite side of the lanealong the baseline and posts in low postarea. 5 swings the ball, passing to 3 and 3passes to 2 (diagr. 13).

After having passed the ball to 2, if is nopossibility of shooting for 2, 5 goes to makea direct screen for 3 and 3 dribbles towardthe middle of the lane and replaces 5, while4 goes to the wing area. Immediately, after5 has screened for 3, 2 goes out and makesa back screen for 5 (screen the screener).5 goes in the low post area and 2 pops outto the wing (diagr. 14).

3 passes to 2 and 2 passes to 5 in the lowpost position (diagr. 15).

This was the play, that we used the most atthe World Championship. It is simple in themovements, creates possibility of shootingfor all the players and it opens the court,helping exploit the one-on-one, the three-point shot, and the inside game.

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He won a European Cadet, Junior, andSenior Championships, a pair of WorldJunior and World Senior Gold Medals withthe Yugoslavian National Teams. Pesic alsowon a European Senior Championship whileat the helm of the German National team in1991. With a club team, he won one Yugo-slavian Championship and one YugoslaviaCup, two German Championships and twoGermany Cups. He is now head coach of theteam in Barcelona.

INTRODUCTION

The introduction of the 24-second shot clockand eight-seconds speeded up the pace ofthe game. Many coaches quickly adoptedoffensive plays that could be put in motion insix or less seconds. For these reasons, thetransition offense has become more andmore important; it is organized, quick andsimple. Very few teams now utilize offensivestrategies, that use all the three phases ofoffense: early fastbreak, secondary fast-break and set play. Don’t make the mistake ofthinking that defense is now less importantthan in the past. I’ve never seen a great teamor winning coach that did not have a greatdefense. During the course of the years, wewill face more and more organized defensesand more zone defenses, which are used forcontaining and disrupting organized offen-ses. The aim is to force a quick shot or tospeed up the decisions of the offense. Withthe 24-second rule, we will not face the clas-sic zone defenses as in the past, but match-up or combination defenses, such as thetriangle-and-two and the box-and-one.

ZONE OFFENSE

A team must be prepared for every eventua-lity. In a world of endless defenses and setplays, a team must have in his arsenal anoffense that is useful against man-to-man, aswell as zone defense. In the majority of thecases, the best weapon against the zone is thefastbreak. Because one of the weak points ofthe zone versus the fastbreak is the fact thatthe defensive players cannot reach their assi-gned positions before the arrival of the offensi-ve players. We want our players to run quicklyto the offensive end, passing the ball up courtwithout giving the defense a chance to recu-perate. This way we can take advantage of allthe options offered during the transition attackafter a steal, a turnover, a rebound, or quickout-of-bounds pass after a field goal made.

EARLY FASTBREAK

These are the rules the players should follow.

1. OUTLET PASS AND RECEIVING THE PASS

We have two options and two solutions. Bothguards must be ready to receive the outletpass. The outlet pass can be made to 1 in thewing position or to 2 in the middle of the floor(diagr. 1 & 2).

2. THE FORWARD SPRINTS STRAIGHT

TO THE BASKET

The forward sprints, near the sideline, in aposition where he can receive a pass fromone of the guards (diagr. 3). This transition offense has three trailers.

FIRST TRAILER

He sprints opposite the ball. He is the mostdangerous player of the fastbreak and mustbe ready to receive the ball.

SECOND TRAILER

He is involved with the secondary break. Heruns the middle lane of the court and must goto the low post area.

THIRD TRAILER

He is the last player who goes on offense. Hemust change the side of the ball, pass to thelow post, and make a screen.

3. THE FIVE LANES

Ideally, the court is divided in five lanes and aplayer (diagr. 4) must occupy each lane.

4. QUICK DRIBBLE TO THE MIDDLE

OF THE COURT OR A LATERAL PASS

It is better to make a short pass instead of along one and the best pass is tipically thelateral pass. The player on the opposite side,the first trailer, can run over to one of theguards to speed up the fastbreak.

5. INTERNAL PLAY

If we cannot get to the basket on the first try,the offense must immediately create otheroptions.The second trailer, the player who runs in themiddle lane of the floor, must go to the lowpost area and the perimeter players shouldgive him the ball. If there is not this option, wetry to use the third trailer: the aim is to attackthe zone under the basket, using the secon-

OFFENSE

by Svetislav Pesic

ZONE OFFENSE

dary break, because this part of the lane isnot controlled by the defense during thisphase of the play.

SECONDARY BREAK

1 passes to 2 and 2 to 4. 1 after making thispass, cuts in the lane. 5 stops outside thefree-throw line area and 3 outside the three-point line (diagr. 5). If 2 cannot pass to 4, 2 passes to 5 and 5makes a pass to 4, who cuts in the lane(diagr. 6). 5 can also make a screen for 3, who receivesthe ball from 2. 4 cuts in the lane (diagr. 7).After screening for 3, 5 picks for 1. 3 canpass to 1 or 4 (diagr. 8).1 pass to 5 in the low post, while 4 goes highto screen 3. 2 goes in the middle of the floor(diagr. 9). If 1 cannot pass to 5, 1 passes to 4 and 4 pas-ses to 5 (diagr. 10).

SET OFFENSE AGAINST THE ZONE

Every offense depends on how it is set upand how the plays are executed.In order to be successful, every offense:■ Must be efficient against every type

of defense (man-to-man, zone or combination defenses).

■ Must be able to adapt according to the changing defenses.

OFFENSIVE PRINCIPLES

1. The offense must be flexible and balanced, using:

a. Passesb. Dribble Penetrationc. Offensive Rebounding2. Must have continuity from the starting

pass until the end of the offense.3. Must hide the offensive weaknesses

and exploit the strong points of the team.4. The players must have excellent

technical knowledge. 5. The offense must be usable against any

type of defense.

SPECIAL RULES AGAINST THE CLASSIC ZONE AND

THE COMBINATION DEFENSES

Perimeter PlayersAt the beginning of the set play, all theperimeter players must be in physicalcontact with the defensive players neare-st to them.

INSIDE PLAYERS

Both inside players must be positionedexternally, one on the left and the other onthe right, slightly outside of the three-second area, near the baseline. Initially, there is no player on the high postarea. This spot will be occupied later on.

DRIBBLE PENETRATION

Dribble penetration among two defenders ofthe zone. All the offensive players must be

ready to receive the ball if:a) A teammate makes a dribble penetration.b) The low post receives the ball.c) The high post receives the ball.

SCREENS

Every time a player screens, he must roll tothe ball after the screen.

PASSES

The most efficient passes are the short andquick ones.

INSIDE PLAY

From the beginning, it’s important that theball must be passed under the basket (insi-de play), before the defense can recupe-rate. It is not advisable to immediately sho-ot from the outside, because we like toreserve the jump shot in the second stageof the play.

OPTION A

Start this set play on the left or right sideagainst the two-three zone. 1 tries to makephysical contact with X1, as well as 2 and3 with X2 and X3 (diagr. 11). 1 can pass to 2 or 3: these two offensiveplayers must have physical contact with X2and X3, before popping out for receivingthe ball (diagr. 12 & 13).

TIMING ON MOVEMENTS

Initially, the high post area is free and 4 and5 stay behind their defensive players X4 andX5. Their movements depend on the positionof the ball. They move to the open area nearthe basket and behind the defensive playersand then they continue the cut toward thehigh-post area (diagr. 14).

CONTINUITY ON OFFENSE

Against the three - two zone defense, 1 drib-bles straight against the defensive playernearest to him and then passes to 2, who,after contact with X2, pops out to receivethe ball. 3 and 4 cut behind the defense,with 4 cutting high at the free-throw linearea, or in the corner. 3 can go on theopposite corner or go also at the free-throw area (diagr. 15). 5 can post out or make a screen for 3, if 3cuts to the opposite corner. 1, after pas-sing to 2, makes contact with his defensi-ve player and goes outside on the wing ata 45° angle (diagr. 16). 2 has the option of passing to 4 under thebasket, or to 5, who rolls after the pick for3 (diagr. 17). 2 passes to 3 and cuts to the oppositecorner, while 1 goes in the middle of thefloor (diagr. 18). 3 can pass, dribble, or shoot. If 3 passes to5, 4 cuts and goes to the low post on theopposite side to 5 (diagr. 19). If 3 passes to 4, 4 can shoot, dribble to the

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basket, or pass to 5 (diagr. 20). 4 can also change side with the ball, pas-sing to 2, then cutting in the lane andgoing straight toward X4, and then to thelow-post position. At the same time, 5 makes contact with X5and then cuts in the middle of the lane(diagr. 21).

2 passes to 5. 5 can shoot or pass to 4 and3 rebounds (diagr. 22).

OPTION B

Cutting of the point guard1 dribbles toward X1 and then passes to 3(diagr. 23). 1 then cuts to the basket and 2,while 1 cuts, makes contact with X3 and

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then pops out toward the ball (diagr. 24). 1 cuts and screens for 4 (diagr. 25).After screening for 4, 1 cuts in the cornerusing the pick of 5 and receives the ballfrom 2. 4 cuts and goes in the high postarea (diagr. 26). 2 passes the ball to 1, and cutting around4 goes in the opposite corner, while 3goes high (diagr. 27). 1 pass to 4 in the high-post area, or to 5 inthe low-post. If 4 receives the ball, hecan pass to 5, who cuts in the lane (diagr.28).

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

It is extremely important to run the set ina precise way to break down the normalzones and the combination defenses. We want that the ball to be in certain spotof the floor, with the players in the exact

position. Again, I would like to underlinethe fact that the offensive players, beforepopping out to receive the ball, mustmake physical contact with the nearestdefender, and then must occupy the openspaces. If every movement is done as I’veexplained, we can have a variety of shoo-ting solutions. The key to success is always how wellthe players execute the movements, theirlevel of preparation, and their coaching.The advantages of the described con-cepts are:

1. Unlimited possibilities for our players tocreate individual shooting opportunities.

2. The possibilities to make a quick shot inevery special situation, such as time run-ning out or foul problems for the defense.

FIBA EUROPE

Donn Nelson, the assistant coach of the Mavericks,is one of the most knowledgeable experts on inter-national basketball in the NBA. Scout and assistantcoach for Milwaukee, Golden State, and Phoenix,since 1998 he has been President of BasketballOperations and assistant coach of the Mavs. Nelsoncontinues to lecture at clinics all over the world.

Our man-to-man offensive plays are centered aroundtwo players: the German forward Dirk Nowitzki, oneof the best players in the NBA, and the top scorer inlast year’s World Championship in Indianapolis, andSteve Nash, the Canadian point guard, who is amongthe top assist men in our league.

Our plays are simple. They take advantage of thetechnical and physical skills of our players and howthe defense reacts to them. With the exception ofour centers, practically all of our players can chan-ge their position and cover two different positions,such as Van Exel, who can play both point guard andguard, or Nowitzki, who can play at the power andsmall forward spot.

PLAY N.1Here are the roles and numbering of the players inthe diagrams: ● Two guards 1, and 2.● A small forward, 3. ● A power forward, 4. ● A center, 5.

This is the set on the court: 3 in the corner, 4 and 5near the lane, and 1 and 2 outside of the three-pointline.1 passes the ball to 3, who came to the corner of thelane, 2 makes a cut around 3, and then goes out to

OFFENSE

by Donn Nelson

TWO OFFENSIVE SETS OFTHE DALLAS MAVERICKS

the opposite corner. After the pass, 1 goes on thesame corner where he passed the ball. 3 can pass to2 or to 1 (diagr.1).

FIRST OPTIONAfter the cut in the corner, 2 comes back on thebaseline and receives a series of staggered picks,the first by 4, and second from 5 (diagr.2).

After 2 cuts in the in the lane, 5 screens for 4 (screenthe screener). 4 comes high and 5 goes in the corner.3 has the option to pass to 2 near the basket, to 5 inthe corner, or to 4 in the wing area (diagr. 3).

If 3 cannot pass to any other teammates, he passesto 1 and they make a pick and roll for each other(diagr. 4).

SECOND OPTIONAs in the previous action, 2, who came out in the cor-ner, receives a staggered pick, the first from 4 andthe second from 5. On this play, 2, instead of cuttingalong the baseline, comes up high. Then 5 screensfor 4 (screen the screener), but in this option 4makes a curl around 5 and then cuts in the lane. 5,after the screen, goes in the corner. 3 can pass to 2on the wing, to 4 in the lane, or to 5 in the corner(diagr. 5).If 3 cannot pass to anybody, he passes to 1 and theymake a pick and roll for each other (diagr. 6).

THIRD OPTION2 receives a staggered pick from 4 and 5 and comesout high (diagr. 7). This time 5, after the pick for 4,instead of going to the corner, cuts to the basket,and 4 goes to the corner (diagr.8). 3 can pass the ballto 2, to 5, who is cutting in the lane, or to 4, who cantake a jump shot (diagr. 9).

As usual, if 3 cannot pass the ball to 2, 4, or 5, he canpass to 1, and they can make a pick and roll for eachother.

FOURTH OPTIONAs I’ve already said, if there is no solution, 3 canpass to 1 and set a pick for him (diagr. 10). The nextmoves of 1 and 3 depend on the reactions of thedefenders (if the defenders change; if the defensiveplayer, who is screened, goes under or over thescreen, etc.).

PLAY “CAMP”A point guard, 1, two wings, 2 and 3, outside the three-point line, and two big men, 4, the power forward, and5, the center, near the basket.

1 passes the ball to one of the wings, 2, in this case,and then goes in the corner, on the same side of theball (diagr. 11).

2 passes to 4 and immediately 1 makes a backdoorcut along the baseline, and then goes on the opposi-te corner.

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After the pass to 4 and the cut of 1, 2 sets a screenfor 5, who can curl around the pick or can flare out. With these movements, the offensive players takeaway the help of the defensive players and they canisolate 4, who can play one-on-one (diagr. 12) .

Here are the other possible solutions. 4 can pass to:

● 1 on the backdoor cut● 2 on the cut in the lane● 5, who receives the pick from 2, and then makes a

curl cut in the lane or a flare out

Another different solution: After the start of the play,with a pass from 1 to 2, 1 goes to the corner. 2 pas-ses to 4 and then sets a screen for 3. 3 can come outof the pick, receive the ball from 4 and penetrate tothe basket or else take a jump shot (diagr. 13).

Another different solution is to have 2, after passingto 4, setting a screen for 1 in the corner and then cut-ting along the baseline. 1, after the screen, cuts inthe lane and then screens for 5 (diagr. 14).

Our main goal with this play is to create scoringopportunities for 4

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FIBA EUROPE

Ergin Ataman began coaching theEfes Pilsen Istanbul junior team in1990, winning seven national cham-pionships. For two years he washead coach of Turk Ankara and in1998 he left for Stanford University.The following year, while coachingPinar Karsiyaka, he moved back toEfes Pilsen, guiding them to theTurkish National Final and theEuroleague Final Four. Voted Coachof the Year in 2000, he was asked tojoin the Turkish Olympic Committee.He is head coach of Mens SanaSiena, and with this team, he wonlast year the Saporta Cup.

In the recent past we had manycomplex zone offenses that workedthe defense with several ball swingsin the hopes of causing some kind ofmistake. Now, with the 24-secondclock, the predominant offensiveprinciple that I utilize involves givingthe players a few simple conceptsthat allow them to immediatelyattack any kind of defensive align-ment and without the use of setplays.In order for this to happen, the firstthing we must do, however, is definethe particular areas in which ourvarious players can move:Our center must constantly move inthe area outlined in diagr.1. He must work behind the defense,using a series of flash cuts in thecenter area to get open, trying togain positions from about the middlepost to the corner. Our power forward has his particu-lar space, as in diagr. 2, taking posi-tions from just below the free throwline all the way to the three-pointline (so he can shoot, swing the ballin an emergency, or screen for peri-meter players). It is essential for thetwo post players to maintain theright spacing, not too close to oneanother. This forces the defense tospread out (for example, if 5 is in themiddle post, 4 should be beyond thethree-point line, or if 5 is in the cor-ner position, 4 can be below the freethrow line, as in diagr. 3 and 4).We prefer that our two insideplayers take the second type ofposition, posting sideways (diagr. 5)we think this creates more problemsfor the defense.

OFFENSE

by Ergin Ataman

The first goal of our offense is topass the ball to the players in one ofthese two positions. Every time oneof the two catches the ball, the othermust cut strong towards the basket,as in diagr. 6 and 7.We ask our perimeter players tomove freely outside the three-pointline, maintaining spacing betweenthemselves and the inside players,and making sure that one defendercannot guard two offensive playersat the same time (diagr. 8).We also want to teach our playerssome offensive situations that, evenif not pre-arranged, can be veryeffective: A quick pick and roll at thehigh post (diagr.9); back screensbetween perimeter players; or backscreens between the inside andperimeter players against a 3-2 zone(diagr. 10 and 11).Only later will I give a starting set upfor the offense; for example a 1-4

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formation, which is quite useful inidentifying every type of defensethat can be employed. A big part ofthe offensive work of my team con-sists of optimal player spacing. It’snot only my job. The players mustlearn to take initiatives and createopportunities that are not pre-arran-ged, knowing that every movementthey make will cause a correspon-ding movement of the other playersin order to preserve the correct spa-cing (penetrate and kick).This is only one part of the offensivestrategy. In the meantime, you can’tforget the proper technical work onpasses, skip passes, fakes, postplayer collaboration with the otherteammates, and all the fundamentalsthat are employed against zones.I have found that this type of offensi-ve approach gives great confidenceto the players and makes it very dif-ficult for the opposition to ever scoutthe team prior to a game.

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ball for 1. At the same time, 3 screens for 2 (diagr. 2).After the screen of 3, 2 comes up and receives anotherscreen from 4 (staggered screen). 2 can receive the ballfrom 1 and look for a jumpshot (diagr. 3). Other options: ▼ 1 can pass to 5, who rolls to the basket

after the screen on the ball ▼ 2 can pass to 3, who popped out on the wing

after the screen ▼ 2 can pass to 4, who rolled to the basket

after the screen for 2

“41”1 passes to the wing 2 and makes a “UCLA” cut to thepost and then establishes low post position (diagr. 4).2 passes to 5, who has stepped out of the lane, and 5

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FIBA EUROPE

Orlando “Tubby” Smith has coached at the University ofTulsa and the University of Georgia. He has been the headcoach at the University of Kentucky since 1997. CoachSmith guided the Kentucky Wildcats to the NCAA title inhis first season. In 2000, he was assistant coach of the USMen’s National Team, which won the gold medal at theSydney Olympic Games. Smith, who was selected asCoach of the Year in 1998 and in 2003, has won more than70 percent of the games he has coached.

Basketball is more than a sport at the University ofKentucky. It was, and is, a big part of life for everybodywho works and attends the University, and it’ a big part oflife for all the citizens of Kentucky. Kentucky was thehome of legendary coach, Adolph “Baron” Rupp, forwhom our 23,000-seat arena is named. Coach Rupp coa-ched at UK for 42 seasons, winning four NCAAChampionships during his tenure. When you step on theUK court for a practice or a game you have the specialfeeling of being part of one of the top basketball pro-grams in the U.S. The banners that hang from the raftersof Rupp Arena celebrate the seven NCAA championshi-ps. They are there as a constant reminder of Kentucky’s100 years of storied basketball history and what it meansto coach and play for the University of Kentucky. I wouldlike to explain one of our sets that we call the “40Series.” This is a series of plays against the man-to-mandefense we use to get a quick hitter on the perimeter, aswell as post up opportunities for both our guards andinside players. The beauty of these plays is that when wesee there are defensive mismatches, the “40 Series”allows us to quickly exploit the defensive weakness.

“40”The initial set is a one-four, with two high posts, 4 and 5,positioned at the corners of the free-throw lane, twowings, 2 and 3, and a point guard, 1. 1 starts the play, pas-sing the ball to one of the two posts, 5 in this case. Assoon as 5 receives the ball, 2 fakes to go towards the balland then makes a backdoor cut to receive the ball from 5(diagr. 1). If 2 does not receive the ball, he continues thecut and goes to the weakside block. 1 cuts around 5 andreceives a hand-off pass from 5. 5 then screens on the

OFFENSE

by Tubby Smith

THE KENTUCKYMAN-TO-MAN PLAY “40”

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reverses the ball to 4 (diagr. 5).3 frees himself and gets the ball from 4. 1 sets a flex-screen for 2, and then 1 receives a staggered screen, thefirst one by 5, and the second one by 4.Options: 3 can pass to 2, who has cut in the lane to theball-side block, or to 1, who came out of the staggeredscreen, or to 4 or 5, who opened up toward the ball afterthe screen (diagr. 6).

“42”1 dribbles toward the wing 2, and 2 cuts in the lane, while3 goes low near the basket. 5 shows his hands to ask for

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the ball and freezes his defender (diagr. 7).2 sets a cross-screen for 3. 3 initially looks for a quick post-up, and then pops out to the corner. 1 can pass to 3 in thelow post (diagr. 8). 4 and 5 set a double screen for 2 (screenthe screener), who comes out in the free-throw lane areaand receives a pass from 1 and looks for the jumpshot. Afterthe double screen, 4 and 5 “X” cross and go to the opposi-te low post positions. 1 can also pass the ball to the low poston his side, 4, in this case (diagr. 9).Note: If there is strong pressure on the ball, 1 can also “rub”his defensive player off a screen set by 4 or 5 before star-ting the play.

“43”This is the same play as “42,” but made on the opposite sidefor 3 (diagr. 10, 11, and 12).

“42” PINCH5 sets a ball screen for 1, who dribbles toward 2. 2 cuts inthe lane and screens for 3, as in the previous play (diagr. 13).4 and 5 set a double screen for 2. 2, in this play, does not rubaround the screen, but cuts in the middle of 4 and 5, whoscreen the defensive player of 2. 1 passes to 2, who looksfor the jumpshot. (diagr. 14).

“43” PINCHThis is the same play as “42” Pinch, but run on the opposi-te side for 3 (diagr. 15 and 16).

“44”1 rubs around 5’s screen and dribbles toward 2. 2 cuts in thelane and sets a back screen for 4, who goes in the low postarea. 5, after the screen for 1, sets a down screen for 2(screen the screener). 2 comes off the screen and receivesthe ball from 1. 1 can also pass to 4, in the low post area, orto 5, who rolls to the ball after the screen (diagr. 17).

“45”This is the is the same play as “44,” but run on the oppositeside for 3 (diagr. 18).

“46”1 rubs on 5’s screen and dribbles toward the wing. 3 cuts inthe lane and sets the first back screen for 4. 2 then setsanother back screen for 4 (staggered back screen). Afterthe screens, 4 goes on the low post area looking for thepost-up (diagr. 19).3 then quickly clears out to the wing and 5 sets a downscreen for 2 (screen the screener). After the screen, 5 popsout and goes to the left corner of the lane. 1 can pass to 4 inthe low post, to 2, or to 5 (diagr. 20).

“47”This is the same play as “46,” but run on the other side ofthe court for 5 (diagr. 21 and 22).

“48”1 rubs off the screen of 5, and dribbles toward the wing 2. 2cuts in the lane and sets a cross screen for 3, who cuts andgoes in the wing position (diagr. 23). 2 continues the cut andsets a back screen, first for 4, then back-screens for 5. 1tries to make a lob pass to 4 or 5 (diagr. 24).

“49”This is the same play as “48,”, but run on the other side ofthe court (diagr. 25 and 26).

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EARLY ANDSECONDARYFASTBREAK

FIBA EUROPE

Javier Imbroda coached last season RealMadrid, Spanish Division I team. Coach ofthe Year in 1995 and 1999, he was also headcoach at Division I teams in Malaga andCaja San Fernando. Assistant coach of theSenior Spanish national team from 1995 to2000, in 2001-2002 he was head coach ofthe National team. At the 1992 OlympicGames, he was assistant coach of theLithuanian National team.

SUMMARYI. IntroductionII. PhilosophyIII. The players skillsIV. How the fastbreak is run and the drills todevelop itV. Preserving the fastbreak

I. INTRODUCTIONIf we would conduct a survey among allcoaches, players, and fans, I’m certain thata vast majority would characterize themsel-ves as lovers of the fastbreak. If the surveyis taken before a season starts, I am con-vinced that all coaches would say that theywant to play a fastbreak style game. Basketball is synonymous with speed andlively play, a fundamental aspect of oursport. It is something we should enhancewhenever possible because it is so popularwith spectators. Before the implementationof four quarters and the 24-second shotclock, the fastbreak was like an endange-red species. Teams played control basket-ball and slowed the tempo excessively.Fastbreaks were rare, if at all. This led to agame that was both slow and boring. The new rule changes helped the gamebecome more dynamic and led to a reco-very of part of its speed. The all-out full-speed game has still not been fully attained.Here’s why. The biggest enemy of the fast-break is the “tactic foul”, a penalty takenthat’s not a flagrant foul, but still sufficientenough to keep the fastbreak from develo-ping. This type of foul inevitably harms thegame. Although it can’t be considered as atype of defensive strategy, it doesn’t allow agood offensive play to develop. In my opi-nion, such a foul should be penalized in adifferent way in order to try to banish it com-pletely from the game. This would allow thefastbreak to develop for the sake of theteams and the fans. This will be describedmore fully in the last point of my article.

II. PHILOSOPHY1. It pleases the fansAll fans like to watch a maximum number ofhigh-speed plays during a game. We canagree that the controlled game is oftenmore effective but we can also agree that ifonly that type of style were played the game

would definitely lose most of its sparkle andliveliness.

2. The players like itWhen asked what style of play they prefer,players will tell you that they like to run fast-break on every possible occasion.

3. Easy baskets The fastbreak entails a higher offensive anddefensive intensity. All the five players canbe involved on the fastbreak and each onecan score easy baskets.

4. Risky style of playThe fastbreak has its disadvantages, prima-rily a greater possibility of turnovers. Whenyou increase the speed of the game, youalso run the risk of losing control at times,

OFFENSE

by Javier Imbroda

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and the players can make more turnovers. Forthis reason some coaches are afraid to usethe fastbreak as a style of play.

III. THE PLAYERS SKILLSThe athletic and technical skills of the playershave greatly improved over the years, thanksto the evolution of the game and the increasedeffort that is put in training and conditioning.This has allowed the traditional fastbreak(orchestrated by the playmaker) to improve aswell, resulting in a faster game with more sco-ring possibilities.With more athletic players, a power forwardwho gets a rebound now has the possibility ofdribbling and leading the fastbreak by himself,without giving the first pass to a teammate.This leaves the playmaker to fill in the lane onone of the wings. In truth, this is not all thatcommon, but with our talented big men, it’s apossibility. I have had the opportunity to coacha few highly-talented power forwards-the lastone being Pau Gasol, now in the NBA, with thecapability of rebounding and leading the fast-break. The same goes for some shootingguards and small forwards. When you have the talent, you should allowplayers other than the playmakers to lead andrun the fastbreak. This does not leave the

team at higher risk in terms of confusionand/or turnovers. In any case, this can all be worked out indetailed training sessions.

IV. HOW THE FASTBREAK IS RUN AND THE DRILLS TO DEVELOP ITWhen talking about fastbreak, what doplayers like the best? Without a doubt, it’s thefinalization of the break with a lay-up, a shortjump shot, or a dunk. However, the mostimportant part of the break is the outlet pass.How it is made is usually a good indicator ofhow the play will eventually end.

EARLY FASTBREAKConstruction of the fastbreak:

1. Different situations2. Making the first pass3. “Winning” the spaces4. Development: filling the lanes5. Finalization: different options

1. Different situationsI like to build the fastbreak from different situa-tion, such as after a defensive rebound, after asteal, after scoring an action basket, or after afree-throw, hopefully developing a fastbreakwith the advantage of 2 on 1 or 3 on 2.

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2. Making the first passEven though the end of the fastbreak is themost enjoyable part, the most crucial part isthe beginning. It starts with a rebound, theall-important first pass, acceleration, fillingthe lanes, and a drive to the basket. In orderto become a team that runs the fastbreaksuccessfully, it is critical that your playersmaster each of these key aspects. I like to use a series of drills that help per-fect the first pass and accelerate the fast-break:▼ Diagr. 1: In 2 on 0, after the rebound, theaim is to move to open the passing lanes.After the reception of the first pass, playersswitch to high-speed running.▼ Diagr. 2: It’s exactly the same situation,but this time it’s 3 on 0 after the first pass,with the players filling the lanes.▼ Diagr. 3: Again, it’s exactly the samesituation, but in this instance imagine thatyour playmaker is overplayed and, therefo-re, he’s denied first pass. The center, aftertaking a couple of dribbles, moves to theside in order to get free and makes the firstpass on the dribble. This way, the play-maker doesn’t have to go behind the centerfor an hand-off pass, losing so his positionand the fastbreak advantage.▼ Diagr. 4: It’s the same situation, again withthe defender overplaying the first pass. Thisforces the receivers to work hard in ordercreate a passing lane.▼ Diagr. 5: The difficulty is increased as twodefenders choose whom they want todefend. It’s then up to the rebounder to readthe situation and choose whether he makesthe first pass. If he sees that the receiversare overplayed, he can drive the ball, as indiagr. 3.

3. “Winning” the spacesWhere do we make the first pass? ▼ Diagr. 6: The pass can be made to diffe-rent positions, depending on the abilitiesand the skills of the players. There are some teams that need all itsplayers to box-out in order to get the defen-sive rebounds. Their athletic skills don’tallow for any possible relaxation. In thiscase, it is position 1 where the first pass willbe thrown.Other teams can get an advantage by recei-ving the ball farther upcourt. Thanks to theirskills, they can receive the first pass in posi-tions 2 and 3. “Winning” these spacesallows you to improve your possibilities ofbeating the defense.

4. Development: filling the lanes▼ Diagr. 7, 8 and 9: There are several drillsthat will help choose the proper lanes in

order to run the break with a certain disci-pline. You can switch the order of theplayers to force them to find their properlane.▼ Diagr. 9: All players face the coach, whopasses the ball to 3, who leads the fast-break as the rest of the players find theirproper lanes. This is a way of preparingyour team to run what I call an “open fast-break.” This allows the team to take advan-tage of any possible situation so that ourplayers run the fastbreak, enjoy the game,and improve their skills. In this series of drills, three specific con-cepts must be considered:a) Using a partially deflated basketball insome of these drills during the first weeks ofpractice allows players to concentrate onpassing rather than dribbling. b) The first trailer should run ahead of theball any time he can.c) Who stays behind to prevent a fast-break? If, during the fastbreak, a playercommits a turnover, or the opposing team inbounds immediately in order to run theirown fastbreak, your players have to be pre-pared to the defensive transition. 5 (who isusually the slowest player) has to be readyto switch to protect our basket at mid-court,while his teammates are trying to score onthe early fastbreak.

5. Finalization: different situations▼ Diagr. 10, 11, and 12: We can see differentfinalizations where we will reward our firsttrailer whenever he runs ahead of the ball. ▼ Diagr. 10: Finalization with a lay-up.▼ Diagr. 11: Same finalization, but with aprevious cut of the forwards.▼ Diagr. 12: The trailer changes directionwith a big step in order to receive a passand score.

SECONDARY FASTBREAKWe start to talk now a series of finalizationsthat pertain to what we call “the secondaryfastbreak.”▼ Diagr. 13: The wing with the ball getsthe ball inside and then, from inside, weswing the ball. At the same time, both bigmen try to improve their positions by cut-ting in order to receive a pass in the lowpost. 4 looks for the ball again and 5 cutsfrom the 3-point line to the weak side.The outside players continue to maintaintheir spaces.▼ Diagr. 14: We are trying to make a passin the low post. If we can’t pass the ballinside to the first side, we can look forthe same player on the other side after across-pick is made on the baseline. ▼ Diagr. 15: Since the wings are not

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ter who comes up high.

V. PRESERVING THE FASTBREAKTactical foul must be punished.I would like to see any fouls committed inthis area, diagr. 20-the so-called “tacticfouls”- penalized with a free-throw plus pos-session of the ball.It’s easy to differentiate the “tactic foul.”The defender doesn’t have any intentionof stopping the fastbreak through gooddefense. He simply stops it by committinga foul that, even though it’s not a flagrantfoul, prevents the possibility of the offen-se from scoring an easy basket. Byallowing these tactical fouls to go unpu-nished, the game is substantially harmed.

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If the defender commits a foul in this areawith the intention of stealing the ball orstopping the fastbreak, it would be easyfor the referees to call the play. If thereferees, who are running in the samepath as the players, consider it as a “nor-mal” foul, then the team either inboundsthe ball. Banishing the tactical foul is myway of trying to protect the fastbreak, acrucial part of the spectacular nature ofour sport and one of the biggest appealsfor the fans. By eliminating these fouls,defenders would have to bring their gameup to a new level in order to defendagainst the fastbreak. And if a foul iscommitted, it should be penalized ade-quately.

open, the playmaker drives and holds thedribble until 5 sets a pick and then rollsinside. At the same time, the other bigman 4 comes up high to receive a pass inthe high post.▼ Diagr. 16, 17, and 18: 1 drives in a lateralwing and passes the ball to the other side.This leaves two options. The first one is ascreen for 4, who then receives the ball inthe low post coming from the outside. Thesecond option is to make two consecutivescreens for one of the forwards. ▼ Diagr. 19: This option can confuse thedefense. 2 cuts over 5.5 5 makes a pick-and- roll with 1. At the same time, on theother side, there will be screens for a shoo-

ZONE OFFENSEFIBA EUROPE

Moussa Tourè, a FIBA Level III coach, is an assistantcoach of the Senegalese Women’s National BasketballTeam. In 1997 he served as head coach of the SenegaleseMen’s National Cadets Team.

PREMISETwo are the types of zone defenses: ▼ The even zones (with two defenders in the front line): 2-3 zone, 2-2-1 zone, 2-1-2 zone.▼ The odd zones (with one defender in the front line): 1-2-2 zone, 1-3-1 zone.The fast break is the best weapon to attack any defensebecause it is quicker, safer, and does not allow the defen-se to get back to its position in time to effectively stop ballmovement to the basket.When and if the defense gets back in time to organize itselfinto a zone defense, it is necessary to counterattack withan offensive system that is both simple and efficient. Thegoal of any zone offense is to get an uncontested shot; ashot that offers a good opportunity to get fouled; or a shotthat can be easily rebounded. It is particularly important toget the ball inside against zones because it can be verydemoralizing to the defense: the heart of the defense hasbeen penetrated.The zone offense owes its strength and efficacy to bothindividual tactical abilities and overall group tactics (theeffective link of two or three players). The identification ofthe qualities of your players and their positions must betaken into account when setting up your zone defense.

INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM BASICS - INDIVIDUAL FUNDAMENTALSPassing, dribbling, shooting, faking, cutting, and offensiverebounding. Rebounding is critically important against azone defense. One of the major weaknesses of a zonedefense is the confusion regarding box-out assignments.Make your players aware of this. Many rebounds fall onthe side opposite the shot, so have the players concentra-te on weak-side rebounding.

INDIVIDUALTACTICSWhen and why to use these different techniques.

TEAM TACTICSHow to set up and use screens.

OFFENSE

by Moussa Tourè

INSIDE PLAYERS:1. Move and post up.2. Pass and cut.3. Skip pass and cut.4. Shoot and rebound.

PERIMETER PLAYERS:1. Pass and cut.2. Dribble attack.3. Open a gap.4. Spacing for a shoot.5. Every three passes, a pass to the low or high post.

GENERAL PRINCIPLESTHE FASTBREAKAs already mentioned, the fastbreak remains the most effi-cient weapon against any defense. The objective of thebreak is to score quickly before the zone defense has achance to set up.

SPACING ON THE COURTAll areas of the court do not have the same importance.When facing a zone defense, it is important that the attackbe organized so that each player is in position to effectivelybreak down the defense. For that, players must:1. Occupy the gaps by always isolating a defender with

two offensive player.2. Occupy the key low post area.3. Occupy the high post area.4. Widen the defense on the court, making defenders

cover more area.

OVERLOADINGAn offensive player must create an overload position andthen pass the ball as quickly as possible from the strong tothe weak side of the court. The aim is to position the bestshooter to get the ball to the player who is able to penetra-te the defense and drive to the basket.

OCCUPATION OF THE HIGH POST AREAWhen the ball is received in the high post there is no effec-tive defense. This is the best area in a half-court set and Ilike to position my center or forward here. These areplayers who are good ball handlers and good shooters.

ISOLATING ONE DEFENDER AGAINST TWO OFFENSIVE PLAYERSYou need to have a good weak side offensive player. Get theball to him quickly for the shot.

OPEN GAPA good attack creates a good open gap, forcing the defen-se to move quickly. Players must not dribble right after theyreceive a pass. The ball handler must always be in triplethreat position, in order to force a defender to come out,make a dribble in such a manner such another defenderwould intervene and then pass. Don’t ignore fake passes.Don’t forget that when an offensive player fakes a pass, thedefense will often be thrown off balance.

CUT AFTER THE PASSDon’t stand around. The player must cut after a pass inorder to make the defender move from his position. Theplayer must not run towards the basket with his back to theball; always be ready for a return pass.

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▼ Passing (primarily the skip pass), based on the variouspositions of players on the court.▼ Optimal spacing on the court. Keep players approxima-tely 10 to 15 feet apart from each other in order to keep onedefender from being able to guard two players. ▼ Timing of cutting.

Remember: any zone defense can be broken down withfour or five well-executed passes. So, be sure to stress pas-sing, passing, and more passing in your practice sessions.

ALTERNATE THE RHYTHM OF THE ATTACKMove the ball quickly after overloading one side.

BE PATIENTGood ball movement, screening, and dribble penetrationwill eventually cause a zone to break down and yield a goodshot at the basket. Patience and tactical discipline are veryimportant characteristics needed in order to effectivelyattack any zone. Never rush or precipitate offensiveactions, but always seek to provoke the defense. Get yourplayers to slow down and make good passes. Turnovers arecaused from rushing the attack against a zone defense. Bepatient and good shots will come. The best time to shoot iswhen both rebounding and offensive balance is assured.

OFFENSE VERSUS THE 2-1-2 ZONEThis is the basic set versus the even zone, a 2-1-2 in thiscase (diagr. 1). 1 passes to 2, and 2 to 4, who pops out in thecorner (diagr.2). After the pass to 4, 2 cuts and goes in the low post position,1 replaces 2 and 3 replaces 1, while 5 goes in the high postarea (diagr 3). 4 passes to 1, and 2 cuts and goes to weakside, outside the three-point line (diagr. 4).As soon 4 passes the ball to 1 and 1 to 3 in the middle of thefloor, 5 goes to the low post and 4 in the high post (diagr. 5).From this position 3 can pass to any ofhis teammates (diagr. 6).If 3 passes to 2, 2 can pass to 4, who canmake a pass to 1, or to 5 in the low postarea. After the pass 2 can cut (diagr. 7). For the continuity of this offense, 4 cancome out in the corner and the playersmove as already described (diagr. 8).

ZONE OFFENSE 1-2-2This is the basic set against the odd typeof zone. a 1-2-2 defense in this case(diagr. 9).With the ball in the hands of 1, 1 passesto 4, who pops out in the corner. At thesame time, 3 goes in the low post area,and 5 goes in the high post position (diagr. 10).1, after passing to 4, cuts in the lane, 2 replaces 1, 3 goes tothe low post area, and 5 moves up to the high post position(diagr. 11). 1 comes out of the lane and goes out of the three-point line (diagr. 12). 4 passes to 2 and 2 makes a skip pass(this cross-court pass gives the offense more options and isessential in attacking the weak side of a zone) from one sideof the court to the other to 1. 3 cuts to the other side of thecourt to the low post position, and 4 replaces 3.(diagr. 13).For the continuity, 1 can pass to 3, who pops out in the cor-ner, and cuts, or he can make a skip pass to 2 (diagr.14).

ZONE OFFENSE DRILLTwo lines of players set up outside of the court with the ball,and two lines set up outside the three-point line. 5 and 7pass the ball respectively to 2 and 1 at the same time (diagr.15). After the pass, 5 and 7 run outside the three-point line(diagr. 16).2 passes to 7 and 1 passes to 5. 5 and 7 make a couple ofdribbles, and then take a jump shot. 1 and 2 then go torebound (diagr. 17).In preparing an effective zone offense, it is important topractice these key items:

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NOTRE DAME BASKETBALL:MOTION OFFENSE

FIBA EUROPE

Sean Kearney, former assistant coach atProvidence with Rick Pitino, atNorthwestern with Bill Foster, andDelaware, he became associate headcoach at Delaware and, three years ago,at Notre Dame.

BASIC PRINCIPLESOur “Motion Offense” under head coachMike Brey is basically 3 players outside, 2players inside. In the halfcourt, with theball on top, we are in screening pairs withthe two inside players working togetherwith the perimeter players to get open.These initial screens can be a variety ofdifferent angles. We encourage theplayers to get to different spots on thefloor to receive screens. We want to getaway from it always being a big playersetting a down screen for a perimeterplayer. Once we get the ball to the entry(foul line extended) the perimeter playerswill work together as will the insideplayers.

WHY MOTION OFFENSE?We love to be “hard to guard”. We’vebeen fortunate to have versatile / multi-talented players in our program that haveflourished within this system. Naturally,as a result of our success, we continue torecruit talented young guys who will fit uswell.

Teams that run motion offense are diffi-cult to defend and difficult to scout. Weteach our guys to read the defense andmake the right play. We have certainlyinstituted some rules but we try to giveplenty of freedom. Whether they areresponsible enough to handle that free-dom is something coaches need to workthrough. Defining roles with your group isjust as important as where you are ente-ring the ball. If your best perimeter shoo-ter is not getting enough touches andshots then you have work to do.Teammates need to understand theirroles and then trust each other within

OFFENSE

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their own assignments. Coaches need tohave the ability to loosen the reins at first,then pull them back in as your team handlesthis freedom.

INITIAL ALIGNMENT4 and 5, the big players, screen for 3 and 2and 1 passes the ball to one of the wings, 2in this case (diagr. 1 and 2). Spacing is so

important for us in this offense. We use thethree-point line as a guide for our perimeterspacing. 2 can either pass to 5, in this case,who posted up right away or 5 can screen tothe other side for 4. At the same time, 1 and3 are working together, either screeningaway or 1 can set a fade screen and thenshaping up to ball on top. If 5 has screenedacross for 4, after he does that he will imme-

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diately shape up high and get himself tothe high post (diagr. 3).

