Regardless of the age or gender of your athletes, or the amount of coaching experience you possess it is probably safe to assume that you have established some sort of offensive philosophy. While every coach is surely unique, all offensive philosophies can be boiled down to two distinct types; motion offense or the use of quick hitters.
There are many coaches who insist on arguing that one type is certainly better than the other, but the fact of the matter is that there are multiple ways to be successful. Instead of blindly following the crowd, my advice is to simply implement what you are most comfortable teaching!
Utilizing a motion type of offense offers several advantages.
All five players will be involved in the offense
There are equal scoring opportunities for all players
Teams who are not as quite athletic but more disciplined than their opponents can thrive in this system
However, a quick hitting offense also has its advantages:
Quicker scoring opportunities often results in more scoring opportunities
Your best players get the most shots
Favors an up tempo style of play
If you are a coach who has already established a quick hitting offensive philosophy or are looking into changing to this style of play, here are 6 tips for improving your quick hitters.
Tip 1: Check the Speedometer
Remember a quick hitter is intended to be carried out quickly! One of the biggest flaws that many coaches fail to notice/correct is the speed at which the play is being executed! Running the set in a speedy fashion does a couple different things;
Puts the defense in a situation where each player has to react quickly
If even one defender fails to react quickly or correctly your offense will surely be left with a wide open shot attempt
Tip 2: Know the Scoring Options
One of the biggest advantages of running a quick hitter is that you can dictate and control the scoring opportunities! You can easily place your top three scorers in positions where in a matter of seconds one or all of them will receive multiple looks at the basket. First of all, make sure the plays you select compliment the strengths of your top players.
Secondly, make sure your every player knows and understands the sequence of available scoring options. It’s extremely frustrating and usually counterproductive when a role player takes the first shot opportunity instead of waiting for the play to develop.
Tip 3: Maintain Great Spacing
A common objective in many quick hitters is to develop mismatches and then exploit them. However if your team does not maintain great spacing throughout the set it will make it much easier for the defense to prevent any mismatches. Great spacing also allows for other scoring opportunities outside your “big three.”
With so much focus placed on your primary scorers, the defense often will not be able to properly guard all five offensive players. With proper spacing your role players will usually find themselves in many more scoring situations than if everything is bunched up.
Tip 4: Set Good Screens
No matter which type of offense you run, whether it is motion or quick hitters, you will need to establish good screening actions. By setting good screens you can free up shooters for open shots, make it easier to reverse the ball, put defensive players in situations where they have to make instant decisions, and create mismatches for your best scorers.
Although some coaches may think of the ability to set good screens as a minor issue, I promise you it makes the world of difference when done properly and consistently.
Tip 5: Stress Execution
When utilizing a quick hitting system it can occasionally be very easy for players to get caught up in playing and completely abandon the play. While this may be acceptable in certain situations, it may be very detrimental in others.
Hold your players accountable and stress perfect execution. The players must have trust in you as their coach and allow the play to unfold before improvising or going to “Plan B.”.
Tip 6: Quick Hitter into Motion
This tip is a little more advanced than the others but can pay huge dividends! As mentioned before, many quick hitters are designed to establish mismatches and then to exploit them. If you can coach your team to transition your quick hitters smoothly into a motion type offense, the defense will have no time to adjust between the two different philosophies in order to counteract the mismatch.
Using this strategy forces opponents to not only defend the initial quick hitter but also the disciplined movement of your motion. For younger teams this is nearly impossible!
Bonus Tip: If you are coaching older players, try running a motion type offense that leads into a quick hitter. If you play with a shot clock, run motion for 1-20 seconds. Then get right into a predetermined quick hitter. (If you don’t play with a shot clock try using a set number of passes as a guideline.) This strategy will give you the best of both offensive worlds. It will keep the defense constantly off balance, and is extremely difficult to scout.
