Flex Offense Coaching Guide - Norwood League · PDF filePassing Possessions ... within the offense rather than relying on one or two places to get all of your shots. Josh Stinson Coaching

Josh Stinson Coaching Better Basketball The Flex Offense

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Coach’s Guide: Flex Offense

Table of Contents Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Advantages ................................................................................................................................................ 4

Continuity ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Flexibility .............................................................................................................................................. 4

Easy To Teach ....................................................................................................................................... 5

Challenges ................................................................................................................................................. 5

Predictability ......................................................................................................................................... 5

Vulnerable to Switching Defenses ........................................................................................................ 5

Answers .................................................................................................................................................... 6

Basic Flex ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

Recap ....................................................................................................................................................... 13

Breakdown Drills ......................................................................................................................................... 14

Curl Drill .................................................................................................................................................. 14

V Cut, L-Cut ............................................................................................................................................. 16

Elbow Jumpers ........................................................................................................................................ 18

Perimeter Screens ................................................................................................................................... 19

2 Ball Shooting Breakdowns ................................................................................................................... 22

Quickpass ................................................................................................................................................ 23

Quick Possessions ................................................................................................................................... 23

Passing Possessions................................................................................................................................. 24

Quickbreak .............................................................................................................................................. 25




Special Plays ................................................................................................................................................ 26

Deep ........................................................................................................................................................ 26

Stack ........................................................................................................................................................ 26

UCLA ........................................................................................................................................................ 28

Push ......................................................................................................................................................... 29

Down ....................................................................................................................................................... 30

Bulldog .................................................................................................................................................... 31

Pin ........................................................................................................................................................... 32

Reverse .................................................................................................................................................... 32

Quaker ..................................................................................................................................................... 33

Transition ................................................................................................................................................ 34

Princeton ................................................................................................................................................. 36

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 36




Overview

Every so often I will hear coach or fan mention the flex offense as if it is a thing of the past;

these folks subscribe to a misconception that seems to crop up from time to time; the flex is too

archaic for today‟s game. My response: nothing could be further from the truth! The flex is alive

and well. In fact, the flex offense is run at every level of the game in some form or another, from

grade school all the way up to the pros. A well-run flex can create great shot opportunities in

the basket area, from the free-throw line area, and several other spots on the floor. As long as

this holds true, the flex will be a part of the game. This guide attempts to present much more

than the basic flex. By focusing on often-missed points of emphasis, including a focused set of

drills, as well as several special plays, this guide will give coaches all of the necessary tools to

fully implement the flex at any level, whether it is used as a seldom-run play, or as the basis of

an entire offensive system. To begin, I‟ll briefly overview a few of the main advantages and

some of the challenges of running the flex

Advantages

Continuity

The first major advantage is that the flex is a continuity offense. I think it's very important,

particularly for younger players who are learning the game, to have some sort of continuity

offense as the basic offense. Continuities don't have an endpoint like set plays do. As a result,

continuities encourage ball movement and player movement in the form of cutting and screening.

The idea is to run the offense with purpose but also with patience, until a good shot opportunity

presents itself. Compare this to the team that only runs set plays. On teams that run set plays

exclusively, when the team hasn't scored at the “end” of the play, you see a lot of players (at

every level but especially at the younger levels) try to break the defense down with one on one

play. Sometimes I think this type of play happens for no other reason than the fact that there

wasn‟t anything else planned if the set play broke down. This is not to say that one-on-one play

is all bad; in fact, it‟s a necessary component of a successful team. The problem is that, far too

often, teams resort to one-one-one play far too early and often. Continuities like the flex

encourage ball movement, cutting, passing and patience. One-on-one play should occur out of

this framework, and at appropriate times, such as “time and score” situations, or as a counter to

great defensive pressure.

Flexibility

The second advantage of the flex is in its flexibility. The flex allows players to utilize their

strengths all over the floor. If a team has a post player with good perimeter skills, the flex allows

that player to utilize those skills without completely taking that player away from the basket area,

where his skills are probably needed. The opposite is also true; if you have a guard with good

skills around the basket and flex will give him or her opportunities to utilize those skills.