Like all good offensive situations, ballreversal is crucial to the success of thisoffense. It is so much easier to make apenetrating dribble or post feed afterwe’ve moved the defense some withreversal. Most often reversal will comethrough the perimeter player who hascome to the top. We do, however, love toget reversal through the big player in thehigh post. As the big player catches theball in the high post, we teach him to lookfor his shot (depending on personnel),look to feed his partner in a high-lowsituation, or to reverse to the oppositeperimeter player at foul line extended. Attimes we have had a rule where anytimethe ball is reversed through the high postyou must follow with a screen on the ball.We will generally either roll the big playerto the basket or have him step out to theshort corner. Our angle of the ball screenis usually back to the middle. On penetra-tion, the guard will have numerousoptions which will include the other bigplayer at the opposite side of the court oreven the other perimeter player in a driveand kick pass situation.

It is important that once the ball is passedto the wing, the perimeter players arepatient to allow the big players to worktogether before they look to reverse theball. We teach that, for the most part, ifyou can see the jersey of our big playerand he has a guy on his back, the ball hasto go in there. It may not always be for ascoring opportunity, but it does flatten outthe defense and we get more chancesfrom there. We may play two man gameon the same side and go inside - out witha shooter. He may look to go low to highfor the other big player for a jumpshot atthe corner of the three second lane. Orwe may look to make a skip pass acrossthe lane to the perimeter for reversal: allgood options in our motion.

AUDIBLESAlong with our initial screening pairs wehave several audibles we will utilize.

a. “Shallow” - probably used most often.1 dribbles to the wing 2 and 2 will replace1 to the top. 3, the other wing, may choo-se to go down below 4 and get help witha screen or just get to the top as quicklyas possible. For good spacing we encou-rage them to get a foot in the lane as theymake their cut (diagr. 4). Anytime we“shallow” a wing, 4, the big player, and 3,the perimeter player on the other side,

should time it so the down screen occursjust as the ball is coming back to the topfrom 1 to 2 (diagr. 5). We will get an awfullot of good looks with this movement. Theinitial pass from the wing back to the topcannot be a lazy one. We don’t use it asfrequently but we could shallow fromwing to top as well. When 2 passes theball to 3, 2 makes a screen for 1 and 5comes to the high post, for keeping thedefenders busy and not allow them tohelp (diagr. 6).

b. “Circle” - 1 dribbles at 2, the wing, andpushes the perimeter players 2 and 3,around on the three-point line, eachreplacing the other (diagr. 7). 5, the ballside big player, will post up. 4, the opposi-te big player, will look to down screen for2, who was “circled” initially. Timing isimportant. We may or may not get a shotor dump down to the big, but it does get usgood ball reversal, with the ball passedfrom 1 to 3 and from 3 to 2 (diagr. 8).

c. “Cross” - With ball in center of floor, 2and 3, the perimeters players, will crossunder the basket and receive downscreens from 4 and 5 to get open (diagr. 9).We have generally always crossed underthe basket with both players coming outon the low side. This year we have madea slight adjustment. The perimeter playerscoming from left to right will come off at adifferent angle of the big player at theright elbow. We are very interested to seethis evolve. It should initially create somegood three point opportunities (diagr. 10).As teams look to fight over the screens toget to our shooters, we should have bigplayers rolling to the basket. The perime-ter players will also have a significant dri-ving area with the big players in a highposition.

d. “Exchange” - Perimeter players willdribble exchange at any opportunity. It ismore of an exchange than a dribbleweave (diagr. 11). We teach for the ballhandler to try to drive the defense back bypenetrating and flipping back the ball tothe teammate to create some space(diagr. 12). This has even evolved to thepoint where we may wind up with one ortwo exchanges followed by a big player,who makes a screen on the ball on the topof the three second lane (diagr. 13) .

e. “Release” - Most defenders of the bigplayers are not comfortable defendingout on the floor away from the basket.Against teams who we have difficultymake the entry pass directly to the wing,we will just make a “release” pass to a

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to score, but are aware of the other groupon the opposite side of the floor.

d. 5 vs. 0 motionWe are now in a position to put it alltogether. We are using our initial scree-ning pairs to enter the ball as well as ouraudibles. Footwork and communicationare important. The wing, who has just cau-ght the ball, may tell the ball side bigplayer to go screen away because he isnot open. They have to trust each otherthat they will get it back and that they arehelping each other. We are also in a posi-tion to preach defensive balance thatwhen a shot goes up we are being surethat the guards are thinking about beingback and not going to the boards.

SUMMARYOur Notre Dame version of the motionoffense has truly “evolved” over the cour-se of the last eight years under HeadCoach Mike Brey. Initially we were muchmore inclined to have more rules than lessbecause it is difficult to let the control outof your hands. Much of this evolution hadas much to do with the players we werefortunate to have and their individual abili-ties. Just as much had to do with theirimproved ability to read defenses andmake decisions with the basketball. A one

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dimensional player, such as a low blockonly big man, may not enjoy great successin our system. Hopefully we can recruitthe right type of player to help us continueto have success and win championships.In the meantime, we may continue totinker with it some and make subtle chan-ges. The interesting thing is that someti-mes you can just sit back and watch whatyour team may be able to do with it them-selves. Players can do that. Don’t be afraidto let them show you some new thingsevery once in a while.

There are many ways to run motion offen-se. Ours has helped us to three straightNCAA Tournament appearances, inclu-ding a Sweet Sixteen finish last season.During that time we have been the mostconsistent team in the Big EastConference, the only one to reach theNCAA’s each of the last three years. Ontop of the successes, our Motion Offenseand how we play are what we are knownfor. Our style of play is Notre DameBasketball under Head Coach Mike Brey.Coaches and fans alike always remark tous about how well we play the game.What a great compliment for now!

big player, who comes out high to beginour motion (diagr. 14). 1, the ball handler,will take the ball away from that big on topand than pass the ball to him, 5 in thiscase. We may look for a quick duck - inand post up and then we are into motion.You need to feel comfortable with that bigplayer catching and handling the ball andmaking decisions with it out there.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENTEverything we do in regard to our indivi-dual improvement plan is centeredaround our motion offense. We want toteach them the offensive “dance” withinour offense. Simple drills which emphasi-ze catch and face without traveling arevital to our development. Can our bigplayers flash high, catch the ball andmake a high to low post feed without tra-veling? Can our perimeter players comeoff a big down screen, catch the entrypass and under great duress make agame winning post feed?

HOW DO WE BUILD IT?a. Perimeter players 3 vs. 0Using all of the audibles, the perimeterswork together to get open. Great empha-sis for them on proper spacing, particu-larly in the high post, need to keep thatarea clear for the opposite big player.Getting them to read drive and kick passsituations, reading the defense. May adda coach to the post to allow them to makepost feeds and read situations off of that.

b. Big players 2 vs. 0With passers at each entry pass to thewings, big players work together. Need toget both high and low posts filled and veryimportant for them to communicate witheach other. Must shape up to the ball afterscreening, screener most often the openguy! Big players may also step out tomake a ball screen for passers. Mostlycoming from high post to be a ball scree-ner but will also allow them to some out oflow post to accomplish the same thing.

c. 3 vs. 0 on a sideWith twelve players we will have fourgroups of three active players in this drill,two at each end. Again without defense,the ball handler has ball on top and bigand perimeter players are workingtogether in screening pairs. We look tostart in different alignments and getvarious angles. Once the ball is entered tothe wing, big player posts up. On postfeed, the perimeter players work together,either screening for each other, basketcutting and replacing, or by just replacingthemselves on the perimeter. Players look

FIBA EUROPE

Gregg Popovich, the head coach of theSan Antonio Spurs, won NBA titles in 1999and 2003. He started his NBA career in1988 as assistant coach of San Antonio,went on to be an assistant coach withGolden State before coming back to SanAntonio as the coach and General Mana-ger. He was also assistant coach of the USNational team at the FIBA 2002 WorldChampionship.

This article is taken from the Belgrade(Serbia and Montenegro) Clinic 2003, orga-nized by the Yugoslavian Association ofBasketball Coaches.

The defensive philosophy of the San Anto-nio Spurs starts with the answer to thequestion: At which part of the court do webegin to play defense? Full-court defense,if played from one baseline to the otherone, is called “40”; if we play from the free-throw line at the front half of the court wecall it “30,” from mid-court is “20,” and inthe shooting zone is called “10”.Coach Dean Smith of the University ofNorth Carolina taught me this very simpleway to play defense and I have found thatthe players easily understand it. If we areplaying against a team like the Los AngelesLakers that is not making too much transi-tion, but relies mainly on the set offensearound the lane, then we play a full-courtdefense to use up their offensive time andchange their passing angles. We don’t letthem start their famous “triangle offense,”but make them use up time in the frontcourt.On the other hand, when we play againstteams like New Jersey Nets, againstwhom we played in the NBA Finals lastseason, our tactics are different. The Nets

OFFENSE

THE GAME PHILOSOPHY OF THE

by Gregg Popovich

SAN ANTONIO SPURS

help. He maintains the closed stance. Ourgoal is to make the most difficult possiblesituation for the team that wants to take athree-point shot.There are many players that have a goodfirst step off the dribble and there are thethose that jump and shoot well at the end ofthe penetration. However, there are only afew that can shoot in the space betweenthe start of the dribble and the position theyfinally reach under the basket. That’s be-cause they have a defender by their sideand another one, usually a tall player, thatruns towards him to stop penetration to thebasket. These shots in the lane are difficult,if not impossible ones to make and usuallyyou will find that the offensive players inthese situations will kick the ball out to ateammate. In this situation, the defenderwho goes to cover the ball, forces theplayer with ball to the baseline. In short, we don’t help out defensively if weare one pass away from the ball. Every timewe force the player with the ball to the ba-seline, and we help at the penetration fromthe help side (i.e. from the lower position, adefender from the baseline), and we ap-proach the offensive players, we apply thesame rules, always forcing to the baseline.Naturally, when the ball is passed, a defen-der must jump to the ball and move to agood defensive position. We practice ourdefensive rules for 20 to 25 minutes a day,playing four-on-four at both halves of thecourt. All players run these drills so theybecome automatic. The following drill is a4-on-4 (it is called 4-4-4, because there are

run an excellent fastbreak, so there will beno full-court pressing, especially when Ja-son Kidd is playing point guard. Comparedto the majority of NBA teams, we play a dif-ferent half-court defense (diagr. 1). We putpressure on the player with the ball: X1plays aggressively against 1, and X2, theplayer, who is one pass away from the ball,plays in a closed stance and doesn’t let 2receive the ball. X3, the player who is guar-ding 3, who is two passes away from theball, slides towards the ball and under thepassing line. The passing line is the imagi-nary line between the player with a balland 3. One of the best positions for shooting iswhen the player is positioned in the corneron the ball side. The majority of coacheswant their players to try and stop the pene-tration by moving the defender X4 to playthis defensive role. I do just the opposite. Adefender from the angle never helps on pe-netration because I won’t let the offensemake a shot from the corner. This defensi-ve concept is, among other things, one ofthe reasons why San Antonio was secondin the NBA defensive statistics for thelowest percentage of three-point shotsmade by opponents. My second rule is that the player with theball can never penetrate to the middle ofthe court. Our goal is to always direct himto the baseline. If the defender of theplayer with the ball lets the penetration intothe middle, I will immediatly take thatplayer out of the game. In practice ses-sions I constantly underline to my playersthe proper way to approach to the offensi-ve player. This means that the leg of the de-fender farthest from the baseline must beover the farthest leg of the offensive player.X2, the player, who is one pass away fromthe ball. must be in a closed stance at thethree-point line and, if there’s penetration,he immediately leaves his offensive playerand slides down at the help side, to thespot of X3, who must run to stop the pene-tration and place himself between theplayer with the ball and his teammmate un-der the passing line. Penetration is stopped by going face to fa-ce with the player with the ball. X2 goes allthe way down, and if there’s a pass, he mu-st go for it. While approaching the playerwith the ball after he receives the pass, thedefender must again force him to the side-line of the court, without letting him pene-trate in the middle. The defender of the player with the ball inthe corner must follow the same rule. Also,if there’s penetration of the player with theball from the corner to the middle, the de-fender that is the first pass away does not

three teams of four players involved) and itserves to convince players that they don’twin with the offense but rather by playingtough defense, especially in the last quar-ter of the game. At San Antonio, this drill isrun by the youngest team player, TonyParker, as well as by the oldest player, Ke-vin Willis, so they clearly understand whatis necessary to win. While running this drill, we typically play upto seven points. The offensive players canplay any way they want (diagr. 2). If any ofthe four players on offense score, theygain a point. If they miss a shot, the defen-se gains a point. If the offensive players donot score, they play defense against theother team, positioned at mid court. Thecoach stays under the basket to get theball if the basket is made and pass it to thenext team, which immediately starts toplay. The players don’t have time to talk orrest, and they must quickly communicateand decide who they will guard. I use thisdefensive drill every day and we play withthe maximum intensity. In this way, theplayers gain the self confidence necessaryto play a tough defense. They learn to com-municate with their teammates and make

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FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

switches, when necessary, to stop theiropponent. As a penalty, the teams that losethe game have to perform extra runningdrills.The final item I focus on is rebounding. Ifthe offense takes a shot, misses, and grabsthe rebound, the defensive team loses apoint. In some cases, a defensive team thatkeeps losing rebounds can end up with mi-nus points, below zero, putting even morepressure on them to tighten their defense.This drill is a basic part of each practicesession and, on average, we spend a thirdof the practice session performing it.Let’s now talk about offense. Let’s assumewe start the offense with a defensive re-bound (diagr 3). The forwards run and thefirst big man, 4, in this case, runs on the sa-me side of the ball and tries to set himselfinto the low post position in front of defen-sive player to get the ball and score. Ofcourse, if the defensive player is behindhim, he seals the defender and he can ea-sily receive the ball. However, if the defen-sive player is contesting the pass, he mustpush him completely under the basket andlook for the ball. Karl Malone of the Los An-geles Lakers is a master of this move. Theperimeter players run near the baseline toforce the defense to run behind them andto make it possible for the high post playerto receive the ball. If we can’t score off the fastbreak, I believethat the best way to play offense is the insi-de game (diagr. 4). The ball is passed to 2,the player in the corner, then to the low po-st, 4. After the pass, 2 runs alongside 4, theplayer with the ball, near the baseline, andthe other post player, 5, goes to the low po-st position on the opposite side of 4. Theplayer in the other corner, 3, goes to the topof the lane. If there’s no double team by thedefensive players, the player with the ballin the low post, 4, can play one-on-one. Af-ter the cut of 2, 1 goes in the corner, andthen 3 takes the place of 1. After the passand cut of 2, 1 goes in the corner, and 1 isreplaced by 3. If we do not want to or simply can’t passthe ball in the corner (diagr. 5), the pass ismade from 1 to the second trailer, 5, andfrom him to the other side of the court, a re-versal pass, to 3. The first big man, 4, fla-shes to the other side of the lane to get theball. After the cut of 4, 1 and 5 make a stag-gered screen, one screen after the other,for 2, who comes high at the top of the lane.After the first screen, 1 goes to the other si-de of the court where he and the other twoplayers set a double screen or anotherstaggered screen for the screener. In thislast situation, it does not matter what youwill do because there are many options

the previous four-on-four drill but the pointsare awarded differently. If the offense sco-res (they don’t have to use any set plays), theoffense go on defense and the defense onoffense. The team on offense does not winany points for scoring a basket. If offense

does not score and the defense rebounds,the defense gets a point and can immedia-tely fastbreak. Should they score off a fast-break, they earn another point. Even if theydon’t score from the fastbreak, the same fiveplayers remain on defense, and have the

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which can be signaled with a fist or someother pre-determined signal. Unless we can give a ball to one of the th-ree players on the same side, we try topass the ball to the low post player. If wecannot do this, then this player can go tothe free-throw line, receive the ball andplay one-on-one or else pass the ball backto the player who made the pass and playpick-and-roll with him. This is an excellentsituation to use against the teams that popout vertically to the player from the pick-and-roll.We have two options to begin our offense.First, the ball goes to the corner and then tothe low post. Second, the ball is passed tothe other trailer on the other side and thenthere is a staggered screen. To move theball effectively, we do not always need todribble on offense. A lateral pass can bedone immediately to get the ball in the cor-ner. This position on offense gives us a lotof possible options. The trailer (5) has toguess the offense: if the ball goes to lowpost, he goes to the other low post position.If the ball is passed around, he moves tothe other side of the court and participatesin the staggered screen and later, in the la-teral two-on-two play. If we do not mana-ge to get a good situation for shooting andthe offense time starts to run out, playersshould be aware of how much time is leftfor offense and the ball immediately goesto the side. The players clear out to playone-on-one or pick-and-roll. Tall playershave a special responsibility in this situa-tion should always be prepared to start apick-and-roll as the final seconds tickaway. I have already described the basiccutting that allows us numerous options,and now I’d like to focus on just one of the-se options. 2, the player, in the corner, cutsaround the post, 4, and runs to the top ofthe lane (diagr. 6). The second post, 5, fromthe top of the lane, screens on 3, the playerin the corner, who cuts to the basket. Wecan call this a sort of offense in a triangle(‘’loop”option). After a screen, the player inthe corner does not go towards the basket,but instead goes to screen the player withthe ball. They then play pick-and-roll. If thepass to the trailer is not possible, the trailermakes a backdoor cut, goes to the low postposition and the player with the ball drib-bles to the top of the lane and changes theoffense side. The key issue is that the ball changes theside and defense moves from one side tothe other. If there’s penetration along thebaseline, we always want to have a playeravailable on the opposite angle for an openpass and shot. The following five-on-five drill is similar to

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

possibility to earn more points. We play un-til a team scores 10 points. The losing teamhas to perform extra running drills. I have always tried to increase the pressu-re in practice. The Spurs have not been agood free-throw shooting team-we were26th out of 29 NBA teams last season.What I do is choose one player from theteam that lost the game to 10 and have himshoot two free throws. If he scores bothfree-throws, his teammates do not have torun. If he misses, they all run. My final thoughts: The team that playsstrong defense is going to win. If you canget your team to play tough defense, theywill lead you to victory. Question: How do you get the motion of-fense started?There are no special calls for starting theoffense. When I was a player, my positionwas playmaker. I knew that two guardshad to run in front of the ball and that thefirst tall player had to go to low post andthat the second trailer came last. Someti-mes, while starting offense, a playmakermay call the trailer to begin a pick-and-rollat half court. In such situations, help fromthe defense most frequently comes fromthe corner, leaving the shooter alone in thecorner. There are no calls on offense andthe player with the ball will pass it to thecorner or else will bring it to the corner. Af-ter the pass, the player in the corner mayrun behind the tall player. The ball may bereturned to the playmaker that also has afew solutions depending on whether thetrailer is open for make a pass or not.Running an offense is based on the defen-sive situations and the score of the game,and other situations that present themsel-ves on the court. Certainly, in some situa-tions I react. For example, if Tim Duncanhasn’t received the ball for three to four mi-nutes, I will naturally call a play for him.. Iam not a coach like Phil Jackson of the LosAngeles Lakers, for example, who lets aplayer run a play for as many as eight ti-mes. I will call a timeout if that happens.The cutting that I have described in our of-fense gives equal opportunities for all theplayers to score. If it’s not working or get-ting the results I want, I will call for a spe-cial offense. Question: What’s the best way to force theoffensive player to the baseline and howdo you practice these situations?There are various drills we do on defenseto push the offensive player to the baselineso he can’t make it to the middle. One ofthese drills is a full-court one-on-one whe-re the aim is to return to a good defensiveposition after a penetration. This entailssprinting up to the player and, without pu-

shing, use some hand contact and a gooddefensive stance to force him to the baseli-ne.We also use a half-court drill to achieve thisobjective. After a pass is made, the defensi-ve player runs towards the offensive playerand they play one-on-one. The offensiveplayer tries to penetrate in the middle andthe defense tries to force him to the sideline(diagr. 7). Winning basketball teams are those that be-lieve in what they do and stick to what theydo best. The key to winning basketball arebasic skills performed well. The followingdrill is a basketball basic and should be

performed every day in order to makeplayers pay attention to tbasic details. Th-ree offensive players are placed on the halfcourt, one in the center of the court and theother two on the wings. The two on thewings should get free to receive the ball. Af-ter making a pass, the passer goes awayfrom the ball a step or two and then tries topop out to receive the ball. Each time, before before receiving the ball,the player should cut away from the ball andthen move towards the ball and cut in. A lowscreen can be made at the opposite sidefrom the ball (diagr. 8), and then the playershould roll toward the ball.

THE OREGON UNIVERSITYOFFENSE

FIBA EUROPE

Ernie Kent, former head coach ofSt.Mary’s College, since 1997 is on thebench of Oregon University. Assistant coach of the US Under 21Men’s National team in 2001, he washead coach of the US Men’s JuniorNational team at the last FIBA WorldChampionship for Junior Men.

MAN-TO-MAN OFFENSE

“EAGLE”“Eagle” is one of our primary halfcourt set plays. We like this playbecause it gives us both inside andoutside scoring opportunities. It is a very difficult play to defendbecause our alignment forces theweak side defender to make decisionsabout guarding our post man or con-centrating on covering the shooter,who comes off the double pick.

ACTION▼ The set: one point guard, 1, two

wings, 2, and 3, two big men, 4, and 5 at the corner of the free-throw lane.

▼ 1 dribbles the ball to the right side of the court. As he does, the ball side post, 5, slides down the lane to the low post position and the ball side wing 2 slides to thecorner.

▼ 4 readies himself to pop to the high post as the point guard 1 reaches the wing area (diagr.1).

SECOND ACTION▼ As 1 makes a reversal pass to 4, 2

makes a flex cut off of the post 5. While doing this, he is looking to run into 5’s defender to clear somespace for the big man to post up deeper into the lane.

by Ernie Kent

OFFENSE

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

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▼ 2 continues through the lane to the weak side block area.

▼ 3 slides in toward the lane (diagr. 2).

THIRD ACTION▼ As 1 gets the ball back from 4, he

immediately looks to dump the ballinside to the post if he is open.

▼ Otherwise, he directs his attentionback toward 2 as he comes off thehigh double screen set by 4 and 3(diagr. 3).

TAIL END▼ The tail of the play has 3 going

out to the ball side baseline after he sets the double for the shooter 2.

▼ If 5 cannot receive the ball in the low post, he turns and screens in for 3, who goes in the opposite corner, and 1 passes the ball to 3 (diagr. 4).

“3”“3” is designed to get a three-pointshot for our best shooter. We use a“flex” action to disguise movement.

ALIGNMENTWe begin in a one-four low set acrossthe baseline, and our best shooter, 2,in this case, is always in the right cor-ner.

ACTION▼ 1 dribbles to 2’s side, staying even

with the lane line.▼ 4 flashes up the lane to receive

the ball from 1 (diagr. 5).

NEXT ACTION▼ 3 takes one step off the lane and

sets a back screen for 2.▼ Using 3’s screen,2 makes a “flex

cut” across the lane to the low block (diagr. 6).

NEXT▼ As 2 cuts off 3’s back screen,1

should be screening down for 3 (his man should be helping defensively in the lane). 1 then clears to the corner.

▼ 4 hits 3 with a pass .▼ 5 should slide out of the corner to

get a better screening angle (diagr. 7).

FINALLY▼ 5 and 4 set a double screen for 2

for the three-point shot (diagr. 8).

ZONE OFFENSES“STACK”“Stack” is one of the simplest, yetmost effective plays to use versus thezone defense. By out-manning thedefense (three offensive players vs.two defenders) inside, we are able toscore with easy baskets to force ouropponent back into a man-to-manlook.

ACTION▼ The action starts out of a one-two-

two set.▼ 1 initiates the play by passing the

ball to the best shooter 2.▼ The ball side big man 5 slides

across the lane to form a low stack with 4. We always want 5 tobe the high man in the stack (diagr. 9).

NEXT ACTION▼ 2 passes the ball back to the point

guard 1, who dribbles opposite and passes to 3 on the other wing.

▼ 2 runs off the stack set by the twobig men 5 and 4, and loops up off the baseline to draw the outside defender in the zone with him (diagr.10).

NOTE: If the outside defender does notguard our cutter, we will throw the ballto him for the open jump shot. We want the cutter to drag the defen-sive forward to the corner with him sothat we can get the ball into the shortcorner area vacated by the defense.

SCORING ACTION▼ After 2 runs off the double pick of

5 and 4, our top big man 5 screensthe middle man in the zone. The low man 4 steps to the shortcorner directly behind 5’s screen and looks for the pass from 3 for the short jumper or drive to the basket (diagr. 11).

STACK HIGH▼ “Stack High” is essentially the

same plays “Stack” except we begin the action from a different set, one-three-one as opposed to a one-two-two look.

▼ As noted in the diagr. 12, 4 lines upon the wing and 2 in the high postto begin the play.

▼ The point guard always begins the action with a pass away from 4. As he passes to the wing, 4 moves to the block and 2 cuts under the basket.

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ALIGNMENT▼ We start the play in a one-two-two

alignment with the big men on the low blocks.

FIRST▼ 1 passes to 3 to initiate the play.▼ 2 cuts along the baseline to the

strong side corner (diagr. 15).

NEXT▼ As 2 cuts by the post players 5 and 4,

4 turns and screens for 5 the middleman in the zone.

▼ Using the screen, 5 cuts right off of4’s hip and moves to the short corner (diagr. 16).

▼ Once the point guard receives thereturn pass, he dribbles to the wing and the big men run our stack action as 2 cuts to ball side corner (diagr. 12).

“STACK & HOLD”“Stack & Hold” is used against teamsplaying a zone defense with one ortwo defenders on the baseline (i.e.:one-two-two or one-three-one). The idea is to flood the baseline areawith three offensive players againsttheir one or two men. If properly executed, the play resultsin either a fifteen-foot jump shot or apass to the post for an easy score insi-de.

ACTION▼ The action starts out of a one-

two-two set with 4 and 5, who form a low stack on either side. Asin stack, we always want our 5 asthe high player in the stack, as his job will be to screen, then postup low.

▼ 1 initiates the play by passing the ball to the guard on the stack-sideof the court, 3 in this case.

▼ As the pass is being made, 5 screens in the low defender and 4pops to fifteen feet for the short jump shot (diagr. 13).

SECOND ACTION▼ If the defense gets wise to our

strategy and decides to cheat out on 4 popping out, we tell to 5 to “find the next defender” and post him up in the lane. The passer reads the defense and then looks inside to our 5 posting up as he’ll be one-on-one with his defender and with the both feet inside the lane (diagr.14).

▼ As with all our offense, we emphasize shot selection and discouragetaking poor shots. If we get nothing out of the action,we tell our inside players not to force a shot, but to kick the ball toour perimeter players and allow us to reset the play to the oppositeside of the floor.

“5”“5” is designed to get a high percenta-ge shot against a zone defense. It is very similar to “Stack” in that weare trying to draw the defensiveforward to the sideline and screen themiddleman in, leaving an open area inthe short corner.

FINISH▼ 3, the passer, must read the

defense to make the correct pass.▼ If the defensive center gets held up

on the screen, 5 in the short cornershould be open (diagr. 17).

▼ If the defensive center slides through 4’s screen to cover 2 in theshort corner, 4 should be open on apost up (diagr. 18).

NOTE: It is imperative for the offenseto read the defense and make the cor-rect play. This is a very tough play to defend ifwe screen well and make the properpass.

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FIBA EUROPE

Dragan Sakota coached Zadar and Cibo-na Zagreb (Croatia), Paok, Iraklis, Peri-steri, Aris, AEK, and, this season, Olym-piakos (Greece). In 1991 he won the Sa-porta Cup with Paok.

When putting a team together, every ba-sketball coach wants to have a satisfyingnumber of good defensive players on hisroster. This is also the main reason why acoach spends a lot of his practice timeworking on team and individual defense.Since the primary defense for mostteams is man-to-man, the coach’s bigge-st satisfaction is when he sees that hisdefender is able to successfully guardthe opponent’s outstanding player. In reality, everybody knows that guardingthe opponent’s “star” is a very difficulttask. It is also difficult for a team to mat-ch-up with a team that has a high level ofcollective offensive play and can attackin a variety of ways. Facing these twokinds of problems are the coach’s mainreasons for using alternative defenses,such as the simple zone defense and theunorthodox zone defense.My subject of discussion is the offensethat can be used against the one-four zo-ne. However, before I delve into the phi-losophy of this defense and my theory ofhow to attack this and other zones, Iwould like to share with you my expe-rience facing the one-four. The first timewas in 1987 at the final game of the “Yu-goslavian Cup.” Like any young and inex-perienced coach, I was surprised andunprepared when the opposing teamswitched to the one-four zone. Since Ihad no organized offense for this kind ofdefense, I acted on my instincts. I quicklysubstituted the player that was being

closely guarded by a man. The opposingteam then switched from the one-fourback to a simple zone defense and thegame fortunately turned in our favor. From that day on, I spent a lot of timethinking about how to face this kind ofdefense and before every game I nowpay special attention to the possibility ofthat defense being used. My players andI will not be caught surprised and unpre-pared. I always have a play prepared forevery kind of unorthodox zone defense:the box-and-one, the triangle-and-two,and finally, the diamond-and-one.

BOX-AND-ONE DEFENSEThe box-and-one defense consists offour men playing a box zone defense,with one man playing aggressive man-to-man defense against the best offensi-ve player (diagr. 1). The goal of this de-fense is to neutralize the scoring poten-tial of this player. The box is used to for-ce the outside shot by preventing easyshots from close range. However, thisdefense has its weaknesses. The box-and-one is not a good choice touse against a team with several goodoutside shooters and can easily be

OFFENSE

by Dragan Sakota

ATTACKING THE UNORTHODOX ZONE

ve a double pick from players 2 and 5 (dia-gr. 3). Since the whole defense is focusedon the ball and looking for a shot to comeoff the double pick, this double pick can beused as a decoy so the play can quickly betransferred to the other side. At the sametime when 3 comes of the double pick, 2aggressively sprints to the opposite sideand 4 pops out to the high post to receivethe ball from the 1 (diagr. 4). As soon as 4gets the ball, he must immediately pass to2, who should now be open for a shot. When 4 passes the ball, he has to cut to thebasket, looking for a return pass and aneasy lay-up. 2 has several options. Consi-dering the fact that he is a good shooter,his first option would be to face the basketand, if open, shoot. He should also see that4 is cutting to the basket for an easy lay-up.However, 2’s third option is to look at 5,who has flashed at the high post area. 2can pass to him for a shot or involve him ina high-low game (diagr. 5). In case that 2 does not do any of this, he re-turns the ball to the point guard, who nowmakes a strong move towards the ball toreceive the pass. After the pass, the team’s alignment isexactly the same as it was at the beginningof the play, only the players are now on theopposite sides (diagr. 6).Therefore, 2 sets the double pick for 3, andruns to the opposite side, followed by 5,who pops out to receive the pass from 1(diagr. 7). Then, 5 passes to 2, who in thismoment should be able to attack the basketeither by feeding 5 on the post, or using himfor a pick-and-roll game (diagr. 8).

broken with penetration at the gaps.The best way to attack this defense is toplace one man in the gap between thetwo defensive guards. This man shouldthen make an effort to penetrate in thisgap, with the intention of drawing thetwo men to cover him. This quickly opensroom for the wing man. Once the ball iskicked outside, the offense should notdiffer much from any other offensive mo-tion used against a zone defense. The slight difference though, is seenwhen an individual player is pressuredby a defender who is not following thezone formation. In order to give morespace to his teammates and remain an of-fensive threat as well, this player shouldalways set up outside or near the baseline. In this offensive motion, however, a pro-blem can occur when the individual playerthat is being pressured is the team’s pointguard. In this case, the point guard mustswitch positions with the 2 guard, with the2 taking on the point guard duties. Howe-ver, the best solution is to have two pointguards in the game at this time so the of-fense can run easily and effectively. With this offense, you can see that the in-dividual player’s job can be difficult whenconfronted by this defense. For this rea-son, the other four players have a biggerresponsibility. They must attack based onprinciples from offenses against a normalzone. The best way to prepare for this kindof defense is to use an exercise “shell”during practice sessions. We force the of-fense to penetrate in the gaps in order todisorientate the defensive formation andcreate easy free shots. When preparingfor this defense, it is of vital importance tomake the right player selection. Youshould have four effective shooters fromthe perimeter. They should be very agileand good passers. Since you are confron-ting a defense with plenty of rotations, youshould have a big low-post man who is ca-pable of finishing mismatches and gettingoffensive rebounds. When you have fini-shed your preparation for attacking thisdefense and have selected your bestplayers, you can then proceed in choosingthe one or more systems you might havefor the box-and-one zone. At this point, Iwill show you the system I have used for along time against the box-and-one, an ef-fective system that still helps me today.

OFFENSEThe basic alignment for this attack is one-four low (diagr. 2). The man in position 1 or-ganizes the play in such a way that hewaits for 3, who is being pressured to re-ceive a back pick from 4 and then conti-nues on the other side. Here, he will recei-

DIAMOND-AND-ONEThe principles of this defense are similarto the box-and-one defense, with theonly difference being in the formation ofthe players. The alignment consists of anodd-man front. The clear purpose of thisdefense is to attack the point guard in or-der to disorganize the offense (diagr. 9).This defense is weak against teams withgood shooters and players who can pe-netrate from the baseline. For this rea-son, the same principles that we use inan offense against the box-and-one canbe also used against this diamond-and-one defense. Penetration is a verypowerful weapon against this defense.Not only because of the kick-out passoption, but because it offers the chancefor an inside game as well; the diamonddefense is particularly weak and vulne-rable at the low post.

OFFENSEOne particular offense that has been te-sted a number of times and with greatsuccess against this kind of defense isthe following (diagr. 10): 3, who is facingthe man-to-man defense, stands in a

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FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

ses it to 1, who rolls in towards the basket af-ter the pick. The pass to 1, as well as the passto 5, are the two possible final passes thatcan happen. During the course of this attack,however, the option for making a diagonalpass to an open player- due to a possible de-fensive delay-always exists. Obviously, in or-der for any of these options to work, good ti-ming between the players is a must.

CONCLUSIONNever allow yourself or your team to be sur-prised when facing this kind of defense. Bybeing prepared, you let your opponent knowthat you have been expecting his move.▼ Use all offensive principles against a

zone defense.▼ Choose a wise offense in which the

tightly-guarded player can move in such ways that he would give his teammates more space to create and be effective offensively.

▼ The four men that are facing the zone defense should have a greater responsibility in the game than they usually have, since their closely-guarded teammate will give them more space.

▼ As long as the tightly-guarded player is the point guard, it is recommended that he switches his position with another guard who is not being pressured or, if possible, have two point guards in the line-up.

▼ After every shot shot, be in position for the offensive rebound since this defense is vulnerable to that aspect of the game.

▼ It is vitally important to make a wise selection of the four players who will be facing the normal zone defense. The wing players should be good shooters, andthe “4” man, who is the key against this

kind of defense, should also be a good shooter and a good passer.

▼ Insist on an aggressive defense that will gain quick possession of the ball and run the fast break at every opportunity. This will prevent the zone defense from setting up properly.

Many coaches consider these unorthodoxzones a poor way to play defense and I agree.However, since the nature of using these zo-nes is to surprise the opponent, I strongly re-commend that before a game, a coachshould spend a few minutes reviewing whatto do if one of these defenses is used.

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stack position next to 4. In the meantime,the ball is being passed around the peri-meter. Once 2 receives the ball, he drib-bles down, opposite from the stack, andpasses it to 5, who pops out to the corner.2 then cuts to the opposite side. While heis cutting, 4 makes a flash to the level ofthe foul line, and receives the pass from 1in order to then pass it to 2, who should beon the other side in a triple-threat offensi-ve stance. (diagr. 11). However, when 4has the ball on the foul line, 3 moves to theother side, intersecting with 2’s cut, and

makes a strong pick for 5, who uses thatpick to cut towards the ball and possiblyreceive an easy pass either from 2 or 4,according to the timing of the movement. In this triangular position, 2 and 5 now ha-ve a good chance for an easy shot. 3 is al-so in position for an open jump-shot fromthe foul-line if the defense is not aggressi-ve. If, however, none of this occurs, 2 re-turns the ball from his triple-threat positionto 4, who again passes it to 3, who has justreceived a pick from 1 in order to get open(diagr. 12). If 3 does not have a shot, he pas-

OFFENSIVE OUT-OF-BOUNDSSITUATIONS

FIBA EUROPE

Bob Huggins is one of the most successfulcollege coaches. He was assistant coachof Ohio State, and then head coach ofAkron. For the last 14 years he has beenthe head coach of University of Cincinnati.He reached the Final Four in 1991-92, andwas chosen as National Coach of the Yearby ESPN and various publications in 1998,2000 and 2002. He has written eight techni-cal books with Coaches Choice. This arti-cle is an excerpt from the book “SpecialSituations-Making the Most of LimitedPossessions”, 2002.

END OUT-OF-BOUNDS

LOB FOR THE BIG PLAYER1: Screen down hard on his defender(diagr. 1 and 2). If the lob is not available, 1 cuts by 2’sscreen to the corner for the inboundspass.If the ball come to 1 in the corner, 1 looksto feed 4, who has stepped inbounds andposted.

2: Screen down hard on his defender. If the lob is not available, 2 side screensfor 1 so he can cut to the corner. If 2’s man switches on 1, 2 seals 1’s manand steps to the basket.

3: Screen down hard on his defender.If 3’s man tries to anticipate the lob andgo behind the line, 3 cuts to the openbasket area.

by Bob Huggins

OFFENSE

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

4: Takes the ball out-of-bounds to move histaller defender away from the front of thebasket.Looks first for the soft lob to 5, who cutsbehind the line of screens in front of thebasket.Second read is 1 clearing to the corner; ifthe pass goes to 1, then 4 steps in and callsfor the ball at the post.

5: Starts to cut as if going in front of theline, then V-cuts and goes behind the linefor the lob in front of the basket. If possible, 5 should try to catch and shootbefore bringing the ball down.If 5 defensive man anticipates and goesbehind the line early, then 5 simply steps tothe ball and scores.

SLASH TO THE BASKET AND THE LOB1: Reads the play in one of our four ways:▼ First is to inbound to 3 making a

basket cut (diagr. 3).▼ Second is to inbound to 4 making

the second basket cut.▼ Third to inbound to 5, if X5 moves

to either cutter.▼ Four is to inbound to 2, step in,

and come off a screen to 2’s side.

2: Delays for a count and then cuts to theballside wing, making himself ready toreceive the safe entry pass.Catches the ball looking either for a shot,for 1 coming inbounds and off the baseli-ne screen, or for 4 posting up on theblock.If 4 is fronted, looks for 5 who has flashedto the high post for a high-low with 4 (diagr.4).

3: The ball side player cuts first off 5 andcan cut on either side of 5, but normallygoes to the side away from the ball.Attempts to rub his defender off on 5, whileat the same time creating another screenfor 4.If the ball is inbounded to to anyone else,immediately thinks - “offensive rebound”.Posts up big if 5 receives the ball at thehigh post from 2.

4: Is the second cutter off 5. Attempts to rub his man off on 5 or hanghim up as he cuts off 3’s tail.Reads 3 to make sure he cuts away fromballside.Moves to the ballside and posts hard.If the ball is inbounded to 2, he screens for1, who is stepping inbounds.Continues to post hard and, if fronted, pinsdefender and expects the ball to be pas-sed to 5 at the high post for a high - lowfeed.

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5: Stands facing the basket six or sevenfeet from the baseline.Reads his defender as he acts as a screenfor 3 and 4.Slips to the basket or looks for the lob if hisdefender moves to cover either cutter. If 2 receives the ball on the wing, he flashesto the high post and looks for high - lowfeed.

LOB VERSUS A ZONE DEFENSE1: Receives a screen from 2 (diagr. 5).Receives a reversal pass from 4.Takes a hard dribble away from 4.Looks to 5 flashing into the lane.Looks for lob to 4 behind 3’s screen.

2: Screens the top of the zone to get 4 open.Sets screen for 1 to get open for the rever-sal pass.Steps back for a shot and occupies thezone defender in his area (diagr.6).

3: Inbounds the ball to 4.After the ball is reversed to 1, 3 stepsinbounds and screens the back defender inthe zone.

4: Receives the screen from 2.Catches the entry pass from 3.Reverse the ball to 1.Cuts behind the zone, receiving a screenfrom 3.Catches the ball at the highest point for alay-in or a dunk.

5: Post up looking for a direct entry passfrom 3.Flashes to a spot between the two lowdefenders in the zone to set them up for theback screen.Targets the ball as he flashes, looking toreceive a pass from 1 and scores.

TANDEM STACK FOR THE L0B OR POST UP1: Reads 4’s defender, X4, to anticipatewhich cut will open (diagr 7, 8, and 9).Feeds 4 or 5 cutting to the basket.Enters the court away from the ballside.

2: Spots up outside the three-point linefor a shot and targets the ball with hishands.If the ball is passed to him, looks for theshoot or 5 posting up in the lane.

3: Spots up outside the three-point line for ashot and targets the ball with his hands.If the ball is passed to him, looks for theshoot or 5 posting up in the lane.

4: Reads how the defense is playing him andmakes one of the following decisionsaccordingly:▼ If X4 steps above 5 on the left, 5

will cut left to the basket and 4 will go right to the basket.

▼ If X4 steps above 5 on the right, 5 will cut right to the basket and 4 will go left to the basket.

▼ If X4 plays behind 5, then 5 screens X4, and 4 pops straight out, as far as his shooting range will allow.

If the entry pass comes to him, he looks tocatch and shoot if the defense doesn’t get tohim.If the defense comes out to guard 4, helooks to make a high-low entry to 5 postingin the lane.Could receive a lob from 1 if the defensesags too deep on the stack.

5: Faces the basket and reads how hisdefender and 4’s defender are playingthem:▼ If X4 is above him on the left, he

cuts left to the basket.▼ If X4 is above him on the right, he

cuts right to the basket.▼ If X4 plays on the baseline side

of him, 5 screens down to him.▼ If 4 gets the ball high, he posts

hard in the lane and looks for the high-low feed.

If 2 or 3 receives the ball, 5 posts up strongon the ball side.

1-4 LOW, DOUBLE SCREEN FOR THE BEST SHOOTER1: Spots up behind the three-point line, tar-geting the ball with his hands and lookingfor a shot (diagr. 10).Keeps the defender occupied and backcutsif the defender loses vision or double-teamsthe ball.Sets down-screen toward the block if X2anticipates the double-team and cheatstoward the side of the double screen (diagr.11).

