The Auburn Tigers (28-9, #5 Midwest Region) high-powered offensive attack is propelled by transition threes. Let’s look at how they manufacture them. The Auburn Tigers love the three-point shot. The Tigers are sixteenth in the nation in three-point percentage, shooting 38.2% from behind the line. Auburn’s 11.5 three-pointers made per game is tops in the…
Baylor Bears Zone Offense
Preview: The Baylor Bears (#9, West Region) will face the Syracuse Orange (#8, West Region) and their vaunted 2-3 Zone in the first round of NCAA play. In general, #8 versus #9 matchups offer intrigue in NCAA first round play. They feature evenly matched teams who had similar seasons and the winner gets a shot at…
Focus Is More Important Than Genius
Counseling Coaches Series: How focused you are on what you do is more important than how much you know. In this day and age, the ability to filter out information is a Coaching Superpower. In the hundreds of hours each year I spend counseling coaches this is a constant battle; especially when they are faced…
Motion Strong Entries And Options
Two “Motion Strong” entries and options from five-out featuring the Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets (35-33, 7th in East) have taken Motion Strong, a long-time staple of the San Antonio Spurs, and opened up the spacing with a five-out alignment from transition. Like the four-out version popularized by the Spurs, the Nets’ version features a staggered screen and different options…
The Throw & Go Handoff
The “Throw & Go” handoff can be an effective two-player action for creating an advantage. Simply put, a throw & go handoff is when a player, typically a guard, passes to another player, typically a big, on the perimeter and chases their pass for a handoff. The guard throws a pass and goes immediately into a handoff…
Spread Ball Screen vs. 2-3 Zone
Using Spread Ball Screen versus 2-3 Zone can provide carryover from your man-to-man offense to your zone offense. Many coaches have a high desire to use the same or similar offenses versus man-to-man and zone defense. By using spread ball screen concepts versus a 2-3 Zone you may accomplish this. This allows your transition offense…
What Do YOU Think?
Counseling Coaches Series: What Do YOU Think? Forming your OWN thoughts about basketball matters. (Note: This blog originally appeared at radiusathletics.com and is reposted with permission.) In the summer of 2015 some coaching friends encouraged me to begin sharing basketball info on social media and in blogs. This information was well-received and thanks to some…
Pack Line Playbook: Post Defense
Three post defense concepts – walling up, choking the post and post traps – from the Pack Line defense. The focal point of post defense within Pack Line principles is to limit deep catches. Pack Line teams want to keep the ball out of the “Post Box” altogether (see diagram below). When the ball does…
Pack Line Playbook: On To Off
In Pack Line defense, the ability to go “on-to-off” (and back on again) on airtime is vital to protecting the paint and contesting shots. Moving on airtime of the pass is vital to any defense. There is no scenario in which the ball moves and a defender does not. In Pack Line defense teammates must…
Pack Line Playbook: Lock And Trail
Pack Line Playbook: Defending single and double down screens within the Pack Line Defense using the “Lock and Trail” technique. The Pack Line style of defense features some unwaivering absolutes. There are specific rules and techniques that change little from game-to-game or opponent-to-opponent.The mindset is to do a few things and do them well. We will…