Indiana's Secondary Break into the 3-pointer

Eric Gordon for Indiana is a terrific talent. But if the Hoosiers are going to go anywhere this season, it will be their forwards like DJ White that will make or break the chances. I highlighted this play mostly to show why it is so important for your forwards to get up and down the floor. This secondary break play which results in a wide open 3-pointer in the corner only works because the forwards are in on the play. Watch the video and read my thoughts below,



Forwards Lead the Way:

Every good offensive play begins with a defensive one, as does this play. Off of the missed Georgia Tech shot, there is a quick outlet to Eric Gordon and he's gone down the sideline. O5 is the first one ahead of the whole offense, O4 is the trailer.

O2 runs wide and sets up for the 3-pointer. O4 is the trailer and you'll see in the video, he cuts right through the lane, has his hands high looking for the pass. This occupies the lane and sucks the defense in.

3-pointer:

Eric Gordon drives into the middle from the wing drawing the defense in. Now since O4 and O5 are setup under the basket, the defense is packed in so Gordon finds Lance Stemler wide open in the corner.

I think Georgia Tech actually defends this pretty good. All 5 get back, but obviously they get mixed up as nobody picks up Stemler in the corner. But DJ White attracts the full frontal in the post while Mike White does a good job drawing the defense by cutting right through the lane.

Summary:

I'm guessing most coaches out there don't spend enough time on early offense or secondary break. I know that we don't. We do a lot of 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 drills, but we don't really work 5-on-5 going through a secondary break or early offense. A lot of teams are either fast-break, or half-court. But there is an in-between with the secondary breaks and early offense. Just because all 5 defenders are back, doesn't mean they are ready to defend. Attack early and catch them off-guard or back-pedaling.

It's probably a good time to define terms here. Fast-break is generally referred to 3-on-2 or 2-on-1 after a steal, turnover or rebound. Secondary break generally refers to 3-on-3, 4-on-4 or 5-on-5 after a steal or turnover. Early offense generally refers to offense off of made baskets or sideout, baseline. At least that is what I've been told.

To improve your early offense, Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson has a DVD on transition offense which is a good place to start. Discuss your favorite topics and exchange coaching ideas at the X's and O's Basketball forum.