Another piece of the flexibility advantage is that the flex teaches players the game from every

position, rather than just a specific position. Often, a coach will find that this results in teams

with players who possess a better than average understanding of how to play the game rather

than just how to play a position. The flex encourages the development of basketball players,

regardless of position. This is a tremendous advantage for players looking to play at the next

level of the game (whether that be middle school, high school, or college) but who may have to

change their primary position in order to make the transition. This happens all of the time for

post players making the transition from middle school to high school. As their peers catch up to

them in height, these players are often forced to play guard in high school. The coach who has

prepared this player by developing his or her perimeter skills has done that player a tremendous

service. Sometimes it can mean the difference between making the team and getting cut.

Easy To Teach

One last big advantage is that the flex is relatively easy to teach. Like any effective offense, it is

not easy to execute; that takes time and focused, fundamental practice. Still, the basic

movements of the flex can be taught in 10 to 15 minutes, as there are only two primary

passing/cutting sequences (the guard to guard pass/flex cut and guard to wing pass/screen away

to the baseline). With just those two pieces in place, any team can run a basic flex. For some

teams this can be a real advantage because they have can move past basic understanding of

“where to go” on offense and shift the focus onto aggressive, competitive play.

Challenges

Predictability

Probably the biggest challenge and criticism that some coaches have of the flex is that it can be

very predictable. Players don't have freedom of choice like they do in a motion offense; players

run the same basic cuts on each type of pass. Compared to motion offenses, there aren‟t many

situations where players are expected to make reads; when a pass goes to one place we run a

specific cut or set of cuts each time. The trade-off, though, is that it's easier for player to make

those cuts aggressively and with purpose; rather than think at every screen, players can focus on

aggressively making the play. Still, the predictability of the flex can become a problem,

especially against teams that run different counters out of their basic man to man defenses.

Vulnerable to Switching Defenses

Probably the biggest defensive that gives the flex difficulty, especially for younger teams, is

switching defenses. If team depends exclusively on getting baskets off of the flex cut and/or the

downscreen, they will often find the offense grinds to a halt when a defensive team switches

those screens. This is one reason why it is important to have a balanced scoring attack from

within the offense rather than relying on one or two places to get all of your shots.




Answers

The common, and in my experience very effective, answer to the problems of predictability and

of dealing with switching is to include a package of set plays into any system that features the

flex. You want to have just a simple but effective package of plays as you can run as counters

when facing different defensive challenges. Adding specials also reduces monotonous for

players. Several counters are presented in this book. I do not think it is necessary to run all of

them in a season. Which, if any, you choose to run with your team should depend on your

team‟s strengths and weaknesses as well as defensive tendencies ion your league. If none of the

teams in your league‟s switch, don‟t put too much energy into running bunch of plays geared to

counter switching defenses. If switching is common in your league, you‟ll want to spend more

time preparing for it. Whatever you choose to run, consider what is most appropriate for your

specific situation.

Basic Flex

Offensive floor positions and Terminology

There are 3 primary positions in the flex - Guard,

Wing, and Post. These terms refer to areas of the

court, not to individual players‟ positions within the

team.

Since players interchange positions in the flex offense,

it is most effectively run with versatile players who

possess at least an understanding of „how to play the

game‟ - fundamental principles of play regardless of

position.

Post players must understand and develop perimeter

skills. Since every player in the flex is required to

handle the ball on the perimeter, every player must

develop the ability to catch, pass, make decisions and

move actively on the perimeter in order for the Offense

to function at all. Perimeter players will often find

themselves in the basket area and can benefit greatly

from an understanding of matchups, positioning and

rebounding angles.




The Flex Offense begins in a 1-4 low set. Though the

Flex is one of the most team-oriented offenses in

basketball, starting the action in a 1-4 low set may require

the point guard to be able to handle pressure defenses

reasonably well. It is important in all offenses for the point

guard to pick a side when initiating the offense. If the

offense were initiated from the middle, the point guard

would most likely have a difficult passing angle to the

wings.

The post players are cued by the side that 1 chooses. The

weak-side post player pops to a guard spot when 1

leaves the middle

If 4 is overplayed on the pop-out, he has plenty of space

to run a backdoor cut to the basket for a layup. 3 fills the

guard spot. 4 clears to the weak side corner if he does

not receive the backdoor pass.

