"As coaches we talk about two things: offense and defense. There is a third phase we neglect, which is more important. It's conversion from offense to defense and defense to offense." — Bobby Knight

When we are changing from offense to defense, or defense to offense, we are in transition. This topic focuses on transition from defense to offense. Specifically, the focus is on running a quick, efficient fast break and. seamlessly moving into the half-court offense.

Fast break and transition offense offers advantages and disadvantages.

ADVANTAGES:

Ø  Matching up in transition is hard for the defense

Ø  The fast break and the subsequent transition offense can beat the other team to your offensive end and take advantage of the outnumbered defense.

Ø  Up tempo basketball can create mismatches.

Ø  A fast pace can make it hard for tough zone defenses to set up and man defenses to match up.

Ø  It can minimize certain height advantages.

Ø  Running teams establish the pace of the game rather than having the opponent dictate the pace.

Ø  Defenses often make mistakes when they cannot dictate the pace of the game.

Ø  High percentage shots and foul shot opportunities are available when your half-court offense is not clicking.

Ø  When you fast break teams will have difficulty setting up their press defense.

DISADVANTAGES:

Ø  The fast pace can lead to unforces turnovers - lost scoring chances.

Ø  A lack of structure can create poor spacing.

Ø  Wide open basketball can get sloppy.

Ø  The coach has less control of a fast break / transition offense.

BASICS:

Be Quick But Don’t Hurry

You cannot call it a fast break if you run it slowly. Many coaches set a standard of getting the guards and the small forward to full speed in their first 3 steps and getting the ball from the rebound to the lane in under 4 seconds.

John Wooden, the legendary UCLA coach who won 10 national collegiate basketball championships in 12 years, preached, “be quick but don’t hurry”. The adage certainly applies to fast break / transition basketball. To assure you play to the advantages and avoid the disadvantages, players must play with speed while maintaining focus and control. This can be easier said than done. Effective players see the fast break opportunities and can also see when the risk of a turnover is greater than the reward of a score. Knowing when to push and when to slow down is a critical skill. Players must value every possession.

Fast Breaks Start with Possession of the Ball

Solid defense and rebounding skills can lead to more offensive chances. It is difficult to fast break if you are not committed to defense and rebounding. The role of every player on the court is to defend until their team gains possession. They do not “leak out” early looking for easy baskets.

Once the ball is secured, players need to know their roles in the fast break / transition offense. If the point guard is the designated outlet receiver she gets to the outlet area. The players filling the lanes must get to top speed within their first 3 steps and to the far end of the court within 4 seconds.

The ball can be secured by a rebound, steal or score. A change of possession on a rule violation does not offer a fastbreak opportunity because the official controls the ball until it is handed to the offense.

PLAYER ROLES:

Some coaches assign specific roles to specific players. Others are less structured. Some teams have an abundance of ball handlers. When that is the case, the coach may not be concerned about roles. A rebounder can turn and start the break and any other player can sprint to the outlet location. Typical roles include:

The Inbound Passer

If the coach designates a specific player to be the inbound passer, she quickly grabs the ball out of the net following a score and passes to the outlet player.

Rebounder

On the rebound the rebounder looks to find the best ball handler at the nearest designated outlet locations. The rebounder secures the ball, protects the ball, pivots away from the defense, and quickly passes to the guard at the nearest outlet area. One technique that leads to a quick inbounds pass is the Hover Step. The passer grabs the ball, after it drops through the net and before it hits the ground. She moves to the right of the basket and step out of bounds with the left foot, swings around and throws a strong outlet pass to the sideline as the right foot hovers in the air. If the outlet is not open she allows the right foot to hit the ground while still out of bounds and finds an open receiver.

The Point Guard

On a rebound, the point guard sprints to the proper outlet location - usually above the foul line extended on the side of the rebound. On a score, the point guard sprints to the right sideline outlet. On a steal, the point guard sprints to receive the first pass on the ball-side outlet area. Whenever possible she has her back to the sideline, allowing her peripheral vision to see the defense and avoid turnovers (travels or player control fouls). She steps to the pass to control the ball before the defender gets to her. In a traditional fast break, the point guard either dribbles the ball to the middle of the court or passes to a teammate who is flashing across to the middle. If the pass to the sideline outlet is defended, the point guard sickle cuts across the court in front of the ball and receives the outlet pass in the center of the court.

Remember, the pass moves the ball up court faster than the dribble. If a flashing guard is open make the pass.

Two Guard & Small Forward

If the point guard is designated as the outlet receiver, the other players can turn and run as soon as the rebound is secured. The two guard and the small forward sprint to fill the outside lanes. If the player opposite the point guard can get to the middle quicker than the point guard she flashes to the middle and receives the pass from the point guard. The point guard sprints to fill the outside lane on her side.

Trailer

The forward who does not get the rebound trails the play, running behind the ball in the middle of the court. She will sprint down the lane if the ball is passed from the outside wing player back to the point guard.

Safety

The rebounder is the last one up court. She makes sure there is no opponent behind her in case of a turnover or a quick outlet pass following a score.

SPACING

Coaches emphasize having players fill three lanes to assure the players are spaced on the court in a manner that spreads out the defense and gives the offense the best chance of scoring quickly. When players bunch up in the middle of the court they make it easy for the defense to delay the offense until lagging defenders arrive.

When players space the court properly they will be in three lanes as noted above. By maintaining the space in the middle of the court, the offense has pass options to the left and right side and can also gap attack the basket after reading the defense.

SIDELINE BREAK:

Alternative strategies have the ball dribbled up the sideline. After receiving the outlet pass, the guard dribbles up the sideline. The other guard and the small forward sprint down the outside lanes to the corners. The first big down the court runs the middle lane. The point guard passes to the guard in the corner. The big set a screen at the weak side elbow. The small forward cuts off the screen, from the weak side, looking for a pass and score.

TRANSITION FROM THE FAST BREAK TO THE HALF COURT OFFENSE:

Ideally the offense can easily and seamlessly change from the fast break mode to their basic offense. They want to do this without hesitation or calling for a “reset”. When teams can accomplish this they keep pressure on the defense and create easy secondary scoring chances.

The spacing of a three lane fast break positions players to easily move into a 4 OUT 1 IN Offense. Since the positions in this offense are mostly interchangeable the players are just a few steps away from aligning in the 2 slot, 2 wing, 1 post player set. A savvy point guard can recognize when a fast break opportunity is lost and quickly initiate the offense with a slot to slot or slot to wing pass.

Some coaches design secondary fast break plays intended to use movement and cuts to extend the advantage of playing against a defense trying to catch up and match up.

There are literally hundreds of secondary break plays. An example is a simple play run by Dean Smith, the renowned coach of North Carolina from 1961 through 1997. If the team failed to score on the fast break Smith’s team would continue to attack.

Ø  The players in the outside lanes cut to the basket at a 45°angle as noted above. If they don’t get the ball they continue to run through and to the corner.

Ø  The point guard passes to a guard in the corner, looking for an open shot.

Ø  As the ball gets to the corner the big trailing the play cuts to the low block.

Ø  If the guard in the corner did not have a shot she looks to the low post and passes it inside if the trailer is open.

Ø  The safety has now come up court and moves to the weakside, high elbow.

Ø  If the trailer is not open in the low block the guard passes to the safety.

Ø  On the pass to the weakside elbow, the low post player ducks in, looking for the high / low pass and score.

Ø  If the high / low pass is not open, the point guard cuts hard off the player at the elbow, takes a hand off, and drives down the lane looking for the score or to make the kick out pass to the wing player.