2: Inbounds the ball to 5 on a pop-back cutnear the elbow.Sets his man up and runs off the doublescreen set by 3 and 4.Reads how his defender plays the double todecide if he is going to curl or flare off thescreen.If X2 anticipates the double screen andcheats toward it, 2 comes off the singlescreen set by 1.

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5: Starts the play by setting a down-screenfor 1.Turns and sets the first screen of the triplefor 2.Reads his defender as 2 uses his screenand looks to slip the screen and post.

A LAST-SECOND THREE1: Starts in the middle of the triple stackbetween 4 and 5 (diagr. 14).Cuts to the basket and uses 2’s screen tocurl to the corner.Angles his approach to the three-point lineso that when he catches the ball, his feetare squared up and clearly outside the line.If he catches the pass and cannot get off agood shot, he immediately makes a returnpass to 3 who has stepped in from out-of-

3: Comes in from the corner on the inboundspass and sets up on the bottom side of thedouble screen (the better shooter between3 and 4 goes to the bottom of the double).As soon as 2 has cleared the double screenout of his line of vision, 4 screens down on 3defender, and 3 “pops the stack” cutting upthe key looking for the shot or feed down to4, who is posting (diagr. 12).

4: Has the freedom to cut to the ball if X4relaxes or loses vision.As the ball is inbounded to 5, 4 sets up asthe top man in the double screen with 3.After 2 has cleared the screen, 4 screensdown for 3 and then posts looking for high-low from 3, who has popped the stack andgone to the high post.

5: Attempts to pin his defender and receivea lob from 1.Tries to duck in and post if X5 is betweenhim and the basket.Pins X5 and pops out to the elbow to recei-ve entry pass.Reads 2’s defender and looks for him eithercoming off the double screen or the singlescreen by 1.Reads the stack and looks for either 3 pop-ping the stack up the key or 4 screeningdown and posting up.If 2 uses the single screen, 5 can alsoread the switch and feed 1 as he splits theswitch.

SIDE OUT-OF-BOUNDSBEST SHOOTER OFF A TRIPLE STAGGERED SCREEN1: Sets up defender and comes off 5’sscreen (diagr. 13).Catches the ball at the top of the key andlooks for 2 coming off the staggeredscreen. As 2 goes off the screens, 1 looksfor any of the screeners slipping thescreen for a shot.

2: Initiates the play from out-of-boundsand passes to 1 flashing to the top of thekey.Runs off the triple stagger sets by 5, 4, andthen 3.After curling around 3 screen toward thethree-point line, looks for a pass from 2 forthe shot.

3: Sets the final screen for 2 making surethat he has a great angle for 2 to curl.As he is screening, 3 reads the defense andlooks to slip if his defender cheats.

4: Sets the final screen for 2, attempting tomake a contact in the key.Tries to make his defender switch and thenopens to the ball and posts up.

bounds and is spotted up on the three-pointline.

2: Lines up below the triple stack below 1.Screens for 1 as he curls to the corner.Cuts between 4 and 5 as they close thegate.Angles his cut, squares his feet, and cat-ches the ball in “ready shoot” position toshoot the open three.If he catches the pass but cannot get agood look at the basket, he immediatelymakes a return pass to 3 stepping inboundsfor the three.

3: Looks first for 1 in the corner for the three;passes him the ball so he can catch and getoff a quick shot.Second look is for 2 stepping through thedouble screen to the top of the key for athree.Immediately steps inbounds and spots upfor return pass and a three-point shot.

4: Lines up nearest the ball in the triple stackand screens for 2 as he cuts to the top of thekey.Steps to the ball if neither 1 or 2 are openand makes a quick return pass to 3.

5: Lines up on the far side of the stack.Sets a screen for 2 as he cuts to the top ofthe key.

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FIBA EUROPE

Sterling Wright was the head coach of theSenior Men’s National team of Morocco at2003 African Championship for Men’s, andas well as the Technical Director of the Fe-deration. He is FIBA Coaching Instructor,and has been coach of French teams atevery level and of the Tabac Sports Club ofCasablanca, Morocco.

Developing an offensive style of play is oneof the most important tasks of a coach. Toanalyze the strengths and weakness of thegroup, find solutions, which will enable theteam to reach the maximum of their poten-tial, are some of the goals of the coachingstaff. On the elite level, (club or NationalTeam), individual and collective develop-ment are important, but winning is the un-derlining factor to gage success. A coach must have general knowledge ofboth the controllable factors such as histeam, club, etc., and some of the uncontrol-lable factors, such as the competition thathe is engaged, his adversaries (both knownand unknown), etc., to have a chance forsuccess.After taking into account a general under-standing of these elements, a style of playconsistent to satisfying players, coaches,and crowd while having the greatest chan-ce of winning should be developed. Howmany times have we observed an unsuc-cessful team become successful by chan-ging a few elements? Changing a player(s),coach, or style of play to produce a differentwinning style of basketball. We feel that it isimportant to attempt to get the most possiblefrom everyone concerned to have a realchance to achieve expectations. We feel for the Moroccan teams to be com-petitive on international level we must play avery aggressive style of basketball both of-

OFFENSE

by Sterling Wright

DEVELOPING AN OFFENSIVE STYLE OF PLAY

fensively, and defensively. We try to com-pensate our lack of height and physical den-sity, by speed of execution, and preventingthe opponent from playing their normal ga-me. To take advantage of our athletic butphysically limited players, we feel that if wecan have a moving type of offence we canneutralize some of our limitations. Our inte-rior players receiving the ball in a moving ty-pe of situation, as opposed to “fighting it out”in the low post position against stronger and

taller opponents. The same point holds truefor our perimeter players in that if they canreceive the ball in movement, and have theproper spacing, they can take advantage oftheir creative skills. We feel that creating astyle of play, which permits our players to“read and react”, as opposed to “think andexecute” will give us the best chance ofsuccess. To play pressure basketball, bothoffensively and defensively, creates specta-cular style, which the players and the public

enjoy. Since we have a young, developingathletic team, this style gives the maximumamount of playing time to nine-ten playersas opposed to a more limited number. Sowith a maximum number of players involvedand highly motivated, we have had some de-gree of success in the present, while buil-ding for the future.

RAPID OFFENSEWe like to use as our basic offense the fastbreak or what we call pressure basketball.Really we hope that rarely we have to run aset half court offense.We try to take at least a third or more of ourtotal shots from a fast break, or transition si-tuation. Playing an up-tempo style of game,while having the possibility to play from a setoffense, is what we try to do. We feel thatthis is the best way to create the easiestscoring possibilities before our opponentscan set up their complete team defense. Wefeel that if we walk the ball up the courtevery time we will be playing against a setdefense that often has the physical domi-nance against us. If we must play 5-on-5 ba-sketball with almost every possession thatwe are in for a long game without many ad-vantages or possibilities to control the out-come.

In our offense, fast break or half court, wealways want to create several advantages.With the fast break, a team can create seve-ral advantages and through good passingcan find an open player for a high-percenta-ge shot. We feel that getting the ball in a situationthat our players feel comfortable with theminimum constraints gives them the bestchance of success. This helps build con-fidence in their abilities. In our half courtoffense, through good movement, pas-sing, and screens, we try to create aquick 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 match up that canyield a high-percentage shot. So it is im-portant for us to create situations wherethe players have time and the properspacing to react to certain situations,with a few rules so everyone under-stands what we want to accomplish onthe floor.

Our first option in our offense at any timeduring the game is our rapid attack. Welike to run our primary break, which wecreate from steals, rebounds, blockedshots, made or missed field goals, madeor missed free throws.We like to divide the court into three la-nes the traditional side - middle - side la-nes. However after the half court line welike to designate two additional areas. Onewhich we call our attacking areas, and the

possibilities. It also opens the opposite sidelane for open shots on quick ball reversal.Once the ball is in the attacking area wewant to continue to have good ball move-ment looking to profit on what the defensegives us.

Once we gain possession of the ball, wewant to get the ball to 1-the point guard, assoon as possible. We want our perimeterplayers 2-the shooting guard, and 3-thesmall forward, to sprint to the attackingareas on their respective sides of the court,looking back for the ball only when they ha-ve crossed the half court line. It is importantto have good floor balance and, if they findthemselves on the same side, then one mustgo to the far side lane. The rule is if the ad-vanced attacker is in the attacking area,

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other our scoring areas (diagr. 1)Actually our offense begins when we obtainpossession of the ball. We try to have a conti-nuous free flowing offense taking advantageof any mistakes or weakness of our oppo-nents. When we gain possession we try toget the ball in one of our attacking areas(which is a couple of steps right over the halfcourt line) as rapidly as possible. It is at thispoint that we want the ball handler to readthe situation if: (a) there is a open teammateahead of him to pass the ball if possible (b) hehas an advantage to attack the basket (c)continue to advance the ball by passing, ordribbling down the same side to the scoringarea. Advancing the ball down the sideopens the middle lane for our big players torun to the basket, trailer, or offensive rebound

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

The last man down the floor, the rebounder,or the in bounder on a made shooting at-tempt, is the trailer running the middle, butgoing to the opposite side of the lane of theball side low post. As he reaches the postarea, he must read the situation. If the ball is:(a) in the opposite side scoring area, he canstop either at the high, or low post areaready to play the offensive rebound; (b) inthe center lane, he can set a pick for the ballhandler, or stop at the high post. (c) on his si-de, he can set a pick for the perimeter ballhandler, or slide low post (diagr. 2). 4 gets therebound and passes to 1, who comes to theball. Perimeter players 2, and 3 sprint to theattacking areas on their respective sides ofthe court. 5 sprints down the middle of thefloor towards the opposite basket. 1 passesto 2 in the attacking area right over halfcourt. At this point we have the following ru-les:

1-ON-1 SITUATIONThis situation should always produce a hi-gh-percentage shot, whether it be a lay-upor a short jump shot. We want our players toattempt a shot for two reasons: (a) chancesare it will be a good shot, and (b) in normalconditions offensive players generally chan-ge ends faster than defensive players, whi-ch can result in a rebounding edge as offen-sive teammates are hustling down the floorin anticipation of a missed shot attempt.

We would like for our offensive player toread the defender. If the offensive playerfeels he can beat the defender on the drib-ble, he should take it all the way to the ba-sket. If the defender does a good job againstthe dribble, then the offensive player shouldpull up for the short jump shot. Certain time and score conditions may forceus to tell our players to take only the lay-up ifit’s available. If it’s not, we may want to havethem pull back out and set up the half courtoffense.

2-ON-1 SITUATIONWe try to teach our players that with the fastbreak they must try to get a good shot offwhen they have a numbers advantage. Ho-pefully, the shot will be relatively unconte-sted and taken from a short distance. Whenwe are in a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 situation, we tryto shoot the ball (given the time and score si-tuation). When a shot is taken, we can eitherscore, rebound the missed attempt, or, atleast, prevent the defense from possiblyscoring as a result of a turnover. We mustuse a numbers advantage as quickly as pos-sible because the remaining defenders areeventually going to set up their defense.In a 2-on-1 situation, the offensive playersmust fill the outside areas and spread out

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then the second perimeter player crossesthe middle lane to go to the opposite side. Ifthe advanced attacker is in the scoring area,then the advanced attacker should continueto the basket then out to the opposite sidescoring area.

On a made basket, or foul shot we want 4-the post, in bounding the ball to 1. 5 - the cen-ter, sprints down the middle of the floor tothe opposite basket, then looks for the pass,or offensive rebound. He should read the si-tuation and if there is not a shot, or pass insi-de, he should go to the ball side low postlooking for: (a) the pass; (b) the two-man ga-me with the perimeter ball handler.

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wide enough to prevent the defender fromplaying them both at the same time. As the of-fensive players enter the scoring area (whichis about a couple steps outside the three-point line), the ball handler should take the ballto the basket, while the other perimeter player“spots up” on the opposite side area waitingfor a possible outlet pass on the dribble pene-tration for an uncontested jump shot.

3-ON-1 SITUATIONIf we have not created a scoring opportunity,or the ball handler chooses to only advancethe ball to the scoring area, the other playerscontinue to run their lanes. 80 to 85% of the ti-me our primary break is executed by our threeperimeter players. We teach them that everytime we gain possession to sprint to their re-spective lanes to create the proper offensivespacing. The middle lane is left open for thepoint guard, who directs the break, and thepost and center, who are usually the slowestplayers, who serve as defenders in case thereis a turnover. As 1 crosses half court our pri-mary break becomes a 3-on-1; or 3-on-2 situa-tion with the point guard becoming the thirdoffensive player. 2, after receiving the pass in the attackingarea, drives to the basket until he has gooddefensive resistance. At this point he passesout to the point guard at the top of the three-second lane. When 1 approaches the three-point area he should stop, and this will createspace for 4 and 5 cutting to the basket, but al-so to be in the best position for the quick re-verse pass to 3 for a possible two or three-point shot (diagr.3). If the up defender X1 co-mes out to far to contest the reverse passfrom 2 to 1, then 3 must read the situation andcuts towards the basket, and the 3-on-2 situa-tion becomes a 2-on-1 break. As 1 receivesthe ball, he swings the ball to 3 for a wide openjump shot. On occasion, 1 can take the jumpshot, or penetrate, depending on the condi-tions of the game (time, score, defensive posi-tioning).

4-ON-2 / 4-ON-3 SITUATIONS4-on-2 or 4-on-3 fast break situations are veryrare. Usually the forth and fifth players beco-me involved during the secondary breakwhen these possibilities occur. We want ourforth and fifth players to go to the same posi-tions as in our secondary break. The forthplayer (5 in diagr. 4) cuts down the lane to thebasket looking for a pass for a lay-up, or to pi-vot when he gets to the basket to pin a possi-ble defender for a post up basket and possiblethree-point play with a foul. If he doesn’t re-ceive the ball in the lane, he should post up onthe ball side. If any of the respective playersare slow in their defensive transition, withgood intelligent ball movement we hope toget: (a) an open player for an uncontested hi-

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gh percentage shot; or (b) a defensive mi-smatch giving us a physical advantage.2 has advanced the ball to the side scoringarea. The defense has slowed the fastbreak as 5 beats his defensive player to thelane looking for a quick return pass for alay up. If X3, who is the weak side defender,attempts to help we want 5 to post him upright under the basket taking advantage ofa mismatch situation. If he does not recei-ve the ball, then he goes to the ball side lowpost position.

THE SECONDARY BREAKIf the initial primary break does not produ-ce a good high percentage scoring possi-bility, we want the players to continue mo-ving and our secondary break begins. It isvery important not to stop the action afterour initial break, unless the time, score, orgame conditions determine otherwise. So-metimes our offensive players fail to exe-cute our primary break properly, or the de-fense does a good job in transition gettingenough players back in time to stop our ini-tial attack. We feel that if we continue torun, and just one defensive player is slowgetting back, or if the defense is not set,

then we should be able to find the open of-fensive player. Also, it will be easier to exe-cute player and ball movement. As stated earlier, the first interior playerwho crosses the half court line should cutdirectly to the basket looking for a quickpass for a possible lay- up. You would besurprised by how many easy opportunitieswe get by a lay-up, or offensive rebound byjust running the floor. If he doesn’t receivethe ball he should go to the block on theball side and post up his defensive playerlooking for the ball. He can also screen theball handler’s defender in the event the de-fense over plays the reverse pass from 2 to1 and play a two-man game with the wing(diagr. 5 and 6).

5 receives the pass from perimeter player 2in the low post. 5 looks to score if possible.If not, he must read the situation of histeammates movement. After the pass, 2reads the defensive situation and he cancut to the basket, looking for a quick returnpass, then clearing to the opposite sidecorner if he doesn’t receive the ball. 2 canslide to the corner for a jump shot if his de-fensive player double-teams the low post

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

5. 2 can pick away for 1, who can replace himat the wing, looking for a jump shot coming offthe screen. Any of these options are possibledepending on what the defense gives us. Wejust don’t want 2 to stay in place, if he passesinside.

5 can come out to set a on the ball screen forperimeter player 2. This option helps us espe-cially if defender X1 pressures the reversepass to the point guard 1 (diagr.6). Also, if wewant to get the ball inside to 5, this optioncreates movement and, sometimes, a defen-sive mismatch if there is a switch of the de-fensive players on the screen. If 2 drives in themiddle we like the other perimeter players 1and 3 to slide to create space and position fora possible outside uncontested shot if there isdefensive help.

The last player who crosses half court, 4, theoffensive trailer, has several options as he en-ters the attack area. The majority of the timewe would like for him to stop at the side highpost opposite 5, the center. He can also conti-nue to the opposite low post, or set an on theball pick, depending on the situation. He mustread the offensive ball position, and adapt, ashe is the last player to enter the offense. The-se are the options:

▼ 4 enters the attack area with the ball on the opposite side attack area. He can stop at the side high post, or continue to the opposite low post looking for a pass if he beats his man to these areas (diagr. 7).

▼ 4 enters the attack area with the ball this time in the center of the attack area. He stops and sets an on the ball pick for 1. He could also stop at the high or low post (diagr. 8).

▼ 4 enters the attack area and this time and finds the ball in his side attack area. He can stop at the high post, low post, or set an on the ball pick for 3 (diagr. 9).

5-ON-5 SITUATIONSOnce the five offensive players have enteredthe attack area, our rapid offense continuesuntil there has been ball reversal from one si-de of the court to the other, constantly lookingfor the open player for the good open highpercentage shot. When the ball swings to thepoint guard 1, he can pass to the post and splitwith 3, screening X3, the perimeter defensiveplayer (diagr. 10). Or, 1 can swing the ball to 3,who looks for an uncontested shot; or pass in-side to high post 4 cutting to the basket (diagr.11). The last option is for 1 to hold the ball, andwe go right into our set offense, without anybreak in the rhythm of our offensive play. Our

point guard reads the situation and determi-nes when to stop our secondary break.

1 passes to high post and screens away for 3.If there is a switch on the screen, 1 rolls to thebasket. 5 posts up in the lane for a possible hi-gh-low post pass from 4. 4 can also look forhis shot (diagr. 10).

This time 1 swings the ball to 3, who looks foran uncontested shot, or pass inside to highpost 4 cutting to the basket. 4 can also stay onhigh post with this pass, and 5 can cut to theball side low post (diagr.11).

SET OFFENSEFrom a set offense we like to have a lot ofplayer movement to limit the “help” possibili-ties of the defense. All of this trying to keep itsimple while constantly having both “quickhitter” and ball control possibilities in our setoffence.

We use several man-to-man plays out of aone-four set offensive pattern. This formationgives us the proper spacing, floor balance, re-bound positioning to satisfy our needs. Thefollowing play we call “telephone” and it pro-vides the possibility to constantly have postplay, three-point possibilities, and proper spa-cing for isolation and one-on-one play. It is im-portant for our players to read the defensivesituation to take advantage of what the defen-se gives us.

The basic line up is one-four with two high po-sts, 4 and 5, positioned at the corners of thefoul lane, two wings, 2 and 3, positioned at thefoul line extended and 1 the point guard.

The play starts with 1 dribbling to either side,in this case the left side, towards the wing 2.The wing 2 cuts to the basket looking for aquick pass from 1 on his back door cut. If wehave a speed advantage over 2’s defender,we look for a bounce pass to 2 going to thebasket (diagr. 12). If we have an athletic ad-vantage with 2’s defender we can look for thelob pass. We can also post up 2, if we want tocreate an isolation situation with his respecti-ve defensive player when 2 gets to the lanearea. At the same time, 3 cuts over the top ofthe key, using staggered picks set by the highposts 4 and 5 to replace 2 in the wing area.

If 1 does not pass to 2 going to the basket, hepasses to 3 in the wing area, and cuts to theopposite side of the court. Upon the receptionof the ball, 3 faces the basket looking for shot.High post 4 sets a screen on 5’s defender, as5 cuts to low post looking for the ball. 2 conti-nues his cut to the weak side low post (diagr.13). If 4 and 5’s defenders switch their defen-sive assignments on the pick, 4 steps back to

the ball to receive the pass looking for a postshot, or high-low, two-man game with 5.

1 continues his cut to form a double screenwith high post 4 at the foul line area. 2 cutsoff the double screen, looking for a possiblethree-point shot, while 5 is positioning lowon the strong side (diagr. 14). At this point weare looking to get the ball inside for a two-point possibility, or a possible three-pointshot by 2 at the top of the key. As 2 passesthe screen, 1 cuts underneath 4 to the wingarea.

If 2 does not take his shot, he reverses theball to 1 in the wing area, while 4 cuts lowlooking to post up his defender. 1 can look forhis shot, or pass to 4 posting up (diagr. 15). 5looks to position for possible weak side re-bound, 3 slides to the corner spotting up, and2 slides opposite his pass also spotting up.

With the ball in the wing area, 1 can play atwo-man game with 4, if he does not shoot,or pass inside. If there is not a shot, he looksto pass to 3 coming off a staggered screenset by 5 and 2 at the top of the three-secondlane (diagr. 16).1 passes to 3 at the top of the three-secondlane as 3 looks for his shot. 5 and 4 go to thelane, looking for offensive rebounding posi-tion, and 2 slides to the wing area (diagr. 17).

3 swings the ball to 2 and cuts away to theopposite side. 2, when he receives the ball,can look for his shot, or pass inside to 5 po-sting up, or play the two-man game with 5(diagr. 18). 4 positions for a possible offensi-ve rebound while 1 spots up in thecorner(the same movement as diagr. 4, butthe opposite side).

At this point we have the same options asdiagr. 5, but on the opposite side of the floorwith 1 coming off the staggered screen setby 3 and 4 (diagr. 19).

We fell that this play gives to all three of ourperimeter players a chance to shoot the th-ree-point shot, or run a two-man on the ballpick-and-roll situation with the low post. It also gives our players a chance to playone-on-one, while spotting up on the weakside when and if there is defensive help. Al-so, we have good general floor balance, andweak side rebounding positioning. It beco-mes a continuous play action if we want tohave ball possession while constantly ha-ving low post, and perimeter threats. It is im-portant that our players read the defensivesituations, and it has brought us a great dealof success not only against man to man de-fenses, but mixed defenses (box and one,triangle-and-two, etc.), as well.

FIBA EUROPE

Van Chancellor was the head coach ofthe University of Mississippi women’steam for 19 years before accepting thehead-coaching job of Houston Comets ofthe WNBA, the women’s professionalleague of the NBA. He won four straightWNBA titles and was voted Coach of theYear three times. Coaching the USA Wo-men’s Senior National team, he won the2002 FIBA World Championship. He willcoach the U.S. Women’s National Teamthat will play in the 2004 Olympic Ga-mes.

Our plays are based on a series of quick-hitting moves, each with different options.

1 dribbles to the middle of the court andpasses the ball to 3. As 3 gets the ball, 4makes a pick for her. At the same time, 1and 5 make a staggered screen for 2, whocan receive a pass from 3 (diagr. 1).

If 2 cannot shoot, 5 screens on the ball for2. 5 can roll to the basket or flare, if she hasa good outside jumpshot (diagr. 2).

1 dribbles toward the sideline, and recei-ves a screen from 5, while 2 and 4 make adouble screen for 3. 1 passes to 3 for apossible shot (diagr. 3).If 3 is guarded and cannot shoot, shequickly passes the ball to 2 in the corner,who can pass to 4 in the low-post position(diagr. 4).

1 dribbles down the left side, as 2 cuts inthe lane on the ball side, and then goes tothe opposite side of the lane to screen for3. 1 can pass the ball to 3 in the low-postposition (diagr. 5). If 3 is not open, 5 pops out, receives the

OFFENSE

by Van Chancellor

THE BASIC OFFENSE OFTHE HOUSTON COMETS

ball from 1, and passes to 2, who is comingoff a down screen set by 4 (diagr. 6).

“Screen the screener” action: 2 sets across screen for 3, and then receives adown screen from 5. 1 can pass to 3 in thelow-post position, or to 2 in the free-throwarea (diagr. 7).A variation of “screen the screener” ac-tion: 1 dribbles down the left side andlooks to pass to 3, who received a screenfrom 2. 3 posts up in the low post. If 3 isnot open, 1 dribbles towards the top ofthe three-second lane and passes to 2,who is coming off the double screen of 4and 5 (diagr. 8).

The “Zipper” play: While 1 dribbles downthe left side, 3 cuts off a down screen ma-de by 5, and can receive the ball from 1. 3can pass to 2, who is coming off the downscreen set by 4 (diagr. 9).

2 must read and react to the moves of thedefenders:▼ If the defender X2 is screened

properly and stays on the screen, 2 pops out for a possible jump shot (diagr. 10).

▼ If X2 tries the short route and slides over the screen, 2 cuts to the corner for a possible jump shot (diagr. 11).

▼ If X2 plays tight and comes off with 2 from the baseline, 2 will “curl” to the middle. This means that she willgo around the pick and cut in the lane for a lay-up (diagr. 12).

▼ If X4, the defender guarding the post, tries to step out and help on 2, 4 quickly cuts to the basket, looking for a pass from 1 (diagr. 13).

1 dribbles down the left side,goes to the middle of thecourt, and tries to pass to 2,who is coming off thescreen set by 5. At the sametime, 3 cuts in the lane andclears out to the opposite si-de of the court. 3, while cut-ting in the lane, uses thepick of 4 to get open. 2 re-ceives the ball from 1 andquickly looks for a shot (dia-gr. 14).

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If 2 cannot shoot, she can pass to 3, and 3can then pass to 5, who is posted up in thelow-post position (diagr. 15).

1 dribbles to the middle of the court andlooks to pass to 2, who is coming off thescreen set by 4. 3 cuts in the lane andclears to the opposite side of the court,while 5 holds. 2 receives the ball from 1and looks for the possible shot (diagr. 16).

If 2 cannot shoot, she has an excellentclear-out situation for a one-on-one and adrive to the basket (diagr. 17).

1 dribbles down and then to the oppositeside and passes the ball to 2, who has re-ceived a triple staggered screen, set by 4,who steps out of the lane, by 5 in the lane,and by 3 near the lane (diagr. 18).

1 dribbles towards the high-post player,who steps out of the free-throw area andsets a pick for 1. As 5 rolls to the basket, 4pops out to the free-throw area to receivethe ball for a possible shot (diagr. 19).If 4 cannot shoot, she passes to 3, whocan pass to 5, who has posted up in thelow-post area (diagr. 20).

MAN-TO-MANOFFENSE

FIBA EUROPE

Paul Coughter is currently celebrating his 25th sea-son as an international basketball coach. He has tra-velled to more than 100 FIBA federations all over theworld. While head coach of the Hung Kno Elephantsin 1996-97 in Taiwan, he won the championship andhe followed that up in the next season with anothertitle. He is presently the head coach of Blue Stars inBeirut, Lebanon.

INTRODUCTIONIn order to get consistently good shots in the halfcourt man-to-man offense we need to teach spacing,timing, screening, passing and shooting. With this inmind, we have developed a team shooting drill thatallows us to breakdown all these various aspects ofplaying. This drill is progressive and facilitates teamawareness and collective responsibility, whileallowing each player to develop and enhance theirindividual skills. And, the bottom line is, we get a lot ofdifferent game-type shots in a short amount of time.

PART ITEAM JUMP SHOT DRILLSpacing reflects that of a half court set. We start thedrill with two shooters, one on each side of the lane,a screener at the corner of the free-throw lane, andtwo lines of players with two balls on each line, asshown in the diagr. 1.Basic sequence: Passers become screeners andscreeners become shooters.The initial pass will be to the screeners on the sidesof the lane, but originating from the opposite side, asshown in diagr. 2. Timing is crucial in all half courtsets. In this drill we emphasis timing awareness on adaily basis. The first shooter, shoulders square to theball, will start the drill.As the shooter sets his man up with a jab steptowards the basket, the passer steps with his left footdown the ball side shooter, keeping the ball outsidehis left knee. As the shooter changes direction andbegins to accelerate up the lane, the passer “swee-ps” the ball low and fast across the floor, quickly get-ting his left leg across his body and transfers the ballto his right side maintaining a leg, arm, ball posture(diagr. 3). The screener gets wide utilizing thefree-throw line and the area as guides. His chinis tucked on his left collarbone (basket side), toafford him the vision of the ball and his man:

by Paul Coughter

OFFENSE

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(angle: “butt-to-ball”). This affords the screenerthe opportunity to be part of the set rather thanimpersonating a “piece of furniture” and pre-vents us from playing four against five (diagr. 4). The pass should be delivered when the shooter isparallel to the screener. As the shooter approachesthe screen, he slows down to avoid “flying over” thescreen and to be able to see his defender (diagr. 5a).As he gets parallel, he brings his hands up to receivethe pass and opens his right (inside) foot towards thebase line, which will help square him to the basket.His momentum will carry him to the middle of thefree-throw line without dribbling (diagr. 5b).The screener will release when the pass is in the air;maintaining ball vision, he makes himself availablefor a pass or rebound.The shooter takes his jump shot and is responsiblefor the ball. He pursues, make or miss, cleans thelane and passes the ball to the line that it came from;he will go to the end of whichever line that needsbalance (diagr. 5c).The passer who started the drill will now continue theexercise by setting a screen on his side of the floorand we go from there. We set a team goal of madeshots before moving on, say, “five in a row” (diagr. 6).After the basic sequence is understood we begin toemphasis the teaching points: footwork with andwithout the ball, mental preparation by the shooters,ball vision, man acceptance, etc. (diagr. 7).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSIn our half court man system we have a couple of“catch-and-shoot” sets; we play “stack” with 4 and5 at an angle at the edge of the lane with their shoul-ders square to the basket (diagr. 8a). The posts main-tain ball vision, while 2 and 3 meet under the hoop(diagr. 8b), read their defenders, and decide which“door” to go out. This is our north-to-south “quick-hitter” and we also have an east-to-west, “catch-and-shoot” set that we call “loop”.Dribble entry is on either side; in this case, 1 dribblesleft so 2 slides around behind 4; then acceleratesacross the lane going over the high side on a screenby 5 (diagr. 9a).As 2 crosses the lane looking to pick up his screen, 3goes straight across the baseline coming off a lateralscreen by 4 (diagr. 9b).

PART II PROGRESSING THE DRILL: SHOT FAKEWe have to consider that we may not get a clean lookwhen we receive the pass coming off the screen. Wecan then incorporate the shot fake into the same drill(diagr. 10a).The shooter brings the ball up into the delivery posi-tion, but keeps his body down, knees flexed; he thenpulls the ball down and across his body on an angle,and, with the ball now outside his hip, dribbles onceto the corner of the lane, keeping his leg and arm infront of the ball.We dribble to the spot vacated by the screener.Everything else in the drill remains the same. Onceagain, we set a team goal of made consecutive shotsthat has to be achieved before moving on (diagr. 10b).

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PART III UTILIZING THE SCREEN: THREE WAYS These are three ways to accept the screen that weuse in our shooting drill. It should be noted that thisparticular screen, is positional and passive. Theresponsibility for executing the screen properly fallsto the potential shooter: 1) the first way to accept the screen is to run thedefender into the screener. This is accomplished bysetting the defender up and getting a good angle toapproach the screen. We looked at this in Part I, andthen, in Part II we added the shot fake technique. 2) The second way to accept the screen is to “curl”- it means to go around the screen-, when the defen-der follows the shooter over the screen.Teaching points: Our shooter finds his defender,makes shoulder-to-shoulder contact with the scree-ner and slides around him into the lane. The passermust learn to read this adjustment made by shooterand change his delivery by “sweeping” the ball tothe other side of his body to create a clean passingangle (diagr. 11a).

At the same time the screener shouldstep back and open up to the ballmaking himself available for the jumpshot at the corner of the lane (diagr.11b).3) The defender may choose to gounder the screen, which brings us tothe third way to accept the screen,which is the “fade”. Our shooter seesthe defender going under the screen,so he stops at the parallel position andpushes himself back to the three-pointline. Our passer, once again, mustread the adjustment; he pulls the ballback and over his head and makes a“skip” pass-it means a pass from oneside to the other side of the court(diagr. 12a). The screener will roll to the basketwhen the pass is in the air (diagr. 12b).We add defense by position, initiallyguarding just the passers, then defen-ding the shooters and screeners, andcreating a “live” drill. Naturally, if youlike this drill, modify it to suit yourneeds and make it your own.

MULTIPLE SCREEN SETThe set is initiated by a pass to eitherpost (diagr. 13a).

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D.15fOn the pass, 3 comes up ball side looking for the ball;1 has down screened for 2 and 4 sets a pin downscreen to complete the staggered double screen(diagr. 13b). 5 passes to 2, coming off the double andlooking to shoot. 1 retreats while 3, 4, and 5 hit theboards (diagr. 13c).We also have continuity in case 2 doesn’t get a cleanlook.3 will go off a screen by 1, then pick up another late-ral baseline screen by 4 (diagr. 14a). As soon as 3goes past the screen by 1, 1 will up screen for 5. If wepass to 3, then 5 has excellent rebound position(diagr. 14b).2 has the chance of a lob pass to 5, if 3 isn’t open, orhe can swing the ball to 1 for an excellent 2 man postup opportunity between 1 and 5 (diagr. 14c and 14d).

MULTIPLE SCREEN ON THE SIDE OF THE BALL4 and 5 are on the corner of the lane to screen for 1.3 sets a fake cross screen to help free 1, who goeshand up the lane off the staggered double (diagr.15a).3 will roll back to the ball, looking for a direct pass ifhe has a mismatch. Otherwise, we pass to 1 (diagr.15b).On the catch by 1, 3 back picks 2’s defender. 1 pas-ses to 3 for a possible three-poin shot (diagr. 15c).1 goes off a ball side back pick by 5, and then 5 pivotsand sets a double screen next to 4 for 1 (diagr. 15d).2 may curl this double if his defender follows him(diagr. 15e).If 2 curls, then 1 will come up off a pin down stagge-red screen by 5 and 4 for a top of the lane jump shot(diagr. 15f).

MULTIPLE SCREEN BASELINE OUT-OF-BOUNDS PLAY1 takes it out, 5 fakes an up screen (diagr. 16a), thensquares his shoulders to the lane; 4 fakes towardsthe screen, then changes direction and goes off 2’sangle back pick (diagr. 16b).We look for 4; 2, if is not open, goes off a lateralscreen by 5. We usually make this pass and look toshoot. 5 will continue into the lane to set anotherback pick for 3 (diagr. 16c).If 2 can’t shoot, he will dribble up towards half courtto get a passing angle for 1 coming off a staggeredscreen (diagr. 16d).

CONCLUSIONThis has only been an introduction to half court manoffense utilizing a teaching drill to create offensivebuilding blocks and to hopefully instill positive habits.The majority of the screens in this article are “passi-ve”, screens where the responsibility to get openrests with the potential shooter. But there are “acti-ve” screens, ball screens and situational screenssuch as small-to-big or big-to-small screens. Myintent in writing this technical article was to pro-voke discussion, encourage dialogue, and toprompt communication among my coaching col-leagues. If you wish to share your thoughts withme regarding any aspect of the article, you cancontact me via e-mail [email protected]

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FIBA EUROPE

Mike Katz, the assistant coach of theCanadian National Senior Team, is al-so head coach of the Humber Collegemen’s team. His teams have won fivenational college titles and he was se-lected the Canadian College Coach ofthe Year in 2003.

At the 2002 World Basketball Cham-pionships held in Indianapolis, India-na, it was apparent that some nationalteams had finally caught up with theUSA. Many reasons have been offeredfor this. Some, however said that theU.S. did not send their best players, orthat they had not properly prepared forthe tournament. What happened onthe court however, requires closescrutiny in order to assess how the ta-lent gap has been actually narrowed.

Argentina played very well against theU.S. I believe that a large part of thesuccess of the Argentinean nationalteam was in their offensive schemesand the manner in which they executedtheir systems. This was a team that hadno NBA players (unlike Spain and Yu-goslavia, who also defeated TeamUSA), but nevertheless dominated theirgame against the USA in a manner un-like the other two. Their supposed les-ser talent was more than made up forby teamwork, intelligence, and execu-tion on the offensive end of the floor.

Argentina’s arsenal included a transi-tion and early offense phase, a five-man continuity segment, as well asplays that isolated post-up and peri-meter one-on-one advantages. It can-not be emphasized enough how effi-

OFFENSE

by Mike Katz

OFFENSIVE BASKETBALL:AN ASSESSMENT

offensive player alignment of this im-portant secondary phase is the sameas that of a patterned fast break, whi-ch allows for a seamless transition tothis part of the overall offense. In es-sence, it becomes the link betweenthe break and the half court attack. As an example, the Canadian team hasenjoyed success in transition by pu-shing the ball down the sideline, almo-st to the baseline. If there is no quickscoring opportunity, it will reverse theball to the trail post, initiating the of-fense and quickly taking advantage ofthe defense, which has still not set upproperly. Other teams with an explosive pointguard wi l l of ten execute a quickscreen on the ball around mid court ordeeper along the sideline out of theirfast break attack, which is very hard todefend against.

The essential purpose of a continuityoffense is to get the ball from side toside (run as secondary or as a setplay), which invariably involves in-creased player movement. This can

ciently they ran their offense. As oneobserver noted, they don’t run their of-fense, they sprint it!

By no means, I am mitigating the es-sential roles that individual or teamdefenses play in enhancing team suc-cess, nor the importance of individualand ongoing offensive skill develop-ment. What I am saying is that a conci-se, delineated offensive system canbring about much improvement.

The purpose of an early offense is toget easy baskets in transition. Manyteams spend a lot of time working onthe fast break, but have nothing toflow into if the quick score does notoccur. This critical phase is essentialbecause the defense is still not in pla-ce, leaving them quite vulnerable toopen shots or dribble penetration. The

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exploit defensive mistakes for easyscores. At the FIBA World Champion-ships, we saw that it also created nu-merous foul calls against the defensiveteam. This is important because it al-lows you to run your side and end out-of-bounds plays, which tend to be lessfrequently scouted and are good sco-ring opportunities. Many international teams run a form ofshuffle action with up and baselinestaggered screens as their continuityscheme. Argentina enjoyed great suc-cess with a form of flex offense, rejec-ting the basic pattern at opportune ti-mes for open shots.

The benefit of set plays for quick ba-skets allows for certain players to getthe ball where they can be most effec-tive.Post up situations or three-point shotsare created from well-executed playsthat are designed for this purpose.Plays that ut i l ized bal l screens,U.C.L.A. action, and small to big crossscreens were popular at the FIBAWorld Championships.

An offensive structure, which involvesearly continuity and quick shots allowsa team to shi f t tempos as desiredwithin a game.

This keeps the defensive team off ba-lance.It will be interesting to see how offen-sive trends and patterns have shiftedat the upcoming Olympic Games. The game of basketball is forever evol-ving and the international game hasproven itself to be a trendsetter at alllevels of basketball.

The following are diagrams that ad-dress the early attack in transition andmay be of some aid for those coacheslooking to quickly move their team froma fast break attack into a secondary of-fense.

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

FASTBREAK TO EARLY OFFENSELegend1 - point guard2 and 3 - perimeters players4 and 5 - posts

BASIC FASTBREAK PATTERN▼ 1 receives the outlet

pass from 5 and looks down court to pass the ball to either 2 or 3.

▼ 4 runs in the middle lane of court, and in the middle of the three-second area, until he is under the basket (front rim). He looks for a direct pass from 1, 2, or 3 to makea quick score (diagr. 1).

SECONDARY PHASE▼ If 4 does not receive an early pass

in transition, he moves over to the ball side in a low-post position. 3 moves to middle of the court to receive a pass from 2.

▼ 1 cuts in the three-second area to the front of the rim and runs outside to the corner, after he recei ves a down pick from 5 (diagr. 2 and 3).

1, with the ball on the wing, has a num-ber of options:a) A quick shot (diagr. 4);b) A side pick-and-roll with 5, while 4cuts in the lane, and 3 and 2 move toopen spaces, opposite of the ball (dia-gr. 5).c) A skip pass from one side of thecourt to the other, after 3 has receiveda flare screen from 4. This is a screenmade while 3 is going away from theball (diagr. 6).d) 1 could also play a high/low post op-tion. This entails a pass to the post or apass from the high to low post with 4and 5, or a pass to 5 in the low post, af-ter the flare pick of 4.

PUSH OPTION1 keeps the dribble alive on the sideli-ne, which is a signal for 2 to cut in thelane near the baseline. At the same ti-me, 3 comes to middle of the court toreceive a pass and then make a passto the weak side of the court (diagr. 6).2 receives the reversal pass and hisoptions remain as indicated earlier.(diagr. 7).

This option was utilized by the DetroitPistons in the recent NBA playoffs. Ri-chard Hamilton received the ball onthe wing, setting him up for a variety ofone-on-one opportunities.

HOW TO BUILD A WELL-BALANCEDTEAM

FIBA EUROPE

Petar Skansi began his coaching career in 1973 withYugoplastika Split, the winners of the Yugoslavianchampionship, Yugoslavian Cup, and the European Cupin 1977. In 1978, he became the assistant coach of theYugoslavian National team. From 1980 to 1998, he coa-ched different teams in Italy, including Pesaro (Cup ofCups in 1983), Fabriano, Venice, Rome, Treviso (ItalianChampionship in 1992). As head coach of the CroatianNational team, he won a silver medal at the 1992Olympic Games. This past season, he coached NovoMesto, Slovenia. He has been an advisor and lecturerof the FIBA Olympic Solidarity Program since 2000.

The most difficult, as well as the most important job fora coach, comes when he has to build his team at thebeginning of the season. Every time we begin to speakabout a working program, we must focus on the star-ting point: the selection of players.Only those athletes who possess the highest levels ofpsychological and physical qualities and who can bedirected to follow a systematic and well-planned pro-gram, can help a coach achieve his goals for the year.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEAMHere is an overview of what physical and mental attri-butes you want to look for in your players.

N.1 POINT GUARD (PLAYMAKER)It is not mandatory, but it is preferable to have a teamleader in this role. Along with good ball-handling skillsand good outside shooting, this player must alsounderstand the team organization and team defense.This player will act as the coach’s right hand manwhen he is on the floor.

N.2 SHOOTING GUARDI expect this player to be the best defender. The teamwill work hard so he can get his shot, but he has to paythem back by working hard on defense.

N.3 SMALL FORWARDThis player has the same characteristics as the shoo-ting guard. In addition, he must be a good rebounder,an inside shooter, and be able to effectively guard themost dangerous opponents.

