I.

OFFENSE
A. Strategy Overview
Basketball is a very simple game: the team that gets the highest number of easy shots
will win. The not-so-simple part is figuring out how to keep on getting easy shots, every
single possession, for the whole game, all while also making sure that the other team
never gets any easy shots for themselves. This playbook will show you how we will do
that. On this team, we only take easy shots.
Our offensive strategy is straightforward. If our defense gets a steal, we will look to
score an easy layup on the fast break. We will only do this if there are less than two
defenders in the frontcourt AND we have a numbers advantage (2-on-1, 3-on-1, or 3-on2 situations). Otherwise, we slow it down and run our half-court offense. If a play is
called, we will run that play. If no play is called, we will run our base offense, called
flex. In other words: unless we get a steal or call a play, we will always run flex.
B. Base Offense: Flex
Our base offense is called flex. It is a continuity offense, meaning that it resets itself
and can be run as many times as needed to get a good shot. It may seem complicated at
first, but once you see the patterns it becomes easy to remember. Three cycles are
shown below.

Option 1. Ball is swung from 1 to 4 to 3; 5 sets a

flex screen for 2; 2 cuts baseline off of flex screen; 3
passes to 2 for a layup.

Option 2. If 2 is not open, 2 sets an upscreen for 4;

4 cuts down the lane off of upscreen; 3 passes to 4
for a layup; 5 sets a flare screen for 1.

Option 3. If 4 is not open, 4 screens for 5; 5 cuts

to low post off of screen; 3 passes to 5 in the post.

Option 4. If 5 is not open, the offense starts over

again from the other side; same as option 1.

Option 5. If 3 is not open, 3 screens for 4; 4 cuts

down and receives pass from 1; 5 flare screens for 2;
same as option 2.

Option 6. If 4 is not open, 4 screens for 5; 5 cuts to

low post and receives pass from 1; same as option 3.

Option 7. If 5 is not open, the offense starts over

again from the original side; same as option 1.

C. Half-Court Sets
1. Picket Fence

A. 2, 3, 4, and 5 line up at the free throw

line, preparing to screen for 2; 2 cuts around
a triple screen from 5, 3, and 4; 1 passes to 5;
2 cuts back around 4 to the rim; 5 passes to
2 for a layup.

2. High Post Split

A. 1 brings the ball up the court and passes

to 3; 3 passes to 5 in the high post; 1 cuts to
corner.

B. 3 screens for 1; 1 cuts around 5 and receives

handoff; 4 screens for 2; 2 cuts to rim off of
screen; 1 passes to 2 for a layup.

D. Sideline Out-of-Bounds Sets

1. Off Sides

A. 1, 3, 4, and 5 get in a box formation; 5

pushes off of his defender and receives a pass
from 2 at the three point line.

B. 2 cuts towards 5 and receives handoff; 1, 3,

and 4 screen for 5; 5 cuts around screens to
rim; 2 dribbles around three point line and
passes to 5 for a layup.

2. Sideline Stack

Option 1. 1, 3, 4, and 5 get in a stack formation

along the sideline; 1 pretends to screen for 4; 3
and 5 set a double screen for 1; 1 cuts towards
the ball off of the double screen, curling around
5; 4 sets a screen for 1; 1 cuts down the court
towards the rim off of screen; 2 throws lob pass
to 1 at the rim for a layup.

Option 2. If 1 is not open, 5 cuts towards halfcourt; 3 cuts towards the ball; 4 cuts towards
the wing; 2 makes the easiest available pass.

E. Baseline Out-of-Bounds Sets

1. Box

A. 1, 2, 3, and 5 get in a box formation; 3 cuts

to the corner; 1 cuts to the wing; 5 cuts along
the baseline towards the corner; 4 passes to 5.

2. Baseline Stack

A. 1, 2, 3, and 5 get in a stack formation along

the edge of the key; 1 cuts to the ball-side
corner; 2 cuts to the opposite corner; 3 cuts to
the rim; 5 cuts back towards midcourt; 4 should
try to pass to 3 for the layup; if 3 is not open, 4
makes the easiest available pass to 1, 2, or 5.

B. 5 passes to 1; 2 sets a down-screen for 4; 4

cuts to rim off of screen; 1 dribbles to the top
of the key and passes to 4 for a layup.

F. 2-3 Zone Defense Sets

1. Stack Split

A. 1 passes to 2; 1 cuts towards the free

throw line, and then back to above to the
three point line; 2 passes back to 1; 3 moves
next to 5.

B. 2 cuts along the baseline to the opposite

corner; 3 sets a screen on the middle defender,
x5; 1 dribbles past x1 and passes to 5 for a
layup.

2. Triple Stacks

A. 1 passes to 2 and cuts to the wing; 3, 4,

and 5 line up in a stack formation along the
edge of the key.

B. 5 sets a screen on the bottom outside

defender, x3; 4 sets a screen on the middle
defender, x5; 2 dribbles towards the top of
the key and passes to 1; 2 cuts to the
opposite corner; 1 passes to 3 for a layup.

II. DEFENSE
A. Strategy Overview
We will alternate through three different defenses during every game, making it difficult
for the other team to get into rhythm. The first is a tough, physical man-to-man defense
that does not let the ball get to the middle of the floor or inside the paint. We will not
give up layups. The second defense is a 1-3-1 half-court trap, which will force bad passes
that we can steal for easy fast-break layups. The third defense is an aggressive full-court
press that will create turnovers. In some situations, we will also use the box-and-one
defense to further disrupt rhythm and force strategy changes as needed.
B. Man-to-Man
1. Defending the Pick & Roll

High P&R: Hedge. 4 screens for 1; x1 goes

over screen; x4 hedges by moving to opposite
side of screen to cut off 1; x1 and x4 trap 1 and
force him to pick up his dribble; this leaves 4
open, so x5 slides over to cover 4; when 1 has
picked up his dribble or passed the ball, x4
recovers to 4, allowing x5 to recover to 5.

