Basketball Play - "Buckeye"
By Dr. James Gels, From the Coach’s Clipboard Basketball Playbook"Helping coaches coach better..."
Submitted by: Coach Alan Longley.
Here's another play with a lot of options. Our first look is a possible pass inside and lay-up for either post player O4 or O5. Refer to the diagrams below.
In diagram A, we start with a box set-up, with our perimeter players O2 and O3 on the blocks and our post players O4 and O5 at the elbows.
The play can go to either side, with the determing factor being the initial direction of the point guard's (O1) dribble. Here O1 dribbles left to a point below the elbow and outside the 3-point arc. O4 steps out to the arc to screen for O1. O1 then changes direction and dribbles over O4's screen, dribbling up to the top.
Meanwhile, O5 down-screens for O2, and O2 pops out to the right wing. O2 gets the pass from O1.
O4 gets a back-screen from O3 (who then pops out on the left wing), and a second screen from O5 inside. O4 cuts hard around these two screens for a possible pass from O2, and a lay-up (diagram B), our primary goal.
After completing the two screens, O5 flashes up to the high post (free throw line). Now there are several options.
- The primary option, the pass to O4 inside for a lay-up (already described).
- O2 could shoot the outside shot.
- O4 could come up and back-screen for O2, and run a two-man game, pick and roll.
- O2 could pass to O5 at the high post. O5 could shoot, take it to the hoop, or pass to O4 posting up inside ("hi-lo" option).
- If denied the pass, O5 could ball-screen for O2 (diagram C), while O1 and O3 rotate to the left (this rotation helps clear the top seam for O2, and puts O1 and O3 in good position for a kick-out pass). O2 dribble-drives around the O5 ball-screen into the top seam for a lay-up, a jump-shot in the paint, a dump-pass to O4, or a kick-out pass to either O3 or O1.