N.4 POWER FORWARDThis is your crucial player. This player must play aggres-sive defense like a smaller player, be able to make a

by Petar Skansi

OFFENSE

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high percentage of three-point shots, have a good insi-de game, and be an excellent passer. Ideally, this oneplayer must possess all of these characteristics.

N.5 BIG MAN, PIVOTThis player is the hardest worker of them all. He“lives” under difficult conditions in the low post. Heis your most important defensive player and the firstrebounder. He opens up the transition and mostlikely touches the ball on offense less than theothers. He must be able to have strong inside moveswith his back to the basket.

N.6 BACK-UP POINT GUARDThis player has a very sensitive role on the team.Sometimes he becomes more important than the star-ting point guard. He is the player who must change therhythm of the game. It is better if he is not a copy of yourstarting point guard. He should be a specialist in someother area like zone offense, transition, or shooting.

N.7 This player has similar characteristics as N.2 and N.3(not necessarily a back-up, but he is a specialist).

N.8Back-up player to N.4 and N.5. He is a strong reboun-der, a good offensive player (for example: against zonedefenses). In all probability, he needs to gain moregame experience.

N.9 AND N.10These are the young players with promising futures.Outside or inside players - it does not matter. Whatdoes matter, however, is that they are attentive playerswho will work hard in practice. They need game expe-rience and the coach must give them the opportunity toplay every time he can. They must be ready to takeadvantage of the opportunity.

My basic philosophy is that a good team is theresult/consequence of a team’s unity. We have to worka lot on this aspect every day throughout the season.Problems in unity typically develop because eachplayer has his own “confessor” (his agent, his father,friend, girlfriend, or a journalist) and each of these peo-ple wants their “protégé” to be “the star” of the team.But this is not possible until the whole team becomes“a star.” The solution to this is the following: every sin-gle player has to play strong defense.

We have to build the team every day in practice. Hereare the daily goals and how to achieve them:1. Never let others work with the team.2. Nobody is perfect! Have you ever seen a

game or a player without mistakes?3. The player needs encouragement when he

makes a mistake.4. You must care about the last player on the

bench the same way as you do about your team star.

5. Don’t ever change your attitude because of a player’s mistake.

6. It is enough if the players give their best

4. Giving credit to the players who do small, but equally important things.

5. A good pass must always be recognized. Show the passer that you have appreciated the pass by putting your thumb up.

6. Letting the players show you when they are tired. Do not let the opponents notice this.

7. Make the players play defense with the same intensity as offense.

8. A good action has to be recognized by everymember of the team. Players have to congratulate each other.

9. After the game, point out the qualities of the opponent to your players. It is bad tounderestimate the opponents.

10. Be sure that your players know why they have to sprint! They have to do it because ofpride! They sprint because they want to be better than the others. Sprints help them to build team unity.

11. Never allow a team member to become discouraged or depressed.

12. Every player has to have the feeling of belonging to a team.

13. Coaches, this is your team. You provide the rules and you make the team respect them. Do not turn players against you with hysteria,either in practice sessions or games.

14. Once you punish a player for discretion, it’s over! Don’t bring it up again.

15. Young men want discipline. All of this helps them to build their own self-discipline.

16. Give young men another chance.

How to get your ideas and concepts across to theplayers:1. Let the player know that he is not on the floor

just for shooting by changes in the line-up you make during the game.

2. We have to correct players, not criticize them. When you correct, also remind them ofthe good things they are doing.

3. Don’t disturb them during the game or duringpractice.

4. You must always encourage them. This will help make them mentally stronger.

5. Positive thinking is extremely important.6. It is not necessary that you always start the

game with your best players. The opponentsprepare their game against your best men. By not starting with your best, you will distract the opponent while giving your teama mental boost. When you do put in your bestplayers, it will increase the intensity of play.

7. Always have a back-up player ready if you want to make a change. Recognize each player who comes out of the game with a paton the back or a word of encouragement.

8. It is to think about your fans. Try to make them happy: how do you do this?

9. A young player is better than a tired star (at least, for a couple of minutes). Be sure that the players know when they can play.

10. It is clear that we need more than five

effort. What more can you expect?7. The respect of every single player is

of fundamental importance.8. We demand tolerance, but we do not try to

satisfy players in every way and we do not beg them to do what is necessary.

9. We all know that our long-term unity depends on winning.

What else is important?1. To build and to nourish respect between the

coach and players.2. A coach must always stress the players’

qualities.3. Back-up players must always stand up

and encourage the teammate who comesoff the floor.

players on a team. Players think primarily about scoring, but we must also appreciate other skills. We must encourage good passing and help on defense.

11. Never make the mistake of underestimating your players, the opposing players, or the coach.

12. Always speak to the opposing coach after the game.

13. Use the best performances of your players. Sometimes we win even if we don’t play good basketball.

14. Always insist on pride.

My philosophy of coaching basketball is wrappedup in the following attributes. In my opinion, coa-ches should take them into consideration during theongoing selection of the players at the beginning ofthe season:The major character attributes:▼ Ambition▼ Bravery▼ Discipline▼ Intelligence

The major physical attributes: ▼ Height▼ Speed▼ Power

These physical attributes don’t necessarily need to becombined in one person, yet it is clear that a personwho is neither tall nor fast does not have the neces-sary requirements to be a good basketball player.Power, as an essential component of modern basket-ball, can be developed through hard work in the wei-ght-training room.

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FIBA EUROPE

Phil Melillo became head coach of the A2team of Forlì, Italy, in 1994, where he wonthe championship. He then coached Vero-na, in A1, and won the Italian Supercup. Healso seated on the bench of the teams ofSiena, Roseto (where he won anotherchampionship in A2) in two different pe-riods, Udine, and, since last season, he hasbeen the head coach of Scavolini Pesaro.

When the shot clock is running out andwe are running set plays I feel it is veryimportant to have all the players touchingthe ball and moving without the ball,making the defense work harder. If theplayers are having a difficult time findinga way to score, they can run this set play:2 goes out to the wing using the screenset by 5, 3 goes to the opposite wing posi-tion, 1 then passes to 2 (diagr. 1 and 2). 1uses the screen set by 4 and then goes tothe corner. 4, after the screen, gets openby going wide and receives the ball from 2(diagr. 3). 3 moves to the opposite corner.4 passes the ball to 1, who has just movedfrom the corner up to the wing position(diagr. 4). 4 sets up a pick-and-roll with 1.1 uses the screen to drive to the basket orcan pass to 5, who is cutting to the basket,if the drive can not occur (diagr. 5). Afterthe screen has been set, 4 can eitherestablish himself low or move out to thethree-point line. On the other hand, if it is 5setting up the pick-and-roll with 1, 5 thenmoves into the low post and 4 must moveout to the three-point line (diagr. 6). Let’snow have a look at the options we have inthe development of this play.

FIRST OPTION: BALL TO 5 IN THE LOW POST2 goes to pick for 4, while, on the otherside, 3 cuts and exchanges his position

OFFENSE

by Phil Melillo

Plays To Run as theShot Clock Expires

with 1. The aim is to keep the defensebusy, not allowing the defenders to rest.This gives 5 the chance to play one-on-one and avoid drawing the double team(diagr. 7).

SECOND OPTION: 5 KICKS THE BALL OUTFirst opportunity5 passes the ball from the low post to 4. If4 can not shoot, he passes the ball to 2,who is at the top of the key, or who canpass to 1, who is coming off a staggeredscreen set by 5 and 4 (diagr. 8).Second opportunityIf 5 can not receive the ball, 2 passes theball to 4, who is now looking for to playwith 5 in the post (diagr. 9).

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THIRD OPTION: SWINGFirst opportunity3 makes a back door cut, while 1 is tryingto get open at the wing (diagr. 10).Second opportunityNow 1 has several options: 1 can shoot, hecan drive or play one-on-one in the area leftopen from the backdoor cut of 3 (diagr. 11).Third opportunity with 3 in the postAfter the back door, 3 takes position in thelow post. If he receives the ball from 1, 1goes and picks for 4 and then replaces 4’sposition (diagr. 12).If it is 5 instead of 4 at the top of the key, 1does not pick for 4, but establishes his ownposition on the wing, allowing 5 to set ascreen for 2 on the weak side (diagram 13).

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FOURTH OPTION: PICK-AND-ROLL4, after he has swung the ball to the weak si-de, sets a screen for 1, and breaks free. If heis not open, he can continue out to the three-point line or cut to the basket. Meanwhile, 5moves out to the three-point line (diagr. 14).Now, with their roles exchanged, 5, after thepick of the player with the ball, cuts towardsthe basket and 4, starting from the low post,goes out to the three-point line (diagr. 15).This play allows me to have:▼ Players in constant movement;▼ The ball moving from side to side;▼ All players touching the ball, which is

the most important thing, because itmakes the defenses job harder and al-lows for the best scoring opportunity.

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THE ATTACK OF THE detroit pistons

Larry Brown is the current head coach of the 2004 NBAChampions Detroit Pistons and USA Men’s OlympicBasketball team. A 2002 inductee to the BasketballHall of Fame, Brown is the only U.S. male to play andcoach in the Olympics. He is also the only coach towin both a NCAA and NBA title. Included among theteams he has coached are the UCLA Bruins, KansasJayhawks, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, andthe Philadelphia 76ers. After playing and coaching formore than thirty years, Larry Brown is widely conside-red one of the premier teachers of the game.

In an exclusive interview we received the technicalopinion on the NBA Champions Detroit Pistons by for-mer legendary coach Chuck Daly. Not only he was the coach of the first, uncomparableDream Team that won the gold medal in the 1992Barcelona Olympics, but Daly also won two consecu-tive NBA Championships with the Pistons in 1989 and1990.

“This team reminds me a lot of the one winning twotitles many years ago. It’s déjà vu. Just like the 1989and 1990 teams, the basis is a strong defense inclu-ding two great rebounders and shot blockers. These roles were filled by Ben and Rasheed Wallacewho can be compared to Salley and Rodman. The transistion game starting on the defensive endultimately led to easy fast break points. The great pre-cision in executing offensive set plays and givingHamilton several options were major factors for thesuccess and equal distribution of points. All five starters for the Pistons scored in double digitsin comparison to just two on the Lakers, O’Neal andBryant. Another advantage of the Pistons was thecapitalization of each time out, where they scoredalmost immediately after each one. Talking about players individually, I want to underlinethe impact Ben Wallace had. His defensive presencewas most noted, but his effectiveness on the offensiveend was an unexpected asset. He was able to score using tap-ins and other methodsto help the Pistons in troubled times throughout the

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series. The main factor, however, was ChaunceyBillups and his ability to increase his points per gameaverage from the regular season, while also being aneffective playmaker at the point guard position. We can’t forget the defensive impact made by Prince,the only player to significantly slow down KobeBryant due to his height m 2.06 and wingspan,allowing him to play taller and follow Bryant in hismovements. Thus, Larry Brown won using the basket-ball tools from the past : defense, fundamentals, offen-sive transition, perfect execution of set plays and thefact that all the Pistons were team players.”

THE 2003-2004 PISTONS ROSTER▼ Chauncey Billups Playmaker m. 1.91

Lindsay Hunter Playmaker m. 1.88▼ Richard Hamilton Guard/Forward m. 2.01

Corliss Williamson Forward m. 2.01▼ Tayshaun Prince Forward m. 2.06▼ Rasheed Wallace Forward m. 2.13

Mehmet Okur Forward m. 2.11▼ Ben Wallace Center m. 2.06

Elden Campbell Center m. 2.13

▼ = Starting Five Players

“CROSS FIST”The beginning position has three perimeter and twolow post players, placed in a stack. 1 (Billups) passes toone of the forwards, 2 (Hamilton), in this case, thencuts to the paint while 3 ( Prince) takes 1’s place. 1 picks for 4 (Ben Wallace), then 4 cuts to the paint toreceive the ball. If he does not receive it, he goes toplay pick-and-roll with 2, while 1 comes out of the paintand goes to the corner (diagr. 1 and 2). Another solution: 1 cuts and goes to pick for 5 (RasheedWallace), after having passed to 2, 5 then cuts in thepaint and sets up in the low post to get a pass from 2and to play one-on-one. After the pass, 2 moves up ordown on the three-point line for a pass from 5, if thedefender of 2 traps on 5 (diagr. 3).

“CHEST”1 dribbles in the central lane, 4 is in mid post, 2 is in highpost, 3 and 5 are positioned in a stack on the other sideof the court. 2 cuts around the stack of 3 and 5. When 2 has cut to the paint, 3 cuts and then goes to thewing. 1 can pass to 2 or 3 near the basket or on the wing(diagr. 4). If 3 receives the ball, he can shoot or pass to5 in high post. If these listed solutions do not occur, 2keeps cutting, gets a pick by 4 on the baseline, goes tothe wing and receives a pass from 1. If he cannot shootor pass to 4 in the low post, 4 leaves the paint and playspick-and-roll with 2 (diagr. 5). Another solution: If 2 isnot open after the baseline pick of 4, 1 passes the ballto 3, 5 goes out and sets a side block to play a pick-and-roll with 3 (diagr. 6).

“FIST” 1 dribbles along the midfield lane, 4 and 5 are placed atthe elbows of the key, while 2 and 3 are in the low post.1 dribbles to the left. 4 then sets a pick for 5, who goes

out to the wing. After the pick for 5, 4 keeps on cuttingand makes a stack with 3. 2 then cuts and goes out ofthe stack, going to the wing (diagr. 7). 5 plays a pick-and-roll with 1 (diagr. 8) who dribblestoward the other side of the court and passes to 2 whohas come out of the stack (diagr. 9). As it is shown in the previous diagram, after the stack,2 goes to the corner, 3 goes to the wing and 4 goes tothe low post.

“GET”It is a set play intended to allow equal shots byHamilton and Prince. 1 dribbles along the right side of the court, while 2, 4, 3and 5 assemble a low stack near the basket. When 1 ison that side, 2 goes out using the pick set by 5 and risesup to the key to receive, and shoot or to pass to 5, whoshould get open (diagr. 10). If 2 can’t shoot or pass to 5, 4 sets a pick for 3, who firstgoes out to the wing and then keeps on cutting to thebasket. After having picked, 4 rises up immediately andreceives pass from 1 and now he can pass to 3 (diagr.11). The factor we have to underline is that in all thePistons set plays a great attention was paid to balan-cing, thus allowing a fast defensive transition.

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

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Ruben Magnano won the FIBA SouthAmerica and Pan-American Champion-ships with the Argentinean Under-21National team in 2000. In 2001, at the helmof Senior National Men’s team, he won theFIBA South American, FIBA Tournament ofthe Americas and a silver medal at theGoodwill Games. In 2002, he won the silvermedal at the FIBA World Championship,and this year the gold medal at the Olym-pic Games in Athens. With the Atenas Cor-dobas club, he won three Argentinean ti-tles, two South American, one Pan-Ameri-can, and two South American LeagueChampionships.

FASTBREAK “NEW”5 makes the out-of-bounda pass to 1,who dribbles the ball on the lateral lane,and stops at the three-point line. 4 runsin the middle of the court and goes tothe low-post position on the ball side, 2and 3 sprints near the sidelines, and 5sprints to the basket in the center lane,and stops outside of the three-point line(diagr. 1).2, the wing on the ball side, cuts in the la-ne, receives a screen from 3, and comesout of the three-point line. 5 screens for1, and 1 dribbles towards 2. After the pickfor 2, 3 picks for 4, who cuts in the lane toreceive the ball from 1. After the screenfor 1, 5 screens down for 3 (screen thescreener). 1 can pass to 2, 4, 3 or to 5,who opens up to the ball after the screen(diagr. 2).

FASTBREAK “CIRCLE”5 passes to 1 and enters on the court as asafety man, while 2 and 3 sprint near thesidelines towards the offensive basket. 4sprints in the middle of the court, actingas a trailer (diagr. 3).1 runs the fastbreak, while the other fourplayers sprint to reach their respectivepositions. 2 and 3 stop at the three-pointline (diagr. 4). 1 passes to 2 on the wing, while 4, thetrailer, goes to the low-post position onthe ball side, and 5 to the high post (diagr. 5). 3

OFFENSE

by Ruben Magnano

THE ARGENTINA OFFENSE

comes in the middle of the court to receivethe ball from 2 and 1 cuts in the lane and re-places 2 on the wing (diagr. 6).3 plays pick-and-roll with 5, 4 goes to the highpost position, and 1 and 3 go in the corner(diagr. 7).2 passes to 4, who can pass directly to 5 in thelane, or pass to 3. 3 can pass to 5, who cuts tothe ball (diagr. 8).

A MAN-TO-MAN PLAYThe initial set is a 1-2-2 formation, with onepoint guard in the middle of the court, twohigh posts, and two wings in the corners. 1passes to 4, follows the pass, and receivesa pass back from 4. Right after the pass, 4receives a blind pick from 5 and goes out-

side, while 5 rolls to the basket. If he doesnot receive the ball, he goes on the low-post position (diagr. 9).1 passes the ball to 4. 4 passes directly to5 in the low post or to 3. 3 passes to 5(diagr. 10).If 4 cannot pass to 3 or 5, 1 follows thepass, receives a pass back from 4, pene-trates, and makes a kick pass to 2, or to 5,who cuts in the lane, or to 4 who went inthe opposite direction of the penetration of1. 1 and 4 can also play a pick-and-roll(diagr. 11).

A MAN-TO-MAN AND A MATCH-UPOFFENSE: ZERO The set is a 1-2-2, with the point guard in

the midddle of the court, the two posts atthe corner of the free-throw lane, and thewings in low-post positions. 1 receives ascreen from 5, who, after the screen,goes on the high-post position and thendribbles towards the wing. 4 receives ablind, diagonal screen (staggeredscreen), first from 3, and then from 2. Af-ter the screen, 3 goes outside the three-point line (diagr. 12).2 comes high, receives a screen from 5,and cuts outside the three-point-line toreceive the ball from 1. After the screen,5 goes outside the lane. 1 and 2 go downin the corners (diagr. 13).5 screens for 2 and then rolls to the ba-sket. 2 dribbles to the right and then pas-

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ses immediately to 4, who comes in themiddle of the court to receive the passand make a reversal pass to 1, who co-mes towards the ball (diagr. 14).

ZONE OFFENSEI will list the general principles, whichserve as the basis of the our offenseversus the zone:1. Attack the weak sides of the zonewith and without the ball.2. Respect the spacing between the of-fensive players.3. Use the dribble only to divide the zo-ne, to improve the angle of passing, orfor creating proper spacing.4. Do not face a defensive player. 5. Utilize the skip pass for attacking thedefense from behind.

OFFENSE VERSUS THE ODD ZONE: 12The starting set is a 2-3. 1 passes to 2,while 5 cuts along the baseline, and re-ceives a pass from 2. 4 picks for 5, 3 co-mes high at the corner of the free-throwline, and 1 and 2 move away from theball (diagr. 15).If 2 cannot shoot, he passes the ball to5, who comes out of the lane. 4 goes

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down (diagr. 16).5 passes to 1 and then goes on theopposite direction, while 4 goeson the low-post position on theball side, 5 goes to the high-postposition, and 4 starts to cut along

the baseline (diagr. 17).1 dribbles towards the mid-court,3 cuts in the corner and receives apick from 4. It’s very important that3 coordinates his movement withthe movement of 1. 5 goes to the

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corner of the lane, while 2 is moving awayfrom the ball (diagr. 18).

OFFENSE VERSUS THE EVEN ZONE: 23The initial set is a 1-4, with the point guard inthe middle of the court, the two wings andtwo posts at the corners of the free-throw la-ne.1 passes the ball to one of the wings (2 in thiscase). After the pass to 2, 4 goes low and 5cuts in the lane and goes outside in the cor-ner on the ball side (diagr. 19).2 can pass to 5 in the corner or back to 1. Af-ter the pass, 2 cuts in the lane and goes inthe other wing position. 3 comes high andreceives the ball from 1 (diagr. 20).If 5 receives the ball, he passes to 1, 1 to 3,

who comes in the middle of the court, and 3to 2. When 2 gets the ball, 5 can choose tocut high or cut low, and 4, based on the di-rection of the 5’s cut, goes in the oppositedirection (diagr. 21).An option: 3 gives the ball back to 1, andthen goes in the opposite direction. On thispass, 2 can cut in order to go back to his ori-ginal position, and 5 and 4 screen the twodefenders on the ball side. 2 comes out inthe corner and receives the ball from 1 (dia-gr. 22).

SIDELINE-OUT OF BOUNDS: “THUMB”The players are set in a box formation, withthe point guard 1 in the low post to the ballside, and the post 5 opposite to him. 4screens for 1 and 5 screens for 2. 1 goes hi-gh and receives the ball from 3 (diagr. 23).1 receives a screen from 5, and dribbles tothe other side of the court, while 5 rolls tothe basket. 1 can pass to 5 or to 2. After thescreen, 4 comes high (diagr. 24).

BASELINE OUT-OF-BOUNDS2 has the ball for the out-of-bound pass, 3picks for 1, who goes in the corner. At thesame time, 5 screens for 3 (screen thescreener). 2 can choose to pass to 1, 3, or 5(diagr. 25). If 1 receives the ball, 4 goes outside of thefree-throw lane, and receives a pass fromhim, while 3 continues his cut and goes outof the three-point line (diagr. 26).After the out-of-bounds pass, 2 enters thecourt and screens for 5, who goes towardsthe ball. Right after the screen of 2 for 5, 4makes a vertical screen (screen the scree-ner) for 2. 3 can pass inside to 5, or to 2 for ajump shot (diagr. 27).

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by Dirk Bauermann

OFFENSE

OFFENSIVE CONCEPTSAND PRINCIPLES

Dirk Bauermann, a former assistant coach atFresno State University (U.S.), was the head coachof Bayer Leverkusen, where he guided his teamsto six German titles and three German Cups. Healso coached the German National team from 1994to 1998. In addition, Bauermann also coachedSunair Ostende (Belgium) and Apollon Patras(Greece). He presently is the head coach ofBamberg (Germany) and the German Men’sNational team.

The following article describes some of the basicoffensive concepts that I have used against man-to-man defenses in the last couple of years. Boththe club team that I am currently coaching, and theGerman National team play according to theseconcepts.As coaches, we must constantly adjust our offensi-ve strategies to the players at hand. We also haveto constantly incorporate new ideas into our philo-sophy. Nonetheless, we all have certain beliefsand convictions that create the very substance ofour coaching philosophy. I will outline some of mybasic offensive tactics, principles, and concepts.

1. CREATE OFFENSE WITH DEFENSE I have always believed that an aggressive, physicalman-to-man defense is the most important buildingblock of a team’s success. Ideally, we would like togenerate at least one-third of our points from ourdefense.

2. BALANCED SCORINGCurrently, where statistics have become a majorselling point for agents, every player wants goodstatistics to back up his efforts. If the system provi-des scoring opportunities for everybody, the playerwill have much greater motivation to defend,rebound, and do the dirty work. Also, in a balancedattack with a lot of weapons, defensive preparationis much more difficult because one cannot con-centrate on stopping the two star players. Am I a friend of equal opportunity offense? No.

Roles have to be clearly defined and not everybody getsthe same amount of shots. I would much rather have sixplayers score in double figures than two score overthirty. Why? Because we will be a better offensive teamthat way.

3. PREPAREDNESSBobby Knight once said that it is not just the will to win,

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D.8 but, also, the will to prepare to win that makes ateam successful. He said it more in the context ofgame preparation, but there is no doubt in my mindthat we must prepare our teams for every concei-vable eventuality and situation. I want them prepa-red for anything that our opponent might throw atus. I also want them to know precisely what to do atcritical points in the game (e.g., end of quartersituations, special situations, and end of gamesituations). That is why we work on these types ofsituations for at least five minutes at the end ofevery practice. This kind of preparedness will help you win becau-

se your players know what to do and it will developthe kind of confidence that you need to win yourclose games.

4. GAME TEMPOI’ve always felt that a nice balance of transition andhalf-court basketball is most conducive to winning.Players need to able to get out in the open courtand enjoy the freedom and creativity that the run-ning game provides. Also, the transition game ena-bles you to score easy baskets, which is the mainobjective of offensive basketball in the first place. On the other hand, good teams will minimize yourfast break opportunities with good shot selection,intelligent decision making, good defensive balan-ce, and great transition defense.Thus, a team’s ability to function in the half-courtgame, to take care of the basketball, to properlyexecute its plays under pressure, and to makesmart decisions with the basketball defines itsdegree of success to a great extent, especially inthe play-offs.

5. OFFENSIVE STRUCTUREa. After a defensive rebound, we try to score withinthe first six seconds of the shot clock. We want theball in our point guard’s hands as quickly as possi-ble. If another player comes up with a defensiverebound and he has the ability to push the ball upthe court, we encourage him to do so as a way toeliminate the outlet pass. We want the ball in themiddle of the floor and we want them to pitch theball ahead to open receivers. We want our wing-men to sprint, rather than run, and we want them toslow down just before they approach the scoringarea. In my estimation, it is vital that the playerslook for and find open teammates. If they do not,wings and big men will stop running. We want ournon-rebounding big man to run right at the rim andwe send our rebounding big man right to the weak-side elbow area (diagr. 1). If the defense is stillscrambling to get back, we try to score quickly outof this box alignment with quick pick-rolls, post-ups, or skips (diagr. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). All these are sim-ple yet effective ways of creating 2-on-2 situationsout of transition. If the defense has gotten back onus and there is no more conceivable advantage,we get the ball to our point guard, change therhythm, and run a set play.b. After a steal, we obviously try to score quickly.We only encourage our players not to be in a hurryand make good decisions with the basketball.c. After a made field goal by our opponent, wewant one of our big men to inbound the ball asquickly as possible to our point guard. If we cansurprise and score quickly, great. If not, we will runinto a pre-set offensive alignment that looks like adiamond and then run different options out of thatparticular set, depending on the point guard’s call.

6. OFFENSIVE CONCEPTSThese are basic guidelines for our players that givethem an idea of how we want the game to be played.

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a. The main objective of offensive basketball is tocreate a shot for a teammate, not for yourself.b. Play off the pass rather than the dribble.c. Play with a purpose.d. Get the ball inside on a consistent basis - playinside-out.e. Do not be content shooting jump shots - attackthe rim-get fouled, score on the free throw line.f. Play within yourself - KISS (Keep-It-Simple-Stupid).g. Spacing and balanceh. Play with poise and savvy at all times-don’t be ina hurry.i. Have faith in each other-share the ball and makethe extra pass.

7. OFFENSIVE AUTOMATICS As I have mentioned earlier, we run various plays.Most of them are continuity plays, where we basi-cally go from one option to the next. The playersknow their looks and options. We usually try toreverse the basketball once before we actuallylook to score. We try to get the ball inside first, thensettle for a jump shot, or else go to a pick-roll ofsome sort. But regardless of what plays one runs,the same situations occur. With what we call“automatics” we try to give our players some basicrules as to how to react and what to expect fromtheir teammates in these types of situations. Hereare some examples of our automatics:a. Baseline drive - baseline drift (diagr.7)When a player drives baseline, the wing player onthe weak side of the floor must move/drift to thecorner in order to get open for a shot.b. Overplay on wing: - open post situation: backdoor (diagr. 8)- post down low: pinch post action (diagr. 9).b. Wing drives baseline - big man pulls out to elbow(diagr. 10).c. Wing drives middle - post drifts to soft spot(diagr. 11).d. Pick-and-roll with 5, 4 up to junction (diagr. 12).e. Pick-and-pop with 4, 5 ducks in and attacks dot-ted line (diagr. 13). f. Post feed: Passer runs elbow or baseline cut,others replace (diagr. 14) or screens and dives(diagr. 15) depending on what the defense does.We also have rules against post and pick-roll traps,but I unfortunately can’t cover them in detail in thisshort article.

8. EARLY OFFENSEAs I have mentioned earlier, we run into a pre-setplay after made baskets by our opponent. Our pointguard pushes the ball up the right sideline andeach player runs to a pre-designed starting spot onthe floor (diagr. 16). As our point guard approaches mid-court, he callsa particular play that we run out of this diamond set. A specific play is indicated by the numbers 1 through 5.Now I will outline our 5 and 3 play to give an exam-ple of the type of ball- and player-movement welike.

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The 5-play (diagr. 17, 18, and 19) isdesigned to get the ball inside to ourcenter. Note that we always try to reverse thebasketball once before we look toscore.Not every option and counter will beshown in detail.The 3-play (diagr. 20, 21, 22, and 23) isa version of the shuffle play run bymany teams. In this particular play, wetry to get a shot for our small forward

by playing him inside-outside.

9. SET PLAYSMost of our set plays are continuity plays. We rarely run isolation plays or quick hitters, eventhough we realize that they are sometimes neces-sary in order to get a good quick shot, such aswhen it takes you too long to get into your offenseor if you have to go quick because you’re behindlate in the game. Sometimes you also might want to foul a certainplayer out of the game and run an isolation playagainst him. Again, we strongly believe in the valueof patience and quick, precise ball- and player-movement and our play selection reflects this con-cept. As an example (diagr.24, 25, 26, and 27), hereare plays that show our ‘shorts’ play.

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Vicente Rodriguez is the head coach of theSpanish Women's National Team. His teamswon two bronze medals at the 2001 and 2003FIBA European Championships. He coachedthe Celta Simeòn club team to the Spanish ti-tle in 1999.

In this article, I would like to illustrate the basicmovement concepts a team has to follow whenone of its players has decided to score by at-tacking the basket.Starting from three positions (central, lateral,and low post), I am going to analyze the offensecirculation in order to make it easier to score,which is the goal of every offense. It is neces-sary to keep some basic concepts in mind:

▼ Players have to move to a clear space.

▼ Players have to make more than one offenseoption possible through their moves.

▼ The offensive player has to move dependingon the defender's reaction:

a. He can make a back-door cut.b. He can cut in front of the defender from the

top.c. He can make himself open (which is the pri-

mary target of the offense).

▼ If the player with the ball realizes that his de-fender doesn't stand on a direct linebetween himself and the basket, he alwayshas make a hard attack on the basket.

ONE-ON-ONE MOVES FROM A CENTRAL POSITIONIf the player with the ball starts to drive towardsthe basket with the primary aim to score, the re-st of the team has to facilitate this move. In orderto do this, some basic rules have to be stated:

▼ The forward on the same side on which 1starts to drive, 2, in this case, runs towardsthe baseline to create space for 1. This willimprove the passing angle for receiving apossible pass from 1.

▼ 4 and 5 drop to the baseline, when 1 starts tomake the first dribble.

OFFENSE

by Vicente Rodriguez

OFFENSIVE CONCEPTSFROM ONE-ON-ONE

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▼ The other forward, 3, who has just startedto run towards the baseline when 1 deci-des on which side he will go, runs to the topof the key so he can create the proper spa-ce, and can also be a safety man on defen-se (diagr. 1).

The defense can react in several ways to thisstarting movement, so we are going to movedepending on which defender is coming tohelp from the weak side on the dribble penetra-tion of 1. Therefore, there are two possibilities,because X5 or X2, have come up to help on theopposite side of 1's drive.a. First possibility: X5 helps. If it is the post's

defender, X5, who comes up to stop 1's dri-ve, 5 can screen on X4, or he can take a

good position to receive a pass from 1. Or,he can set a screen on X2, who is recove-ring. 4 goes outside in order to be in a goodposition for a medium-range shot. In thisway, we create two passing lines for 1: aninside pass to 5 and, at the same time, anoutside pass to 4 (diagr. 2).

b. Second possibility: X2 helps. If X2 goes tohelp X1 on 1's drive, 5 will rise to stop X2 tomake him unable to recover in a straight li-ne towards his offensive player, in case 1decides to pass laterally to 2, outside of thethree-point line (diagr. 3).

If 2 receives the ball after the screen of 5 on X2,he can have enough time to shoot, or he can

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now force X5 to sag off his position to cover theoutside shot. In this case, 5 can easily go to thelow post position, receive the ball from the team-mate, and get an easy basket (diagr. 4).

ONE-ON-ONE MOVES FROM LATERAL POSITIONHere is an analysis of the cross drive towards thebasket, from the lateral forward position. On across drive, the primary goal is to gain a centrallane position to achieve as many play's optionsas we can for scoring. There are several movesto be made, depending on the rotation of the de-fense:▼ After 1 has started to drive, two different de-

fensive helps can come to stop him and thiscan lead to different reactions by the offense.

▼ If the help is made by X2, it is the post 4, whowill go to set a screen on X2, to help 2 to re-ceive the ball (diagr. 5).

▼ If it is X4 who comes up to stop the drive, 4 willa take position in the lane, or he can gobehind X2 to stop his recovery (diagr. 6).

▼ In addition to these two possibilities, there isa third one: when the other offensive forwardis on the same side as the drive. If 3 is in thecorner on the drive side, 3 has to clear thearea, so he quickly changes sides with a ba-seline cut (diagr. 7).

ONE-ON-ONE MOVES FROM THE LOW POSTIf we decide to attack the basket from the low po-st, the premises for our offensive players are dif-ferent from the ones in the previous situations.First, we have to pass the ball to 5 to let him playone-on-one. Beginning from the designated posi-tions, we can then pass the ball to 5 (diagr. 8).Once 5 has the ball, he will always play one-on-one if his defender is not helped by any of histeammates. It is important to be patient playingone-on-one, and never hurry. The other offensiveplayers will keep their defenders busy, by goingbehind them with backdoor cuts, or other moves.

X2 HELPS Here are the different options:a. If 4 isn't a good shooter, then 2 will cut behind

X2. At the same time, he can surprise his de-fender with a sudden cut beyond 5. 1 and 3will move depending on their defender's mo-ves and on 2's moves. 4 runs to the baseline,below X4, eventually (diagr. 9).

b. If 4 is a good shooter, then 2 goes towards thebaseline. 4 comes up in center of the lane,stopping on the free-throw line, or on the th-ree-point line, as well. 1 and 3 go outside wi-de to create space for 4's move (diagr. 10).

X1 HELPS Here are the different options:a. Both the offensive players on the side, 2 and

3, go to the corners and 1 will try to overtakeX1 (diagr. 11).

b. If 4 is a good shooter, he goes to the centrallane towards the three-point line, or stopsbefore. 2 and 3, positioned on the two sides,go to the corners, while 1 takes a cross posi-tion (diagr. 12).

X4 HELPSa. If X5 gets X4's help, both on low post in this

case, they move depending on 4's shootingability (diagr. 13). If 4 is a bad shooter, he kee-ps taking the low post and breaks X3's line,so that he can't recover backwards; on theother side, if X3 can take his position, then 4screens to allow 5 to make a lob pass to 3, af-ter a back step, changing the play's side. Atthe same time, 1 follows the whole move-ment, going to the middle of the court.

b. If 4 is a good shooter, he comes up in thecenter of the court towards the three-pointline, depending on his shooting ability, whilethe other players, 1, 2 and 3 will move, all de-pending on their defender's positions toclear spaces (diagr. 14).

CONCLUSIONSEvery movement that can be completed fol-lowing the concepts described in this article hasto be executed according to these principles:

▼ The players have to clear spaces so the helpside defenders should be apart from eachother, thus making recoveries difficult be-cause of space and time.

▼ It is important to move when the ball does.

▼ It is important to stay on the defensive reco-very lines. By doing this, we will gain manyadvantages over the defense when goingfor offensive rebounds.

▼ Always remember that the best offensiveaction is the one that surprises the defender.

▼ Always remember to follow the drives on theweak side, which will make it possible forone more pass option.

▼ It is important that every offensive player isable to read two or three play options.

▼ When these principles are followed, we canuse every set play we want.

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by Neven Spahija

OFFENSE

Neven Spahija coached Cibona Zagreb(Croatia), Krka Novo Mesto (Slovenia),Saratov (Russia), and now Roseto (Italy). Hewas coach of the Croatian Under 22 nationalteam, which won a silver medal at the FIBAU22 World Championship in Japan. He cur-rently is head coach of the Croatian Nationalmen’s team. His Cibona team won twoCroatian club titles, while Krka Novo Mestowon one Slovenian league title.

Modern basketball cannot be seriously analy-zed without paying special attention to thetransition offense. Every coach, at least duringone part of his daily practice, covers the fastbreak, transition offense or quick-hittersoffense. All these words symbolize one com-mon goal that every modern and successfulteam is trying to achieve: scoring as manyeasy points as possible during the game.There is one very important technical aspectthat puts even more importance on the transi-tion offense, and that is the new 24-secondshot clock. When this rule was first adopted,the time for offense decreased by six seconds,which gave the defense a greater chance tosucceed. Teams that put a lot of emphasis ontransition defense have become a real threatto the opponents that depended exclusively ona set offense. Therefore, the importance of quality andeffective transition offense started to play acrucial role in modern basketball. The coa-ches now put countless hours in practicingthis transition offense, and this phase of thegame. This phase occurs when the defenseturns into offense. This phase becomes a cru-cial factor in determination of the success ofteam transition defense and/or offense. Theteam that accepts and learns how to quicklytransform from one phase of the game toanother is the team that has a chance to beco-me what coaches call “a good overall team.”Watching today’s basketball, it’s possible tonotice that there are not a lot of easy basketsthat are being scored during the game. Thereason for this is that there are players thatpossess great athletic ability and through theirathleticism, they manage to completely domi-nate the game. There are teams that haveplayers that are capable of putting pressure

on the ball at three quarters or even onthe full court. That kind of energetic andathletic defense makes is really hard fora slower or more passive offense tofunction.This is another reason why we are nowexperiencing the evolution of the transi-tion offense and a quality fast break. Dueto all reasons mentioned above, coa-ches have started to use all meansnecessary to bring their transition offen-se to perfection.I would like to now detail one of the tran-sition offenses and all of its possibleoptions. It is important to notice thatthere are plenty of options that come out

of this set, but I will offer some of whichI most frequently use with teams that Icoach. Without any special introduction,it is important to mention that every tran-sition offense or fast break starts with asuccessful defense. After our team fulfil-ls all the defensive requirements neces-sary to limit the offense, starting a poten-tial fast break is that much easier,quicker, and effective. There are severaldefensive criteria that we alwaysemphasize to our teams:▼ Strong ball pressure.▼ Stopping the easy ball circulation.▼ Putting constant pressure on the shot

and not allowing easy shot selection.

Transition offense

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▼ Boxing-out.▼ Control of the defensive side of the ball.▼ Outlet pass after the control of the defensi-

ve rebound.

These factors are crucial and later lead to thesuccessful fast break situation. Other situa-tions that can lead to a successful fast breakare free-throw situations or even after theopposing team scores a basket (the so calledquick-entry situation if the team that has justscored a basket did not recover well or if theywere slow running back on defense). Theclassic outlet pass of the fast break occurswhen the big man (4 or 5) takes the ball out-of-bounds. At that time, the other big man runsthe floor as the so-called “first trailer.” Thesmall forward and the off-guard are runningwide on both sides of the court, and the pointguard is responsible for bringing the ball upthe court. After the ball is inbounded, theinbounder comes down the court as a“second trailer” (diagr. 1): ▼ Post player, 5, takes the ball out-of-bounds,

and passes to the point guard, 1.▼ Point guard is moving to free himself to

receive the outlet pass.▼ Off-guard, 2, and small forward, 3, run in the

lateral lanes.▼ Power forward, 4, runs as a first trailer.

AFTER THE OUTLET PASSAfter the initial pass, the post player runsdown the court as a second trailer, behind thepoint guard and the power forward (diagr. 2).Usually the point guard, after he catches theball, can pass directly to the forward, withouta dribble or after a couple of dribbles. Theforward passes to the off-guard or a smallforward sprinting down the court on both late-ral lanes. These two players can get open fora pass using two classic techniques:- A regular “V-cut”.- Crossing, switching sides by running nearthe baseline.

Both of these techniques are shown indiagr. 2.▼ The off-guard is getting open to receive

the ball, using a V-cut technique.▼ The point guard passes to the off-guard.▼ The point guard clears the side by moving

toward the baseline.▼ The power forward cuts to the ball side.▼ The small forward and the post fill the

lanes.

TWO OPTIONSHere are two possible options.

a. If the defense is out of balance on the side ofthe power forward on the low post, then the passgoes from the off-guard to the power forward.

b. If we decide not to pass the ball down tothe low post, then the small forward cuts tothe ball, and post player fills the lane (diagr.3).

USE OF THE SCREENIn diagr. 4, we describe the use of the screen(big player for small player), and the impor-tance of a cut to the ball motion.

▼ The pass goes from the small forward to the post player.

▼ The power forward sets a back screen onthe off-guard.

▼ The off-guard tries to cut to the basket.▼ The pass goes from the post player to the

off-guard, if he is open.

OPTIONS BASED ON THE REACTION OF THE DEFENSEI will now describe how players with soundfundamentals can take advantage of thedefensive weaknesses, mistakes, or miss-matches. They must read the defense anduse one of the following options.

▼ If the defender of the power forwardbumps the off-guard on his cut to thebasket on the outside, than the powerforward, who sets the screen, has toread the situation: he must makes astrong step to get in the front of thedefender and receive the ball from thepost (diagr. 5).

▼ If the defense does not bump the offensiveplayer to stop the cut, the power forward(after he set the screen) has to read thesituation, and use the pop-out move on theoutside. He has to be ready to receive apass and make a jump shot (diagr. 6).

▼ After a pass from the small forward to thepost, the post fakes a hand-off passbetween the small forward and himself,and then executes a hand-off passbetween himself and the guard. Finally,the small forward cuts to the basket(diagr. 7).

OPTIONS IN THIS PHASE OF THE FASTBREAKThis phase of the fastbreak offense offersseveral options.

▼ If the defender guarding the small forwardfollows him behind, then the post canpass to the small forward for the lay-up(diagr. 8).

▼ If the defender guarding the post with theball goes for the bump, or if he decides tohelp on the cut of the small forward, thepost can read the situation and go thebasket himself (diagr. 9).

▼ If the defense denies the cut and preventsthe small forward to go for the hand-offpass, then the post and small forwardhave excellent opportunities to make aback-door play (diagr. 10).

▼ If the defender follows the point guardclosely behind, he has an opportunity tomake one strong dribble, right after thehand-off pass, gaining an advantage andgoing to the basket (diagr. 11).

▼ There are also screens set by the smallforward, the power forward, and the postfor the off-guard. At this time, the off-guard has the option of deciding whichside to come out on, either after a singlescreen set by the power forward, or aftera double screen set by the small forwardand the post on the other side (diagr. 12).

The point guard passes to the off-guard or tothe small forward for a shot or penetration.This is an entry pass into the last phase of theoffense (diagr. 13).

