Yes, good idea on making a v cut before replacing. I did talk about the V cut to get open in the 5 out if you are covered, but didn't talk about making the v cut before filling. We also talked about the option of going to set a screen for the spot next to you if you are covered, or making a basket cut if your defender is really overplaying the pass. Might be too many options this early, but I do want them to know that they have the freedom to make decisions in reaction to the D in this offense.

We spent 5 minutes on a basic press break, really just where we want to inbound it (avoid the corners) and where the first look after the inbound pass should be.

Quatroch,

Here's a little tip about the 5 out motion. Think weak side. When the ball is at the wing, if he passes to the top and cuts, make sure the top passes quickly to the opposite wing. That wing passes it to the first cutter. It is a better angle than trying to get the pass from the top. It is always open as the defense is slow to adjust. It is bang, bang, so make sure the two catchers aren't standing around picking their noses.

Good luck.

You gave them some good optons.... overplayd / back door! Tell them to go all the way to the rim.... last thing you want to do is mess up the passer.

We ran a lot of Open Post offense.... once you get them to understand to keep moving, get open, find the open man if you have the ball..... take it to the hole if you have a lane, its up to them to play basketball. The only thing I kept saying to them during games was ... BALANCE THE FLOOR.

As for the press offense... at least they have some idea as to how to attack the D!

Good luck

As for Golfman's comment.... he is right on, the hardest team to defend is the one that reverses the ball.

I wouldn't worry too much about your offense looking structured and well-oiled. I like playing teams that run a disciplined offense. After a couple possessions our defense tends to understand what the offense is trying to do and we have an easy time defending it. It takes a team with a couple good players with good basketball IQ to play out of their comfort zone against us when that happens.

We run a motion offense, but it's not very structured and there's absolutely no pattern to it LOL. I've shown the kids various ways of playing team and one on one offense, given them general rules about spacing and then I let them play. We'll get a few pass and cuts, we'll get some dribble drive and kick-outs. We'll set some ball screens. A couple of the boys love using the back-cut. They've figured that out on their own...what are they comfortable doing and what do they feel they are good at doing. I finally learned to just let them play at their comfort level on offense.

It might sound contrarian and I'm not saying the disciplined, structured, patterned offenses aren't good, but this way has worked for me this season more so than trying to run a more "by the book" motion offense ever has in the past.

Sidenote, almost every team in our league lets their best player play PG and then they just set ballscreens for him. After a win last week, my wife overheard an opposing parent asking one of our parents if we ever even bother running plays. I thought it was funny.

Thats the one good thing about a motion offense ... we ran a 5 out open post... only 2 real cuts and the rest is on them, play basketball. We had no problem with reversing the ball ( depending on which team we are talking about ) we could break down most defenses by reversing the ball. We were very patient and got the shot we wanted most of the time, takes, back doors and 3 when you get lazy. Like one coach said to me, don't worry about knowing their offense, they will teach it to you. True, but its all about executing what you want to do.

It all depends on your talent level.... the kids win the games... all we can do as coaches is to put them in a position to get the W. I was playing with Boys varsity HS kids.... if this was youth ball, we would want to shoot the ball a little quicker because its hard for them to reverse the ball a lot.

Get them to relax and have some fun and you will be surprised with what they can do. JMO

Game one was pretty good. A big run at the end of the first half put us up by 10 and it stayed that way in the 2nd half. The 5 out was pretty nonexistant as expected, but we did have some pretty decent passing. Lots of fast break baskets.

I talked a while with the other coach before the game, he had the same feeling of unpreparedness given the two hours. He said they hadn't even discussed offense in their 2 practices.

Our biggest problem was just knowing who we had on defense and then continuing to guard that player. 3 baskets were scored by the other team inbounding under their basket because we had no one guarding a buy wide open right under the basket. In a low scoring youth game, that was like 25% of our opponents points!

Things I think I want to work on during our one hour this coming week:

--fast break drills, maybe the drill where its 3 on 2 going down and then 2 on 1 coming back. If we are going to be a team that runs, I want to emphasize that strength. Maybe some kind of an outlet pass drill as well. Usually our rebounder ends up dribbling the ball all the way up on the break, and I'd like to get that rebounder's head up for an outlet pass.

--some kind of rebounding drill that works on jumping to get the ball at the highest point you can reach. I have one kid that has mastered actually jumping and attacking a rebound. The rest stand and watch and wait for the ball to fall to them at waist height. In the past I've paired up boys, had one slam a ball on the ground so the other can then attack it on the way down...any other suggestions here?

Thanks all.

Remember, this was game ONE with 2 hours of practice,...... you WILL make some mistakes just because you didn't have time to cover it.

So, thats one thiing you can work on for a few minutes in your next practice.



You could have one player standing at the sideline, FT line extended..... kid rebounds the ball and that player steps out asking for the ball, he is your outlet pass. Then get into your break.

As for the rebounding part..... have the kid throw the ball up on the glass and then go UP and get it, you can add this to your outlet pass drill. Goal is for that player to JUMP up and get the ball at the top of his jump.... ..he can chin the ball, turn/pivot and find the outlet pass.

Game 2 was pretty good. Lower scoring and we won by 10.

Played a much bigger and more physical team, but our kids were quicker. We won the boards, despite a few instances where one of their 3 hulks got 5 or 6 put back attempts.

It was kind of funny, opponents won the tip, came down and passed the ball like the globetrotters! Moved it from side to side, great passing and movement. But our D was calm and solid, allowed no penetration. We finally got a steal. And then we never saw that beautiful patience from their O again. They had a decent plan of putting a hulk at the high post, passing to a wing and having the hulk slide down the lane to the block for an entry pass, but we called a time out and made sure that our defender did not front in the high post but instead played behind the hulk so they'd be in good position to deny the dump down from the wing and that pretty effectively stopped that for the rest of the game.

Our 5 out offense still does not really exist. Our wings get waaaay too far out, well beyond the 3 point line, looking for that first pass. I think I will change it up this week and have the offense initiate with down screens from the wing players to the corners, trying to get things started closer to the basket and with a little more predictability. We also have a few kids who will simply dribble and drive whenever they get the ball, despite that usually resulting in them dribbling into 2 or 3 defenders and eventually losing the ball. Need to emphasize dribbling with a purpose and getting the head up to see open teammates.

You could scrimmage / practice a lttle bit with a NO drilbble rule. OR you can practice a little bit with NO defense until they get used to the offense. Trust me, regardless of the age, it takes time to develop ANY offense, let alone a motion offense with little structure.

You can back screen and step out if you are having trouble entering the ball, IF they don't give reverse help, its a lay up.

Simple rule, IF the D is over playing past the arc.... back door, go to the rim. Another thought... take the D towards the paint. step into them, (which will freeze them) and then step back out asking for the ball, good hand target.

Hope some of this helps.