Another option if 4 is overplayed is to screen away for 3.

As we will see in a moment, this follows our basic rule to

„re-screen‟ -accept the pressure and screen away to the

baseline - against denial defense.




Since 3 and 4 are the only two offensive players on this

side of the floor, there is ample space for 3 to read his

defender on 4‟s screen. In this example, 3‟s defender trails

around the screen, so 3 curls the screen, while 4 rolls back

to the ball.

Now we enter the meat of the offense. The first rule of

the Flex Offense is: On any Guard to Guard pass, the

weak side wing player (2) runs a flex cut off of the post

(5). 2 must influence his man by taking 2 steps towards the

baseline before executing a hard change of speed, change

of direction cut to come off of 5‟s screen.

It is important for the post player (5) to take one step up

and one step off the block to set the screen on the flex

cut. In most standard (non-switching) man to man

defenses, 2‟s defender will attempt to bump 2 and fight

over the top of the screen as shown. By stepping up and

off the block to set the screen, 5 gives 2 room to back-cut

the screen if X2 aggressively tries to ride 2 over the

screen.




1 starts towards the baseline after passing to 4. 1 down

screens for 5 immediately after 5 sets the screen for 2.

This is called screen the screener action because 1 screens

for 5 immediately after 5‟s screen for 2. This screen the

screener sequence is the defining sequence of any flex

offense.

1 pops to the corner after screening for 5 in order to

balance the floor.

Screening the screener can be very effective. If 5 and 2

execute properly on their screen, X5 might be forced to

help cover 2 momentarily in order to prevent a layup, as

shown. Sometimes this is all the space 5 needs to get an

open look coming off of the down screen.

The Second rule of the Flex Offense: On any Guard to

Wing Pass, the passer screens away to baseline, as

shown. Once a team has Rules 1 and 2 down, they are

running the basic action of the flex offense

.Again the rules are: 1. On any Guard to Guard Pass, the

weak side Wing runs a flex cut, followed by a down screen

from the Guard who passed the ball. 2, On any Guard to

Wing Pass, the passer screens away to the baseline.




This rule is a basic principle of almost all continuity

offenses such as flex, motion, and the like. We DO NOT

pass the ball to stationary players on the perimeter. So...what it really boils down to is: if you’re not moving,

you’re making a mistake. If a player finds himself

standing on the perimeter, he screens away to the baseline.

This illustrates the same principle from a different position

on the floor. One of the most common and frustrating

fundamental errors players make on offense is to go to a

spot and call or wave for the ball. Sometimes, this player is

frustrated himself, because he didn‟t receive the pass when

he was open. Even if a teammate did miss an open pass, it

is critical for the waving player to realize that this reaction

causes a much bigger immediate problem for the team In

any motion-type of offense like the flex, and particularly

against pressure defenses, any player that finds himself

standing and calling for the ball probably hasn’t been

open for long time. Even if he feels like he‟s open, he runs

a huge risk of a turnover.

Any active defender near the passing lane has a great shot at a steal

against a standing offense; the difference in inertia between the

two players gives the defender a huge advantage. If a player is

standing on the perimeter, he should ‟set the table‟ by screening

away for a teammate to fill the open spot. This simple motion

principle is critical because it „keeps the wheels greased‟ on

offense. Teams that struggle with this find things grinding to a halt

far too often in games.




Good flex teams pass into the post early and often. Since

players interchange floor positions in the flex, everybody

on the team will spend some time in the post. We‟ll look to

feed any post player with a favorable matchup. The flex

can be great at providing post-up opportunities to big

guards with a defensive mismatch. Players should learn to

recognize mismatches and capitalize on them from within

the offense.

Guards should yell „Mouse” if they establish post position

on a smaller guard. On a pass to the post, the wing player

reads his man‟s reaction to the pass, and cuts out of his

man‟s field of vision. In this diagram, 3 cuts along the

baseline and clear to the weak side if he doesn‟t receive the

pass. This clears the side for 2 to make a scoring move

from the post.