FINAL PHASE OF THIS MOTION OFFENSEHere are just few possible endings for thisoffensive motion (diagr. 14).▼ The ball is passed from the off-guard to

the post.▼ The power forward fills the high post

position.▼ After the pass, the off-guard clears the side

by setting the screen for the point guard.▼ The point guard is open on the strong side

for an eventual back pass (from 5 to 1).▼ The small forward keeps good offensive

spacing.▼ The post plays one-on-one.▼ There is the possibility of the pass for an

open shot by the point guard or a similarpass and shot by the power forward(diagr. 15).

This is just one of the many examples of afastbreak offense. Modern and successfulbasketball teams must have this weapon intheir offensive arsenal. A fast and dynamicup-tempo style of basketball is what makesthis game interesting and what brings fans tothe arenas. We, as coaches, have a great responsibilityon our shoulders: we have to respect allaspects of this great game but, at the sametime, we have to keep the game developinginto right direction. Gone are the days of theslow, controlled offense game. Today thegame is dominated by teams that can run,that can defend, and have great offensivepotential. We have to do our best and teachthe methods of modern basketball to theteams that we coach.

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FIBA EUROPE

Skip Prosser was head coach at LoyolaCollege in Baltimore, then Xavier and, sin-ce 2000, at Wake Forest University. He isthe only collegiate coach who has broughtthree teams to the NCAA Tournament in hisfirst year. He was selected as the AtlanticCoast Conference Coach of the Year in2003.

Dino Gaudio was assistant coach at Xa-vier, before becoming head coach at Army,and then Loyola College. He joined CoachProsser at Wake Forest in 2001.

Due to the limited space, we are unable toshow all our offensive plays, so we wouldlike to introduce only few that we useagainst the man-to-man defense.

SECONDARY BREAK

After a made shot of the opponent, we runthe secondary break. 1 passes to 4, 4 pas-ses to 3, while 5 follows the movement ofthe ball, and goes in the low post positionon the same side of the ball. 2 replaces 5 inthat position. 4 tries to pass to 5, while 5 iscutting in the lane, and then to 3, if 5 is notopen. If it is 3, who receives the ball, hetries to pass to 5 in the low post (diagr. 1).

After the pass to 3, 4 picks for 2, who comesout of the screen and receives the ball from3. After the pick, 4 goes in the low post onthe other side of the lane (diagr. 2).

When 2 receives the ball and cannot shoot,4 and 5 cut and take a strong position in thelane, sealing off their defenders. 2 can passthe ball to one of the two (diagr. 3).

If the 2's defender tries to cheat on the pickand goes high, 2, instead going toward thescreen, cuts low and around 5, and 3 canpass the ball to him (diagr. 4 and 5).

"LOBo" PLAY

We use this play against the teams, whichdefend strong on the pick. This means weuse it when the screener's defender showsup high to help his teammate, who is scree-ned. Starting from a one-four set, 1 dribblestoward 5. If X5 shows up in advance to help

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by Skip Prosser by Dino Gaudio

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out, then 1 changes the side of the ball andpasses to 4, who has stepped out of the cor-ner of the free-throw lane to receive the ball(diagr. 6).

On this pass, 5 cuts to the basket and 4 pas-ses to 5 (diagr. 7).

It is crucial that the point guard, 1, gives theimpression to X5 that he wants to go aroundthe screen, thereby forcing X5 to show upstrong.

"45 Out" PLAY

1 dribbles toward the right side of the floor,and this is a signal for 4, who came high, togo around 2, and make a pick on the ball for 1(diagr. 8).

As soon as X4 starts to show up strong, 4 "sli-des" in the middle. This means he cuts strai-ght to the basket, without screening for 1. If 4is free, 1 passes to 4 (diagr. 9).

If 4 does not receive the ball from 1, 2screens for 5. 5 comes up in the middle of thecourt, and plays pick-and-roll with 1. In themeantime, 4 goes in the corner, 2 continuesthe cut and comes out of the lane. If, on thedribble penetration, the defenders help out, 1

can also pass to 2, 3, or 4 (diagr. 10).

"45 DOWn" PLAY

We start from a one- four set. 1 passes to 4and picks for 5, who comes out to the three-point line. After the pick, 1 goes to the wingposition, and 2 goes in the low post area(diagr. 11).

4 passes the ball to ,5 and 5 then changesthe side of the ball, passing to 1. 2 makes aback pick for 4(diagr. 12).

1 can pass to 2, who comes out of the pick,or to 4 in the low post (diagr. 13).

"45 DOWN REVERSe" PLAY

Starting from the same set one-four andwith the same beginning of the play descri-bed before, we want to show an option ofthe play, based on the reaction of the de-fenders.We call for this play when X4, the defenderof 4, tries to avoid the back screen of 4, sli-ding in advance in a position lower of 4, near

the dotted line of the lane. As before, 1 pas-ses to 4 and screens for 5 (diagr. 14).

4 passes to 5, who, after the screen, comesout of the three-point line. When 5 sees thatX4 is lower than 4, he fakes a pass to 1, thenpasses to 3, while 2 comes, as usual, high toset a back screen for 4 (diagr. 15).

When 2 sees the position of X4, he screensagain X4, and 4 cuts toward the baseline toreceive the ball from 3 (diagr. 16).If we call "54 down" and "54 down reverse,the play is the same, but is run for 5.

"ZIPPER 3"1 dribbles toward the left wing, and 3 comeshigh and replaces 1 in the middle of thecourt. At the same time, 5 goes in the low po-st on the same side and 2 cuts along the ba-seline, and goes in the corner on the ball si-de (diagr. 17).

1 passes to 3 and 5, with his back to thebaseline, starts to make some steps in the

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lane to bring his defender under the basket(diagr. 18).

3 dribbles hard toward the other side of thecourt on the wing, and then passes to 5, whoturned and faced the ball, or to 4, who is in thecorner of the free-throw area (diagr. 19).

"ZIPPER 2 " PLAY

The play is the same, but it is run on the otherside of the court for 2 (diagr. 20 and 21).

If 4 is fronted, 2 passes to 5 and then 5 passesto 4 for a "high-low" play between the two posts(diagr. 22).

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FIBA EUROPE

by Aca Petrovic

OFFENSE

Aca Petrovic was head coach of Cibona Zagreb(Croatia) at three different times and won a totalof six championships and one Cup of Croatia. Hewas also the assistant coach and head coach ofthe Croatian National team. He coached CajaSan Fernando and Lleida in Spain, as well asAnwill Wloclawek in Poland.

Basketball is constantly changing and it can besaid that we are witnessing some sort of basket-ball evolution. The worst thing that could possiblyhappen to any coach at any level is to be stuck inone time period, and stop developing his basket-ball knowledge or upgrading his methods of coa-ching (either tactical or theoretical).Methods of preparation for the game are diffe-rent today than they were 10 or 15 years ago, anddefense is starting to play a crucial role in ateam's preparation process. Therefore, I trulybelieve that coaches have to start paying moreattention to specific details in their offensive setsif they are going to succeed. When I say details, Imean that today we have to focus on reading thedefensive position, mismatches, and defensivemistakes. In other words, we have to use the ver-satility of our players to the maximum. To go alongwith that statement, modern offense has to becomposed of several scoring options. With thistype of diverse offense, the team is going to bedifficult to scout and prepare for. That is one ofthe many reasons why I picked what I like to calla multiple-choice offense. Before I start with anexplanation of the offense and break down littledetails, let me just point out several preconditionsthat have to be satisfied in order for this offenseto work. First, not to diminish the importance ofother players, but this offensive set can't functionto its potential if the team does not have versatileplayers at the 2 and 3 positions. If those playershave well developed skills, they can play withtheir back to the basket, and are genuine shoo-ting threats, then we can explore all options ofthis offense. I am not saying that the other threepositions are less important but for this particularset to work properly, the versatility of the outsideplayers present the key to successful implemen-tation.

This offense begins in the classic "two playershigh set," with 4, the power forward, and 5, thecenter, on the high post area, while 3, the smallforward, is in the low post area, opposite to the

MULTIPLe-CHOICEOFFENSE

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ball and 2, the shooting guard, is near the three-point line. The play begins when 1, the pointguard, dribbles the ball laterally on the side of 4or 5 (it's his decision to make; the play can beexecuted on both sides). In this case, he dribbleson the side of the 5. At the same time, 5 uses a V-cut technique and gets free to receive the ball(diagr. 1).

Immediately after he receives the ball (ideal areafor receiving the ball is near the three-point line),2 has to set a strong screen for 3 on the oppositelow post area. This screen presents a precondi-tion for the continuation of the play (diagr. 2).

In order to create proper offensive spacing whenthe screen between 2 and 3 is occurring, 4 sets aflair screen for 1, the point guard at the top of thelane. It is essential that, after this flair screen, 4pops out and keeps a good space between himand the man with the ball (diagr. 3).

At this point, we have an opportunity to read the

defensive position for the first time. If 2 had set astrong screen on 3, and if the defense did notdefend well (they failed to use the bump move, orif they did not jump to the ball to create space),then we can expect the pass from 5 to 3 in thelow post: he can play one-on-one, with the backto the basket (diagr. 4).

If 5 cannot pass to 3, there is a possibility of pas-sing the ball to the top to 4. After the pass to 4, 5receives a back screen from 3. This again crea-tes a triangle between 3, 4, and 5 on one side ofthe floor, with an option for a low post play, withthe back to the basket (diagr. 5).

If the triangle does not present an opportunity fora low post play, the next option is to pass the ballto 3, and play pick-and-roll (or pick-and-pop out,depending on the 4's shooting ability) between 1and 4 (diagr. 6).

At this point, we are going back to the situationpreviously described in diagr. 3. Let's assumethat the first option could not be run, so the ballis passed from 5 to 4 up top, and, immediatelyafter, a back screen is run between 3 and 5(diagr. 7).

When there is a back screen between 3 and 5,the ball is passed to 1. At this point, we are againlooking at two possible options. This decision isup to our point guard after he reads the positionof the defenders. Now, let's assume that he can-not pass the ball to the right side, so he decidesto dribble to the left offensive side (diagr. 8).

The dribble to his left side signals to 2 to go to theopposite low post spot to set a screen for 5(diagr. 9).

When the screen occurs, 5 cuts to the ball sideand the action is going on between 1 and 5 onthe side. His other teammates have to keep goodoffensive spacing. The first option is to pass to 5in the low post for a back to the basket play(diagr. 10).

If, by chance, there is no open passing lane for 5,the final option is the side pick-and-roll between1 and 5 (diagr. 11).

Let's return to the situation previously describedin diagram 8. If 1 does not dribble to the left side,the action continues on the right side of the floor.Which means that 4 passes the ball to 1, while, atthe same time, the back screen is run between 3and 5 (diagr. 12).

1 has the ball on the left side, 4 is setting the sidescreen for 3. If there is a good timing of thescreen, and if 3 brings his defender into thescreen, there is a great chance that 3 will beopen for a three-point shot (diagr. 13).

In case that 3 is not open for the shot, we want 5to clear the weak-side low post. At this time, wealso want 3 to decide if he has an option to playone-on-one. If he chooses to do so, then 4 has toslide to the corner as a safety option for an out-side shot if his defender decides to help out onthe drive of 3 (diagr. 14).

This is a final option, but I must admit that I pre-fer for the play to be finished before this optionhas to be used. There are several reasons forthis. First of all, the option is the pick-and-rollbetween 3 and 4. Obviously, this is the finaloption of this play, but I always tell my players touse it only if it is absolutely necessary. You haveto realize that, at this point, there is not too muchtime left on the shot clock and that playing thepick-and-roll between 3 and 4 is not as effectivebecause it presents an easy switch situation forthe defense. So, again this is the part that is usedonly if we run out all other options. I have to saythat if we practice particular segments of theplay in detail that we will hardly ever have to usethis option (diagr. 15).

I would like to say few words about what we liketo do when practicing particular segments ofthis offense. There are many ways of practicing,but what I do is separate the team into two grou-ps and pair the players up (for instance, twopositions in couples, guards/wings and big men),or I will separate them by position and practicejust their particular segments. For instance, theywill practice setting screens, stepping in for thebig men and reading, passing, cutting, usingscreens for guards and forwards. I believe that

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both ways of practicing are good and they bothyield good results. If performed correctly, youshould try to practice both ways during the cour-se of the week. Sometimes, the team will performindividual drills in the morning, and then combinethe morning drills in the group work during theafternoon practice. However, there are severalsegments of these drills that need special atten-tion:

▼ Setting screens, either guard for the big menor opposite: This segment becomes crucialbecause there are number of teams which donot pay attention to small details such asscreen angle or timing of the screen. Thesedetails are very important and they give theedge in this kind of offensive set.

▼ About screens: We have to teach our playersto use screens, to read the defensive position,and gain advantage from that position.

▼ Moving without the ball: Players need to beactive and make themselves an offensivethreat all the time. If they move properlywithout the ball, they are very hard to guard,and our offensive flow is much better.

▼ Passing: There is not much to explain here.This is simple detail, but a very important one.Players must be taught to make good deci-sions. When they pass the ball, the passesshould be on target, allowing the teammate toscore immediately after receiving the pass.These simple details are often overlooked,but they play a very important role in succes-sful completion of this play.

After we practice these technical segments andhave become comfortable in executingthem, I like to focus on particular options inthe offensive set. Of course, I am not tryingto make my players move mechanicallywithout thinking about what is going on,but I am just trying to use repetition inorder to achieve perfection. By doing this,I know that they will gain even more confi-dence in the play and start to make somegood reads. It is the responsibility of thecoach to teach them and point out allnecessary options that the play consistsof. As a final segment of the preparation, Ihave them play five-on-five on both sidesof the floor. This is an ideal way to practiceboth offense as well defense. Earlier in theseason, when we are introducing theplays, I allow only certain options to beexecuted at certain times. By doing this, Iforce them to focus and make them think.During the course of the season, I havenoticed that there is a growing number ofcoaches, who are using multiple-choiceoffenses, and that guarantees dynamicoffensive solutions, keeps the defenseguessing all the time, makes the teammore dangerous and less predictable, andhopefully, more successful.

FIBA EUROPE

by Saso Filipovski

OFFENSE

Saso Filipovski has been assistantcoach of Olimpja Lubljana, Slovenia,from 1996 to 2003. After becoming headcoach in 2003, his team won theSlovenian Supercup and the nationaltitle.

INTRODUCTION

Coaches the world over have their ownphilosophy when it comes to offenseand defense. To defeat their oppo-nents, they use tactics which areadapted to the players they coach.Many offenses use the pick-and-roll tohelp players increase their scoringopportunities with open shots. Thereare many ways of defending againstthe pick-and-roll, and one of them is todirect the pick away, it means takeaway the screen. The purpose of thedefense is to keep the offensiveplayers away from the three-secondlane and force them to the baselinewith the helpside teammates ready tohelp, rotate, or steal the ball. This defense is also used to cover upthe lack of talent, especially of the bigmen.This type of defense has many differentrules (trapping and stealing, rotating ofall the defenders, helping and recove-ring, and switching) that must be maste-red if the defense wants to be trulyeffective. To be effective against thisdefense, the offense also has to knowthese rules. Therefore, the offense against thedefense of the pick-and-roll has to bepracticed a lot (from two-on-two to five-on-five).It is especially important to practice thefive-on-five matchups because it dupli-cates game situations with time pressu-re, where decision-making comes inmilliseconds.As there are many different ways todefend the pick-and-roll, there aremany options to attack the defense. Inthis article, I will review some of thepossibilities that are used by topEuropean basketball teams.

THE PICk-ANd-ROLLON OFFENSE

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DIFFERENT OPTIONS

5 screens X1 and 1 is free to shoot athree-point jumpshot (diagr. 1).

5 screens X1, 1 makes two strong drib-bles toward the sideline, and takes theopen jumpshot (diagr. 2).

5 screens X1 and 1 drives in the middlebetween X1 and X5. The teammatesmust be aware of 1's drive, and beready to rotate: 1 can pass to 4, 3, and2 (diagr. 3).

5 screens X1 and 1 takes two strongdribbles to the sideline. When X5 goestoward 1 to help, 1 changes the paceand immediately penetrates on thebaseline: again. The teammates must beaware of 1's drive: 1 can pass to 4 or 3(diagr. 4).

5 screens 1, who fakes to drive to thebaseline. 5 re-screens (changing theangle and the height of the screen) X1 tothe middle and creates space for 1 topenetrate in the middle (diagr. 5).

5 screens X1, rolls to the corner of the free-throw lane, receives the ball from 1, andshoots (diagr. 6).

5 screens X1 and rolls inside the three-second lane. 4 flashes to the high post area.1 can pass to 5 or 4 for a "high-low" play(diagr. 7).

5 screens X1, pops out to the three-point line,and receives the ball from 1 (diagr. 8). Afterreceiving the pass, he has many options:

▼ Shoot;▼ Penetrate in the middle and shoot, or

pass to 4, 3, or 2 (diagr. 9); ▼ Change sides to the ball, passing to 2,

who can penetrate and shoot, or pass to3 (diagr. 10);

▼ Pass on the same side to 1 (diagr. 11 and12);

▼ Penetrate toward the baseline and passto 4 or 3 (diagr. 13).

5 screens X1 and pops out to the three-pointline (diagr. 14). After receiving the pass from1, he has many options:▼ Pass to 2, who can immediately make a

pass under the basket to 4 (diagr. 15).These two offensive players can also playtwo-on-two, with a hand-off or fake andhand-off, and penetrate or make a back-door cut;

▼ 5 can also screen down X1, and 1 can:receive a pass from 2 and shoot immedia-tely, make a backdoor cut, a curl, or fadeaway to the corner (diagr. 16).

5 screens X1 and pops out to the three-pointline, while 1 drives to the baseline and goes

directly to the basket. He can also pass theball to 5 (diagr. 17).If X1 and X5 switch while 1 is driving to thebaseline, 1 can pass the ball to 5 (diagr. 18). 5 can pass back to 1 and 1 can shoot or driveon X5 (diagr.19). After the pass to 1, 5 can make a direct cut tothe basket, or go to the low post area andreceive the ball from 1. 4, after the cut of 5,flashes to the high post area, receives theball from 1 and plays "high-low" with 5, who isnow guarded by X1, a smaller defender, andtries to take advantage of the situation.(diagr. 20).

CONCLUSION

It is very important to attack this defense andthis will rely on a precise execution of tech-nical and tactical offensive elements.Fundamentals, spacing, complete vision ofthe floor, timing, patience, and team coopera-tion on offense without selfishness are thekeys to success. For the offense to workeffectively, players need to become consi-stent in their actions and behavior on thefloor, helping each other by talking constantlyas they get the offense in motion.

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Jonas Kazlauskas was the head coach ofthe Zalgiris Kaunas (the winner of one Eu-roleague championship and two nationaltitles), and the Lietuvos rytas Vilnius,clubs in Lithuania. He was also head coa-ch of the Lithuanian National Cadets, Ju-nior, and Men's teams. He was electedEuropean Coach of the Year in 1999. At the2004 Olympic Games he was assistantcoach of the Chinese National team.

Everything in basketball is developing sofast (just like real life), and every playerneeds to work hard, so they don't fallbehind the other players. Not such a longtime ago, the USA national team was ma-de up of university students and they wereformidable opponents. The USSR national team lost a gameagainst the Milwaukee Bucks in 1987,even when the Bucks played without itstop players. Much has changed sincethen. Now, the USA national team is com-posed of the leading NBA players and theyhave a hard time wining against internatio-nal teams. International basketball hasmade huge progress and it was so intere-sting to watch the most recent games ofthe FIBA European and World Champion-ships, and the Olympic Games.During the FIBA European Championshipin Turkey in 2001 the leaders of the teams,such as Nowitzki, Kirilenko, Stojakovic,and Gasol, have prevailed over the team-mates so much, that they had to drag allthe game load on the top games. The same situation remained during thenext FIBA World Championship in Indiana-polis in 2002. Most of success and failureof the teams was based on the performan-ce of the top players. The leader's successas a main factor is evident in difficult ga-mes and in the final minutes of the games.

ofFENSE

by Jonas Kazlauskas

SCOUTING THE 2004OLYMPIC GAMES

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Things are starting to change. At the FIBAEuropean Championships in Sweden and inOlympic Games in Greece it could be noti-ced that teams that demonstrated good"team" play, such as Italy, Lithuania and, ofcourse, Argentina, did very well. Argentina,with many talented players, was able tohandle their players and show high-classcollective play, using the strongest sides ofits game in different ways.

My favorite combinations from Argentina'splay is shown in diagr. 1 and 2. The players 2and 3 make a staggered pick for 4: it seemsa very easy play, but the key is that eachplayer finds his right place on the court. Theteam could then run the offense in variousdirections.The Italian silver medal was also an outco-me of good collective work and, especially,an excellent coaches' work. It should bementioned that the Italian team was not onthe list of favorite teams before the Euro-pean Championship or before the Olympics.

However, after good teamwork, the teamachieved great results. The Italians haveshowed just how dangerous two-on-twoplay can be, especially when you have inge-nious players. Bulleri and Pozzecco havedone a great job, and have fascinated notonly me, but all the coaches, with their un-selfish play. In many cases, these playersused different variations that made it veryhard for the opponents to foresee.The Lithuanian team also demonstrated so-lid play and the peak was reached duringthe game against Greece in the Olympics.As usual, Lithuania had many good scorersand their tactics were to use those scorersand structure the best plays so they couldscore. From that point of view, double-screens or triple screens, when the powerforward jumps back into three-point area,left the low post area free for the center, andit proved to be very effective (diagr. 3 and 4).This play worked well at the EuropeanChampionship in Sweden (diagr. 5), but wasless effective during the Olympics, probably

because of the poor play of the big men inthe three-second lane. What about the team from China? The bestresult, which was reached in Olympicsand World Championship before, was pur-sued again. The Chinese lost some gamesby big margins, which shows a lack of indi-vidual player strength and little experienceplaying games against high-level teams.The Chinese players had so many turno-vers that it was impossible to run a suita-ble attack. Still, the Chinese did make it tothe final eight, playing in a group, wherethe Serbia and Montenegro (gold medal atthe 2002 FIBA World Championship) andNew Zealand (fourth place at the sameevent) had poor results. Chinese basket-ball is developing very fast, and much at-tention is now paid by the government andhuge resources are put into basketball inwhole country. It seems that Chinese ba-sketball players will become very powerfulin the future. China has a star basketball player, YaoMing, who plays for the Houston Rocketsin the NBA. Obviously, the main goal forthe coaches in the Olympics was to usethis superstar and direct their offensiveplays through this player. The main goal forthe opponents was to isolate this player. Talking about defense, the zone defense orthe mixed defense, the use of the doubleand triple team against the top players,caused many problems. In playing against a zone defense, weused our main weapon, the "high-low"plays, with different cuts. This combina-tion starts from the easy cut (diagr. 6). 1passes into the corner for 3 or 2 and thencuts to the corner. 4 and 5 play "high-low."At this time, the player with a ball has toevaluate the situation and pass the ball tomake it difficult for the opponents (diagr.7). In case of a failure, the ball should bereturned to the player 5, then passed intothe opposite corner 2 or 3, and after thecut the "high-low" game is played again(diagr. 8 and 9). During this set, all the players should mo-ve. If players 4 and 5 are good scorers,they will make it very difficult for the oppo-nents. If the defenders move properly, talk

on defense, follow the cutters, and the de-fense collapses on the center, this play isnot very effective. If the defender followsthe cutter, it is advisable to make a doublecut on the opposite side (diagr. 10). At thebeginning of this play, we could distractthe opponent or check their defense withthe cut of 3 or 2 (diagr. 11). After the ball ispassed back to 1, 2 and 3 (there should bea space of three to four meters betweenthem) cut to opposite sides and take theirpositions. After the second cut, 4 and 5play "high-low." The power forward on theweak side could jump back for scoring ac-cording his skills. A double cut with the fol-lowing "high-low" play gives a big advanta-ge in specific area and opens up the three-second zone.During the last few years players becameacquainted with the 24-second rule on of-fense and the play is becoming faster andfaster.

The team that has dominant centers (Chi-na with Yao Ming, and Lithuania with Arvy-das Sabonis) can use the following combi-nation.When 5 brings the ball into high post, threeother players on the strong side should ro-tate. If any free player does not receive theball, the center has more free space toplay one-on-one in the three-second areaor else the ball should be passed to the op-posite side to 4, and, further, to the corner(diagr. 12). When the ball is in the possession of thecutter, additional cuts should be made(diagr. 13). When the ball is in possessionof the center, this play is not effectiveagainst the zone defense.

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FIBA EUROPE

by Henrik Dettmann

OFFENSE

Henrik Dettmann coached the Finnish nationalteams at every level, from Cadets to Men's.From 1997 to 2003, he also coached the GermanMen's National team, winning a bronze medalat the 2002 FIBA World Championships. Histeams also won three club titles in the FirstDivision League in Finland, where he waselected Coach of the Year two times. He wasthe head coach of MBC Weissenfels inGermany and his team won the FIBA EuropeCup. He was also elected Coach of the Year inGermany. He is now coach of Braunschweig(Germany), as well as head coach of theFinnish Men's National team.

Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki once wrote, "Togive your sheep a large, spacious meadow isthe way to control them." I mention this quotemainly because, in the figurative sense, it ser-ves as the role model for a modern team game. The meadow represents wide tactical bounda-ries, within which the players themselvesdetermine their path to success. There are fewlimitations and much space for creativity,where intuition and a readiness to take risksare rewarded.Modern basketball is a "players' game". Ideally,in a "players' game" the coach becomes redun-dant. Looking at it another way, the aim of agood teacher should be to teach his students toeventually manage without him. It is his duty tohelp his students to find their own potential andexploit it to the fullest. What is understood by the concept triangleoffense, but not practiced very often, is verysimilar to this idea of the "players' game".The triangle offense is like an amoeba. Thereare as many different types of triangle offensesas there are coaches using this offense."No ball, no game-simple. In the triangle offen-se the ball always dictates the direction ofmovement!"The triangle offense derives from basketballbasics such as 3-on-3, 2-on-2, and 1-on-1. It ispredicated on constant ball and player move-ment, and on anticipating and reacting to gamesituations. One play sequence follows the next. Triangle offense has the invaluable advantagethat in the offense no player is doomed to standaround and look on. That does not mean thatthe players should be constantly shooting. Allthe players are involved; they move, pass the

A MUTATION OF THETRIANGLE OFFENSE

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The triangle offense can be played at variouslevels of difficulty and, like a set of buildingblocks, it offers unlimited possibilities. You canrun this offense against a man-to-man defenseas well as you can against a zone.The greater the number of offensive options,the less predictable the offense will be, whe-reby the requirements also become apparentwhen this system displays its full strengths: thelonger the coach and players can hone thesystem, the more efficient it will be.

RULESRule 1: Penetrate the defenseThis you can't emphasize enough. One shouldnot misunderstand and think that the onlypenetration to use is the dribble penetration.The best way to penetrate the defense is apass to a player cutting to the basket.Rule 2: Court positionsPlayers must find the proper court positions tobe able to determinate the triangle side (three-man game), and the tandem side (two-mangame).Rule 3: SpacingThe distance between each player on the courtmust be approximately 4 meters.Rule 4: TimingNumber the passing options (penetration passis always number 1, swing pass number 2, etc.)to help the players understand the timing of theoffense.Rule 5: Pass the ball to the open manAll players should always be available for apass and you should always pass the ball to theopen man (following rule no. 1). This is the ulti-mate goal of team play. A pass to the open manwill result in a "natural way of playing", as wellas create confidence and harmony betweenthe players. There are no predetermined deci-sions, since everything is reading the play andthen reacting. This makes the offense very hardto scout. Think pass-look to score! The more passes you make, the higher yourshooting percentage will be. In the bronzemedal game against New Zealand at the WorldChampionships in Indianapolis, we had 32 assi-sts and a 65 percent shooting average from thefield.Rule 6: Move with a purposeA player without the ball should always beready/open to receive a pass. If you are notopen, then move with a purpose to get open.We all are of equal danger for our opponentwhen we are on the basketball court. The diffe-rence will be seen as soon as we move or wereceive the ball. The old good saying is "cut tothe basket and something good will happen."

PLAYERS' ROLES N. 5 (center - back to the basket) The center should be able to get open in thepost. He should be a good passer and heshould be able to hold the ball in the post. As

ball and, above all, learn to assess their skills.If all the players are involved in the offense,they all become motivated on the defense, too.Moreover, as we all know, "defense winschampionships.The triangle offense does not just help the bigstars, but also the role players, since it givesthem a sense of rhythm and self-confidence.This offense promotes the training of all-roundplayers, as each player moves to almost everyposition, thus learning to act and react accor-dingly. Yet, depending on the players' skills, thisconcept also allows the game to reach varyinglevels. It enables the players to recognize theirlimits and know what to work on. At an advanced level, the triangle offenseworks without any great gestures and words.Each player movement and ball movementdetermines the next player and ball movement.These are actions which, on the one hand areautomatic and naturally have to be practiced,but at the same time do not follow a set pattern.Still, they provide the players with escapeoptions, any time, any place, according to theirindividual skills. This calls for each player toknow his strengths and accept his role. Thereis room for improvisation without the gameending in chaos or a wild 5-on-5.

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soon as he catches the ball (in the post), hebecomes a passer (except if he has his mansealed of and he can have a lay-up or a dunk).When the center is feeding the cutters, the passshould always be a bounce pass (bounce theball hard on the floor so the cutter can pick it upeasily without loosing his court vision).If the defense is able to cut off all passes andthere are no openings, the center must be ableto work his man and go for a lay-up.N. 4 (power forward - face the basket/back tothe basket)He is (perhaps) the most important player on thisoffense. He should have a complete game (fullpackage: passing, putting the ball on the floor,three-point range shooting, cutting, driving tothe basket). He should also be good in readingthe openings and flashing to the ball.N. 2, 3 (wings - face the basket)Must understand how to feed the post, as wellas playing without the ball (by cutting, the wingsare creating opportunities for their teammates).The wing must be able to use the dribble pene-tration against pressure defense.N. 1 (point - key player - as alwaysl)Pick & roll/hand-off, must be able to beat hisman off the dribble. The triangle offense is a"read and react" offense. The better your pointguard learns to understand the different optionsand the strength of the different individuals, themore you will get out of this offense.Note: The offense itself does not need a traditio-nal point guard, since all outside positions (1, 2and 3) are interchangeable. In this case, youmust just count that the team will need moretime to create a natural understanding of eachother's game.

TEACHING EXPERIENCESI have been running the triangle offense with dif-ferent teams, on different levels, for more than10 years, and have found that every situationrequires a different approach.One thing is obvious in modern basketball: it hasbecome a full-court game. Transition offenseand transition defense will decide the outcomeof the game. We like to build almost all our drillswhere we you convert from offense to defenseor vice versa.To build up the triangle offense we start at oneend of the court with a simple three-player trian-gle action (the inside option with the wings cut-ting), then we run our transition offense over tothe other basket and go straight into our sidelinetriangle where we repeat the cuts. Then, wecontinue piece by piece, until we have all basicmovement covered.Do one thing well, than ten things "so-so." Themost important question a coach should askbefore he starts to plan a practice is: "If there isonly one thing we can learn today, what shouldwe work on?" Of course, this philosophy alsoapplies to teaching the triangle offense. Yourplayers should first learn to develop (and reco-

gnize) the triangle side and the tandem side. Then teach the different options using the side-line triangle. Rule 1 says: "Penetrate the defense," so you startto teach all options on how to get the ball to yourbig man from the sideline triangle and then howto execute the "inside option." Second, teach all options on how to swing theball and how to execute the "swing option."Then, at last, teach the different ways to execu-te the "corner option."I had a very interesting experience when I wasteaching the basic triangle offense to a teammade up of top boys and girls. Both were moreor less at the same basketball level and aboutthe same age. The girls were able to understandand execute the different options right away.They "played the game" and were able to use theoptions the defense gave them. They tried tosolve the problems collectively "using theirheads." The boys were different. As soon as theygot in trouble, they jumped out of the offenseusing their one-on-one skills. The boys tried tosolve the problems individually using their phy-siological ability.I found that I could show the whole basic con-cept to the girls at once, while teaching the boysit was really necessary to emphasize only onething at a time. This is a typical example of what coaching is allabout. You should have a clear philosophy ofwhat and how you want to run things. At thesame time, you must be able to adjust your con-cepts according to your personnel.

POINTS OF EMPHASIS▼ The philosophy contains all elements of play.▼ Creativity, risks, no predetermined deci-

sions, handmade, intuition, players game,the ball is the game.

▼ Know yourself.▼ Play to your strengths.▼ Ultimate team concept.▼ Sharing the ball = sharing the game (enjoy

together).▼ Emphasizes all basketball basics.▼ Shooting, passing, dribbling, timing, spacing,

getting open, cutting, screening.▼ Know and accept your role.▼ Everyone has an opportunity to participate.▼ No spectators.▼ Built on the basic elements of the game:▼ 1-on-1.▼ 2-on-2.▼ 3-on-3.▼ Develops versatile players who have to

learn to use all basic basketball tools.▼ Versatility = hard to scout.▼ In the end, no one has a problem when you

win a game.▼ Good role model for the modern game.

EXPLANATION OF THE DIAGRAMSBasic Alignment. 1, the point guard, 3, the

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wing, and 5 the post, form the triangle,while 2 is on the other wing position, and4, the power forward, in the short corner(diagr. 1).Strong Entry. 3 feeds 5, 1 must clear out, andthen screens for 4, while 2 goes in the midd-le of the court (diagr. 2).Strong Entry (another option). 3, 1 and 5 formthe triangle, while 2 and 5 play on the otherside of the court. 1 passes to 3 and cuts insi-de or outside to 3, and goes in the corner(diagr. 3).Passing Options for 3. He can pass:a. Inside to 5;b. To the wing to 2, orc. To the corner to 1 (diagr. 4).Ball to 5. He can pass:a. To 1;b. To 3, while he cuts going to screen ,orc. To 2 (diagr. 5).Passing Options for 5. He can pass:a. To 2;b. To 4, who comes off the screen of 3;c. To 3, who rolls to the basket, after the

screen for 4, ord. To 1 (diagr. 6).Passing Options for 2. He can pass:a. Inside to 5;b. Inside to 4, orc. To 3 in the wing (diagr. 7).Passing Options for 4. He can pass:a. Inside to 5 (play high-low);b. To the wing to 1, orc. To 2, who passes to 5 (diagr. 8).

Triangle on the Other Side. If nothing hap-pens, 1, 3, and 4 form a triangle on the otherside.Passing options for 1. He can pass:a. Inside to 4;b. To 2, who comes to the middle of the half

court, orc. To the corner to 3 (diagr. 9).Passing Options for 2. He can pass:a. To 5 (play high-low);b. To 4, who has cut to the free-throw

area, orc. To 1, who comes off the screen of 3

(diagr. 10).Passing Options for 1. He can pass:a. Inside to 4;b. To 3, who cuts off the screen of 5, orc. To 5, who rolls to the ball after the screen

for 3 (diagr. 11).Ball to 5. He can pass:a. To 2, who cuts around him; b. To 3, who has received a screen from 4,

and, after the screen, goes out, or c. To 4, who received a screen from 2-

screen the screener (diagr. 12).Drive of 1. He can penetrate and pass:a. To 5, who has cut to the basket or faded

away in the corner;b. To 4, while 2 goes to the corner, and 3

posts up (diagr. 13).Ball to 3: 2, 3, and 4 form the triangle, 1 is onthe other wing and and 5 in the low post onthe weakside. Passing Options for 3. He can pass:a. Inside to 4;b. To 1 in the wing, orc. To 2 in the corner (diagr. 14).Weakside Entry. 1 passes to 2 and cuts tothe corner. 2 passes to 4, who comes out tothe wing. 2 goes to the opposite side on thelow post position after the pass (diagr. 15).Options. We can use the same options onthe strong entry: 5 forms the triangle with 1and 4, and 3 goes in the middle of the court.Passing Options for 4. He can pass:a. Inside to 5;b. To the wing to 3 (or use a slice cut, see

diagrams 17 and 18). c. To the corner to 1 (diagr. 16).Slice Cut. This is an option, when 3 has theball. 4 receives a screen from 5, and 3, afterpassing to 2, comes from the corner to thewing, and screens for 1. 4 goes around thescreen and then to the low post on the ballside, while 3 cuts in the corner on the ballside (diagr. 17).Form a triangle. 2, 3, and 4 forms a triangle,1 in the wing, and 5 in the low post on theweak side. 4 can pass to 3, who comes inthe middle of the court, or to 1 in the corner(diagr. 18). Flash Entry. 1 passes to 4 and 2 cuts nearhim, while 5 screens for 3. 4 can pass to 2 onthe cut (diagr. 19).Other Options. 4 can also pass:a. To 3, who goes around the screen of 5, orb. To 1 with an hand-off pass, while 2 goes inthe corner, opposite to the ball (diagr. 20).Form a triangle. 1, 3, and 4 form a triangle. 2is on the wing and 5 on the low post on theweakside. 1 receives the ball and drives tothe wing, while 5 screens for 2 (diagr. 21).Passing Options for 1. He can pass:a. Inside to 4;b. To the wing to 2,orc. To the corner to 3 (diagr. 22).Push Down Option. If 3 is overplayed, 1 drib-bles toward 3, and this is a signal for 3 to goin the corner, while 2 replaces 1 (diagr. 23).Cross Screen Option. For creating spacewe can use a cross screen when the insideplayer, 4, in this case, is overplayed. 4screens for 5, and 1 passes to 5 (diagr. 24).Flash Entry Option. This is used for creatingspace for a lob pass or a high-low play,when the inside player, 4, in this case, isoverplayed. 1 can make a lob pass to 4, orpass to 5, who has flashed to the high post,and 5 passes to 4 (diagr. 25).Back Screen Option. This is used to get openwhen the inside and wing players are over-played. 5 screens 2, and then rolls to thebasket. 1 can pass to 2 or 5 (diagr. 26).

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Bozidar Maljkovic is currently the headcoach of Real Madrid. He previously coa-ched Jugoplastika Split (winning 2 Euro-pean Cups, 3 Yugoslavian Championships,and 3 Cups), Barcelona (1 King's Cup), Limo-ges (1 European Cup, 2 French Champion-ships and 2 Cups), Panathinaikos, (EuropeanCup, Intercontinetal Cup, and Greek Cup),and Malaga (Korac Cup). He was selectedEuropean Coach of the Year and was twiceselected as the French Coach of the Year.

The zone offense can be applied to attack alltypes of zone defenses. The best way tobeat a zone defense is with the fastbreak.You can score two, perhaps even three easypoints, but what you also do, which has aneven greater effect, is demoralize the oppo-nent.

The second basic way to attack the zonedefense is put the offensive players in thegaps of the zone. This means putting aplayer in between two defensive players,assuming a contrary alignment to the align-ment of the zone.

The third element entails the use of screens:single, staggered, and double. There is a dif-ference between a screen on a man-to-mandefense and a screen against the zone de-fense. If we play against man-to-man, weset a screen and jam the defender, who isguarding a teammate for whom the screenis being set. In the screen against a zone de-fense, however, we simply block the moveof the nearest man to the screener, or weblock the one nearest to the area where anoffensive player positions himself. We dothis because zone defenders cover a cer-tain area of the court, and are not concer-

OFFENSE

by Bodizar Maljkovic

HOW TO ATTACKTHE ZONE DEFENSE

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ned with defending a particular player.

Passing the ball within the free-throw area isanother very important element used to at-tack the zone because from this position it ispossible to pass easily in all directions, and toall positions of the court (diagr.1). In this area,we should try to exchange players quickly.

To move the defense, it is also very importantto quickly change the side of the ball from leftto right and vice-versa (as well, as we said,passing the ball inside will also keep the de-fense moving).

The next essential element in the attackagainst the zone is-depending on the coach'sphilosophy-overloading the strong side of theoffense with three or four players at a time.

Dribble penetration into the three-second la-ne in between two defenders will split the de-fense, and is another key attack element. Inthis case, the offensive player, who drives inthe lane, must make a quick, two-count stopfor better balance and then take a quick shotbefore the big man moves over to defend. Theother option is to pass the ball to an openteammate. Drive penetration-and-shoot anddrive-penetration-and-pass creates manyproblems for the zone defense.

Another very crucial element, that most UScollege coaches demand to their players, isthat the ball be passed inside a minimum oftwo times before a shot is taken. By movingthe ball inside, the defense instinctively colla-pses towards the ball and, therefore, loses itsoutside aggressiveness. When the offensiveplayer receives the ball in the right low-postposition (diagr. 2), he must first see all his fourteammates (for the possible swing pass), buthe also has time and space for playing one-on-one.

Let's now review a very important aspectconcerning offensive player positioning. Ifthey face the defenders and start to move orcut in certain directions, it is easier for the de-fenders to see them and move to guard them.However, if the offensive players stay insidethe lane behind the defenders, the defenderscannot see what's happening, and they mustturn their heads. The offensive player has theadvantage. It is now easier to pop out. Withless distance to cover, shooting position isbetter and a shot can quickly be taken. Manysuccessful teams put three or four playersnear the basket and then have them pop outto receive a pass from the point guard, whopenetrates and dishes off the ball. If the de-fender does not see where the ball is, the of-fensive player can easily make a flash cut in

an open area and punish the defender for hismistake.I would like to underline an important techni-cal and tactical point against the zone defen-se, and that concerns faking passes. In Euro-pe, we should use more fakes in our gameand use all kinds of them. In this aspect, Ame-rican basketball is far ahead of us. They alsoare more aware of the fake pass when theyare on defense. You can see that when anAmerican player is in the balanced, low de-fensive stance, his head is moving constantly,always active. By contrast, you see Europeanplayers with their upper body erect, stiff andfirm, and their heads are not moving as muchas their American counterparts.

The last element on zone offense is not a te-chnical aspect, but, rather, a psychologicalone. You must emphasize the psychologicalaspect of the game, convincing your playersthat a basket made against the zone is thereward, a product of the fine effort of the who-le team as a unit. The shooter must be surethat his shot will go in, while the other fourplayers think that he will miss the shot andmove very aggressively to get the offensiverebound.

The early start for the offensive rebound be-gins when the ball, still in the hands of a shoo-ter, reaches the level of his chin. During the lif-ting action, and immediately before the shot isactually released, the offensive playersshould be moving if for a possible rebound.Statistical data and video evidence, togetherwith other "live" observations, clearly showthat 90 percent of teams and players go for arebound when the ball is actually releasedfrom the shooter's hand and is going towardsthe basket. However, it is too late at this pointto go for the rebound. I think you would ac-tually be better off running back to play defen-se because you will never get to the ball.

