2-Man & 3-Man Game: Offensive Reads & Concepts

with Chantal Vallée,
Hamilton Honey Badgers (Canadian Elite Basketball League) Head Coach & GM;
University of Windsor Head Women's Basketball Coach;
Five straight Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) Women's Basketball National Titles (2011-2015);
2x CIS Women's Basketball Coach of the Year;
ATHENA International Leadership Award, 2012

Chantal Vallée was the first woman to be a professional head coach and GM for a men's basketball program. Her ability to teach the game separates her from many other coaches in today's game.

In this video, Coach Vallée demonstrates and breaks down her dribble hand-off action and how she uses it to create an offense that is unpredictable, unscoutable, and versatile.

Dribble Hand-off Action

To initiate Vallée's offense, players use a dribble hand-off that is pushed higher up the floor. This allows for more open space and gets your guard to rise up to the hand-off in a more downhill action, making it difficult to defend.

With a base action put in, players can get creative and build their ability to attack the rim by understanding and reading what the defender is giving them. Athletes look for what their defender is doing, then how the on-ball defender might play them after the hand-off. This will allow your players to make quick decisions and create easy scoring opportunities. Players will learn what to do if their defender is trailing, denying, switching, or off-ball screening for the corner.

Missed Dribble Hand-off

As opponents become more familiar with your offense, players will have to develop their IQ. If they pick up their dribble, players can use a variety of options to score. Cutters will look to read their defender and back cut, curl cut middle, or cut through and get a second cutter coming to the ball. This will keep your offense flowing and put more pressure on the defense to guard your cutters.

Post Entry

By bringing a post player higher up the floor, you can create mismatches with a post player that can score. Vallée demonstrates options that include your post player not putting the ball on the floor as much by getting an entry and using a pitch to hit the cutter right away. This will create multiple scoring opportunities for either the cutter or your post player rolling/popping off the throw & go.

Step Up Ball Screen

Using the ball screen, players can attack downhill with few to no help-side defenders waiting in the paint for them. Vallée uses a 2v2 drill to break down all the possible options and defenses you will see against a step up screen including icing it, going over the top, and going under.

A final action Vallée demonstrates is her elbow series: a 2-man game off-ball action. After entering the ball into the post player in the middle of the floor, players can create this off-ball action and use screening action. Within the screening action, players will read what to do when the defense trails, denies, or switches.

Multiple Actions

Mastering the 2-man game actions and cuts will make your team versatile. Coach Vallée demonstrates how you can add actions together and create multiple 2-man game scenarios within your offense. This makes it difficult for your opponent to scout your offense and prepare to play against your team.

Coach Vallée is one of the game's brightest coaches. This is an excellent video that will help you teach your players to read the defense better by building their IQ. A must-have for coaches who want to exploit 2- and 3-man situations!

72 minutes. 2019.