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Getting good looks at the basket remains the primary focus of most offenses. Although there’s value in developing intricate offensive sets, sometimes in a close basketball game, getting a quick hitter releases the pressure and allows your team to thrive. A good basketball playbook features a number of options across a variety of situations, and having a consistent quick hitter is an absolute must. Sometimes, getting your best basketball players going downhill toward the basket with a pistol action helps create easy looks.
This is especially true as a season winds down or teams begin their postseason tournaments. You’re team’s already been well-scouted at this point, and you may have matched up with your opponents more than once. So it’s important to keep your opponents on their toes with a fresh playbook. The tricky part remains how to add to our repertoire without providing an extra burden on our players.
Enter the Basketball Quick Hitter series. These simple sets afford any offense release valves that players learn in a matter of minutes.
The basketball pistol play refers to an early offense action between the point guard and a wing player, with a post player at the top of the arc. The two main Pistol options to start a play are a dribble handoff and a pick and roll. In the Pistol action, the offense attempts to catch the defense before it sets in hopes to find optimal mismatches or blown coverage by a lack of defensive rotation, which makes it one of the best basketball quick hitters.
The sequence of this play begins with your point guard hitting ahead quickly to the wing. From there, Player 1 follows his pass and sprints into a dribble handoff with Player 2. As this pistol action develops, Player 4 sets a screen for Player 3 on the weak side. 4 rolls to the basket while 3 slips to the corner.
Player 1 needs to sprint up the basketball court into this pistol action. Completing the dribble handoff creates the quick-hitter here, because 1 is now going downhill to the basket at full speed.
If the defense covers this initial pistol action, the secondary scoring option unfolds for your basketball team. Player 2 cuts off a flare screen from Player 5. Player 1 on the wing has two options at this point: a pass to Player 2, who will have either a shot or a drive.
After setting the flare screen, Player 5 dives toward the hoop, drawing the defense down with him. While all that action is going on, 4 and 3 can screen for each other on the weak side to keep the defense honest.
Getting good looks at the basket remains the primary focus of most offenses. Although there’s value in developing intricate offensive sets, sometimes in a close basketball game, getting a quick hitter releases the pressure and allows your team to thrive. A good basketball playbook features a number of options across a variety of situations, and having a consistent quick hitter is an absolute must. Sometimes, a simple quick backdoor cut provides all the offense you need.
This is especially true as a season winds down or teams begin their postseason tournaments. You’re team’s already been well-scouted at this point, and you may have matched up with your opponents more than once. So it’s important to keep your opponents on their toes with a fresh playbook. The tricky part remains how to add to our repertoire without providing an extra burden on our players.
Enter the Basketball Quick Hitter series. These simple sets afford any offense release valves that players learn in a matter of minutes.
Basketball Quick Hitter: Quick Backdoor Cut
This quick hitter generates a great, quick backdoor cut opportunity for your offense. The play requires precise timing to ensure maximum efficiency. You’ll want to design this play with the player you want shooting the ball on the left wing.
The play opens with a fairly traditional set up, with both bigs starting down low and the shooters occupying the wings. The point guard brings up the ball, and as he crosses half court, the action of this quick hitter begins. The wings exchange positions on the floor, with Player 3 starting the movement and Player 2 waiting until 3 passes the right elbow. Player 3 initiating the movement draws the eyes of the defense away from Player 2.
Once the wings have exchanged, the bigs cut up to the elbows. The point guard, Player 1, can lead the defense to the left with his dribble before an entry bounce pass to Player 5 at the elbow. Player 3 clears from the wing and floats to the weak side corner at this point.
This is where the quick-hitting element of this quick backdoor cut takes place. As Player 5 receives the ball at the elbow, Player 2 starts his quick backdoor cut. Player 2 can set up his defender with fake or hard step toward the top of the key before his backdoor cut. 5 looks for 2 on the cut. 5 should use his peripheral vision to read the play.
As the pass happens, Player 4 sets a flare screen for Player 1, who cuts to the left wing. Should the defense cover Player 2’s cut, 5 should look to skip the ball to 1 on the wing. This secondary action keeps multiple actions occupying the defense.