FIRSTZONE OFFENSEI will now review three types of zone offensesbased on the evaluation of our own team'sskills and those of the opposing team. Fromthis analysis, we can see whether we havethe advantage with our big and small players.The offense that I am going to introduce isthat one I started to use many years ago withJugoplastika Split. I have continued to workon it ever since, refining it to meet the needsof my teams. If you want to execute it succes-sfully, you must have very quick players onthe perimeter, where the defense is really ac-tive and aggressive. The players really likethis offense, because it gives them more free-dom to decide when to play one-on-one anduse their dribble penetration. In many techni-cal books, it is said that the ball should be mo-

ved using the pass when playing a zone de-fense. This offense is exactly just the oppo-site: We simply leave the perimeter areaempty and we don't put any high postplayers in. This forces the defense to startplaying man-to-man. We don't use a playerto jam the offense in the free-throw area, butwe pass the ball to one side of the court (theright side, in this example), and quickly makea flash cut into the three-second lane (diagr.3). The point guard asks for the ball while heis in the lane and then he pops out on the sa-me side.

2, the player, who received the entry pass,waits to see whether the first line defenderof the zone comes out towards him, and if

there is a chance to pass the ball to the cut-ter. If he cannot pass the ball to 1, 2 dribbleshard toward the defender, breaks into thethree-second lane (diagr. 4), opens the pas-sing lines and, based on the reaction of thedefenders, dishes the ball to an open team-mate. When 2 penetrates in the lane, we ha-ve a rule for the centers: if 2 penetrates dia-gonally, 4, the center opposite to the drive,cuts inside, while 5, the center on the sameside of the drive, fades out (diagr. 5).

If the offense is run from the other side,everything is reversed. 4, who cuts in the la-ne, could be covered, but 5, who has fadedaway, can be open. If nothing happens, 2can also start the offense on the left side ofthe court, with a pass from 1 to 3, and thenfrom 3 to 4 (diagr. 6). At the same time, weset a back screen on the weakside with 5,who screens X2. 4 swings the ball to 2, and 2to 1. If X3, the defender on the back line ofthe zone, comes high to help, 1 passes to 3,who can shoot. When this happens, all theoffensive players go hard for the offensiverebound (diagr. 7). This means we run theaction on the opposite side from where westarted the offense. We can also make a "decoy" play: 1 pas-ses the ball to 2, and cuts in the corner onthe ball side. However, this is not wherewe want to shoot (diagr. 8). We want, infact, to have 4 make a back screen on theweakside for 3, our best shooter, who isclosely guarded by X1. On the pass from 1to 2, 3 spots up, going in the opposite di-rection of the ball. He receives a backscreen from 4, and 2 passes the ball to 3.When 2 passes the ball to 3, X4 comes outto guard 3. In this moment, we have crea-ted a miss-match, with a small playeragainst the big tall player outside, awayfrom the basket: 3 can also pass the ballto 4 (diagr. 9). To execute this play pro-perly, you need to have good inside andoutside players. If the perimeter defen-ders X1, X2, and X3 are faster than my of-fensive players, I do not run this offense.

Another extremely important point ofemphasis on the zone offense-but for anyoffense, for that matter-is to always receivethe ball with the hands and body in a posi-tion where you are ready to shoot: the handsare not brought down; you are looking at thebasket, prepared to launch a shot.

SECOND ZONE OFFENSEThis zone offense is based on having goodbig players in different positions: a big smallforward, a skilled power forward, and an ex-cellent center. We generally use this playwhen we think we are stronger under the

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basket than the opposing team. Here's howwe run this zone offense (diagr. 10): 1 drib-bles to the lateral wing, where we don't ha-ve a big player on the low post, and this is asignal for 4 to run quickly in the low post po-sition, attack the defender of the last line ofthe zone, turn and seal him off. At the sametime, 3, who was near the corner of the free-throw area, jumps out to the three-point lineto receive and shoot, while 5 flashes to thehigh-post area, outside of the lane. The ballgoes from 1 to 3, and from 3 to 5. At the sametime, the two small perimeter players, 2 and1, run down to the baseline (diagr. 11). In this way we can play three-on-three: 5can pass to 2 or 1 in the corner, or pass di-rectly to 4, who ducks in the lane, or makesan high cut, and then a cut to the basket. 5can also pass to 2 in the corner, and thencut to the basket and receive the ball from2, a "give-and-go" (diagr. 12). The guards, 1and 2, can punish the defenders if theycheat on defense: if the small defensiveplayers come high to help, 1 or 2 can havean open shot.

On every reversal pass from one side to theother side of the half court, from 1 to 2 or vi-ce-versa (diagr. 13), we automatically makea double screen on the other side. As soonas the ball is in the hands of an offensiveplayer in the corner after a reversal pass,the low post on the side of the ball comesout of the lane, and goes to the perimeter.In the meantime, the guard on the ball sidespots up on the weak side of the court. 1passes the ball to 4 and cuts on the baseli-ne. 4 passes to 3, and 3 to 1 (diagr. 14). Thisis how we utilize double screens and stag-gered screens against the zone defense.

If this offensive action doesn't work, the ballshould be reversed as quickly as possiblefrom one side to the other of the half court. 1passes to 3, 3 to 4 and from 4 to 2, who hascut to the opposite corner. We then playpick-and-roll, a two-on-two (diagr. 15). He-re, we simply force the defense to switchfrom zone to a man-to-man defense.

THIRD ZONE OFFENSEThe third zone offense is based on playingboth an inside and outside game. Our pri-mary objective is to overload one side of thezone defense, intentionally leaving our bestplayer on the weak side, opposite to theoverload. The offensive set is a one-fourspread high (diagr. 16): we have two sideswhere we can start the play, the right andthe left side. 1 passes to the right, in this ca-se to 2, 5 goes down in the low post area andaggressively seals his defender. At the sametime, 3 drops down to the baseline, cutting

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on the baseline. 5, with his hands up and hiselbows locked, asks for the ball. If he doesnot receive the ball, he puts his arms downlow, the pre-agreed signal that he does notwant the ball anymore. 5 sets the screenfor 3, who goes out of the lane, and recei-ves the ball from 2 (diagr. 17).

After the screen, 5 rolls quickly to the cor-ner and receives the ball-but only if he isalone. Otherwise, 1 can pass also to 4 and,in this case, 1 goes straight down in thedeep corner (diagr. 18). In the right deepcorner, a back screen is set on X2, a veryhard play to defend. 3 makes a back-screen for 2, 2 exchanges the position hi-gh-low with 3, and cuts down outside to

the deep corner (diagr. 19). If there is con-fusion between the two defenders X2 andX3, regarding who should switch, fight th-rough the screen, or help on the screen, 3will immediately make a pass to 4. Instead,if 3 is free, he can shoot, or pass to 1 in theright, deep corner for a possible unconte-sted shot. 3 keeps the same position on theside, and 4 drops down towards the baseli-ne; 5 flashes up to the high-post position,and we have the side overload with fourplayers, while the fifth player is on the op-posite side of the floor.

We now have a second option (diagr. 20, 21and 22). 5, after setting the screen for 3,goes to the mid-post position, receives the

ball from 2, and, while 5 has the ball: wewant 2 to cut to the middle, and then 3 cutsin the low-post position. The defense colla-pses, covering the two cutters with two de-fenders.The defense must change this set, if not,the center receives the ball and simplydunks or makes a lay-up.

Nothing changes if the entry pass goes di-rectly to 4 (diagr. 23): 1 gives the ball to 4, 5drops down to the right side, low-post posi-tion, and 3 attacks the baseline. 1 can cut inthe lane as the third cutter. In this case, wewill overload with 3 and 1, with only oneplayer outside. This is 2, the shootingguard.

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by Sergio Scariolo

OFFENSE

Sergio Scariolo won the World Title with theItalian Military Army National team in 1985, anItalian National Championship with ScavoliniPesaro, and the award as the Coach of theYear in 1990. He also coached Desio andFortitudo Bologna in the Italian Division I.While coaching in Spain, he won a King's Cupwith Tau Vitoria in 1999, a championship withReal Madrid in 2000, as well as the Coach ofthe Year and a King's Cup with Malaga in 2005.

Throughout my career as an head coach at theprofessional level, I've always used a "3 outsi-de/2 inside" offensive set up. The main reasonfor playing this way came from having veryperimeter-oriented guards and forwards (andmost of the time a "2-3" at the "3" spot) and I feltwe needed two solid inside players at the 4 and5 positions. In the 2000-2001 season, my secondwith Real Madrid, we had a very powerful smallforward, Marko Milic, who was very effectiveclose to the basket. We also had two of the fourbig men, Jiri Zidek and Iker Iturbe. That teamreached both the ACB, the Spanish FirstDivision, and the King's Cup Finals, finally losingto F.C. Barcelona, headed by the great PauGasol. My feeling was that we had played avery nice game, possibly the best ever playedby a team that I had coached.Landing at Málaga, one of the things that sur-prised me the most was the poor spacing of theplayers in the man-to-man offense: the ten-dency of the small and big forward and thecenter was to play as near as they could to thebasket. Unfortunately, this made it much easierfor the opponent to sag, help, recover, and rota-te without giving up a big advantage to theoffense.

THE 3 OUTSIDE -2 INSIDE OFFENSE

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What the team was doing was not making useof a part of the court that is difficult for even thebest defensive teams to cover: the corner. Oneof my first decisions, after a couple of weeks ofworking with the players, was to move our 4(Larry Lewis and Germán Gabriel) farther fromthe basket, first to the high post area, then strai-ght out of the three-point line. My goals werethree:1. Widen distances for the defensive rota-

tions.2. Clear space for the penetrations of 1 and 3,

and increase post-up plays.3. Make dish-off passes easier for the pene-

trator, and having three targets that aremore visible on the perimeter instead oftwo (diagr. 1 and 2).

A few lines above, I've underlined the word"spacing," since I consider that this is the key tothe perennial war between defense and offen-

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se: when the "D" is able to force the "O" to use alimited part of the court (e.g.: a quarter of court),it is likely the winner of the war. However, whenthe offense learns how to use the whole court,going straight to the corners, odds are veryhigh on the possibility of scoring a basket ordrawing a foul.What do we need in order to play a "4 outside/1inside" offensive system?1. A good power forward, skilful in handling

the ball while facing the basket. He needsan acceptable shooting range and, evenmore important, he has to be able to readthe different defensive reactions and makequick appropriate decisions.

2. Two players, among the other four (1, 2, 3and 5), who can effectively play in the lowpost, scoring or creating scoring opportuni-ties for teammates.

3. Patience: Everybody must know whatmakes a good shot. It comes from skill, theparticular moment of the offensive pos-session, the particular moment of thegame, and the defensive reaction. Theymust understand that they will need togive up good shots to generate (with aquick pass or with second and third pene-trations) a better one for a teammate. Thisis the unselfish, correct choice (diagr. 3, 4,5, and 6).

4. Movement without the ball: Every ball moverequires a re-adjustment of the correctspacing into the court. It is necessary tokeep the same distance between the fourperimeter players (diagr. 7 and 8).

What are the general rules of our offensivesystem?1. I want to open the court, use the entire

offensive half-court, while not forgettingthe corners. I also want correct spacingduring the entire offensive possession, fil-ling these four spots on the court.

2. 5 must stay as close to the basket as hecan: He never must go toward the ballduring a penetration, keeping himself readyto finish a penetrate-and-dish play, if hisman helps (diagr. 9), or neutralize the rota-tion of the defensive player with a screen(diagr. 10). If somebody else is playing in thelow post, his job will be the same.

3. When a penetrator passes out, he willquickly run to a corner on the side wherethere is only one teammate, in case of amiddle penetration (diagr. 11), always onthe side where he passed the ball, in caseof baseline penetration (diagr. 12). In bothcases, teammates, who reacted to hispenetration going below the ball line, willre-adjust their spacing, clearing the areawhere he will end up. A priority is to passthe ball back to him, since he will be openmost of the time (diagr. 13).

4. The power forward 4, who happens to bein a perimeter position without a clear

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advantage to shoot or penetrate, will notstop or slow down the ball circulation.Instead, he will offer a dribble hand-off toone of two teammates next to him on theperimeter, playing a kind of dynamic pick-and-roll (diagr. 14).

5. When the low post is passed the ball, thepasser will choose, according to his physicaland technical skills, between cutting (diagr.15) or screening (diagr. 16). 4 will alwaysscreen and pop out, making sure he does notbring his defensive big man too close to thelow post. His position, during the low postone-on-one, will be the top of the key (diagr.17). No one is allowed to cross the free-throw line extension, with the only exceptionbeing if there is a double team on the lowpost (diagr. 18).

6. Either 5 or 4 can set a pick for the man withthe ball (diagr. 19 and 20). If the defensewants to help from the middle or trap, the firstgoal of the man with the ball is to get rid of itas soon as he can. If 5 sets the pick, he'll rollto the basket as fast as he can. We'll try to hithim from 4 (diagr. 21), whose next look will beto the corners, in order to punish possiblehelps (diagr. 22 and 23). If 4 can't shoot orpenetrate, or pass to 5 or to the corners, hewon't stop the flow of the offense, continuingwith a dribble hand-off to one of the closestperimeter players (diagr. 24). If 4 sets the pick,we'll clear out to allow a pick-and-pop move(diagr. 25), or to beat the X5/X4 rotation with apass underneath to 5 (diagr. 26). If the defen-se forces a player to the baseline, and 5 setsthe pick, he will change his screening angle,and roll to the basket (diagr. 27). The manwith the ball could shoot, or attack X5's helpwith a baseline penetration (diagr. 28). If 4sets the pick, he will pop in the backcourt toshoot, penetrate, or play a dribble hand-off(diagr. 29). Other options we've used havebeen the re-pick (screening the second timeand popping out laterally) and the middle-pop, with a hand-off (diagr. 30) or back-door(diagr. 31).

7. In our set plays, we always want to give our4 a double possibility. He can cut down for apost-up move, or come high to face thebasket out of the three-point line, either in ashuffle cut (diagr. 32) or in a box-to-box pick(diagr. 33 and 34). In the pop-out option, it isnecessary that 5 follows 4's move with astrong cut inside. This way he will punish thedefense for the very common switch that thedefender will presumably run (diagr. 35).Finally, we prefer to have our perimeterplayer 4 screening first in the low staggeredscreens. This will allow a quick reaction tothe opposite side in case of help (diagr. 36 e37). At the opposite, we like to have our 4become the second screener in the highstaggered screens, making 4 pop out wideopen if his man helps (diagr. 38).

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Lute Olson is one of the best Americanuniversity coaches. He coached atLong Beach State and Iowa, and formore than 20 years at the University ofArizona. He reached the Final Four fourtimes and won the NCAA title in 1997.He coached the U.S. Men's Nationalteam that won the FIBA World Cham-pionship in 1986. He was inducted inthe Naismith Basketball Hall of Famein 2002.

After ending his collegiate career se-ven years ago, Josh Pastner joined theUniversity of Arizona staff as videoscouting and recruiting coordinator.He has served as assistant coach sin-ce 2003.

POST STEP-IN OPTIONThe set is a one-four, with two high po-sts, 4 and 5. 1 passes to 5 and 3, thewing on the ball side, sets his defenderup, and then goes backdoor (diagr. 1).

5 first looks to pass to 3 on the back-door cut, and, if he cannot deliver theball to 3, 5 can shoot if his defender isoff him and tries to help on 3. If none ofthese two opt ions are possible, 5makes a strong dribble to the center ofthe free-throw area. At this point, 2, theoffside wing, comes toward 5 to recei-ve the ball on a dribble hand-off pass(diagr. 2). 5 can either pass to 2, orlooking to pass to the other post, 4, whois ducking in the lane, and sealing hisdefender (diagr. 3).

On the initial pass to 5, 4, the other po-st, slides down to the low post position,

OFFENSE

by Lute Olson

by Josh Pastner

ARIZONA HIGH POST SERIES

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and sets a cross screen for the wing, 3,who had gone backdoor (see diagr. 1). 5can also pass to 3, who came out of thescreen of 4.

POST WING OPEN SIDE OF THE COURTThe play starts as before (diagr. 4). Theonly difference is that 5 takes his defenderoff the first pass.Once 3 goes through with the backdoorcut, the ball side of the court will be clear,and 5 can play one-on-one and go to thebasket (diagr. 5).

GUARD DRIBBLE HAND-OFF OPTIONOnce again, the start of the play is thesame as before (diagr. 6). In this case, 5completes the hand-off pass with 2, theoffside guard. This action frees up theback side of the court, so 2 can drivestraight to the basket or kick out theball to 1 in the corner (diagr. 7).This type of action becomes ideal in al-lowing 2 to come free off the hand-offpass, or get switched to a big postplayer.

The key to good execution is the timingof the offside guard cut. The cut shouldnot be made until the post puts the ballon the floor. This guarantees that the

back door cut andthe step in have hadthe proper time todevelop. If the de-fender plays for thehand-off pass andcheats, the guardcan back cut downthe three-secondlane (see diagr. 7).

2 can dr ive to thebasket, cutting insi-de or outside 5, andcan pass to 4, whoducked in the lane(diagr. 8).

Note: Obviously allof these plays canbe run on either si-de of the court, andwith the posts andperimeter playersmoved to matchyour personnelstrengths.

OPTION FOR THEBEST SHOOTERThe first option ofthis play is for 2, thebest shooter. If 2 isaggressively over-played, 1 dribblestoward him. This isa signal for 2, whobrings his defenderdown and then goesopposite the bal land gets a f larescreen by 5 (diagr.9) : The key ingre-dient for the suc-cess of this play isfor 2 to bring his defender deep enoughto correctly set up the flare screen. Once 2 receives the ball, he has severaloptions:▼ He can pass to 4, fake a cut in the th-

ree-second lane, use the screen of 5,receive the ball from 4, and shoot(diagr. 10).

▼ If he cannot shoot, he can pass to 3,who took his defender under the ba-sket, and then circled back for thepost up.

▼ He can pass to 1, who brought hisdefender down, and then received astaggered screen, the first from 4,and the second from 5 (diagr. 11).

Other options for this play include:

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▼ If 2 passes to the post, 4, he can fakea straight cut, then go off the ball si-de, receive a hand-off pass andshoot.

▼ After the hand off, if 2 cannot shootimmediately, he can go on the leftwing spot to play one-on-one in theopen court. While 4 clears out, andgoes to the middle of the court, 1cuts away from the ball, and recei-ves a staggered screen, the f irstfrom 3, and the second from 5 (diagr.13).

▼ If 2 cannot shoot from the wing spot,he can pass to 4, and 4 to 1, who co-mes out off the staggered screen, orto 3, who, after the screen for 1, cutsin the three-second lane, and goes inthe low post position (diagr. 14).

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FIBA EUROPE

by Roy Williams

by C.B. McGrath

OFFENSE

Roy Williams in one of the best collegecoaches in the United States. He was theassistant coach of Dean Smith at theUniversity of North Carolina from 1978 to1988, and then head coach of theUniversity of Kansas, where he reachedthe NCAA Final Four four times, moving tothe NCAA final in 2003. He was namedCoach of the Year four times. For the pasttwo seasons he has coached theUniversity of North Carolina, winning theNCAA title in the 2004-05 season. He wasassistant coach of the US National Teamat the University Games in Germany, andheld the same post at the 2004 OlympicGames.

C. B. McGrath has been with RoyWilliams during his basketball career,first as a player, and then as a coach. Hewas assistant coach at Kansas for fouryears and for the past two years he hasbeen the assistant at the University ofNorth Carolina.

THE SECONDARYFASTBREAK OF NORTH CAROLINA

FIBA EUROPE OFFENSE

Our team was comprised of very fastplayers. All of them, and that includesthe big men, were able to run a fast-break. For this reason, we based ouroffense on the primary and secondaryfastbreak. This allowed us to have themost prolific offense in the NCAA thisyear (89.3 points scored per game, 33wins and 4 losses), helping us win theNCAA title.

Our goal is to move the ball on offense asquickly as possible, scoring a basket withour primary fastbreak. However, if two or more defenders reco-ver, we then play a secondary fastbreakthat we use with every ball possession,including after all missed shots or after abasket has been made by the opponent.

There are two fastbreak situations that weare going to describe:

▼ Regular secondary fastbreak▼ Dribbling secondary fastbreak

REGULAR SECONDARY FASTBREAKAfter the opponent scores a basket, 4, thebig forward, takes the ball out-of-boundsand passes to 1, the point guard, while 2and 3, the guard and the small forward, runnear the sidelines. 5, the post, runs on thecentral lane of the court and goes underthe basket in the low-post position on theball side. 4, who rebounded or made theout-of-bound pass, is the trailer. He runsthe central lane and stops out near thethree-point line (diagr. 1).

1 quickly goes on offense and can dribbleon either side of the court (the right side inthis example). If his teammate on the wing,2 in this case, is not guarded, 1 passes theball to him, or he can pass to 4, the trailer. 4 tries to play high-low with 5, the post. Ifthis solution is not possible, 4 reverses theball and passes to 3, the wing on the

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NAME HEIGHT POSITIONStarting FiveRaymond Felton m.1,85 GuardJackie Manuel m.1,96 Guard/forwardSean May m.2,05 Center/forwardRashad McCants m.1,93 Guard/forwardJawad Williams m.2,05 Forward

Top ReservesMelvin Scott m.1,85 GuardMarvin Williams m.2,04 ForwardDavid Noel m.1,98 Guard/forwardQuentin Thomas m.1,90 GuardReyshawn Terry m.2,02 Forward

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weakside. With the pass from 4 to 3 (diagr.2), 5 cuts to the lane and goes in a lowpost position on the other side of thecourt: 5 is always our first option for thesecondary fastbreak.

When the ball arrives to 3 and 3 cannotpass it to 5, 2, the player on the wing, fakesto cut into the lane and then comes high fora back screen, out of the lane, for 4. 3 triesto make a lob pass to 4 and, if he cannot doit, 3 passes to 2, who, after the backscreen,is open (diagr. 3).

If 4 does not receive the ball on the lobpass, he continues his cut to the lane andmakes a screen for the low post 5. 5 usesthe screen of 4 on the low side of thescreen. 2 can pass to 5 or to 4, who is open,after the screen (diagr. 4). If it is not possi-ble to pass the ball into the lane, 2 passesto any of his teammates who are not guar-ded on the perimeter. This starts our motionoffense (diagr. 5).

DRIBBLING SECONDARY FASTBREAKThe fastbreak starts after a basket is sco-red by the opponent or after a defensiverebound. 4 takes the ball to inbound it or, ifhe rebounds, passes to 1, 2. or 3, who runon the lanes near the sidelines. 5 runs on

the central lane to go under the basket, ina low-post position on the ball side, while4 is the trailer and sets himself up out atthe three-point line, in the middle of thehalf court. In this fastbreak, 1 starts todribble laterally (on the right side of thecourt, in this example), and then dribblesdiagonally to get to the opposite side(diagr. 6 and 7).

3, this time, is at the corner, and 2 is on thewing. 1 tries to pass the ball to 4, but, in thiscase, the defense overplays the pass andkeeps the ball from being reversed. 4 thenmakes a screen on the ball for 1, who drib-bles to the opposite side. At the same time,5 cuts into the lane to go to the low postposition on the other side (diagr. 8).

1 tries to pass to 5 cutting into the lane,while 3 fakes to cut into the lane and thenmakes a back screen for 4, who cuts to thebasket and tries to receive a lob pass from1. If 4 does not receive the pass, he goes tothe low-post position on the same side ofthe screen (diagr. 9).

After the screen, 3 pops out, receives theball, and dribbles to the wing, while 5comes to the high-post position in the freethrow area. 3 tries to pass the ball to 4 inthe low post (diagr. 10).

On this movement, 1 screens for 2, whocomes high (diagr. 11). If there is no solu-tion, we start our motion offense.

SECONDARY FASTBREAK WITH A REVERSE PASSStarting from the dribbling secondary fast-break (see diagr. 6 and 7), 1 passes to 4 and4 tries to pass to 2. However, in this parti-cular case, 2 cannot receive the ballbecause he is overplayed, so 4 passesback the ball to 1 (diagr. 12).

3, who had faked a cut into the lane,comes high and makes a screen for 4, whogoes in a low-post position. 5 does not fol-low the ball as he did in the previous play(diagr. 13).

1 tries to pass directly to 4 on the cut orwhen he is in the low-post position, while3, after the screen, goes to the corner onthe other side (diagr. 14).

5 comes high to the free-throw area, while2 screens for 3 (diagr. 15).

1 tries to pass to 5 in the free-throw area,and 5 can pass to 4 in a low-post position,or to 3, who came out from the screen of 2(diagr. 16).

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FIBA EUROPE

Moncho Lopez coached Gijon (Spain) from 1998to 2002, then he was assistant coach of theSpanish National Team at the FIBA WorldChampionship in Indianapolis. In 2002 he beca-me head coach, winning the silver medal at the2003 FIBA European Championship. He now isthe head coach of Leche Rio Breogan Lugo.

The problem a coach faces is how to have theplayers take advantage of the offensive plays.They do not play based on the reaction of a cer-tain move of the defense, but more on a whim ofthe offensive player. I agree that a team shouldhave a particular set offensive philosophy.Nonetheless, I prefer to adopt a base that useseasy or complex concepts, chosen by the coachand adapted to the individual skills of his playersand the structure of the team. I call this philo-sophy "offensive basic play by concepts". Whena coach chooses one, a very important factor isthe team's talent level: simple concepts forplayers with low technical levels, higher andmore structured concepts for a team with supe-rior technical-tactical skills. My experience hasbeen to apply easy concepts. This is useful fordeveloping individual fundamentals and gamecomprehension. I want this basic play to bedominant in all stages of the offensive sets: fast-break, transition, and the halfcourt game. The dif-ferent offensive plays are optimized, thanks tothe use of these offensive concepts. Finally, ourgoal is to create different shooting possibilities,using the various offensive team movements.

A) INSIDE GAMEThe first goal is to use a player at the mediumpost as the receiver. The player chosen will be anoffensive point of reference and all the plays willstart from him and will be developed using thegame concepts previously decided upon.

Free game to define the entry side of the play▼ Pass: The side where the play starts is defi-

ned by a pass. The perimeter players will beset on the court to create different options forreceiving the ball, using players in a mediumpost position as a pick (diagr. 1).

▼ "Jam": The playmaker dribbles to one side,defining with his movement the medium postchosen as a first game option.

▼ The perimeter player on the strong side cutsto the opposite side, while another perimeterplayer goes to the central lane of the court to

replace the playmaker. The center on theother side of the court comes to the high-post position (diagr. 2). This is the option Iprefer, but 4 has to be a very good shooter.

Starting option with a pass inside▼ We put a player in the medium post position;

he does not have to be the center (diagr. 3).▼ The passer has three options: pass and cut,

pass and pick, pass and go away (diagr. 4).▼ The "pass and cut" option is maybe the worst

one, because the position of the two postscreates a lack of space for the cutter to takeadvantage of the situation.

▼ I prefer the "pass and go away" concept. Wewant to clear out the lane, so the other centercomes high: he can decide to play in a high-post position or go outside of the three-pointline (diagr. 5). We can also use an alignmentwith four perimeter players and cheat withthe defense for a possible pass to 5.

▼ The "pass and pick": This is used to distractthe defense, but, especially, as a tactic toleave 4 unguarded, so he can be a threatunder the basket. He should be positionedfacing the basket (diagr. 6).

▼ Backscreen: We use this screen in all thesituations when the center on the other sidecomes high. He does this before the move ofthe perimeter players in the middle of thecourt, even if the playmaker waits to decidewhere to make the entry pass (diagr. 7).

B) BALL INSIDERules for movement without the ball▼ Cheating on the strong side: the passer

moves where he can be an offensive threatand receive a pass and shoot (diagr. 8).

▼ Cheating on the helpside: The center deci-des to go outside or to cut to the basket. If heis a shooter or not, or by the defensive reac-tion, 4 has two options: he can get outside orelse make a strong cut inside the lane.

▼ If the center cuts, the outside players repla-ce him in the middle or on the side the court,depending on the position of 4 (diagr. 9).

▼ If 4 gets open, the perimeter players cutbehind the defense from the helpside. Thegoal is to get an advantage from the cuts, orkeep the defenders busy on the help side(diagr. 10).

▼ When the high post is not a threat from out-side, we use the concept of the inside cut.

by Moncho Lopez

OFFENSE

PLAYING BY CONCEPTS

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▼ This cut can also be done, based on the helpposition of the high post’s defender; we make astrong cut behind him to receive the ball andbring him away from the help position (diagr. 11).

▼ The passer does not cut from the strong side,with these exceptions: a) 2 cuts behind hisdefender; b) 2 cuts, because the center hasreceived with his feet outside the lane andneeds space for playing one-on-one (diagr. 12).

▼ The medium post goes outside to receive theball: in this case, 2 has space to play a "pass andcut" (diagr. 13). The cut of 2 is also useful to clearout this side of the floor for the one-on-one of 4.

▼ If the passer is a power forward (3), he can cut,because it will not be easy for him to move onthe strong side, and because he would jam thespace of the post player, who received the ball.

▼ If 3 decides to cut, a perimeter player from theother side of the court replaces him, balancingout the offensive positions (diagr. 14).

▼ After the cut of 3, we take the advantage ofhaving the ball in the post area, using the rever-sal of the ball and passing triangle (diagr. 15).

Inside - outside play▼ Inside-outside and cut / get open. If there is a

pass in the middle lane of the court, the centertries to play a "pass and cut" inside the lane toreceive the ball (diagr. 16).

▼ A center who has the skills to play in front of thebasket can play a "pass and get out of the lane,"against a taller and slower defender (diagr. 17).

Inside - outside and repositioning▼ The center passes outside and uses the

momentary relaxation of his defender to gainspace inside and receive again (diagr. 18).

Inside - outside plus a direct pick: under and overthe free-throw line extension▼ Depending on the position of the perimeter

player, who receives the ball outside, under orover the extension of the free-throw line, webring a pick on the ball with a certain angle.

▼ When the perimeter player receives under thefree-throw line extension, the center quicklycomes out to pick the defender of the perimeterplayer, who is recovering on the offensiveplayer who received the ball (diagr. 19).

▼ When the perimeter player receives the ballover the free-throw line extension, the centermakes a high pick so that the dribbler can drivetoward the baseline (diagr. 20).

C) HIGH POST WITH THE BALLDrive to the basketThe post can receive the ball from outside or inside.▼ If the center received in the high post position,

he can go to the basket in different ways: shoo-ting from the post, shooting from the three-pointline, or driving to the basket (diagr. 21).

Passing triangle: short / largeShort Triangle▼ When 4 receives in the high-post position from a

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perimeter player or from the low post, this situa-tion can create a passing lane for 5 and a high-low game between the two centers (diagr. 22).

Large Triangle▼ If there is not a direct game of high-low between

the two centers, 4 will read the defensive positionand will make a reversal pass to the other cor-ner, creating a passing lane for 5 (diagr. 23).

Reverse and three game options: cut /pick on theball/pick away from the ball▼ When the perimeter player receives from the

high post with a skip pass, the high post has threeoptions:

1. If he has an advantage, after a rotation or adefensive recover: he plays a "pass and cut" andgoes to the medium post (diagr. 24).

2. If the center, who received the ball is not a goodshooter: he can play a "pass and make a screenaway from the ball," especially if the low post,who is screened, is a good shooter (diagr. 25).

3. 4, as well as 5, can directly attack the defender:by reversing the ball and coming quickly out fromthe lane to put a screen on the ball (diagr. 25).

When 4 reverses the ball and picks on the teammatewith the ball, the perimeter player on the ball side cutsto the other side of the court to clear out for 4, whocan pick and fade away, or else roll to the basket.

FIBA EUROPE

by Gordon McLeod

OFFENSE

Gordon McLeod is the manager, coach, andDirector of Player Development of the NewZealand Basketball Federation. He wascoach of the Australian Junior Men's teamand also coach of West Sydney Razorbacks,the senior professional men's team of theNational Basketball League (NBL), the Au-stralian top league.

OUR PHILOSOPHYOur fastbreak and transition philosophy wasmade up of two components:1. Our fastbreak was triggered by our defen-

sive intensity and we wanted to run thefastbreak at every opportunity.

2. Control the tempo of the game by incorpo-rating a structured offensive secondarybreak, which we called "transition."

PERSONNELThe athleticism and mobility of our team and,especially, in the frontcourt, as well as ourcombined scoring ability in all positions, wasan integral ingredient in evolving this transi-tion system or secondary break.

THE FASTBREAK1. There was no "magic" drills or formulas.2. Our fastbreak was triggered by our defen-

sive intensity.3. We worked hard on developing a "fast-

break mentality."4. Our main rule: if the defense gets three or

more players back, then we would go intoour secondary break (transition).

5. Basic core of drills used:▼ One-on-one, full court.▼ Two-on-one, full court; two-on-one, plus one.▼ Two-on-one, full court.▼ Three-on-one, full court; three-on-two

plus one.6. The basic fundamental fastbreak princi-

ples were emphasized in these drills.

7. The following drills shown have evolvedwith the program.

DRILL ONETwo-on-one, half court ▼ Teaching points: two offensive players

play against one defender (diagr. 1).One-on-one, full court▼ Defensive pressure: the defender goes

on offense versus the two former offensi-ve players (diagr. 2).

Two-on-one, full court▼ Fastbreak: then the offensive player

goes on defense and plays two-on-one(diagr. 3).

DRILL TWOSame procedure as before, but now three-on-one, half court ▼ Teaching points (diagr. 4).Two-on-one, full court▼ Offensive versus defensive pressure

(diagr. 5).Three-on-one, full court▼ Fastbreak (diagr. 6).

THE TRANSITION (SECONDARY BREAK)The secondary break was in three phases:▼ Early - power the post.▼ Middle - flex cut and shuffle cut.▼ Late - staggered screens into motion.

The following plays were used in the secon-dary break:▼ Post-up flex cut.▼ Post-up shuffle cut.▼ Pressure releases - dribble "push 2", drib-

ble "push 4" and backdoors.▼ Delay.

I will only detail the first two points in this ar-ticle. When teaching, we used the whole-part-whole method.To convert our players from defense to of-fense, we used a "numbered full court transi-tion": 1 advances the ball down either side,preferably with a pass; 2 and 3 fill the outsidelanes (2 is usually on the right); 5 sprintsfrom the middle of the court to the basket,and then to the block; 4 is the trailer and thesafety player. 1, 2, and 3 are interchangea-ble, as are 4 and 5 (diagr. 7).

EARLY TRANSITION - POWER THE POST1 passes to 5, if the defense is behind or 2and 4 are overplayed.

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2 passes to 5, if the defense is behind or 4 and 1are overplayed (diagr. 8).

2 passes to 5 or 1 passes to 5, if 5 beats his mandown the court (diagr. 9).

2 skip passes to 3, if 5, 1, and 4 are all over-played. 5 seals his man and receives a passfrom 3. 1 skip passes to 3, if 5, 2, and 4 are alloverplayed. 5 seals his man and receives apass from 3 (diagr. 10).

MIDDLE TRANSITION - FLEX CUT1 passes to 4 and 2 sets his man up for a flexcut, or to receive a pass from 4 (diagr. 11).

4 passes to 3, and 2 cuts over the top of 5. 5cuts off the back of 2 for a possible pass from 3or 4 (diagr. 12).

4 passes to 3 and 4 holds the cut to see if 5 re-ceives a pass from 3. If not, he cuts or exchan-ges with 1 (diagr. 13).

MIDDLE TRANSITION - SHUFFLE CUT3 passes to 1 and 4 sets his man up to receive apass from 1. 3 sets his man up for a shuffle cutor an L-cut (diagr. 14).

1 passes to 4 and 3, shuffle or L-cuts off 5. 5reads the defense and looks for a possiblepass from 4. If 5 is not open, he and 1 go downand set a staggered screen for 2, who has sethis man up for a cut (diagr. 15).

4 looks for 2, who is coming off the screens. 3is in the block or in the corner. 1 on skip for apost up for 5. There is a drive to the basketpossibility if the passing lanes are overplayed(diagr. 16).

LATE TRANSITION4 passes to 2, who looks for a shot or a pass to3 or 5 inside. 4, after passing, goes after 3's de-fense (diagr. 17).

2 passes to 1 and goes for 3's defense. 1 looksinside to 5 and then to 3, who is coming off thescreens, and then back into 5 for late post up(diagr. 18).

1 passes to 3. Now we are balanced into our"motion," or we can continue our late stagge-red screening action (diagr. 19).

POST UP - FLEX CUT3 looks to post up 2 or 5 off 2's back (diagr. 20).4 reads 5's defense, cheating off, he fakes apass to 3 and kicks it back to 1 for post up for 5(diagr. 21).

3 down screens for 2, then returns to the peri-meter. 4 down screens for 2, then opens to theball and busts to block. 1 looks inside to 5 early,then to 2 coming off the screens set by 3 and 4;

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then back inside to 5 late (diagr. 22).

1 passes to 2, and 2 looks for: a shot, for 5,who is sealing inside, for 4, who is duckingin, for 3 or 1 on the perimeter, or to post up 4or 5 again (diagr. 23).

POST UP - SHUFFLE CUT4 looks to post up 3 or hit 5 for a jumper, if thedefense cheats off (diagr. 24).

1 keys on 5's defense cheating off on cut,fakes a pass to 4 and kicks the ball back to 2,to post up 5 (diagr. 25).

4 down screens for 3, then opens to the ball.1 down screens for 3, then pops out to theperimeter. 2 looks inside to 5 early, then to 3coming off the screens made by 4 and 1, andthen back into 5 late (diagr. 26).

2 passes to 3, and 3 looks for: a shot, for 5sealing inside, for 4 who is ducking in, for 1or 2 on the perimeter, or to post up 4 or 5again (diagr. 27).

BREAKDOWN RECOGNITION DRILLWe also liked to use a breakdown drill, whi-ch focused on mismatches in different posi-tions on the court. The players are requiredto use our transition offense or secondarybreak to go at these mismatches.

Drill: Three-on-two fastbreak, to five-on-th-ree transition, to three-on-two fastbreakcontinuous.

FASTBREAK CONTINUOUSThree-on-two fastbreakPlayers on the same team A play against ea-ch other three-on-two (diagr. 28).

Five-on-three: transition5 players on team A fastbreak three-on-twodrill. Are now on offense as a team andbreak into transition at the other end versusthree defensive players, who have come inas team B from the halfway line, and arematched up on three nominated offensiveplayers and they only defend those threeplayers. Team A must go at one of those mi-smatched players (diagr. 29).Three-on-two: fastbreakWhen team B gets the ball, the three playerson defense then break three-on-two versusthe other two players from their team B, whohave come in on defense from the halfway li-ne (diagr. 30).Both teams are now in continuous fastbreakand transition.Only the offense being defended can score.Offense not being defended works on recei-ving, positioning, timing, spacing and pas-sing angles to mismatched players.

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FIBA EUROPE

by Gregg Popovich

OFFENSE

Gregg Popovich was an assistant coachof the San Antonio Spurs for four years,before he went to the Golden StateWarriors in 1992 as an assistant coach.He was named general manager of theSan Antonio Spurs in 1994 and becamethe head coach in 1996. His teams havewon three NBA championships (1999,2003, and 2005), and he was named "NBACoach of the Year" for his efforts in the2002-2003 season. Popovich was anassistant coach on the bronze-medalwinning U.S. basketball team at the 2004Olympic Games in Athens.

The San Antonio Spurs, the most "inter-national" of the NBA teams, beat theDetroit Pistons in seven games, winningthe NBA Championship for the third timein seven years. Tim Duncan won his thirdMVP title in three different finals, provingthat he is the successful leader of theteam. Manu Ginobli played a key role forthe team, especially helping the team inGame 1 and Game 2. The Argentineanplayer had lots of offensive punch and ahighly effective defense during the Finals,lessening the pressure brought toDuncan and Tony Parker by the Detroitdefense.The offensive plays we use have beenmostly built on the perimeter and theyexploit the skills of Tim Duncan, an all-around player, who is able to play closeto the basket, as well as shoot frommedium distance. In addition to Duncan,the team is dangerous to our opponentsbecause of the offensive penetrations ofParker and Ginobili, and the preciseshooting of Bruce Bowen and RobertHorry. Horry is a special player, extremelylethal during the crucial moments, espe-cially in the Game Five, when he scoredthe decisive three-point shot that won

THE OFFENSIVE SETSOF THE SAN ANTONIO SPURS, NBA CHAMPIONS 2005

the game for us. The three-point shot hasbeen one of the most effective weaponswe had against the Pistons, alllowing us todominate Rasheed Wallace and BenWallace, the Detroit Piston players thatworked the defensive lanes.Note: In the following diagrams, playersare identified by the first letter of their lastname.

TRANSITION OFFENSEParker dribbles in the middle zone of thecourt and passes the ball to Duncan, whileGinobili runs to the right corner andBowen to the left corner. Parker then setsa pick for Ginobili, who goes to the free-throw line and receives the ball fromDuncan to shoot (diagr. 1).Nazr Mohammed, who is the trailer, occu-

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pies the left corner of the free-throw line.If Ginobili cannot receive a pass fromDuncan, he cuts around Mohammed andgets the ball from Duncan and then theyplay pick-and-roll (diagr. 2).A second transition attack begins whenParker dribbles to the left corner, whereGinobili is located; this is a sign for Ginobilito go and make a backscreen for Duncan,

while Mohammed, sets a pick for Bowen.Duncan receives the ball from Parker(diagr. 3). If Duncan cannot get the ball,Parker passes it to Ginobili, who is out atthe three-point line. Ginobili passes theball to Bowen, while Mohammed, aroundthe baseline, makes a pick for Duncan,who cuts and receives the ball fromBowen (diagr. 4).

MAIN SET AGAINST A MAN-TO-MAN DEFENSEParker dribbles on the left side to Ginobili,who cuts from the lane and goes under thebasket; then he comes out to the free-throw line, exploiting a vertical screenfrom Duncan. At the same time, Bowenmakes a double screen with Mohammedon the right side. Parker can then pass theball to Ginobili (diagr. 5).

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

If Ginobili can't shoot, Parker cuts to thelane, exploiting the double screen ofBowen and Mohammed. Bowen cutswell around the baseline and goes to theother side of the court. Parker receivesfrom Ginobili and shoots, or he can passthe ball to Mohammed, who's in the low-post position (diagr. 6).If no shot is possible, Ginobili receives ahigh pick from Duncan and receives theball from Parker to shoot close to thebasket (diagr. 7).

