www.allenatori.fip.

it Blitz Basketball Offense By Brian McCormick

Blitz basketball is a philosophy of play which applies constant pressure to the opponent on the offensive and defensive ends. The Blitz Basketball offensive system is similar to that of the en vogue college basketball offense the AASAA offense created by Vance Walberg and employed by Memphis University and Pepperdine University. I have used the Blitz system with youth, high school, college and professional teams since 2001. At the developmental level, I use the Blitz system because it teaches players to be aggressive and utilizes many tactical fundamentals, so players develop general skills which transfer to other systems. At competitive levels, I use the system because of the spacing it creates, the ability to create match-ups in our favor and to put defensive players on their heels. The Blitz Basketball system works best with a penetrating guard, two shooters, a power forward who can handle and shoot the ball and an athletic center who runs the floor, rebounds and catches the ball in traffic. However, the offense can adjust to personnel. The basics of the offense are: 1. Open the strong side post to create a driving lane. 2. Drive to score. 3. If you draw help, kick to an open shooter. 4. No defender = shoot; one defender = attack/score; two defenders = pass The basic skills the offense trains are: 1. Shooting off the catch 2. Finishing at the basket 3. Attacking dribble moves 4. The Euro 5. Dribble penetration spacing

www.allenatori.fip.it The reasons the offense is difficult to defend are: 1. Always attacking 2. Punishes help defense 3. Stresses getting to the basket (free throws) 4. Creates open three-point shots 5. Leads to offensive rebounds 6. Develops an aggressive, no fear mentality in players The offense starts in a four-out set (Diagram 1, below):

PG starts with the ball Shooters start in the corners Athletic post player sprints basket to basket and goes opposite the ball Versatile forward/post trails opposite the PG

When I first started this system, we used a high on-ball screen to initiate the offense. However, at the youth and college levels, the PG went away from the on-ball screen more often than he or she used the screen, so now the primary entry starts without the on-ball screen. Team defense is so good defending the pick-and-roll that the ball handler going 1v1 in space is actually a better, and preferred option. The basic motion is weave-like, resembling the Princeton offense and using some of the same tactical components. However, the Blitz offense attacks the opponent and encourages quick shots and attacking dribble penetration rather than working the shot clock for a backdoor lay-up. The Princeton offense uses a high post while the Blitz offense keeps the middle of the floor open for dribble penetration and uses the dribble drive as a substitute for post play. The Princeton offense uses more dribble hand-offs, while the Blitz system uses the Euro: if the help defender stops the dribble penetration, his offensive player steps behind the dribbler and the dribbler passes to the open player and moves through the help defenders angle of closeout, effectively setting a screen or getting in the defenders way (Diagram 3).

www.allenatori.fip.it The most common entry is dribble penetration off a direct drive. On the dribble penetration, the next player reads his defender: if his defender denies a pass, he cuts backdoor unless the ball handler has a clear lane to the basket (Diagram 2); if his defender helps on the ball, he circles behind the ball (Diagram 3).

Diagram 2: Wing cuts Backdoor

Diagram 3: Wing circles behind the drive

The same basic movement occurs whether the ball handler attacks the baseline or the middle (Diagram 4 and 5). The offense always attacks and it punishes the help defense. By circling behind the drive, the next player creates a longer closeout for his defender. He gives enough space that he does not crowd the ball handler. The pass is a short pass, not a hand-off. On a dribble hand-off, the offensive player drives directly at the help defender with the intention of setting a screen. In this offense, the goal is to attack the basket and if help comes, punish the help by passing to an open player who has the option of shooting or driving. Initiating the offense through the 4 creates problems for the defense because many post players are uncomfortable defending quick dribble penetration twenty feet from the basket. While every player is important, I believe the skills of the 4 determine the ultimate success of the offense and how much pressure the offense puts on the opponent. A penetrating guard is a necessity and shooters help space the floor, which is a big requirement, but a versatile 4 who is comfortable shooting the three and penetrating with the dribble poses many problems for the defense in terms of match-ups and becomes an extraordinary weapon.

www.allenatori.fip.it Diagram 4: Forward cuts backdoor drive Diagram 5: Forward circles behind the

While players traditionally are taught to catch and triple threat, this offense uses a different mentality. Rather than catch on the move, stop, square to the basket and evaluate your options, players have two options when they catch the ball: shoot or go. The offense emphasizes two passes: a pitch back to a player around the three-point line or a bounce pass leading a player directly to the basket, typically on a backdoor cut. By penetrating and pitching, the offense creates better three-point shot opportunities, as players receive the ball from inside the three-point line, already squared to the basket. Players can step confidently into their shot or, if they are not open, continue with their own dribble penetration. When I first ran this offense with a youth team, we used a high on-ball screen and the forward picked and popped (Diagram 6). The Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA started in a similar set this season and used a shallow cut by the forward (Penny Taylor) while the point guard (Miller) dribbled across the top. Miller passed back to Taylor to initiate the offense with a drive to the basket (Diagram 7).