If 2 is not a „back to the basket‟ type of player, he can jump

to the ball on the pass from 3 and catch the ball off the

block. When 3 clears, 2 will often find him 7 feet from the

basket with a 1 on 1 opportunity and half of the floor to

work with.

Here, 3 screens away for 5 after the post pass. 5 should

look for the shot off of 3‟s screen, and 3 can step back to

the ball after the screen.




The direction 3 cuts after feeding the post is based on

reading and reacting to the defense.95% of perimeter

defenders will turn and „dig‟ towards the post after a post-

feed; for most players this is a natural response, like

responding “What?” when they hear their name spoken out

lout.

3 watches his man react to the pass and cuts outside the

defender‟s field of vision.3 cuts to a spot directly in front

of the defender on the pass to the post in this depiction on

the right (The player‟s are Zeros). The defender can easily

recover and close out on a pass back out.

On the opposite side of the floor (the players are Triangles)

3 cuts away from the defender’s field of vision. This time

the defender‟s job is much more difficult since he must

locate his man before he can close out.

3‟s defender makes an inside turn to dig into the post so 3

responds with a baseline cut.

3‟s defender makes an outside turn to dig into the post so 3

responds with a cut to the middle.




Recap

There are 3 primary positions in the flex - Guard, Wing, and Post. These terms refer to

areas of the court, not to individual players‟ positions within the team.

The first rule of the Flex Offense is: On any Guard to Guard pass, the weak side wing

player (2) runs a flex cut off of the post (5). 2 must influence his man by taking 2 steps

towards the baseline before executing a hard change of speed, change of direction cut to

come off of 5‟s screen.

The Second rule of the Flex Offense: On any Guard to Wing Pass, the passer screens

away to baseline, as shown. Once a team has Rules 1 and 2 down, they are running the

basic action of the flex offense

We DO NOT pass the ball to stationary players on the perimeter. If you‟re not

moving, you‟re making a mistake. If a player finds himself standing on the perimeter, he

screens away to the baseline.

On a pass to the post, the passer cuts away from his defender’s field of vision. If the

defense turns to the baseline, we screen away to the middle. On a turn to the middle, we

cut on the baseline.




Breakdown Drills

Curl Drill

Purpose: To drill a variety of shots while simulating

coming off of screens.

Organization: Players line up out of bounds,

on either side of the key, under the hoop. The

first player in one line and the second player the other

line have a ball.

Procedure:

1. Player 1 (without a ball) cuts across the key in a

curling motion. He catches the pass from 2 and

shoots. He then rebounds his shot then passes to

the next player in line 2. He goes to the end of that

line.

2. When 2 passes, he immediately curls across the

lane (behind 1) and receives the pass from 3.

3. This movement continues.

4. The team shoots from the following spots, shifting

on the coach‟s command:

1. Layup

2. Mid-post

3. High post

4. Top of the key.

Coaching Points:

1. Show your hands to receive a pass. Give the passer

a target.

2. On lay-ups, catch the pass high (around the

shoulders) and keep it high. Bringing the ball down

near the waist area slows the shot down, which in a

game might give the defense time to recover and

block alter the shot. This also exposes the ball and

puts it in an area where a guard‟s quick hands

might get a steal.

3. On lay-ups, mid-post jumpers, and high post

jumpers the player curling across the lane should

come as close to the shooter as possible, nearly

shoulders. This simulates coming off of a screen,

where the cutter and screened should bump

shoulders so that the defense cannot fight through

screen.

4. When catching the ball, try to catch the ball while




making a jump stop. The ball should hit the

shooter‟s hands as his feet hit the floor. If the

shooter this he should catch and pivot quickly on

his inside foot into a balanced shooting position.

5. When rebounding, keep your hands above your

shoulders, with your bent in a ready position.

6. Generally speaking, a long shot will yield a long

rebound if it is missed, shots from the side will

usually land on the weak side if missed.




V Cut, L-Cut

Purpose: To teach getting open against denial

defense using V-cuts and L-cuts.

Organization: Players line up at either wing. The

coach stands at the head of the key with a ball.

Procedure:

1. Player 1 performs a V-cut, getting open on the

wing. The coach passes to1‟s outside hand as 1

moves to the perimeter. When 1 catches the ball,

he faces the basket in the triple threat position and

performs a jab step.