OPTIONGinobili, after the pick from Duncan, drib-bles to the right side and passes the ballto Bowen, who had cut on the baseline togo to the corner. He can also play pick-and-roll with Duncan, who had rolled tothe basket after the pick (diagr. 8).Another possibility with the starting line-up is that Parker can receive a pick fromDuncan out of the lane, while Ginobilicuts on the baseline and exploits the dou-ble screen of Mohammed and Bowen,who, after the pick, cuts and goes to theopposite corner. Parker has two choices:he can exploit the pick of Duncan by drib-bling to the right line and then pass theball to Ginobili (who can shoot or pass theball to Mohammed in the low-post posi-tion), or he can dribble to the left side andpass the ball to Bowen. Parker can alsopass the ball directly to Duncan, who rol-led to the basket after the pick-and-roll.Whomever receives the ball from Parker(Ginobili or Bowen) can pass the ball toDuncan, who is open to the ball (diagr. 9).

LOOP 4 ICEThe ball is in Parker's hands and he is onthe right side of the court: Bowen comesfrom the low-post position and exploitsthe pick from Mohammed, who is in thehigh-post position on the corner of thefree-throw line. He comes out to thethree-point line to get the ball and shoot.While Bowen cuts, Ginobili receives abackscreen from Duncan on the otherside of the court: Bowen can pass toGinobili or Duncan, who is ready toreceive the ball under the basket afterthe pick for Ginobili (diagr. 10).If these choices aren't possible, Bowenpasses the ball again to Parker, andParker to Ginobili, who has cut, going tothe right corner. He has a large portionof the court open to him to now playone-on-one (diagr. 11).

WEDGE ROLLParker has the ball, Duncan fakes to cutin the lane first, and then he makes a

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lateral pick to Parker. In the meantime,Ginobili fakes to screen the screenerand then he cuts to the lane to receivethe ball from Parker (diagr. 12).

15 (RUB TOP HEAD)This is a play that offers the possibility ofa three-point shot for three players. Weuse it when Robert Horry, our three-point specialist, is on the court. Parker receives a high pick in the cen-tral lane of the court from Duncan, whileGinobili, Bowen and Horry are out at thethree-point line. Parker exploits the pickof Duncan and can pass the ball toBowen or to Ginobili in the corners, or toHorry who has come to the middle of thecourt. Parker can also pass to Duncan,who is ready to receive the ball after thepick (diagr. 13).

DOUBLE FISTAlso in this play, Parker has the ballduring the attack, while Duncan andHorry are in high-post positions on thecorner of the free-throw line. Ginobiliand Bowen are on the low corners, outat the free-throw line. Duncan, in thiscase (or Horry), makes a pick for Parker,who exploits the pick and can pass toGinobili in the corner, to Duncan, who isopen to the ball and turns to the basket,or to Horry, who came out to the free-throw line to get the ball. Horry passesto Bowen, who came up to receive theball (diagr. 14).

FLOPPYParker passes the ball to Duncan, who ison the free-throw line, as Bowen cutsbackdoor and goes to the right corner.After the pass, Parker makes a pick forGinobili, who receives the ball fromDuncan to drive to the basket, exploitingthe empty space left by Bowen, who hasbeen followed by his direct defender,leaving the left corner of the court free(diagr. 15).

STRONGParker, who is in the left wing, passesthe ball to Mohammed, who came up togo to the central position. Mohammedpasses the ball to Bowen on the rightwing.Ginobili receives two staggeredscreens, the first one from Parker, thesecond one from Mohammed, whileDuncan cuts to the lane and goes tolow-post position in the right corner:Bowen can pass the ball to Ginobili or toDuncan (diagr. 16).

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FIBA EUROPE

by Zeljko Obradovic

OFFENSE

Zeljko Obradovic coached Partizan Belgrade(Yugoslavia) in 1991, and then moved on toBadalona and Real Madrid (Spain), andBenetton Treviso (Italy). He has been thehead coach of Panathinaikos (Greece) since1999. Obradovic has also been coach of theYugoslavian National Team from 1996 to 2000and, of Serbia and Montenegro, until 2005.With national team, he won two gold medals,the first at the 1998 FIBA World Championshipand the second at the 1997 FIBA EuropeanChampionship. His team won a silver medalat the 1996 Olympic Games and a bronzemedal at the 1999 FIBA EuropeanChampionship. His clubs have won fiveEuroleague titles, two with Panathinaikos in2000 and 2002 (and also four GreekChampionships), one with Real Madrid in1995, one with Joventut Badalona in 1994,and one with Partizan Belgrade in 1992.

I always try to choose players, who can playone-on-one. The more you have of this type ofplayer on your team, the easier it is to createa variety of offenses. The essence of the offensive game is basedon three basic elements:

1. ONE-ON-ONE PLAYIf you have a good low post, player who isready to accept a physical game, then youhave the key to success. In the first phase ofoffense, the ball should be passed to him assoon as possible. It is very important to givehim the ball because it will force the defenseto work extra hard to keep it away from him,using rotations, switches, and double-tea-ming to prevent this. The defense will then hardly protect:▼ The area around the 45 degrees to the

basket.▼ The area around the top of the key, a cen-

tral position where offense begins.

2. PICK-AND-ROLLThe whole world plays pick-and-roll basket-

Half courtman-to-manoffense

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guards often try hard to receive the ball in thelow position, near the base or side line (deepcorner) or under the basket, but I think there isnothing worse than this. I ask my players tocreate an open area or to leave an area aswide as possible in front of them (diagr. 1).

Now everything depends on the reaction ofthe defense, whether it denies the pass to thepoint guard or it double-teams or overplays oncertain spots.To really help your offense, it all starts in thepractice sessions that you organize. Whileyou are practicing on offense, your team ondefense must play real game-like defense sothe players can improve on offense and ondefense, and the coach can have properfeedback. In my practice sessions, if I amdealing with offense, my assistant coach isworking on the defense and he can stop theaction whenever he thinks the defense ismaking a mistake. I am not interested thename of the player. If he is a superstar or thelast of the reserves, they are all the same, allequal. I do expect that they play as hard aspossible in practice and do things the waythat I want them to be done.

If the defense double-teams, 5 goes oppositeto 1 to receive the ball. In this option-whenyou are sure through scouting that the oppo-nent frequently double teams- you canalways have your playmaker inbound the balland have him receive the pass back in themiddle of the court (diagr. 2). We spread out our players in a set, so that,after the screen, it results in an easy basket.However, if it comes to switching, 2 or 3moves to the opposite side, 5 drops down and4 stays on high post area. The two other shoo-ters stay on the same side (diagr. 3). This is themost frequent case, when our player is clo-sely guarded. Hence, the important thing inthis situation is that our offensive shootersmust not stay too close to each other, so onedefender can easily guard both of them.Instead, they should set a screen (high tolow), so the player on the low position is opento receive the pass in the most of the cases.

One great play for the shooters can be arran-ged with two centers on the mid (or high) postposition. The guards pin screens inside andpop out (diagr. 4). The most common mistakein this situation is that they don't know how touse their feet. Too many times, they are una-ble to sprint out to get open. The player should utilize the set screen, andwhen approaching it, wait a second, bringingthe defender into the screen. The success ofthe screen itself doesn't depend on the scree-ner, but, really, by the screened. Before hestarts to run out, the player must make a short

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ball, especially when there are few secondsleft on the 24-second clock. For me, it isimportant where the pick-and-roll is run. Thebest place is at the top of the key or on theside.

3. THE PLAYS FOR SHOOTERSThere are many different plays, including thedouble high post at the foul line, one of themost simplest that everybody plays in Europeon the club level. From this set, there aremany possible single and double screens.However, your shooter must be able to set thescreen and then to pop out or curl around thescreen.You can create a million plays, but everythingis based on having players on your team, whoknow how to move and read the defense,players, who are able to recognize all diffe-rent situations and are able to beat anymismatches that develop.

In this play, you will notice that we startedfrom transition and then run a set offenseagainst pressure defense. The ball is in-bounded by the small forward, 3,while 5, the big man and 2, the shooting guard,come across the court. In these situations, the

step, then fake to catch the ball by showingthe "target" hand. After these fakes, the defen-der often reacts by bringing his body up andturning his head towards the ball. At this time,the offensive player will be free and comesout to receive the ball. Depending on howquick the reaction of defense is, whether itfollows him or goes under the screen, theoffense must read all these reactions becau-se the defense can cheat. This would be theoffense to use if the defense presses on theperimeter.

The second offense can be the simplest oneto use in transition, utilizing the same openingwhen players reach the perimeter area (diagr.5). If 5 is guarded in front, 1 will pass and notstay on that spot, but quickly move somewhe-re else. When the ball is passed, the playergoes to the other side of the lane, setting thescreen on the opposite side.

Here is a simple offense where two playersare wide, outside the three-point line, and twocenters are on the mid/high post, where theyshould set screens for their teammates (diagr.6). In this situation, you ought to have a playerwho is capable to shoot a three pointer or playaround the perimeter and thus read thedefense all the time, finding the occasion forthis shot. In this situation, it is better that a big,tall player makes the initial move to the basketbefore making the pick-and-roll. Then heshould quickly run out and set a properscreen. If he stands in one spot and thenmakes the pick-and-roll, the defense hasenough time to read the offense and react. Soit is a good option if centers make a split cutand exchange positions (diagr. 7) and,afterwards, go to set screen. In this play, 5 is probably the player you wantto put in the three-second area and 4 is thedesignated outside shooter, or vice versa.With this set-up, we have reduced our play tothree-on-three, but the other two players,possibly good, sharp shooters, are spotted upin the deep corners, ready to shoot (diagr. 8).To keep the defense honest, we will set ascreen for an offensive player, whose defen-der is in the helping position (diagr. 9). In thisspecific situation, when the defense playsreally aggressively, I ask my playmaker to runvery few simple things, or to overthrow thefeed pass down to the low post man, or utilizethe pick-and-roll with 5. Why pick-and-roll with 5? Well, there is animmense difference between 1 and 5,speaking of the size of the players, and it pro-bably will not lead to switch.

STATIONARY OFFENSEThe entry pass is made laterally from 1 to 2.After the pass, 1 is back screened by 5, and

goes to the low post (diagr. 10). 2 passes theball to 5 and runs a hand-off with 5.Simultaneously, 4 screens on 1's defenderand 3 back screens for 4, who, after usingthe screen, returns and opens to the ball(diagr. 11).5, after the hand-off, stays all the time outsidethe area. Typically, it happens that a straightpass is made from 2 to the low post 4 after herolls to the basket. Obviously, this offense isdesigned for the dominant center, who isstrong enough to finish the play. Sometimes,when he cannot receive the ball, we have avery similar situation as before, but the entrypass goes to 1, while 4 has made a preliminary"blind" screen for 5, a move made only to keepthe defense honest (diagr. 12).

As an option, when 3 sets the screen for 4 andwhen the defense applies a little bit of helpinside, 3 runs out around 5, who is positionedon the high post, ready to shoot for three ortwo points (diagr.13). Even in this situation, thescreen is usually set for the player, who isguarding the first screener. In these situa-tions, it often happens that the screener staysin the screen too long, pushing the defender,instead of trying to do basic things, such asducking under or going low down in front ofthe defender for the inside rebounding posi-tion. All the other players must also try, whenthe shot is released, to fight for the insideposition or to duck in, placing themselves infront of the defenders ready for a rebound. The main thing is that the player, who is set-ting the screen for a big man should also be agood shooter. I had an excellent experiencerecently when many of my shooters scoredmany baskets using this offensive play.

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Here I would still like to underline one moredetail on the hand-off pass, depending onhow the defense is set. If the defense iscoming out under the hand off, the next optionis the open shot, and, if the defense is playingaggressively, following the player over thehand off pass, the other option is to drive hardto the basket for an easy lay-up, while theother players are engaged with settingscreens.

If the ball cannot be passed to 5 and make thehand off pass, 5 sets a screen on 2's defenderand they then play pick-and-roll.

If 1 cannot pass laterally, due to a greataggressiveness of the defenders, 5 runs upand receives the ball, and the teammate onhis side quickly changes pace and directionand then cuts backdoor (diagr. 14). When anoffensive player punishes the defender withtwo easy baskets, the defense will not be asaggressive anymore. In these situations,there is no need for a coach to react or toadvise because intelligent players make theirown decisions. If the backdoor does not succeed and thedefense still plays aggressively, 1 dribbles tothe side towards 2, who drops down to thelow post position (diagr. 15) and then ouroffense is continued, but with the exchangedroles. 1, with the ball on the side, should notuse those dangerous crossover dribbles orthrough the legs dribbling. Teach your pointguards and perimeter players that when theywant to play pick-and-roll, the distancebetween them and defense shouldn't be verywide, but if the defense sags towards thebasket, you come closer, and run him into thescreen.When the screen is successfully done and thedefender of the screener pops out in front ofthe player with the ball, this player makes anhesitation dribble backwards, changes pacequickly, and drives to the basket. Rememberthat to dribble backwards safely is one of themost difficult and hardest dribbles to performcorrectly in basketball, and the footworkshould be perfect. One more detail: when the defense makesadjustments to defend the screen under thebasket for 4, 4 can then make an inside fakemove and come out around the other center 5,to shoot the ball, and run his defender into thescreen. Again, 5 sets the screen on his owndefender. After 4 coming in a curl around 5, 3,who was setting the actual screen, makes aquick return, asking for the ball in the middleof the three-second area because he is openfor an uncontested shot and completelyunguarded (diagr. 16).I have had numerous good shooters on the 4position on my teams, as well as sharpshoo-

ters on the 5 position. If 4 receives the ball outside the three-secondarea, the other two guards quickly make ashort screen. This offense is run on the bothsides of the floor, depending on your wish ordemand, whether you want 4 or 5 to receivethe ball for a score.

If 5 receives the ball on the low post position(diagr. 17), 4 is moving up to the high post posi-tion, but he will not stay there for a long time.Instead, he simply changes the rhythm, fla-shing towards the basket and keeping thedefense honest with this move, while at thesame time, 5 plays one-on-one close to thebasket. After the hand-off, the player with theball has at least three options (diagr. 18): passto the side, pass inside the three-second lane,and pass to the opposite side to a playercoming out and open in the middle of thecourt.

The second option to counter the aggressivedefense is the straight pass to 5 and the con-tinuation move with cut to the basket around4 or high post player (diagr. 19) Very often, theball can easily reach the cutter because thedefense is playing aggressively to the outsideand there is no help inside. After this initialmove, we come into the same wide positio-ning for our regular offensive set.

One more good option: 1 passes the ball late-rally and cuts down towards the baselineusing the blind screen of 4, who, in a splitsecond, later receives the ball from 2. In asynchronized fashion, 1 sets a back pick for 2on the opposite side, 5 sets the down screenfor 3, who has stepped into the paint to run hisman straight into the screen (diagr. 20).The next option following the same offensivesequence is that instead of setting the backpick, we use the simple down screen orexchange of positions between 1 and 2. Wethen continue our offense as previouslydescribed.

Here, I want to present one more detail. If 5cannot receive the ball, due to the aggressi-veness of the defense, 1, who has moveddown to the low post position, returns andsets blind screen for 5 (diagr. 21). If the ball isnot passed down to center, but instead is pas-sed to 1, the other center first makes a shortmove away and then towards 1. They thenplay pick-and-roll (diagr. 22). The player with the ball in the pick-and-rollsituation must have some patience to read thedefense. In these types of situations, usually,after a pick-and-roll, centers playing defenseexchange their men to guard and in doing thisthey get help from their guards or make cer-tain fakes as if they are closing out and con-

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testing the players with a ball. In these situa-tions, offensive players whose defenders arehelping out must be ready to take the backdoor cut. In the meantime, players with theball should give them a good feed pass. Inthis offense, there are too many details andpossibilities to benefit by simply changingthem accordingly. This is an option with a double screen of 4 and5 on the foul line. The ball is on the side with 2,

while 1 sets a screen opposite 3. Afterwards,he comes around the double screen (diagr.23).The defense is often fighting against this andtrying to defend a double screen by poppingout as an early help. The center will oftenposition himself near the potential passinglane with the intention of intercepting orslowing down the pass. In this situation, 4screens 5 and enters into the lane.

FIBA EUROPE

by Aito Garcia Reneses

OFFENSE

Aito Garcia Reneses was head coach(and also general manager) of Barcelo-na (Spain) for many years, where he wonthree Division I championships, threeSpanish Cups, one Cup of Kings, two Cu-ps of Europe, and two Korac Cups. Hehas been head coach of Badalona(Spain) since 2003.

When we tell a player that he can playfreely, he will typically do what he doesbest, and only that. The player who canshoot three pointers only wants to shootthree pointers, and will not try to pass ordrive. The player with the quick first step,who drives from the right side, wants todrive only from the right side when he getsthe ball.This way of play is certainly free play,but it's misunderstood by the players.Everyone thinks he can do whatever hewants when he's told to do what hewants. Unfortunately, what players endup doing is only what they do best. Theynever try new moves or refinements ofthe fundamental offensive moves. Andthat is a shame.I tried to give my teams a lot of offensivefreedom, but, in the end, I could not. WhatI do now is teach my players a combina-tion between free play and organized play. I introduce this style of play at pre-seasonpractice, but, after a while, I understood Ineeded more time to develop this play.Many of our plays did not last long becau-se they had options of 8 and 12 seconds,and when these options ended, if wedidn't make a good shot, we continuedwith this free play that we learned at thebeginning of season. We never allow to

THE IMPORTANCE OF A FREE ATTACK

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our players to do whatever they want,without rules and without the comprehen-sion of the play.So, when you plan your play, understand thatevery player cannot do whatever he wants.Instead, you should think about your globalidea of basketball, which rules you want toestablish in organized play and what youwould like to do.Establishing these rules, you should thinkabout the following points:1) Are you working with a team "in evolu-

tion" or with a competitive team;2) What is the nature and skills of your

players (are they are strong or not, shortor tall, good or so-so players, fast orslow?).

We will have different ways of free play, de-pending if we play with 5 players out, 4players out and 1 in, 3 out and 1 in, or with 2out and 3 in. As our philosophy of play, we tryto obtain an easy basket in every offense. Asa definition, the easiest basket is that onescored under the basket, but we haveplayers that can easily score from 4 or 6,25metres, so, when we talk about easy ba-skets, we cannot just mean only the ones un-der the basket, but those ones scoredwithout the pressure of the defense, alsooutside of the lane. The first seconds of ballpossession, during the phase called "offensi-ve transition," we try to get an easy basket,thereby forcing the defense to work and put-ting foul pressue on the opponents.We can achieve our aim of scoring an easybasket with a drive, a cut, or by getting theball in the lane.Let me now explain a common free play: 3players out and 2 in.

STARTING LINE UP 1-2-2 The goal is playing with three players on theperimeter (diagr. 1).These are the rules for the inside players:1) They cannot receive the ball unless they

go to basket.2) They must help their teammates:▼ Making picks▼ Cutting away from the ball▼ Going for offensive rebounds.These are the rules for the player who hasthe ball:▼ He must recognize if he has a shot option▼ He must see the entire floor and recogni-

ze if one of his teammates has a bettershot option.

Here are the options for the position of thecenters:1) One is on one side and the other on the

opposite side of the low-post position atthe starting line up.

2) Two on the same side of the low-post po-sition (diagr. 2)

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3) Two in high-post position (diagr. 3).4) One in low-post position and the other

one in high-post position (diagr. 4).

The task of the perimeter offensive playeron the defensive help side-aside from themovement that we want to make-is tomake it difficult for the defender to see "theman-and-ball" at the same time. For this reason, we make a move (diagr. 5):a) Around the baseline; b) Getting closer to the defender.

We must try to make it as difficult as possi-ble, which then helps the player with theball. The task of the center is to help theperimeter players. In diagr. 6, we have a si-tuation where the center clears out whenthe perimeter player starts to drive towardthe baseline.In diagr. 7, we see a pick of the center andthe cut of the screened player in the laneand the help side.In diagr. 8, a pick is made on the playerwith the ball, and the cut in the corner bythe offensive player on the help side is ma-de to keep defensive help away.These are the rules that I give my centersso they can help their teammates. The mo-tions of the players away from the ball aremade in the following way:a) Diagr. 9: We pass the ball on one side

and we make a pick away on the helpside. The player, who receives the picktries to cut to basket; the picker comesback on the perimeter.

b) Diagr. 10: We pass the ball on one side,then we make a pick away from theball on the help side. The player, whoreceived the pick, tries to shoot fromthe perimeter, while the picker rolls tothe basket.

c) Diagr. 11: Passing and cutting. Theplayer passes the ball to one side, thenhe cuts to basket. After that, he cancome out to the strong or go to thehelp side.

d) Diag. 12: Clear out on the help side Wecan use this to play one-on-one. Spa-cing is important: don't forget that thedistance between the players must beat least 4 meters. Beginning from here,we create play situations for five-on-fi-ve. If, for example, there's a drive ofone perimeter player and defensivehelp from the defender of the low post(diagr. 13), the offensive center can:

1. Open himself to the corner. 2. Obtain a good position in the lane. If the other inside defender provides thesecond help, we pass the ball to the otherpost, who gets position in the lane.We never make a lob pass to the oppositeside of the court (diagr. 14).

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But, there is this exception (see diagr. 8). Ifthe away-from-the ball-defender is helpingand close to the ball, and he is then picked bya center, there is a big risk of losing the ballbecause the defense is packed. In this casewe can make a lob pass.We must work on faking to receive the ball.a) Play without the ball, using the "V" cut

(diagr. 15).▼ Out/in.▼ OGoing away/getting closer. b) Using the center, cutting on him and co-

ming out (diagr. 16).We practice these aspects of play with thethree perimeters players, working with th-ree-on-three drills.In diagr. 17, we play the screen away from theball with the player, who receives the screenand cuts to basket, while the screener comesback to the perimeter for a shot. The playerwith the ball will pass the ball to him.

Details:a) It's important that the player, who recei-

ves the pick, goes away from his defen-der.

b) The picker, who comes back to the peri-meter, must shoot if he receives the ball.

c) Make a quick cut to the basket.

In diagr. 18, we continue with the pick awayfrom the ball: the player, who receives thepick moves around the perimeter to receiveand shoot, while the picker rolls to the ba-sket.

Details:Importance of the timing of the pick: the of-fensive player brings his defender to the pick,and then changes his direction to basketwhen the pick is coming.

In diagr. 19, we pass and cut. The player, whopasses, cuts to basket. We must finish with astrong layup, taking only one step.

Details:Bring the defender away from the ball, befo-re the cut.

More details to work on:▼ The players, who should receive the

pass, must fake to receive the ball.▼ Facing the basket.▼ On the left side everyone must pass with

the right hand.

It is very important to work in a methodicalway on the back door cut. The perimeterplayer moves to receive a pass, and, whenhe gets to the three-point line, quickly chan-ges direction to the basket and make a backdoor cut. The passer dribbles to improve theangle of passing (diagr. 20).

THE TASKS OF THE CENTERLet's come back to the free play. At the be-ginning, we played for the three perimeterplayers, but now, we will use the centers forthe free play.The center will not ask to have the ball, if hedoesn't have perfect position in the lane (dia-gr. 21).If there's a good defense on the post (guar-ded in a three/quarters stance), we can usethe high post to get the ball to the low post:we pass the ball to the high post, and fromhim to the low post (diagr. 22).If the defender tries to recover his position onthe low post, he must pivot to have a goodposition on the baseline (diagr. 23). The ball ispassed out from the high post to the wing,who dribbles to the corner to get a betterpassing angle. The wing passes to the lowpost, who is keeping his position.In the final part of the practice, we changethe goal of five-on-five: we put the perimeterplayers to the service of the inside players,who work to obtain the position.When the low-post player finally receivesthe ball, he must immediately play one-on-one. The perimeter player, 2, after havingpassed the ball to the low-post player, willnot stay in the same position where his de-fender can help and recover. In that case, hecan (diagr. 24):a) Go away from the ball in the middle of the

court.b) Go to the corner near the baseline. c) Cut to the basket.

This is a good two-on-two drill to improve thecoordination and timing between the twocenters (diagr. 25).One center receives the ball and plays one-on-one. The other offensive player, observinghis teammate's move, looks for a passing lineif the defender helps out. If he can shoot, theteammate works to get a possible offensiverebound.Again, one basic rule for the free play with in-side players is that when the high post hasthe ball, none of the perimeter players canstay behind.Moreover, if, after the passing, 1 moves in adifferent position (diagr. 26) and his defenderhelps on the center, the perimeter player willbe free to receive the pass back and shoot.Anyways, at the end of these details, wewant to underline that the most importantgoal is to improve the fundamentals. We can-not do that with organized play, nor with freeplay.We need to impress the players on how im-portant it is to be consistent. However, our words must be confirmed bythe facts. We cannot pretend to have a de-fensive team if we have better offensive thandefensive players.

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Practice on free play is made during the pre-season; with the competitive teams, I need itto face up the final seconds of ball posses-sion, when we don't obtain a clear optionwith the two systems.Another important key: the defense mustwork hard in practice in order for the offenseto improve.

Before beginning, you have to remember to:1) Respect the spaces:The least distance between the perimeterplayers is 4 metres. Shorter distances mean a limitation of ac-tion space in the drives of the players withthe ball without provoking the defensivehelps.

2) The use of the dribble:A player must dribble to penetrate. If he doe-sn't, I only want that he dribbles to improvethe passing angles. Two dribbles in the sameposition are useless.

3) Shooting if the defenders float.When the ball is kicked out after a drive or aplayer receives the ball on a cut, he mustshoot if the defender is floating. We don't ha-ve to drive against a player who's floating.

FIBA EUROPE

by Panagiotis Giannakis

OFFENSE

Panagiotis Giannakis is the head coach ofthe Greek National team, which won the2005 EuroBasket. He is one of the mostpopular Greek basketball players of alltimes. He played for Aris Thessaloniki,Panionios Athens, and PanathinaikosAthens, winning numerous awards, inclu-ding a FIBA European Championship withthe Greek National Team in 1987. He begancoaching Panionios Athens in 2001, andmoved to Maroussi Athens in December2003, reaching the Greek League Final.

We, the technical staff of the Greek men'snational team, have based our offensivetactics at the 2005 EuroBasket on the indivi-dual characteristics of the players on ourtwelve-member squad.

The key-elements we viewed for success: a) We counted on all twelve players on an

equal basis (no one was underestima-ted, nor overestimated). We tried to iso-late and make use of each player's indi-vidual strengths and weaknesses inlight of certain offensive and defensivesituations, and the next opponent wewere to play.

b) Luckily enough, we had the chance topick our twelve players from a qualitysample. Several players had the abilityto play more than one position (at leasttwo or even three). This made us flexi-ble in our tactics on both offense anddefense, creating trouble for our oppo-nents, when they scouted our games.

c) Our low post game was based on ourcenter, Papadopoulos, as well as on oursmall forwards and point guards (usual-ly Papaloukas and Diamantidis), whowere taller than their defenders, crea-ting mismatch situations.

In this article, I would like to present two ofour basic plays that were used in crucialgames and "showed us the way" to the topof the 2005 EuroBasket.Please, bear in mind that the five playerslisted on these two plays changed duringthe course of the Eurobasket competition.

EurobasketCHAMPION OFFENSE

PLAY ONE: 1-3-1 SETOption AWe used the following players: 1- Papaloukas2- Zisis3- Kakiouzis4- Dikoudis5- PapadopoulosThe players start in a 1-3-1 formation (diagr. 1).The point guard 1 makes the entry pass to 5,who steps up outside the three-point line to

receive the ball, while, at the same time, 4cuts to the basket. After the pass, 1 cuts tothe deep corner, outside of the three-pointline (diagr. 2).When the ball is in the hands of 5, 2 makes adown screen for 4, who changes pace anddirection, and pops out on the perimeter, out-side of the three-point line (diagr. 3). When 4 receives the ball from 5, he can try toshoot or play one-on-one. After screening 4,2 goes to make a back screen on 3. At the

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same time, 5 makes a down screen, parallel to2, again for 3. In this option, 3 receives thescreen from 2, and cuts to the low post posi-tion, trying to receive the ball from 4 (diagr. 4).If 3 does not receive the ball, he pops outsidethe three-point line, in the deep corner. At thesame time, 5 screens down for 2 (screen thescreener action), who pops out to the three-point line, receives the ball from 4, and shots(diagr. 5).If 2 cannot shoot, then 5 ducks in the lane afterthe screen, and can receive the ball from 2,while the teammates on the perimeters createspaces to receive a possible kick pass from 5,if the defense collapses inside the three-second lane (diagr. 6).With this play, we try to take advantage of themismatch created when 3 receives the screenand also on 5's screen.

Option BThe play is run as described previously (seediagr. 1, 2 and 3). In this option, 3 reads thedefensive situation and he does not use thescreen of 2, but that of 5, curling around him(diagr. 7).

3 continues his cut until the low post area andtries to receive the ball, while 2 receives ascreen from 5 and pops out to the three-pointline. 4 has two options: pass to 2 on the peri-meter for a three-point shot, or to 3 in the lowpost (diagr. 8).If 3 does not receive the ball, he pops out to thethree-point line, in the deep corner, and 4 pas-ses the ball to 2 (diagr. 9).When the ball is in 2's hands, 5 makes a pick-and-roll play with 2, while the players on theperimeter spot up, ready to receive a possiblekick-out pass, if the defense helps, and take athree-point shot (diagr. 10).

PLAY 3We used these players for this play:1- Diamantidis2- Xatzivrettas3- Kakoiuzis4- Fotsis5- Papadopoulos

The players start with a one-four formation,with the power forward and center at theelbow of the free-throw area (diagr. 11).

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The point guard starts the play on a side ofthe entry pass (in this example, it's the rightside of the court). 2 makes a "V" cut to recei-ve the ball from 1 (diagr. 12).Right after 2 receives the ball from 1, 1makes a “UCLA” cut, using the backscreen of 4 to go in the low-post position onthe same side of the ball. Also, 3 goes to thelow post position on the other side of thecourt (diagr. 13).If 2 cannot give the ball to 1, he passes to 4,who popped out of the screen, outside ofthe three-point line. 4 can shoot or playone-on-one. As soon as 4 receives the ball,5 will make a diagonal down screen for 1,who comes high, outside of the three-point,line parallel to 4. He receives the ball from 4

and reads the defense to see if there is thepossibility of a shot or a mismatch play(diagr. 14). When the ball is on the hands of 1 andnothing happens, 3 makes a cross screenfor 5, creating a one-on-one situation on thelow post area on the ball side. It is importantthat 1-if he cannot shoot or pass to 5 on thescreen and roll-dribbles to the side to impro-ve his passing angle to 5 in the low post(diagr. 15).If there is no solution at this point in the play,4 makes a "V" turn. This means that he fakesto go in one direction and then screensaway from the ball for 2, who pops outbeyond the three-point line, and close to theelbow of the free-throw area on the ball

side. He is ready to receive the ball from 1 fora shot or a one-on-one situation (diagr. 16).If nothing happens, with the ball in 2'shands, 4 then makes a down screen for 3,and then pops out in the corner. 3 comeshigh and can shoot or play one-on-one(diagr. 17).At the end of every play, and when the ballis on the low post side, the strong sideplayer, 4, in this case, stays in the corner.He is one pass away from the ball. 3 in thisexample, makes a strong cut in the lane,and comes out on the other side of thecourt, while the other two perimeterplayers spot up outside of the three-pointline, ready to receive a kick pass andshoot (diagr. 18).

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FIBA EUROPE

by Dirk Bauermann

OFFENSE

Dirk Bauermann, a former assistantcoach at Fresno State University (US),was the head coach of BayerLeverkusen, where he guided histeams to six German titles and threeGerman Cups. He also coached theGerman National team from 1994 to1998. In addition, Bauermann alsocoached Sunair Ostende (Belgium)and Apollon Patras (Greece). He pre-sently is the head coach of Bamberg(Germany) and of the German Men'sNational team. His team won the sil-ver medal at the 2005 EuroBasket inBelgrade.

Winning the silver medal in Belgrade atthe 2005 EuroBasket was a tremendousachievement, made possible thanks togreat team chemistry, a total commit-ment to defense, an offense that stres-sed discipline and ball movement of theplayers, and... a certain, incredibleplayer named Dirk Nowitzki, who, forhis superior basketball skills, totalteam commitment, and mental tough-ness was the point of reference for ourteam. Dirk was electedMost Valuable Player ofthe 2005 EuroBasket.

OFFENSIVE STRATEGYHaving a player likeNowitzki made it naturaland easy to buildeverything around him. We wanted to takeadvantage of his tremen-dous versatility by put-ting him in various situa-tions such as:▼ Post-ups, to exploit

smaller defenders;▼ Isolations, to exploit

slower defenders;▼ Pick-and-rolls, or

pick-and-pop out,either with him, orwith the ballhandleras a picker.

We wanted Nowitzki to

be able to make the decision in termsof how to attack his defender, asopposed to having the coach or apoint guard making that decision forhim.In order to allow him to make thatdecision himself, we devised the fol-lowing options (in the diagrams,Nowitzki is indicated with the No. 4):

Everything starts with a UCLA cut,which means the ball handler 1 passesthe ball to 2, at the wing position, andcuts on 4, set on the high post, at thecorner of the free-throw area. Afterthe cut, 1 posts up in the low-postposition (diagr. 1).

▼ Option one: If Dirk wanted to run alateral pick-and-roll, he steppedout to pick 2. Everyone else had toread his move, and react accordingto what he did after the point guardruns the UCLA cut. After the cutand post up, 1 cuts in the three-second area, receives a staggeredscreen by 3 and 5 and comes up

high outside of the three-point lane(diagr. 2);

▼ Option two: two different solutions.Low post: If Dirk wanted to post hisdefender up, he would make a ver-tical screen on 1 (which is also cal-led "pin down") and bring 1, thepoint guard back up, outside thethree-second lane, which giveshim the possibility to play in a post-up situation (diagr. 3). One-on-one on the perimeter: If hewas not aggressively posting-up,we went to phase two of the play,which would put him in a situationof isolation on the top of the free-throw area. After having received the ball from1, 2 passes the ball to 3, who recei-ved a screen from 5, and poppedout. 4 comes high and screens for1, who, after the screen, rolls to thewing position (diagr. 4). 4 receives the ball from 3 and canplay one-on-one on the perimeter(diagr. 5).

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FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

▼ Option three: If he wanted to come offa baseline pick to free himself up for ashot, he would make a diagonalscreen ("pin down" diagonally) andthen come off a single screen, madeby either our center, 5, or our pointguard 1. Since most power forwardsare not used to defending a shootercoming off a pick (usually, the perime-ter players, guards and small forward,must chase shooters around screensand the power forwards defend thescreener), it's rather difficult to swit-ch (Dirk went by a center on a switchand shot over the point guard). This

option was very good for us (diagr. 6and 7).

▼ Option four: We also wanted to puthim in a high pick-and-roll, because:

1) He had successfully done this in theNBA;

2) With his size and vision, he is a greatpasser;

3) Most power forwards are not used toguarding a ballhandler in a pick-and-roll situation (diagr. 8 and 9).

We were confident that even against avery strong Greek defense we would

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score enough points to have a chance towin the championship game. We did not feel that a lot of offensiveadjustments would be necessary orhelpful. First, because we only had 24hours to prepare the game, and,secondly, because I did not want ourplayers to think too much and worryabout the strength of the Greek defense. We wanted them to play with tons ofconfidence, be aggressive offensively,and stay with what had gotten us thisfar.

DEFENSIVE STRATEGYDefensively, we felt that we needed tocome up with a solid game, and if wehad to do some things that we had notdone much before, we were willing to dothat.Our basic premises were to make thembeat us from the outside, but not give upeasy basket inside. In the two games we had played againstthem before the 2005 EuroBasket final,they took our guards inside and eitherscored on them at will, or else they gotthem into foul trouble. We also were not been able to controltheir big center, Papadopoulos, in thethree-second lane. Even though, we were well aware of theirtremendous passing ability (for example,Diamantidis is one of the best passersout of the post that I have seen in a longtime), we felt that, because of the bigpressure they were under to beat us, thefact that they had a relatively youngteam, and because of the fatigue factor,they right struggle from the outside.Consequently, we decided to trap anypost-up off the nearest perimeter defen-der (usually the passer), as soon as theyput the ball on the floor. In other words, we trapped on the firstdribble and not when the player recei-ved the ball.We also hoped to create some turnoversand score in transition that way,knowing how difficult it would be toscore against their half-court defense.Lastly, we wanted to be the mostaggressive team in the first five minutesand were hoping to surprise them withthis a sound, but risky strategy.The Greeks beat us by playing a greatgame and by utilizing their biggest asset,which was their defense. However, I was and still am extremelyproud of how all my players performedin that game, especially Dirk Nowitzki,one of the best basketball players in theworld.

FIBA EUROPE

by Lon Kruger

OFFENSE

For the past two seasons, Lon Krugerhas been coach at the University ofNevada-Las Vegas. Previously, he hadhad been the head coach of the NBAAtlanta Hawks and an assistant coachof the New York Knicks. At the collegelevel he was on the bench of PanAmerican University, Kansas State,Florida, and Illinois. He won the goldmedal with the U.S. Junior Nationalteam at the FIBA Junior WorldChampionship in 1991, as well as thegold medal when he coached the U.S.University National team at theUniversity Games in 1995. As an assi-stant coach, he won the bronze medalwith the U.S. Men's national team at theFIBA Men's World Championship in1998 and at the FIBA Pan AmericanGames in 1983.

We have done a very good job executingour baseline out-of-bounds series in thepast. We must continue to improve inthis area and introduce new looks thatwill increase the effectiveness of ourseries.

The series is designated by a numberand an action. The first number designa-tes the receiver of the inbounds pass.The second number designates thereceiver of the guard-to-guard pass. Theaction is designated by the second partof the call, which will be described in amoment. It is imperative that we get tothe proper spots on the court to receivethe inbounds pass and execute theaction.

▼ The first number (receiver of theinbounds area) must catch the passin the catch area. This is an areaaround the elbow extended on theside of the inbounder.

▼ The second number (receiver of theguard-to-guard pass) must catch theswing pass, even with the catch areaon the opposite side of the free-throw lane.

It is very important that the proper recei-ver makes himself available to catch theball in the proper area at the time thepasser is ready to make the pass. Weshould also understand that the passdoes not have to go directly to the catcharea from the out-of-bounds pass. If thedefense takes this possible pass away,the ball can go through the corner to thecatch area and we still have the sameaction.

ACTIONS1. Strong. The big man not involved in

the call comes off a shuffle cut set bythe point guard stepping inbounds.The receiver of the inbounds passscreens down on the point guard.

2. Weak. As the ball is swung, thereceiver of the inbounds pass recei-ves a flair screen from the big mannot involved in the call.

3. Counter. If the swing pass is over-played, the receiver of the guard-to-guard pass steps his man up thefloor and cuts backdoor for the lay-up or the lob. Players not involved inthe back cut must get their defen-ders up the floor.

4. Triple. The smallest player not invol-ved in the call runs a baseline chaseoff three screens for a shot (probablya 3-pointer). The shooter will start inthe widest position opposite theinbounder.

BASELINE OUT-OF-BOUNDSSERIES

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FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

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5. Weak Dive. In the weak action, afterthe ball has been thrown over thetop of the flair screen, the passerdives to the open area of the lane.

42 STRONG▼ 4 is the receiver in the catch area.▼ 2 is the receiver of the guard-to-

guard pass.▼ 5 and 3 are out of the three-point

line.▼ 1 passes to 4 and goes to the low-

post position, while 2 fakes to cutinto the lane and comes out of thethree-point line (diagr. 1).

▼ 4 swings the ball to 2, while 5 comes

off a shuffle screen from 1 and goesto low post on the other side of thearea. After the cut of 5, 4 screensdown on 1 (screen the screener). 2can pass to 5, to 1, or to 4 (diagr. 2).

It is important that we catch the ball inthe catch areas. It is also important for the receivers toget free when the passer is in a posi-tion to pass the ball.

24 WEAK▼ 2 receives the pass in the catch

area.

▼ 4 receives the guard-to-guardpass.

▼ 3 and 5 are out at the three-pointline.

▼ After the pass, 1 goes to theopposite side, in the low-postposition (diagr. 3).

▼ 2 swings the ball to 4.▼ 5 sets a flair screen for 2.▼ 5 reads the defense: if his defen-

der jumps out, 5 slips the screento the basket. 2 can pass to 1, to5, or to 3, and 3 can pass to 1 inlow post (diagr. 4).

43 COUNTER▼ 4 receives in the catch area.

After the pass, 1 goes out to thethree-point line.

▼ 3 pops to swing area, taking hisdefender high.

▼ 2 steps his man up the lane. 5 isout at the three-point line(diagr. 5).

▼ 3 takes his man up the court andcuts for a lob pass (diagr. 6).

43 TRIPLE▼ 4 catches the ball in the catch

area.▼ After the out-of-bounds pass, 1

steps across the lane to begin atriple screen.

▼ 3 pops to catch the guard-to-guard pass.

▼ 5 and 2 are out at the three-pointline (diagr. 7).

▼ 1 screens for 2.▼ 5 screens for 2 in the lane.▼ 4 swings the ball to 3.▼ 4 sets the third screen for 2 for a

triple chase.▼ 3 dribbles to the side where he

received the ball and passes to2. He can also pass to 4 or 5,who are open after the screen(diagr. 8).

The play will be run for the smallestplayer not included in the call.

24 WEAK DIVE▼ 2 receives the pass in the catch

lane.▼ 4 receives the guard-to-guard

pass.▼ 3 and 5 are out at the three-point

line (diagr. 9).▼ 2 swings the ball to 4.▼ 5 sets a flair screen for 2.▼ On the pass over the top to 2, 4

dives to the basket (diagr. 10).

FIBA EUROPE

by Dusan Ivkovic

OFFENSE

Dusan Ivkovic started his coaching careerin 1978 with Partizan Belgrade. He thencoached Radnicki Belgrade, SibenkaSibenik, Vojvodina Novi Sad (Yugoslavia),Aris Thessaloniki, PAOK Thessaloniki,Panionios Athens, Olympiacos Athens andAEK Athens (Greece) and CSKA Moscow.He is currently the head coach of DynamoMoscow. During his career he won oneYugoslavian National Championship, twoGreek National Championships, and threeRussian National Championships; oneYugoslavian National Cup, three GreekNational Cups, and one Russian NationalCup; one Euroleague, two Saporta Cups,and one Korac Cup. He also coached theYugoslavian National Team, winning threegold medals at the 1989, 1991 and 1995 FIBAEuropean Championship, a gold medal atthe 1990 FIBA World Championship, andtwo silver medals at the 1988 and 1996Olympic Games.

