Gonzaga's Drive and Kick Spread Offense

I've only watched 1 other Gonzaga game this year (against Memphis) and I know Mark Few usually runs the flex, but I haven't seen much of the flex at all this year. Earlier when I watched them play Memphis, I thought the drive and kick was a 1 time deal, an adjustment to playing Memphis. But I watched them play against a very good San Diego team on the road and what I saw was a lot more of drive and kick in a 4-out or even 5-out set. Here is Steve Bardo of ESPN breaking it down live,



Though the Bulldogs have a legit low post in Josh Heytvelt, it's safe to say he peaked last year when they beat UNC. The rest of the Bulldogs big men are freshmen so they've struggled dealing with the speed of the college game. Instead, the Bulldogs guards have thrived in this new drive and kick spread offense. The Bulldogs leading scorers are 2 guards, Bouldin and Pargo and Daye. While Daye is 6-foot-10, he plays more like a wing who can slash and shoot from the outside.

Drive and Kick Spread:

The Bulldogs play like a combination of the Memphis dribble drive and Duke's spread offense. I say combination because they drive a lot more than they shoot the 3 but they use ball-screens more than Memphis but not quite as much as Duke.

In this first iteration, Pargo just goes hard to the net. Due to good M2M defense, Pargo has to kick it out to Bouldin. Notice how the shooters are spread around the arc and are ready to catch and shoot.


Bouldin goes hard at the elbows, but against due to good M2M defense by the Toreros, he kicks it out to Daye who is the trailer on the play.


Though he's 6-foot-10, Austin Daye plays more like a wing (will probably play 3 in the NBA), and drives hard to the net. Again good M2M defense forces him to make the dump off pass to Kuso.


Bouldin is setup now at the opposite wing and gets the kick out from Kuso. Bouldin makes the extra pass to a wide open Downs who hits the 3-pointer,


Summary:

Just another example of a coach and team playing a style that fits their skill and talent. If Mark Few had more confidence in his big men like Heytvelt or some of the freshman, he could play more flex, but his guards are his best scorers and they are great at putting the ball on the floor so he has made the switch to a more dribble drive oriented offense.

For some info on your players can improve their 1-on-1 perimeter skills, check out Phil Martelli's DVD on becoming a better 1-on-1 player. It has a lot of great drills you can use to help develop those slashing skills that these offenses require. To discuss this and other basketball coaching topics, head over to the X's and O's of Basketball Forum.