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Diagram 6: Pick and Pop Entry/Forward Isolation

Diagram 7: Shallow Cut

The more the ball moves, the better the offense looks. The difficulty with the offense is balancing the individual isolations on which the offense is predicated without creating a stagnant 1v5 offense. Lute Olson and the University of Arizona use dribble penetration as one of their offensive keys and he believes you must force the defense to defend the entire width of the court. They use middle penetration and skip passes to get the ball moving from side to side. However, the objective is to score and too much side to side ball movement obscures the objective which is to drive the ball to the basket for lay-ups or to collapse the defense to create open three-point shots. However, the ball should not stay on one side of the court or be dominated by one player for too long.

The other potential negative is the non-use of a post-up player. The 5 must move with the ball and create passing angles to receive the ball around the basket. If the post stands still, help rotations are easier. An active center makes the defense work harder on their help rotations.

The basic entries involve the 1, 2 and 4. However, incorporating the 3 is easy and useful, especially if the team bogs down on one side of the court. The first way is with a baseline pass if the defense cuts off the 1s penetration (Diagram 7); the second is when the 4 cuts backdoor and is not open for the pass (Diagram 8); finally, while this is not a screen heavy offense and depends more on spacing and dribble penetration, the 4 can set a screen to get the ball to the 3 with an opportunity to shoot or drive (Diagram 9).

www.allenatori.fip.it Diagram 7: Baseline Pass Diagram 8: Backdoor Clear out

Diagram 9: Weak Side Screen

Diagram 10: Suns Post Iso

The 5 receives the ball off dribble penetration and gets a lot of easy baskets when his defender helps on the penetration. However, if the center position is a strength, there are other ways to incorporate him. The first option is a play the Phoenix Suns used last season to isolate Amare Stoudemire. The 5 sets a flex screen for the 2 to cut to the basket (Diagram 10). If the 2 is open cutting to the basket, he is the first option. Otherwise, he clears to the opposite corner. After setting the screen, the 5 shapes up to the ball and the 1 gets the 5 the ball in space. The 5 is isolated 1v1 just outside the key with shooters spotting up around the three-point line. A play we used with great success to isolate the 4 on the perimeter and post the 5 in the paint is a basic Flex entry. With the 1 dribbling on the strong side, the 3 uses a Flex screen from the 5 to clear the weak side. The 4 sets the down screen for the 5 who curls to the middle of the key. After setting the screen, the 4 pops to the wing (Diagram 11). The 5 in the lane is the first option; if not the 4 is

www.allenatori.fip.it open. Teams switched this screen against us most of the time, forcing their bigger player to guard our more versatile forward at the three-point line and leaving their smaller post against our post. If the 4 gets the ball, he has the option of shooting, isolating or looking for the post entry feed. Diagram 11: Flex Entry Regardless of the entry, the goal is the same: isolate a player in space so he can attack the basket. When the ball moves quickly, and players penetrate into the key rather than side to side, the offense is fast-paced and hard to guard. By eliminating the triple threat, players make decisions quicker which pressures the defense because it knows an open player will shoot. If players share the ball, it is an equal opportunity offense, which is fun to play. At the youth level, I love the offense because it develops attack-minded offensive players, rather than passive players. I read an article about soccer development in Brazil and a former national team coach said that they did not worry about making sure players passed the ball and played with the right tactics at a young age, but encouraged players to attack defensive players. As they developed, they added more tactical knowledge, but they never wanted to restrain a player or hinder his attacking instincts. I believe this type of offense nurtures the same type of attacking skills in young basketball players, and they can adapt to other systems later because they possess confidence and composure with the ball. I also like to use this system because the technical drills used to train ball handling, passing and shooting teach the offense and the tactical components, so time is not wasted running offensive sets 5v0. Everything is fast-paced and players get more repetitions making game moves and shooting game quality shots.

Brian McCormick is the Performance Director for trainforhoops.com. He is the author of 7 books, including Cross Over: The New Model of Youth Basketball Development, 180 Shooter and Blitz Basketball, which details the drills used to teach the Blitz offense and defense. He publishes a weekly newsletter for coaches, players and parents and currently trains players in San Diego, CA.