What is the best way to approach a decisi-ve game, a game that puts coach andplayers under great psychological and com-petitive pressure? Many of these gamesdecide the ultimate destiny of a coach.Preparing for an important game that has tobe won is extremely difficult. How do yougain the advantage over an opponent whenthe game is played on their home court?How do you beat a team that has players,who are equally talented to your own, whomatch up in size and speed? Here are someof my thoughts on what can be done, star-ting right at the beginning of the game.Although it's hard to resist, I've never lookedforward to a quick and easy lead of ten ormore points at the beginning of the game. Asa rule, there is a drop in concentration ofyour players and it's only a matter of timebefore the opponent starts to score basketsand ties the game. I never use a newly desi-gned offense or defense at the beginning ofthe game. That's because I know that myopposing coach will read my strategy andquickly make changes in his offense ordefense. The easily achieved points fromthe new offenses or defenses are ones thatI want to save for key game moments, when

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the game has slowed down, for example. In thisway I have a new solution when a basket isdesperately needed. One should patiently waituntil the second half, giving the opponents littletime to adapt to your changes. Key mismatchsituations should be exploited at this time.The introduction of the 8-second and 24-secondrules into the FIBA competitions has been apositive move, making the game more aggressi-ve, increasing the number of stolen balls.Offensive output has increased (12.5 points pergame in women's competitions and 14 pointsper game in men's competitions), and shootingpercent has not fallen. We now have fewergames with low scores. In the past, many obser-vers considered low-scoring games the conse-quence of good defense. However, what turnedout to be the case was that there were too fewopportunities for well-executed offensive plays!The 8-second and 24-second rule hasn't affec-ted my coaching philosophy a great deal.Aggressive defense from baseline to baselinehas always been my desire. My offensive stra-tegies have remained the same. My objectivehas always been to score more than 50 percentof our points from the fastbreak and secondaryoffense. This will bring us the highest shootingpercentage as well. That said, choosing theright offense is a decisive factor for game con-trol and a successful score.The half-court offense should be balanced. I willtell my players, jokingly, that at least at thebeginning of the game they all have the possibi-lity to touch the ball. Cutting without ball shouldbe executed by all players in order to providecontinuity and passing flow. My initial settingmust impose its own style of playing:1) On offense, have a "post up" game with a

strong rebounding triangle and good balan-ce, which will lead to

2) A well organized defense transition that, atleast until the foul bonus, will limit the oppo-nent's fastbreak points.

This is the offense set that I most often use tostart the game. The initial set has to be the onethat players use while in a fastbreak (diagr. 1).The playmaker, 1, is at the elbow position, 5, adominant center, is in the low post, with 2, theshooting guard, at the same side, placed in thetriangle with 1 and 5. 4, the power forward, is atthe high post and he has to receive the ball afteran aggressive cut within four or five seconds ofstarting the offense. 3, the other forward on thehelp side, should be active and ready if thedefense tries to deny the first pass to 4 and workwith him. After the pass by 1 to 4, 2 running at fullspeed, uses the screens of 5 and 3 and changeshis position from one to the other side. In this introductory offensive setting, a coachshould not look for solutions at the left offensiveside if the opposing team aggressively conteststhere and doesn't let a pass go to 3 in the low-post position (diagr. 2) or if ball is passed to 2 inthe corner (diagr. 3 and 4). If the ball is not pas-sed to the left side, and 4 has the ball, then thereis a down screen for 1 and a pass to 5, while 4immediately attacks the basket with a backdoorcut, using the back screen of 3. In the meantime,1 goes in the corner to create more space (diagr.5). When 1 sets the second screen for 4 to recei-ve the ball in the low-post area, 5 passes to 4, 3screens 2, and immediately after the pass, 5screens for 2 (diagr. 6). I believe that this deser-ves further analysis. In modern basketball,where vertical cutting towards the basket andscreens dominate, we have three horizontalscreens. 4 has the option to shoot from the cor-ner; he may pass to 2, so he can shoot; or he canmake a "U" cut around the screener or 1, after

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the screen is made for 4, makes a back screenfor 5 and 5 receives the ball under the basket(diagr. 7).In early 1990s, when coaching PAOKThessaloniki (Greece), I had a player at the 4position, who was excellent at reading theoffensive situations. After the shot from thecorner by 5, Fassoulas, the famous Greek cen-ter, often used the back screen of 1, Korfas, theplaymaker, and went aggressively to thebasket to rebound. He was a master at readingthe defense and he knew that after a fake passtowards 2, Prelevic, the guard, would receive aback screen from Korfas to play one-on-one,with the possibility of an easy dunk on the otherside of basket. 2 and 3, along with 4 and 5, mustbe always aggressive rebounders, while 1,with 2 or 3, should be ready to run back ondefense and prevent the fast break. It is oftenpossible in this set offense to change some,sometimes even all, playing positions. If theopponent has extremely tall players (over 7 feet

tall) or talented shot blockers, then the post 4and 5 should exchange their positions. If youhave a good shooter in the 5 position, someonelike Victor Alexander, then he could go in thecorner, which would force the shot blocker tofollow him to the corner as well, taking hisdefensive presence out of the three-secondlane. This creates space under the basket andopportunities to score inside.

ANOTHER OFFENSIVE SET1 is positioned at the left elbow; the powerforward 4 is on the low post on the left; theshooting guard 2 is on the left side; 5, the cen-ter, is in the middle post, on the right side; andthe forward 3 is at the high post on the rightside. 3 makes a screen for 5, who receives theball at the high post. 3 opens up at a 45-degreeangle. 2, 4, and 1 run into "flex" movement onthe left side of the court (diagr. 8). 5 passes theball to 4 at the high post, and 4 then passes to 1at the left side of the court. In the continuation

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of the offense, 2 makes a back screen for 3(diagr. 9). If 3 has not gone under the basket,then 1 and 4 play pick-and-pop. 2 sets the backscreen for 5 and 3 sets a back screen for 4(diagr. 10). In this situation 1, the player with the ball, hasthe possibility to shoot from a pick-and-roll. Healso has four pass options. If none of theseoptions work, the ball is passed to the post side(diagr. 11). If the ball goes to 3 and the defendersswitch (after the back screen), there is a 1-on-1possibility (diagr. 12). Please note that I preferthat pick-and-roll plays not be the chosen offen-se at the beginning of the match.The early offense is flowing on the offensiveposition directly from the primary break: afterthe pass to 5 in the low post, 3 cuts around 5with the possibility of a hand-off pass and aneasy shot under the basket. 1 replaces 3, andthe second big player 4 makes a screen for theguard 2 (diagr. 13). If, when 5 receives the ball inthe low-post position and plays 1-on-1, he thendrives hard to the middle of the three-secondlane. The players move as shown in diagr. 14.However, if 5 drives hard to the baseline, thecuts and moves of the rest of his teammates areshown in diagr. 15. When the 5 is guarded infront and he cannot receive the ball from 1, orwhen the power forward 4 is aggressively con-tested at the top of the key, we teach 4 to makea backdoor cut or a quick exchange of positionwith 2. He will receive the ball, as shown in

diagr. 16. Another option: After the clear out of 3,who goes to the opposite corner, and the pene-tration of 1, kick off pass can be made to 2 or 3(diagram 17 and 18). While finishing up this arti-cle on a Sunday in January, I have the statisticsfrom yesterday’s game in front of me. In thisyear’s Russian Super League, my team(Dynamo Moscow) had a bad start and after thefirst part of the season (13 rounds) we had lost 4times. If we had lost a fifth game, we would cer-tainly not have any chance for achieving a goodposition in the play-offs, and this means in thefirst four places. We have lost the game versusKhimki in the first part of the championship with5 points of difference. We should win the gameaway, beating the team that in a game of theFIBA Euroleague beat Juventud Badalona with24 points of difference. We won the game 87 to71 and our defense functioned perfectly. In allcategories of the shoot we achieved better per-centage, we controlled defense, and in theoffense details we had almost 100% of success.Most points we scored from the fast break, 37points, and in the early fast break 13 points, so intotal 50 points, ie. 57% of all points scored.

These are just a few of my thoughts. Rememberthat the game is a live creature and things chan-ge quickly on the court, often in the blink of aneye. The role of the coach is to set the structureof the game right at the beginning, leaving themany options to the great players on the court.

FIBA EUROPE

by Stevan Karadzic

OFFENSE

Stevan Karadzic, assistant coach of the Division ISerbia and Montenegro Red Star team of Belgra-de since 1995, became the selector of all the Ser-bian and Montenegro Youth national teams in2001. As head coach of the Under 18 nationalteam, he won the 2005 FIBA European Champion-ship. He was also head coach of the Under 20 Na-tional team, and was assistant coach of theMen's National team at the FIBA 2002 World and2003 European Championships.

We established a special program for selectingthe best youth players in 2001, and since then wehave had excellent results. In fact, we won thegold medals at the 2001 FIBA European Under 14,2003 Under 16, and 2005 Under 18 Championships.We remained undefeated in these three events.To prepare for the 2005 FIBA European Under 18Championship, we trained for about 100 days andplayed 20 exhibition tournaments. The practiceperiod, specifically aimed at the European Cham-pionships, was made up for a total of 54 practiceswith 10 exhibition games.

All these great results were possible thanks to themental, physical, and technical skills of my players,and the offensive game was tailored to their skillsand attitudes. I will now describe the four plays weused as our foundation and used successfully du-ring the course of the championship.

SECONDARY BREAKWe used this play on the secondary break, whenthe defense was not yet set.

1 passes the ball to 4, who immediately reversesthe ball and passes to 2, while 5 steps out and

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screens for 3, who cuts in the three-second la-ne and goes to the low-post position on the ballside (diagr. 1).

3 screens for 5, then cuts high, receives a verti-cal screen from 4 and pops out at the three-point line (diagr. 2).

2 can pass to 3 for a three-point shot, or to 5 inthe low-post area (diagr. 3).

If 3 receives the ball, but he cannot shoot, heplays pick-and-roll with 4, while 5 cuts in the la-ne and goes to the low-post area on the otherside of the court (diagr. 4).

3 dribbles around the screen, and can pass to 5or to 4, who rolls to the basket after the screen(diagr.5).

BASIC OFFENSE: LOW POSTThe primary option is to pass the ball to the lowpost. 4 is in the low-post area, while 5 is outsideof the lane, on the opposite side of the court,and 2 and 3 are outside the three-point line. 1,the point guard, passes the ball to 2, and then

clears out, going on the low-post position, oppo-site of 4. At the same time, 5 screens for 3. Thefirst option for 2 is to pass the ball to 4. (diagr. 6).

If 2 cannot pass the ball to 4, he reverses theball, passing to 3, while 5 screens down for 1,who pops outside the three-point line (diagr. 7).

3 passes to 1, then cuts in the lane and goes outin the corner opposite to the pass, and 2 spotsup. The first option for 1 is to pass the ball to 5 inthe low-post (diagr. 8).

If this is not possible, 5 comes out of the lane,and plays pick-and-roll with 1, while 4 comesto the high-post position on the corner of thefree-throw area (diagr. 9).

Again, 1 tries to pass to 5, or he can also passto 4 for a high-low play: in this case, 4 passesthe ball to 5 (diagr. 10).

PLAY FOR THE OUTSIDE SHOOTERSThis play is designed for the outside shooters.We start with a one-two-two set, with two hi-gh posts at the corners of the free-throw area,

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and the two shooters in the corners.3 fakes a cut in the three-second lane, and thencomes high and receives a screen from 5, while1 dribbles in the wing area to improve his pas-sing angle (diagr. 11).

1 passes the ball to 3 for a jump shot, while 4screens down for 2 (diagr. 12).

If 3 cannot shoot, he passes the ball to 2, while 1cuts along the baseline, and, using the screen of4, goes out in the corner (diagr. 13).

Right after the pass to 2, 3 fakes to go toward theball and then cuts on the flare screen of 5, fadesaway and receives the ball from 2 (diagr. 14).

3 can take a jump shot or pass the ball to 5, who,after the flare screen, cuts and goes on the lowpost on the ball side (diagr. 15).

PLAY FOR THE SMALL AND POWER FORWARDSWe use this play to exploit the skills of our smalland power forwards, as well as to beat a poordefense with the backdoor cuts.

On this play, 5 is at the high post and the otherfour players are on the perimeter. 1 passes to 4and then clears out on the weak side of thecourt, while 3 fakes to cut in the lane, makes abackdoor cut and then replaces 1 in the middleof the court (diagr. 16).

4 passes to 3, 1 makes a backdoor cut, and, if hedoes not receive the ball, comes back to the ori-ginal 45-degree position (diagr. 17).

3 passes the ball to 1, and using the screenfrom 5, cuts in the three-second lane. If hedoes not receive the ball, he goes out of the la-ne and makes a back pick for 4, who cuts insi-de and goes to the low-post area on the ball si-de (diagr. 18).

3 and 5 set a staggered screen for 2, who co-mes high. 1 has three passing options: he cangive the ball to 4 in the low post, to 2 in the middleof the court, and to 5, who, after the screen for 2,rolls to the basket (diagr. 19).

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FIBA EUROPE

Steve Smith, head coach of the Oak Hill Academy(644 wins, 39 losses), was named National Coach ofthe Year by USA Today three times. His teams havebeen crowned National High School Champions sixtimes. Many of his players went to play in the NBA,and among them Stephen Jackson, Josh Smith, RonMercer, Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, SteveBlake, DeSagana Diop, and many others are playingprofessionally in countries around the world.

PRACTICE DRILLS▼ Ask yourself occasionally “Why do we do this

drill? How often do we do this drill? Am I receivingthe desired results?”

▼ Every drill should have a name.▼ Each drill should be multi-purpose.▼ Perform drills at the full court level, third-quarter

court and half court level.▼ Stress the importance of transferring the correct

execution of drills to game situations.▼ Drills require imagination and concentration.▼ Most do not like drill, and you must sell the value

of drill work. ▼ All drills must be competitive.Teaching a Drill1. Explain why drill is being performed.2. Demonstrate the drill (slowly).3. Ask for feedback.4. Have players run the drill (half speed).5. Make necessary corrections.6. Allow players to perform the drill at game speed.Creating Competition1. Compete against clock.2. Compete against opponent.3. Compete against self.▼ Drills should be timed (use score clock).▼ Build a portfolio of drills that specially relate to

your system of play and fundamental concepts.▼ Vary the use of drills (protect against boredom).▼ Stress enthusiasm…be a “vocal” coach…let

them know you are watching.▼ Hold each player to your highest performance

standards.Coach’s Responsibilities During Drill Work1. Teach.2. Motivate.3. Discipline (not punish, stressing correctness,

more a mental discipline than physical)▼ Each drill should relate to the coaches system of

play.▼ Two of the most abused aspects of drill work are

passing and cutting.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRACTICE DRILLS and offensive post play

by Steve Smith

OFFENSE

▼ Players tend to view drills as a conditioning exer-cise.

▼ The biggest challenge for a player during drillwork is to concentrate on performance.

▼ Every drill must be placed at the most advanta-geous time during the practice period.

▼ New drills should always be introduced early inthe practice period while the player’s concentra-tion level is still high.

▼ Physically difficult drills should be followed bymore pleasurable (fun) drills and vice-versa.

Drill Stations1. Allow for more variety while maintaining empha-

sis on the same subject manner (i. e. offense,defense, rebounding).

2. Protects against monotony.3. Fewer players standing around.4. Give assistant coaches the opportunity to teach.▼ Combine as many fundamentals as possible into

the drills even though emphasis may be on oneonly.

▼ Use small carefully organized groups of three tofive players for teaching purposes.

▼ Each player will not require the same amount ofwork (or attention) on each fundamental.

▼ Be demanding! Demand correct execution ofbasic skills.

▼ When the coach steps into the practice area, hemust know:

1. What he is going to teach.2. How he is going to teach.3. Why he is going to teach it.▼ Express your expectations of each drill at the

start, set the tone, don’t compromise your stan-dards.

▼ Be certain to balance criticism with praise.(Ratio… 2 to 1-Praise)

▼ Explain how the drill relates to the offense, defen-se, etc… Help each player understand the biggerpicture.

▼ Coaches are teachers. Drill work requires con-stant teaching.

▼ Guard against ending practice with an activitywhich causes the players to feel they are beingpunished.

▼ Conclude the practice with a drill that the playersenjoy. Whenever possible, coaches and playersshould exit practice with a positive feeling.

OFFENSIVE POST PLAYDRILLSLet’s now talk of the drills we use at Oak Hill Academyfor teaching the offensive post play.Mikan Drill1. Start on the left side of the rim facing the back-

board.2. Step with the left foot and shoot a hook shot with

the right hand.3. Grab the ball out of the net.4. Step with the right foot and shoot a hook shot

with the left hand.5. Work to make 25 in a row (diagr. 1).Note: Do not bring the ball below your head and don’tlet the ball touch the floor.Reverse Mikan Drill1. Start with your heels on the baseline facing the

opposite basket.2. Step with the left foot and shoot a rever-

se lay-up with the right hand.3. Grab the ball out of the net.4. Step with the right foot and shoot a

reverse lay-up with the left hand.5. Work to make 25 in a row (diagr. 2).Backboard Taps1. Begin on the right side of the backboard.2. Throw the ball off the backboard and

tap the ball with the right hand.3. Bounce off your toes and tap the ball

off the backboard 10 times. On the finaltap put the ball in the hoop.

4. Repeat with the left hand (diagr. 3).Explosion Lay-Ups1. Start underneath the goal with a basketball.2. Dribble with your right hand past the three-point

line to the elbow, turn and use one dribble withthe same hand, striding out all the way to the rim,making a lay-up with the right hand.

3. Grab your own rebound and repeat the pro-cess to the other side using the left hand(diagr. 4).

▼ Add a coach/manager/teammate with a pad totry to affect the shot after the drill has been com-pleted a couple of times.

▼ Do drill for 35 seconds or until you make 10 lay-ups.

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Lynums1. Line up below the low block 2 ft. (50 cm) outsi-

de the lane with your back to the baseline.2. Place a coach/manager/teammate with a ball

at the elbow.3. The coach/manager/teammate fires the

basketball to you.4. Pivot around the foot closest to the rim, squa-

re your body to the baseline and jump offboth feet shooting a lay-up off the glass(diagr. 5).

▼ Once you have successfully completed thisdrill, move further outside the lane and use apower dribble between your legs after youpivot. Finish the same way.

▼ Make 10 lay-ups each with a dribble andwithout a dribble, and then repeat the drill onthe left side. On all of the chair drills remem-ber the points mentioned on with regards tothe low post moves. To complete the chairdrills successfully it is necessary to have twoother people, whether it be a coach/mana-ger/teammate, involved in the drill at alltimes. One person needs to rebound and theother person needs to replace the basketbal-ls on the chair.

Low Block Chair Drills1. Place 1 chair slightly outside the lane directly

above each of the low blocks.2. Place a basketball in each of the chairs.3. Start the player in the drill in the middle of the

lane (diagr. 6).Drop-Step Baseline Power Lay-up1. Sprint to the chair on the right side of the floor

with a wide base.2. Make sure the players do not bend their back

to pick up the basketball, but that they bendtheir legs and get low.

3. Once they have picked up the basketball,aggressively have them drop their right foottowards the rim and shoot a left-handed lay-up off the glass.

4. Immediately sprint to the opposite chair,repeating the same steps as before, exceptthis time instead of dropping the right foot,have them aggressively drop their left foottowards the rim and then shoot a right-han-ded lay-up off the glass (diagr. 7).

Drop-Step Middle Jump Hook1. Sprint to the chair on the right side of the floor



3. Once they have picked up the basketball,aggressively have them drop their left foottowards the rim and shoot a right handedjump hook.

4. Immediately sprint to the opposite chair,repeating the same steps as before, exceptthis time, instead of dropping the left foot,have them drop their right foot aggressivelytowards the rim and then shoot a left-handedjump hook (diagr. 8).

Inside Pivot1. Sprint to the chair on the right side of the floor



3. Once the players have picked up the ball,have them pivot off their right foot and squa-re their body to the basket and make thesedifferent types of shots: a) Jump Shot –Once the player is square and balanced,have them rise up and shoot a jump shot; b)Jab Baseline 1 Dribble Jump Hook Middle –With their non pivot foot (left foot on rightside of the floor) have them make anaggressive jab baseline as if they weregoing to drive baseline. After they jab, havethem take one dribble with their right handinto the paint and off both feet rise up andshoot a jump hook; c) Rip Through Baseline– Instead of jabbing with their left foot, thistime they will (in a continuous motion) stepwith there left foot, taking a dribble so theydo not travel, and off one dribble finish onthe other side of the rim.

4. Immediately sprint to the opposite chair aftereach move and repeat the same steps withthe opposite hands (diagr. 9).

Off The Block Chair DrillsOnce the player has mastered the technique ofthe above chair drills, move the chairs above thelow block to the first marker and have them add apower dribble with each move (diagr. 10).Dribble Jump Hook Baseline1. Sprint to the chair on the right side of the floor



3. Once the players have picked up the ball,have them aggressively drop their right foottowards the rim, while, at the same time,taking a power dribble with both hands inbetween their legs.

4. Gather the basketball and go up off two feetand shoot a left-handed jump hook off theglass.

5. Sprint to the opposite chair and repeat thesame steps with the other hand (diagr. 11).

Dribble Jump Hook Middle1. Sprint to the chair on the right side of the floor



3. Once the player has picked up the ball, havethem aggressively drop their left foot towardsthe rim, while, at the same time, taking apower dribble with both hands in betweentheir legs.

4. Gather the basketball and go up off two feetand shoot a right-handed jump hook.

5. Sprint to the opposite chair and repeat thesame steps with the other hand (diagr. 12).

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FIBA EUROPE

by Geno Auriemma

OFFENSE

Geno Auriemma, 2006 inductee in theBasketball Hall of Fame, was women's teamassistant coach at the University of St.Joseph's, and then at the University of Virginia.As head coach of the University of Connecticut,he won five NCAA women's titles. This Italian-American coach was chosen as Women'sNational Coach of the Year five times by diffe-rent organizations, and coached six collegiateWomen's National Players of the Year. He alsowon a gold medal as assistant coach of theU.S. Women's National team at the SydneyOlympic Games, and a bronze medal as thehead coach of the women's team at the 2001FIBA Junior World Championship.

The basic move from which we start to teachthis offense is the split cut, which is a cut of twoplayers around the high post. The first one, whopassed the ball, cuts first (diagr. 1). The centercan pass the ball to one of the two cutters, orshe can turn, face the basket, and shoot theball herself.

When I was young, the players were not indi-cated as 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, but simply as twoguards, two forwards, and one center. So manytimes I will mention the two guards, who crossthe mid-court line practically at the same time,and one center, who goes in the high-post posi-tion whenever it's possible. The reason wecross the mid-court line with two guards is thatit's difficult for the defense to double teamwhen the offense moves this way.

After the ball is passed to 1, 2 makes a crosscut and, if she is free, receives the ball from 1(diagr. 2). If not, 1 goes to the middle of thecourt. She cannot be trapped here, becausethere is always a teammate near her, who willpunish the trap.

If 1 is overplayed, she makes a backdoor cutgoing towards the mid-court line, or, if shereceives the ball, she can pass to 2 or dribble,crossing towards the mid-court line (diagr. 3).

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FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

2's defender cannot trap, because there is immediately apass back or 2 can easily go behind the ball line and helpthe dribbler. Besides, we can send the center away fromthe ball, after the inbound pass, because we do not needher as a safety. In this way, we can avoid to have the cen-ter dribbling the ball.

A basic detail: the guard without the ball does not cross themid-court line until the dribbler herself: she can be a safetyvalve and receive a pass from 1 (diagr. 4), when the defen-se gets tight.

When we dribble over the mid-court line and are able topass the ball to the post, we make the split action with thefirst passer, who cuts first.Here are the various options:

▼ Pass and cut.▼ Pass and make a screen.▼ Pass, fake a cut, and come back.▼ The center can pass to one of the cutters, or else fake

a pass, and then play one-on-one.

The key point of this action is that we want the defendersof the two guards to turn their heads and watch the ball asit reaches the high post. It's difficult to play good defensein this situation because the defenders do not know wherethe offensive players will go.

I would like to underline that the success of this play doesnot depend on the quickness of the two guards, becausethey can beat the defenders even if they are slower: theycan count on reading the defense on different options andon the two different cuts.

THREE PLAYER SETWe start to build the split simulating a situation of arebound, baseline out-of-bound, and then the split at thebeginning a 3 vs 0 and then a 3-on-2 (diagr. 5).

We set the players in three lines, with a guard, whobrings the ball on offense starting from over the mid-court. There is also one mid post player and one at thefree-throw line extension. 1 crosses the mid-court lineand then changes direction. She must pass the ball tothe forward before going out with both feet from thecenter court circle: this is the time for deciding whereto pass the ball (diagr. 6).

We set the players in three lines: 1 passes the ball (again,before going out with the feet of the center court circle),and then cuts and goes in the corner on the ball side(diagr. 7).

2 passes the ball to the mid post and then 1 and 2 make thesplit cut (diagr. 8). The center must be active and smart toread the defenders' moves and capitalize on theirmistakes. It's a must to read the defense, both for the cut-ters, as well as for the center with the ball. It's also very important to have a good alignment betweenthe forward and the center (diagr. 9): ▼ The forward must be outside the three-point line, at the

free-throw line extension.

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▼ The center must be at the mid post position, withenough space between her and the baseline forthe cut of a teammate. There should also be enou-gh room to let her play one-on-one as a finaloption.

We say to the players that no move is prearranged,but, again, they must read the defense and let thatset up determine what will work best.

Here, for example, are two other options after thepass to the mid post:▼ 1 can anticipate the cut (diagr. 10) or ▼ Makes a curl cut around 5, without going in the

corner (diagr. 11).

Let's now assume that the forward 2 is overplayed:here are the different solutions:a. Backdoor. 5 comes high at the corner of the free-

throw area, facing the midcourt line, and automa-tically 2 will make a backdoor cut to receive theball (diagr. 12).

In short, when the ball crosses the mid-court line, theplay becomes a three-player collaboration: 5 mustread the defense and see if her teammate is over-played. Then she must offer the choice of the entrypass to 1.

b. Hand off. If 2 goes backdoor, 1 can receive a handoff pass and shoots, or drives to the basket, or 5can always play one-on-one (diagr. 13).

c. UCLA cut. 1 passes to 2, makes a cut on 5, andthen goes on the opposite corner. 5 then does apick-and-roll with 2: 2 can shoot, pass to 5 on theroll, or make a skip pass to 1 for a three-point shot(diagr. 14).

d. Post up. After the pass to 2 and the UCLA cut, 1can also stop at the low post position (diagr. 15). 2goes down to pick 1, after the pass to 5 (diagr. 16).2 then comes high to back screen 5, after 5 haspassed the ball to 1 (diagr. 17).

FOUR PLAYER SETLet's now add another player, playing with threeguards and a center. The beginning of the play is thesame, with the ball passed from 1 to 3, and from 3 to 5,with 1 going to the corner on the ball side. 2 replaces1 in the middle of the court, after faking a cut in theother direction (diagr. 18).

If 5 is aggressively guarded, 3 passes the ball to 1, and1 passes to 5, who has faked a high cut (diagr. 19). If 1cannot pass to 5, 5 comes out, makes a back screenfor 3, and then plays pick-and-roll with 1 in the corner(diagr. 20).Spacing is always very important, staying especiallyoutside of the three-point line.

FIVE PLAYER SETWe start with two guards on the line, one forward at

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the free-throw line extension, one mid-post on theforward side and the other forward at the mid-postposition on the other side of the court (diagr. 21).

The play starts when the two guards cross the mid-court line, and the players move based on thedefenders' reactions. When there is an offensive overload in the corner,2 must always come in the middle of the court. Theycan now play three-on-three on one side, and two-on-two on the other side of the court (diagr. 22).

If 3 has the ball and cannot pass to 1 or 5, 3 makesa dribble weave, difficult to defend, going towards1 and then passes to 1. 1 passes to 5, while 2 recei-ves a back screen from 4, and then flares out (diagr.23). Then, 1 and 3 make a split cut on 5 (diagr. 24).

If we cannot pass directly to 5, we reverse the ballfrom 3 to 2, who is set in the middle of the court andoutside of the three-point line. 2 can pass inside to5 (diagr. 25).

If nothing happens, 4 and 2 play two-on-two on theother side of the court. 2 passes to 4, who comeshigh, and then 2 moves, based on the reactions ofthe defense, making a hand off, or a pick-and-roll,using different fakes (diagr. 26).

If 2 is overplayed, 4 comes high, 3 passes the ball to4, 2 makes a backdoor cut and receives the ballfrom 4 (diagr. 27).

DIFFERENT OPTIONSBased on the previous premises, we can build anyplay. For example, if 3 is overplayed, 5 comes up tothe elbow, and receives the ball from 1, who, afterthe pass, screens for 2, who goes on the forwardspot. At the same time, 3 cuts in the lane and goesto the opposite corner (diagr. 28). 5 can make apass to 2 or 1. We now form a new triangle on theother side of the court, the left side (diagr. 29).

On this side we can create a new three-on-threeplay, with 1, who passes to 3 in the corner, and thenreceives a back screen from 4, who then playspick-and-roll with 3. In the meantime, 5 screens for2 (diagr. 30).

Another option is the entry pass to 4 on the weakside post, with 2, who immediately makes a back-door cut to receive the ball and goes to the basket(diagr. 31). It's important to underline that 1, the ballhandler, must make the entry pass right away,when she crosses the mid-court line.

If 1 does not have any entry pass options to 3, to 5,or 4, she will pass to 2. 4 will pop out at the forwardposition, and 5 will come out for a back pick for 3,who will cut in the lane, heading in the oppositecorner (diagr. 32).

We can also form a triangle with 3, 4 and 5, who,

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after the pick, opens up. 4 can pass to 3, or to 5,who can pass to 1 on an automatic back-door cut,right after 5 receives the ball (diagr. 33).In short, this play can have many options, always has atriangle on one side, and a two-on-two play on theother side.The keys are: ▼ Read the defense. ▼ Proper spacing.▼ Patience.

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FIBA EUROPE

by Brenda Frese

OFFENSE

Brenda Frese started her coaching career as an assistant coachat Kent State, followed by positions at Iowa State and Ball State.She became head coach at the University of Minnesota in 1998,where she earned National Coach of the Year honors, and twoyears later became head coach at the University of Maryland. In2006, she guided her team to the NCAA Women's Championshipand she again won the Coach of the Year award.

I would like to share with you some of our offensive sets thathelped Maryland win the 2006 NCAA Women's national title.

MAN-TO-MAN OFFENSESET UPWe initially line up in a three perimeter and two inside player set.

The three perimeter players stay outside the three-point line,while the two inside players are set up with one at the corner ofthe free-throw area and the other opposite to her in the low postposition.

CREATING A TRIANGLE1, the point guard, has two choices for starting this play:▼ If she dribbles towards 2, it means that 2 must go to the deep

corner (diagr. 1).▼ If she can pass to 2, 1 will cut and go in the deep corner

(diagr. 2).In this way we start to form a triangle on one side of the court.

ENTRY PASSOnce the triangle is loaded, we are looking for a quick pass to

THE MARYLANDOFFENSE

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the low post 5, from 1, in this case, or from 2, if 1 is ableto pass the ball to 2 on the wing.On this pass, 4 will dive hard down to the low post,on the same side of the court, while 3 will slide up(diagr. 3).If we cannot pass the ball to 5, because she is over-played on the side, 1 will pass to 2 and 2 will pass theball to 5. If 1 passes to 2 and 2 cannot pass to 5, 1 will cut in thelane and will go on to the opposite side of the court,outside of the three-point line to clear out the ball sideside of the court. 5 will come out and screen on the ball

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for 2. 2 will attack the defender and 5 will roll to thebasket. As this action is taking place, 4 will screenfor 3 (diagr. 4).

If there is no chance of shooting, 2 can come off thescreen, dribble towards 3 and pass her the ball,while 5 goes to the low post position (diagr. 5).

3 will now be able to set a new triangle on the otherside of the court: she will dribble the ball to the wingposition, 4 will go in the low post area, while 5 willcome up in the high post position, opposite of 4(diagr. 6).

If 3 passes the ball to 5, 5 can look to pass to 4, whohas cut inside the three-second lane. As an option,we can also do a hand-off pass between 5 and 2(who must set up her defender before goingtowards 5 to receive the ball). This offensive play isvery hard to guard against and gives a chance to 2to get open for a shot (diagr. 7).

ZONE OFFENSEWith this offense we want to create maximumplayers movement that will enable us to use thesame basic attack versus various zones andmatch-ups. I want our team to be able to usedribble penetrations, posts-ups, screens, over-load, and slides into the open areas. You caninitiate the offense from various sets, such asthe 1-4, the 1-3-1 or 2-1-2 set, or out of the tran-sition, with the guards at about 4 meters apartto ensure easy passes between them, if neces-sary.

ENTRY PASSOn the entry pass, from 1 to 2, in this case, theweak side post 4 cuts to the ball on the short sidecorner, in an open area on the baseline in thegap of the zone (diagr. 8). The other post, 5, huntsthe ball and is in line with the ball and the basket(diagr. 9).

RULE 1On any point guard to wing pass, the offside postcurls to the ball side short corner. The strongside post gets in line with the ball and the basket(diagr. 10).

On a pass to the weak side (diagr. 11 and 12), 5 fla-shes hard to the ball side and 4 loops to the strongside short corner (it's also possible to start with oneof the post players in the short corner).

RULE 2On any pass from the wing back to the point guard,or from a wing to a wing, the passer makes a skippass and cuts to the basket, becoming the nextshort corner player on whichever side the ball ispassed. The short corner player replaces the wingthat cut, and 5 continues to stay in line with the balland the basket (diagr. 13).

FIBA EUROPEOFFENSE

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From here, if 1 swings the ball to 3, then 2 beco-mes the short corner player on the ball side. 5stays in line with the ball and the basket (diagr.14).

If 1 had passed the ball back to 4, 2 would be theshort corner player on 4's side, and again 5would be in line with the ball and the basket(diagr. 15).

BASIC MOVEMENT RULESWhen a wing passes to the point guard, or toanother wing with a skip pass, that wing firstcuts to the basket and becomes the next shortcorner on the ball side. The short corner playerreplaces the wing, while the post stays in linewith the ball and the basket (diagr. 16 and 17).

RULE 3On any pass to the short corner, the wing thatmade the pass cuts to the middle of the lane andbecomes the next short corner player on the ballside (diagr. 18).

Rule 4The short corner player must catch the pass,face up to the basket, shoot, drive, or drag theball back out to the wing. If a player is doubleteamed, she should look for the diagonal pass tothe point guard or across the baseline to thewing, who has dropped (diagr. 19, 20, and 21).

SCREENING THE ZONE OR MATCH-UPSAnytime the wing passes to the point, she mayscreen the strong side back line player in thezone, or match-up. After the screen, 2 slides intothe short corner and 4 replaces 2 at the wing(diagr. 22).

Or, the short corner player can back screen theback line of the zone for the alley-hoop pass to 2,cutting to the basket. If the pass is not thrown,then 4 slides out to the wing to replace 2, and 2slides to the short corner on the ball side (diagr.23 and 24).

RULE 5When a pass is made into the post, everyone spotsup to shoot. The short corner player changes sidesof the floor, looking for the ball (diagr. 25).

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDINGOffensive rebounding is quite effective becausethe cutters are in excellent position to "get to theglass." In addition, the short corner players havegood angles for sneaking in for rebounds.Obviously, we always rebound with both thewings and the posts, while the point guard goesback defensively to prevent the fastbreak.

Against the odd front zones, simply tilt the offen-se by dribbling the ball off the center court, whileeveryone keeps the proper spacing.

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FIBA EUROPE

by Tamas Sterbenz

OFFENSE

Tamas Sterbenz is a former player of theHungarian National Team. He wasappointed head coach of the HungarianWomen’s National Team in 2004. He tea-ches economics and management at theHungarian University of PhysicalEducation. His Ph.D. topic was “BoundedRationality in Decision Making in SportsManagement”.

Smart play is a goal of coaches andplayers in every sport. The winner isalways proud of his strategy and emphasi-zes the correct execution. The loser criti-cizes the game plan or blames the coachor players for neglecting that. Indeed, dothe sportspeople know what should theyhave done? Do they know how rationalstrategy should be built the next time?Unfortunately, in most cases they do notknow. In this short article, I will analyzethe rationality of basketball and describesome strategic principles.

RATIONALITYA behavior is considered rational if ithelps achieve a definite goal. So, first weneed to determine the goals in basketball.For example, the goal can be to win achampionship, to beat a specific oppo-nent, or in the short term, to score abasket. These goals are simple but theyare not the same. Therefore, we need toselect one unit to analyze the rationality.In competitive basketball this unit shouldbe the game because performance can bebest compared at the game level. Duringthe game the teams alternate possessionof the ball. Both teams have equal oppor-tunity to score points and the team thatscores more will win the game. We cansee the better performance within agame, but if we want to compare severalgames we need to look at the ratiobetween points made and number of pos-sessions. To analyze the performance,final score itself is not good indicator. The

score should be weighted bythe total number of attempts,which also shows the rhythmof the game.

EFFICIENCYTo measure efficiency ofdefense and offense, methodshave been created and usedfor several decades. Histo-rically, famous coaches suchas Dean Smith and FrankMcGuire and analysts likeDean Oliver and JohnHollinger have worked ondeveloping a measure ofoffensive rating:

Offensive Rating = ScorePoints / Possession

Current statistics do not keepcount of the number of pos-sessions, but this can easilybe counted or estimated.Offense ends with either afield goal or a free-throwattempt or turnover. Obviously,a free-throw will not count for1 possession. According to theNBA’s estimation, a free-throw

should be multiplied by 0.44 to get the cor-rect number of possessions for a wholeseason (for fast post game analysis 0.5can be used).

Possession = Field Goal + (Free-Throw0.44) + Turnover - Offensive Rebound

Offensive rebounds have to be deductedfrom the equation, because they are stillpart of the same possession; only theoffensive time starts over. This ensuresthat both teams have equal number ofopportunities to score. This does notmean that offensive rebounds are notimportant, as is described in the next sec-tion.

CRUCIAL FACTORSThat team that wins is one whose offensi-ve rating is higher than its own defensiverating, which is equal to the opponent’soffensive rating. Both offensive anddefensive ratings are good tools for analy-sis by the coach. Yet, to make the bestrational strategic decision, the coachneeds to find which elements are the mostcritical to increase the offensive ratingand decrease the defensive rating.According to Dean Oliver, the four basicaspects of a game include:

1. Shooting percentage from the field.2. Offensive rebounding.3. Committing turnovers.4. Going to the foul line a lot and making

the shots.

To better understand these crucialaspects, a good guide is that in professio-nal men’s basketball the offensive rating isaround 1, so a team usually makes 1 pointin average per possession (in 1991-92, theNBA’s Chicago Bulls reached the highestseasonal offensive score of 1.155 in).

1. If the team finishes all its offenses witha 2-point shot, a 50% shooting percen-tage ensures an offensive score that ishigher than 1. In case of 3-point shots,the team has to have a 33% shootingpercentage to reach the same.

2. Increasing the number of free-throwshelps the team reach an offensive

THE RATIONAL GAME

score higher than 1. Other than extre-me cases, all players make free-throws above 50% success rate.

3. High number of field scoring attemptsshows that the team does not committurnovers. Also, low number of turno-vers decreases the defensive rating,because the opponent could notmake many easy baskets.

4. Increase in offensive rebounds willlead to more chances to make aclose attempt or to get to the free-throw line. Often at the end of thegame, following an offensiverebound, the team will get a new 24-seconds on the shot clock, whichcan lead to winning the game.Offensive rebounds would alsoincrease the offensive rating, andsave the game. If the free throws

were missed on purpose, the teamwould have a chance to make a 2-or 3-point shot.

BOUNDARIES IN BASKETBALLEvery sport is surrounded by rules tomake the game more difficult and intere-sting. These rules, or boundaries, impactthe strategies and the decisions in theexecution. The following boundaries existin basketball.

Opponent: in basketball, the goal is notto make many baskets, but to makemore baskets than the opponent. Themoves don’t have to be fast, but fasterthan the opponent. In decision making,can’t neglect the opponent. Successdoesn’t only depend on a team’s deci-sion, but also on the opponent’s choice.

Time: there are 24 seconds to finish thepossession, and the quarters are 10minutes long. The remaining time left inthe 24-second period or the quarter willalways influence the decisions. Rationalbehavior must take this into considera-tion. The same shot in the beginning ofthe possession is irrational compared tothe shot at the end of the period, which isnecessary.

Space: moves are differentiated bywhere they take place on the court.Shooting percentage depends on how farthe player is from the basket. Rationalstrategy should increase the expectedvalue of the shooting. The opponent’sposition on defense affects what theoffense should do (rational strategy mustdiffer when playing against press or zonedefense).

Personal fouls: the offense must beaware of how the defense can stop theteam from scoring. If the defensive teamhas less than 4 personal fouls, the offen-sive team should know that rational deci-sion might be to commit a foul.

Result: at all times the actual score willinfluence tactical decision. Rationality ofall tactical decision depends on how itimpacts the final score. Decisions throu-ghout the game can be evaluated basedon time and score, and risk taking mustconsider the same factors.

RISK AND UNCERTAINTYAll decision contains risk and uncer-tainty. Nothing is certain, situations areambiguous, decisions depend on multiplecriteria, and execution depends on thewhole team. Even though all these arerational factors, there will be the oppo-nent that will impact the outcome.

In basketball, there are only rational deci-sions, but not optimal decisions. Onemust know that success is relative, and itis often affected by good fortune.Rational strategy ensures only long-termefficiency but single actions depend onintuition and anticipation. In a game, bothteams have 80 to 90 possessions andsometimes even irrational behavior canlead to success.

During practices, coaches should buildboundaries into the drills to teach playersto be rational. If both teams play smartand use correct strategy, there still willbe a winner and a loser, but basketballwill advance!

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Fiba Assist Coaches Offense