Offense
Coaching Offense

“Chicago Action” – Pin Down to Dribble Hand Off

By Doug Brotherton — 1 year ago

In the 2022 ACC Championship, Virginia Tech used the same set to score 11 points against Duke.

“Chicago Action” became popular in the NBA when Coach Fred Hoiberg was leading the Chicago Bulls to the playoffs. The action features a pin down, into a dribble hand off. Now, teams of all levels are using Chicago Action to free up talented perimeter players. In the case of Virginia Tech, Hunter Cattoor scored 9 of his 31 points off of this set play.

 

 

 
Articles Drills Offense

Ball Screen Reads: Derrick White

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

Who is the most efficient ball screen player in the NBA (minimum 100 possessions)?

Most people would guess Damian Lillard, Luka Doncic, or Chris Paul? While all three of those players are really good, the correct answer is Derrick White of the San Antonio Spurs. Including his passing, the Spurs have a PPP (Points Per Possession) of 1.13 when he is the ball handler in pick and rolls. That is the best in the NBA.

Below is a video that shows three basic reads from Derrick White.

  1. Defender goes OVER the screen
  2. Defender goes UNDER the screen
  3. Derrick White REJECTS the screen

 
Offense

Spurs | Advantage Based Basketball

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

The San Antonio Spurs were referred to as playing “the beautiful game.” This style of play was an elite level of “advantage based basketball.” The Spurs created “the beautiful game” with skilled players, quick decision making, and a collective buy-in to find the best shot possible on each possession.
The Spurs often times used a simple ball screen as an “initiating action.” We call it an initiating action, because it initiates an offensive advantage. Once that happens, the Spurs force the defense to scramble and chase, until a great shot presents itself. Here is a video of the Spurs playing “advantage based basketball.”

To learn more, go follow Dynamic Coaching Tools on Twitter and Instagram.
Offense

Louisville WBB | Transition Offense

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

The Louisville women’s basketball team was one of the best transition teams in the Country. They scored 1.108 PPP, which put them among the Nation’s best. Below are a few of the reasons that they were so successful in transition.

  1. Wings sprint and get wide
  2. Rim Runner gets in front of the ball
  3. The point guard advances the ball (on a sprint dribble or pass)
  4. There is skill behind the ball | Trailer can shoot

The combination of the four factors above stretches the defense horizontally, but also vertically. As the wings and rim runner put pressure on the baseline/rim. The trailer puts pressure on the defense to also extend to the three point line. The other key is that Louisville’s guards do a great job of advancing the ball with tempo. They will attack off the dribble, but also show a willingness to throw the ball ahead. Below is a video of some of the different ways that Louisville scores in transition.

 
Coaching Offense

Teaching with IF/THEN | Dribble Penetration

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

 

One of the keys to playing advantage based basketball is teaching players how to read the defense. A terrific teaching tool for this is using IF/THEN reactions. This simplifies decision making and allows players to easily understand the different reads in a game. On dribble penetration, here are some simple reads, with a video to break it down.

  • IF you don’t see a chest in the lane, THEN go score
  • IF you see a chest in the lane, THEN share the advantage
  • IF the help defender helps up, THEN dump it off

To learn more about advantage based basketball, go follow Dynamic Coaching Tools on Twitter and Instagram.
Coaching Offense

Instantly Improve Your Offense

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

Every off-season, coaches spent countless hours researching and studying different ways to improve. Too often, this leads to coaches completely hitting the reset button on their program’s offensive plans. Here are a few simple ways to instantly improve your offense!

  1. Offense starts the moment your team gains possession. TEACH the game this way.

    • When teaching our half court offense, we stress things like spacing, player movement, ball movement, and we provide structure to help players read the game. Why not teach transition the same way?
    • SPACING | There two ways to stretch the defense. Vertically and horizontally. If we can get multiple bodies in front of the ball, we will stretch the defense vertically. If we can get our wings to run wide, we are now stretching the defense horizontally. This should be an instant reaction, the moment your team gains possession of the ball.
    • PLAYER MOVEMENT |  Win the first three steps! If your players will sprint the first three steps, you will get players in front of the ball. When you throw the ball ahead, have you taught your team how and where to space around the ball? Do wings run to the corner and spot up or bounce off of the baseline and lift to free throw line extended? Transition offense includes player movement and should be taught.
    • BALL MOVEMENT | One of our favorite phrases is that we want “two early shares” in transition. If we can get two direct passes in transition, we are likely to have tremendous flow and rhythm on that offensive possession.
    • PROVIDING STRUCTURE | We want to provide spacing rules, simple secondary actions, and then teach our kids to flow seamlessly into our half court offense.

  2. REMOVE “set it up” from your vocabulary

    • One of the most under taught parts of an offensive attack is “FLOW.”
    • Teaching FLOW requires a coach to get creative in practice, abandon static starting points, and requires teaching players HOW TO PLAY.
    • The benefit is that the defense is unable to use the “setup time,” to also get themselves organized.

  3. Create an ATTACKING mentality, with an understanding of IF/THEN responses.

    • The easiest way to create an attacking mentality in your players is to view mistakes in practice as teachable moments.
    • The best teams are confidently attacking, as opposed to having “paralysis by analysis.” In simple terms, they are too busy playing basketball, to stop and think about what is next.
    • If you can create aggressive basketball players, you will see improvements in your offense.
    • To learn more about IF/THEN responses, check out THIS BLOG POST.

Lastly, what does this look like? Here is a video of our team putting these three simple concepts on display.
Offense

NCAAW Sweet 16 Project | First Round Sets

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

The NCAAW Sweet 16 Project started off with eight great matchups. Our video contributors did a tremendous job of selecting sets from each of the teams.

Go follow Dynamic Coaching Tools on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM!

Below are the sets from the first two days of the project.

 
Offense

NCAAW Sweet 16 Project | Best Unused Sets

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

The 2020 NCAAW Sweet 16 Project highlighted some Xs and Os from the top 16 teams in women’s college basketball. Below are the best unused sets from our video contributors.

CLICK HERE to see more of the Xs and Os from the NCAAW Sweet 16 Project.

 

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Coaching Offense

DCT | Chalk Talk | Episode 5

By Doug Brotherton — 3 years ago

In Episode 5 of our “Chalk Talk” series, we show an example of SEQUENCING. This is a tool that coaches can use, to set up their team for success on back-to-back possessions. When using sequencing, a coach is running a set or action. On the very next possession, the coach calls for a similar set or action, but uses the defenses response to generate another scoring opportunity. Below is Episode 5 of “Chalk Talk,” as well as the sets that are featured being used in an actual game.

 

 

 

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