2. As 1 catches the ball, 2 begins a v-cut on the

other side of the floor. 1 passes the ball back to

the coach and goes to the end of the opposite line.

3. When the coach catches the pass, he reverses the

ball to 2 as 2 comes out of his V-cut. 2 faces up in

triple threat position and executes a jab step

before passing to the coach.

4. After players have mastered V-cuts, the coach

can add L-cuts. To perform an L-Cut the player

starts from the low post, walks up to the elbow

and pops out to the wing. Players continue to face

the basket in triple threat position before passing

to the coach.

5. The coach can allow the players to make dribble

moves after facing the basket. Players can explode

to the basket for a layup (in 2 dribbles or less) or

take one dribble in either direction for a pull-up

jump shot. Players rebound their own

Coaching Points:

1. When making V-cuts or L-cuts, players should

walk into the cut, then explode out with a change

of speed, change of direction cut.

2. The coach should only pass to players who are

moving. If the coach turns to pass to a player who

has already made his cut but is standing on the

perimeter, the player should execute the cut again.

We do not pass to stationary players on the

perimeter. Players who work to time their cuts so

that they catch the pass while on the move are

developing offensive timing.







Elbow Jumpers

Purpose: This can be done as a competition, with one

team per hoop, counting their made shots.

Organization: Players line up facing one hoop with a

line at each elbow. There is a ball in front of each

line.

Procedure:

1. Player 1 shoots. Player 2 shoots once 1‟s shot get

near the rim.

2. Each player rebounds his shot and passes to the

opposite line.

3. Each player then goes to the end of the line he

passed to.

Coaching Points:

1. When catching the ball, the ball hits your hands as

your feet hit the floor (in a jump stop).

2. Give a target. Look to catch the ball in the

shooting pocket” so that when the ball is caught in

can be shot quickly, with no wasted motion.

3. Go straight up and down when shooting. A

shooter‟s feet should land in the same spot they

jumped from.

Variation: The shooting spots can be changed from

the elbows to the wings, corner, short corner, or any

spots that fit the team‟s needs.




Perimeter Screens

Purpose: To drill the fundamentals of off-ball screens

in a pass and screen away setting. I run this often

early in the season because it helps break down the

fundamentals of screening for both the screener and

the man receiving the screen, which is a necessary

fundamental of ALL man to man offense. I also run

this periodically during the season if screening

becomes sloppy and again at playoff time to re-

emphasize the fact that these basics are the real key to

success.

Organization: Players form 3 lines. Line 1 is on the

right wing, line 2 is at the top of the key and line 3 is

on the left wing. Line 1 has a ball.

Procedure:

1. Player 1 passes to 2, makes a v-cut and receives a

return pass from 2 on the wing.

2. After 2 passes back to 1 he goes away and sets a

screen for 3.

3. 3 comes off of 2‟s screen and receives a pass

from 1 for a jump shot at the free throw line area.

4. All 3 players rebound the shot, and put it back in

on a missed shot

Variations: In teaching the flex, I work specifically

on the following screening situations:

1. 2 can basket-cut, taking a step towards the screen,

then changing speed and direction and making a

cut to the basket. 2 clears to the weak side. 3 fills

2‟s spot with and L-Cut. Players will want to fill

this spot with a direct cut, but this leaves them

very vulnerable to a turnover when the defender

steps into the passing lane. We don‟t run many

basket cuts in the flex, but it is used in Reverse,

one of the special plays, so it is included in this

drill as well.

2. 3 can curl 2‟s screen for a layup. This would

occur if 3‟s defender tried to follow 3 around the

screen. The screener would roll back to the ball.

3. 3 can fade the screen when his defender goes on

the ball side of the screen.

4. 2 slips the screen against switching defenses. At

Pass and Screen Away

Basket Cut




the point of contact on the screen, the screener

cuts to the ball.

Coaching Points:

1. 1 must face up and jab step after receiving the

return pass from 2.

2. 3 influences before coming off the screen. He

should take 2 steps away from the screen (towards

the baseline) to set up his man, then cut hard back

and come off the screen, changing speed and

direction.