Getting good looks at the basket remains the primary focus of most offenses. Although there’s value in developing intricate offensive sets, sometimes in a close basketball game, getting a quick hitter releases the pressure and allows your team to thrive. A good basketball playbook features a number of options across a variety of situations, and having a consistent quick hitter is an absolute must.
This is especially true as a season winds down or teams begin their postseason tournaments. You’re team’s already been well-scouted at this point, and you may have matched up with your opponents more than once. So it’s important to keep your opponents on their toes with a fresh playbook. The tricky part remains how to add to our repertoire without providing an extra burden on our players.
Enter the Basketball Quick Hitter series. These simple sets afford any offense release valves that players learn in a matter of minutes.
The play begins with your point guard coming up the left side of the basketball court, and Player 5, the quick hitter target, on the opposite block. 1 uses a high-ball screen from Player 4. As that happens, 5 comes across to screen for Player 3.
After the ball screen, 4 pauses at the top of the key. 1 begins a dribble penetration and looks for Player 3, who cut to the right corner. Player 5 acts like he’s setting a cross-screen near the elbow as Player 4 clears to the wing. 1 makes the pass to 3 in the corner.
From there, Player 2 sets a cross screen for Player 5. Player 3 looks for 5 as he cuts to the hoop. It’s important that Player 5 cuts to the rim and not the opposite block since this is a basketball quick hitter.
If 2 sets a solid cross screen, 5 should be open for a clean touch down low and a layup. Player 3’s pass must hit 5 in the hands to minimize the time needed to get the shot up.
If you have a left-handed post player, you can reverse this play. The important part of this play is you want to have the player that screens across for the post (2 in this play) to be a major scoring threat. You want the defense to respect this player and not cheat off onto your post.
Every basketball coach needs to be clear on their vocabulary for their team. Some basketball terms are interchangeable, while others are wholly unique. When discussing the concept of basketball entry plays, a coach might think of an inbound play like a SLOB or a BLOB. But an “entry” can also be considered any play that gets the offense going, providing both quick hitting options as well as getting into a continuity offense.
Sometimes, these plays are described as “false motions” or “decoy motions.” Regardless of the terminology, coaches need plays that deal specifically with pressure. Pressure-release plays must combat defenses that overplay or deny passes to the wings or the post.
Basketball Entry Play
This play begins with using the 1-4 High set.
1 starts with a dribble entry to the wing. As 1 makes his way to the wing, 2 imitates a zipper or loop cut.
2 cuts down and loops around 5, who provides the down screen.
As that action is taking place, 3 cuts to the corner as a decoy action.
This initial action might get an open look for 2 at the top of the key.
Any defensive overplay might result in a dump down pass to 5 for a layup.
3 pops up from the corner to receive a pass on the wing.
1, meanwhile, cuts from the opposite wing to the strong side corner. He cuts along the baseline, receiving a screen from 4 at the block to free him.
2 reverses the ball to 3 on the wing. Once that pass has happened, 5 provides a flare screen for 2.
This action might get an open shot for 3. It might also get an open shot for 1 in the corner, or 4 on the block.
The final sequence of this play sees 3 make the decisions. He might be open, or 1 in the corner, or 4 on the block.
3 can also skip pass to 2, whose flair screen might see him open on the opposite side. Depending on how the defense plays it, 5 might slip the screen for an open layup as well.
The value of a play like this one remains the pressure-release aspect. If a defense overplays or denies certain passes, preventing a team from initiating a continuity offense, then a set like this one provides a useful counter attack.
If this sequence hasn’t produced a good look, the offense can immediately shift into a continuity offense set.
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From there, Player 2 sets a cross screen for Player 5. Player 3 looks for 5 as he cuts to the hoop. It’s important that Player 5 cuts to the rim and not the opposite block since this is a basketball quick hitter.
This play begins with using the 1-4 High set.
