3 March Madness Plays for your team

  With the March Madness excitement in full swing, today I want to share 3 great plays you can steal from some of the best teams in the tournament.  These are unique, highly effective actions that are working well against the best collegiate teams in the country...  And they can translate for your team too!  Onto the content...   March Madness Playbook: 3 Winning Actions to Get An Easy Bucket   March Madness is a coaching clinic! While we all love to watch the games, savvy coaches also use the tournament as a learning lab.   The Men’s and Women’s Tournaments have delivered, as always. In addition to great games, we’ve also seen a ton of great plays.   One decision coaches have to make is how quickly to get to the scoring action. Leonardo Da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”   Of the three sets below, the Indiana Hi-Lo and the Marquette BLOB get directly to the scoring action.   There are multiple advantages of getting right to the point. First, less stuff can go wrong! There’s less opportunities for a player to do the wrong thing.   Second, players have to remember and think less. At the youth and high school levels, many players struggle to remember complex plays.  While those plays might look great on paper, it only matters if your players can execute them.   The Indiana and Marquette plays are easily taught, but not easily guarded! That’s the key to a good play.  On the other hand, Dan Hurley is known for very intricate sets. They are beautiful to watch. He clearly does an excellent job teaching these plays to his team.  Whether your team can handle plays with that level of intricacy is up to you. Either way, check out these 3 March Madness sets and see if they would benefit your team!  Indiana Hi-Lo  If you want to find the best sets to get the ball to a dominant post player, you need to watch the Women's NCAA Tournament. Post play is still a major factor in the women’s game.  In Monday’s 2nd round game, Indiana made a concerted effort to get the ball to their star post player, Mackenzie Holmes (#54).  One way they did it was through the use of hi-lo action. They ran this play multiple times to get Holmes a good look. [You can check it out here.](  It starts with Sydney Parrish (#33) setting a ghost screen for Chloe Moore-McNeil (#22). This is the first option. If Oklahoma guards it wrong, McNeil can attack the rim.  [MarchMadness1]  This action also occupies some of Holmes’ defender’s attention. If McNeil were to beat her defender, Holmes' defender (Oklahoma’s #32) would be the help defender.   Thus, when the ball is thrown back to Parrish at the top of the key, Holmes is able to get her inside leg in front of the defender to create a passing window. She also does a great job getting her hands up and wide.  [MarchMadness2]  The other two Indiana players are deep in the corners, creating space at the rim.  While Indiana was able to get their first option, Parrish would have had a shot or drive opportunity if Holmes was covered.  This play is beautifully simple and is a great way to put your post player in position to score!  UCONN Ball Screen Stagger Action  UConn’s Coach Danny Hurley runs some of the best sets in college basketball. The level of deception and precision is amazing.  Last night, Hurley called timeout to set up a play at the end of the first half -  It resulted in an open 3 for Big East Newcomer of the Year, Cam Spencer. [Check it out here.](  The play starts with Spencer (#12) handling the ball up top. Spencer enters to Hassan Diarra (#10) who received a down screen. Spencer runs through to the ball side corner.  [MarchMadness3]  Forward Alex Karaban (#11) comes from the opposite wing to screen for Diarra. Karaban rolls as Spencer lifts behind the screen.   This ball screen and lift is crucial as it’s the false action that precedes the stagger screen. Karaban’s roll puts him in position to set the first stagger screen.  As for the lift, you see the San Diego State defender come up to try to deny the pass to Spencer.  [MarchMadness4]  This allows him to use the defender’s momentum against him when he starts his baseline cut.  Diarra dribbles to the top as Spencer sprints to the baseline and comes off screens from Karaban and Spencer Johnson (#35).  [MarchMadness5]  It’s important to note that the two screeners were UConn’s front court players. This made it harder for SDSU to switch.  Had they switched, Diarra could have looked for the screeners on a slip or seal.  Also by running the play left to right, Spencer was able to turn to the right as he squared himself. That is an easier shot for a right handed shooter.  This play differs from the Indiana and Marquette plays in that it is more intricate. If you have players with a high basketball IQ, it may be for you.   Remember, you know your team better than anyone - use that knowledge when choosing the right type of plays!  A great set from a great coach!  Marquette Need 3 BLOB  In Friday’s Sweet 16 game, Marquette found themselves down 10 with under 90 seconds left. They needed points and they needed them fast.  Shaka Smart ran this play to get a quick 3 point shot for Kam Jones (#1). [You can check it out here.](  The play starts with two Marquette players positioned at the elbows, point guard Tyler Kolek (#11) in the opposite corner and post Oso Ighodaro (#13) in the ball side short corner.   Ighodoro moves towards the elbow like he’s going to screen David Joplin (#23). Joplin rejects the screen and cuts to the basket. Selling this cut as a scoring action is crucial, as it makes Joplin’s defender unprepared to help on the screen he’s about to set.  [MarchMadness6]  Meanwhile, Stevie Mitchell (#4) runs through to the ball side wing.   Kolek circles to the top of the key and receives a pass from Jones.  As the ball is in the air, Jones sprints straight up the lane line. Most plays for the inbounder go to the corner, so this twist catches the defense unprepared.  [MarchMadness6]  Jones runs off of a stagger screen by Joplin and Ighodaro. Joplin’s defender is not ready to switch this screen because he was worried about Joplin’s cut to the ball.  Ighodaro’s defender doesn’t want to switch as that would create a mismatch at both spots. As a result, Jones is wide open to receive the pass from Kolek and knock down the open 3!   Marquette used this when they needed a 3 late in the game. However, you can use it at any time.   If you use it multiple times, a great counter would be for the player in Kolek’s position (#11) to catch and rip to their right hand. The whole right side of the floor is open for a strong hand drive.   Meanwhile, the defenders would be occupied with the stagger screen action. If you like that option, make sure that player is a strong driver.   A great quick hitter when you need a 3 late in the game!  Conclusion  Your bracket might be busted, but that doesn’t mean you should stop watching!   As we get closer to the Final Four, keep your eyes open for late game and special situation plays that can work for your team.   As another famous artist, Pablo Picasso, once said, “Good artists borrow, great artists steal.”   See what you can steal to make your team better going forward!  All the best,  Jeff Huber Breakthrough Basketball  This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 06:42:39. 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