3. 2 must be stationary when setting the screen, with

his arms at his side and his hands covering his

privates.

4. 3 must rub shoulders with 2 when coming off the

screen. This leaves no space for 3‟s man to get

through the screen.

5. When coming off the screen 3 must show his

hands, giving the passer a target. 3 should catch

the ball near the chest area, where he can catch

and be in immediate position to shoot.

Fade

Curl




Slip




2 Ball Shooting Breakdowns Purpose: To work on specific screening situations

within the flex. In each situation, both the screener

and the player coming off the screen have shot

opportunities.

Organization: Players line up in prescribed positions

in the flex. A coach and a manager stand next to

each other. The coach holds one ball. The player

initiating the screening action holds another ball.

Procedure:

1. The player holding the ball passes to the manager.

2. Players then go through the screening action

being worked on.

3. The manager passes to the player coming off of

the screen, and the coach passes to the screener.

Both players shoot.

With the flex, we work on the screen the screener

action. The shooters are the player making the flex

cut and the player coming off of the downscreen.

We also work on the flex cut, with the screener

rolling back to the ball

Screen the Screener

Flex Cut




Quickpass

Purpose: To drill each pass and cut in the Flex in a manner that emphasizes great ball

movement, player movement, and screening.

Organization: 5 Players stand in their beginning positions for the given offense.

Procedure:

1. We simply run the Flex, making a specified number of passes before the shot.

2. 15-20 passes is usually enough to reinforce the movement of the offense.

Coaching Points:

1. Passes are usually made primarily on the perimeter.

2. Ball reversal should be emphasized.

Quick Possessions Purpose: To review the flex and the special plays that

we run out of the flex in a quick-moving setting.

Organization: Player line up, by positions, at the

spots they occupy in the offense.

Procedure:

1. The first man in each line runs the play designated

by the coach. Players should rebound and follow all

missed shots.

2. When the first team scores, players exit the court

and return to their line. The next man in each line

steps in and the second unit repeats the play.

Coaching Points:

1. The coach should designate which options to run

on every possession. Running through several options

of each play or set will give the team a good feel for

what to look for.

2. Sharp execution should be emphasized on every

possession.




Passing Possessions

Purpose: This teaches players to execute the flex without the use of the dribble. The goal of the

drill is not to score, but to complete as many passes as possible. Since the offense cannot dribble,

the players without the ball must quickly and properly set and use screens to move the ball.

Players are also required to catch the ball in the proper areas in the offense. If a player should

catch the ball on the wing, he must catch it on the wing in the scoring area instead of coming out

of the scoring area to catch the ball. This drill has proven especially valuable because it demands

precision and quickness under pressure. Ideally this carries over to games and allows players to

properly execute against great quickness and pressure.

Organization: 5 players on offense and 5 on defense. The point guard starts with the ball.

Procedure:

1. The offense completes as many passes as it can without the ball hitting the ground while the

defense overplays, looking to deflect or steal the ball.

2. Each team gets 3 possessions. The total amount of passes completed in 3 possessions is their

final score.

3. Possession is also lost if a player catches the ball out of position. If a player isn’t open he

should not come out of position to receive the ball, he should go away and set a screen (re-

screen).

4. Possession is also lost on a 5 second count.

5. Defenders cannot switch on screens.

Coaching Points:

1. Screeners should screen bodies. They should “headhunt “and set the screen on a man. Players

often fall into the habit of going to a predetermined spot and “screening air “making it

difficult for the man receiving the screen to free himself.

2. Players must influence before coming off screens. This is done by taking a step or two away

from the screen to set up the defender, then cutting back to come off the screen. Taking the

defender away from the screen often forces the defender into errors, especially if they react

strongly to the fake.

3. Players should rub shoulders on screens. The man coming off the screen rubs shoulders with

the screener, leaving no gap between himself and his teammate for the defender to get

through.

4. If a player comes off a screen but is overplayed and cannot receive a pass, he re-screens,

going away from the ball and screening for another teammate.

5. Players with the ball assume triple threat position and make a jab step to prevent the defense

from guarding too closely. Always avoid turning away from the basket to protect the ball.

6. Offense should always look to reverse the ball. This forces the defense to work much harder

than if the ball stays on one side of the floor.

