Offense for undersized team

Hi - I am coaching a team of younger 6th graders, so they have just turned 11, and in some cases have not yet done so. I created the team as basketball options for kids are extremely limited in our town, and I wanted the kids to have a chance to play. Bottom line, in the 6th grade travel league we are playing in, we have a significant size disadvantage. We do have competitive team speed, and our kids are scrappy. Initially, I taught them the basic 3-2 motion with a 4-1 variation, and a bit of the two guard/high post off of the 4-1. Bottom line, we are having trouble getting the ball to the post even for in/out ball movement wherever we have post players. My thought after our game last night was to layer in the 5 out motion in order to mitigate opposing teams size advantage. I never personally ran this variation when i was in High School or college, so i just wanted an smarter opinion on it, or to see if you might have any other ideas. Thanks.

I think a 5-out motion/ pass and cut offense is perfect. Give them the freedom to create via driving when the defense is slow to rotate.

You don't need a post-up game (and if you have no size, you won't have much of one anyway). What you need to do is get the ball into the lane and create high percentage shots and fouls. A patient, pass and cut offense, with freedom for your perimeter players to drive and create opportunities accomplishes this.

Just my thoughts.

Brian Sass

Brian - Thanks very much for your input

I agree about the 5 out. I have an team of 5th graders with a few tiny kids and a couple of above average height kids. But in our two games thus far, both our opponents have had at least 2 kids bigger than my biggest kid. We've run the 5 out and I find it pretty effective against bigger teams. Gets the opponents bigs out of the lanes as well.

If your team is quick, I think the 5 out is your best bet to exploit this advantage.

As you advance, you can still let your players post up.... I usually teach this around 7th grade.

Sometimes, you might find that even though you are a small team, you might have a player who is a good post player and if they get an undersized defender on them, they can create an advantage in the post area.

This works because even if you are undersized, the opposition's taller post players will be guarding on the perimeter.

I do it three different ways from the 5-out.

Don't teach all three ways... just teach one.

1. Post for 3 seconds (not in the lane)... then fill an open spot.
2. Post until ball is reversed to the opposite side of the floor.
3. Post for the entire possession.