Sideline P&R: Ice. 4 screens for 1; x1 slides

above the screen before 1 dribbles towards it,
preventing 1 from taking the screen; x4 sinks
down to contain 1, preventing him from
dribbling into the paint long enough for x1 to
recover back to 1.

2. A Note on Rebounding
The most effective way to rebound is as a team. Do not follow the ball as it
comes off of the rim; instead, find your man, box him out, and let the ball come
to you. If all five defenders do this, we will control almost every short rebound.

C. 1-3-1 Half-Court Trap

Basic setup. The top defender, x4, will SLOWLY

force 1 to one side of the floor (left side shown
here); the left wing defender, x1, will also
SLOWLY force 1 to the top corner; x5 must
front the post, preventing the pass to 5.

Primary trap. When 1 dribbles towards sideline,

x1 and x4 quickly trap the top corner; x5
continues fronting 5, preventing the pass to the
middle of the floor; 2 steals any pass made to
the ball-side bottom corner; 3 steals any lob
pass made to the opposite bottom corner; the
only pass we will allow is to 2 on the opposite
side of the court.

Primary trap. After the ball reversal to the

opposite side, x4 and x3 should again force 2
towards the corner, SLOWLY; if 2 dribbles to
the sideline, x4 and x3 will quickly trap the top
corner; the pass to the ball-side bottom corner
will usually be open; x2 should try to anticipate
this pass and steal the ball, but may not be
there in time if the pass is made quickly; again
x5 must continue fronting his man, preventing
the pass to the middle of the court.

Secondary trap. If 2 passes to 4 in the bottom

corner, x2 and x3 will trap 4; x5 must continue
fronting his man, denying the pass to the post; if
4 tries to pass back to 2, x4 must be ready to
steal the ball; if 4 attempts the lob pass across
the court to 1, x1 must be ready to steal the
ball.

D. Box-and-One
We will use the box-and-one defense against teams that only have one good offensive
player. Four defenders will create a box formation and play zone defense to protect the
rim, while the fifth defender, the chaser, will play man-to-man defense against the
chosen offensive player. The chaser must play strong denial defense, not even allowing
his man to catch the ball. The other four defenders will rotate as follows:

Basic setup. Four defenders, x1, x2, x4, and x5

get in a box formation around the paint; here,
x3 is the chaser (not shown); the paths each
player will take while rotating are shown.

Ball on top. The defenders stay in the basic box

setup; top wing defender, x2, shifts up slightly to
help deny the pass to 3; x3 is also in position to
deny the pass to 3; if 3 was on the other side, then
x1 would move up to help deny instead of x2.

Ball on wing. The entire zone shifts towards

the ball-side of the court; x2 moves to the
middle of the free throw line; x1 moves to the
ball; x4 moves halfway out between the rim
and the corner; x5 moves to under the rim.

Ball in corner. The entire zone shifts towards

the ball-side of the court; x2 moves to the
elbow; x1 denies the return pass to the wing;
x4 moves to the ball; x5 moves to the ball-side
low post.

E. Full Court Press

This very aggressive press will generate turnovers in the backcourt. When the full court
press is called, we will ONLY full court press after made baskets; DO NOT full court
press after we miss a shot. After missed shots we will play man-to-man or 1-3-1 instead.

Basic setup. Lots of pressure is placed on the inbounds pass by x4; x2

sticks to the ball-side player, 1, making it hard for him to catch the pass;
1 should only catch the pass in the corner where he can be trapped; x3
prevents the inbounds pass to the other side by covering under the hoop
and the opposite corner; x1 must intercept any long pass made past the
three-point line, covering sideline to sideline; x5 plays man-to-man
defense in the backcourt in case the offense tries to cherry pick.
Additional notes:
Lots of pressure must be placed on the inbounds; all defenders must deny
an inbounds pass to their area. x1 and x3 should use the backboard to
their advantage when denying passes as they will not have to cover areas
blocked by the backboard as tightly.
x1 should shadow the ball if the inbound passer moves; he MUST
intercept deep passes made to the midcourt area or the press will break.
When x4 denies the inbounds pass, he should NOT jump; he must stay
on his feet so that he can trap the catcher IMMEDIATELY.
Pressure on first pass. The only pass we should allow is to the ball-side
corner (shown as 1 here); x2 and x4 will trap the ball IMMEDIATELY
on the catch; x3 must sprint into position to steal any return pass to the
inbound passer, 2; x1 must read the play, anticipating a pass to either 3
or 4, and steal the pass; if a long pass is made to 5, it should be easily
seen and intercepted by x5.
Additional notes:
x1 and x3 must read the chest/shoulders of 1 to anticipate where he will
pass the ball. If his shoulders are parallel to the sideline (his chest is
pointing towards the rim), expect him to throw the return pass to 2, and
x3 must be ready to steal this pass. If his shoulders are parallel to the
baseline (his chest is pointing towards midcourt), expect him to throw
the pass up ahead to 3, and x1 must be ready to steal this pass.
When trapping, x2 and x4 must lock feet so that 1 cannot split them. In
addition, x2 and x4 must trap with arms straight up in the air, forcing 1
to throw a lob pass, which is easier for the other defenders to steal.