7. The defense should try hard to deny all passes throughout the entire possession.

8. The defenders follow the rules of man to man defense, jumping to the ball. This makes it

much easier to fight through screens.




Quickbreak

Purpose: Same as Possessions, with the added element of offensive and defensive transitions:

Organization: 5 players on offense ready to run the flex. 5 players defend.

Procedure:

1. The two teams compete against each other one possession at a time, executing and defending

the flex.

2. The defensive team gets one fast break opportunity at the end of every offensive possession.

This includes fast breaking off of opponent missed shot and turnovers as well as fast

breaking off of made shots.

3. At the end of the possession, the offense must convert to the other end of the floor with good

transition defense. If the defensive team scores on the quick break at the end f the possession,

the basket is added onto that team‟s total score at the end of the drill.

Coaching Points:

1. This drill is one where the fine points of offensive execution should be

emphasized. Examples include: rubbing shoulders on screens, change of speed,

change of direction cuts, passing to the post. Only pass to moving targets on the

perimeter, etc, etc.

2. Playing one possession at a time allows the coach more stop-and-go in the action

than at other times; use this time to teach. Conversely, if a team is struggling to

find a playing rhythm because of too much stop-and-go in practice, it might be

use a different scrimmage drill that can help players find this rhythm.




Special Plays

Deep

Deep is run to give 5 a quick post-up opportunity. 1

dribbles to the wing. 2 cuts to the basket, coming off

of a screen from 5 and looping up to the high post

area. Often, 5‟s defender will become occupied

defending 2 as 2 pops to the high post. This leaves 5

open for a post feed and score

Stack Stack is an entry set designed to get the ball inside to the post. We start with a stack on either post; 2 and 3 are on the baseline side of either stack. To run this from the regular 1-4 set, we just have 2 and 3 step in to the blocks.

1 keys the action by dribbling towards a wing. The baseline player on the ballside (the side 1

dribbles towards, # 3 here) screens away for the other wing (2).

The weakside wing (2 here) comes off of screens from both players in the ballside stack (3 and 4) to the ballside corner. This player is looking to receive the pass from the point guard.

The wing that screened away (3)







UCLA

UCLA is a play that integrates a pick and roll with a

simultaneous double screen on the weak-side.

1 passes to the wing. 5 steps up to the high post and

sets a screen for 1, who runs a UCLA cut off of 5.

After 5 screens for 1, he steps to the perimeter and

executes a pick and roll with 2. 2 should look to take

at least 2 dribbles off of the pick and roll. This gives 2

the opportunity to penetrate or get a jumper near the

elbow. It also creates enough space for 5 to get open

on the pick and roll.

As 2 and 5 execute the pick and roll, 1 comes off of

a double screen on the weakside block from 3 and 4.

1 should be coming off of the double screen at the

same time as 2 and 5 executes the pick and roll.

While the double screen might provide a shot

opportunity for 1, it also serves to occupy the help

side defense, making it less likely that X1, X3, or X4

will help defend the pick and roll.




Push

Push is run to get a perimeter shot for the corner

player (2) who would normally come off of the flex

screen. I like to run this to get shots for a shooter who

is on a roll. Instead of coming off of the flex screen, 2

“pushes” the post player (5) across the lane and

comes off of the downscreen instead. This can also be

run to look for a post-up opportunity for 5.




Down

Down is a simple downscreen play to get a

perimeter shot for the player in the post. On a pass

to the corner (2), perimeter players screen as they

normally would in the flex (Figure 1). When 2

passes back out to the perimeter, he downscreens

for the post (5). Instead of reversing the ball, the

perimeter player comes back to 5 for a shot off the

downscreen. While this play is simple, it can be

an unexpected change for a defense that has been

defending the regular flex offense for several

possessions.




Bulldog

Bulldog is run to get an open 3 point shot for the

team‟s best shooter (2). 1 dribbles towards 2,

sending 2 towards the basket. As 1 dribble to the

wing, the ball-side high post (4) pops to the top of

the key. The other wing and post (3 and 5) start

towards the weak side post.

1 passes to 4 who looks to swing the ball to 1

coming off of the baseline double screen for the

shot.




Pin

Pin is a simple play that counters switching defenses

(a common counter-attack against the flex). 1 holds

on the perimeter and does not set the downscreen as

he would in the regular flex. 5 set the flex-cut screen

for 2 on the baseline. After 5 screens, he rolls up the

lane to the ball with X2 on his back. If the offense can

execute the pass inside to 5, he should have an

advantage because he set a “big-little” screen for 2.

When 2‟s (smaller) defender switches to defend 5, he

is at a distinct post-up disadvantage

Reverse Reverse is another counter that we run against

switching defenses. Again, we‟re looking for a

“big-little” screen in the basket area by having a

guard screen away for a post player on the

weakside low-post. Since the low post is usually

on the ball side ion the flex, and since we need the

low post to be on the weakside for this play to

work, we always start the play by reversing the

ball, hence the name.

On the reverse, the post (4) does not set the

baseline screen as he normally would, instead

holding his position and waiting for a screen. The

wing player (6 in this diagram) can come off of

the downscreen instead of the post (4) on the

guard to guard pass (not shown).

On the guard to wing pass, instead of screening

away, the guard runs a basket cut and screens for

the post player on the weakside block. Ideally,

we have a guard screening for a post player in this

situation, creating a mismatch in the post when

the defense switches.




Quaker

Quaker is a backdoor pressure release option.

4 and 5 flash to the high post from either low post.

At the same time, the wing players take two steps

towards half court to draw their men away from

the basket.

On the pass to the high post, the ball-side wing (2)

makes a hard change of speed, change-of-

direction backdoor cut to the basket. The high

post first option is this pass for an easy layup.

As the wing makes the back-cut, the other wing

and post player go to the weak side low post and

prepare to set a double screen (3 and 5).

If 2 is not open on the back-cut, he continues off

the double screen from 5 and 3.

If 2 is not open coming off of the double screen, 4

passes to 1, who has run a V-cut to the ball-side

wing. After passing out to 1, 4 dives to the low

post for a post up opportunity.

If nothing is available, the team goes back into the

flex.




Transition “Transition” provides a way for a flex team to

convert from the fast break into the flex

offense fluidly and quickly by integrating the

flex into the secondary break attack.

As with any secondary attack, we are looking

to attack in transition if we aren‟t able to get a

shot on the primary fast break.




Like most fast break systems, we are first

looking to feed the post when the ball goes to

the wing. The wing that receives the pass in

transition can take a dribble or two to the

baseline to “flatten the defense” – bringing the

defenders to the baseline, which frees up the

reversal pass - and to buy the post player a

little extra time to establish position

If the post-up is not available, we look to

swing the ball

In “Transition” we integrate the flex into the

attack by simply having the wing (3 in this

diagram) enter directly into a flex cut as he (3)

reverses the ball. If 5 can‟t hit 3 on the flex

cut, we just continue to move the ball and

execute the flex.




Princeton Princeton is an effective counter against teams

that apply aggressive pressure defense or

switch against the flex. The offensive

adjustment in Princeton is simple: baseline

players in the offense move up to the free

throw line extended. The guards in the offense

move back approximately 8 to 10 feet.

By moving the offense 15 feet away from the

basket, flex high provides ample space for

back cuts, curls, and for slipping screens.

Conclusion I hope this eBook/eTraining bundle has given you some tools to help successfully implement the

flex into your offensive system. If you have any questions, please don‟t hesitate to email me at

[email protected] ; I do my best to respond to all emails.


mailto:[email protected]



Also, I strongly encourage you to join and participate in Perfect Practice‟s online forums.

Forums are a great way to find answers to your questions from a variety of sources. A Forum

topic on the flex can be found at http://www.perfectpractice.net/index.php/forum/offense/flex-

offense/page-1/ - added specifically for coaches who have purchased this product – if you have

any questions about the product, or want to expand on your learning; this is a great starting point!

See you online!

Coach Stinson


http://www.perfectpractice.net/index.php/forum/offense/flex-offense/page-1/

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Documents

Flex Offense Coaching Guide - Norwood League · PDF filePassing Possessions ... within the offense rather than relying on one or two places to get all of your shots. Josh Stinson Coaching