A Conceptual Approach to Man-to-Man & Zone Offense

with Bob Richey,
Furman University Head Coach;
2026 SoCon Tournament Champions;
2023 SoCon Regular Season Champions;
2023 SoCon Tournament Champions;
led Furman to a school-record 25 wins in the 2018-19 season, including wins over 2018 Final Four participants Villanova and Loyola-Chicago

Furman head coach Bob Richey has guided Furman to back-to-back 20+ win seasons by teaching his players how to read the defense and take what is given to them. Continuity offenses can cause players to get stuck in neutral, which is why teaching your athletes terminology and actions they can use to break down defenders on their own will ensure your team has an unstoppable offense.

Philosophy

Coach Richey believes in a structure where players are able to go from option 1 to option 3 in a matter of seconds. By emphasizing close twos, assisted 3-pointers and getting to the free throw line, your players can play and excel in any position on the floor.

Man Offense

Richey breaks down his terminology and demonstrates the actions that he teaches beginning with his early offense. As he incorporates more off-ball screening, players are able to use the open floor to get easy cuts, drives, or dishes to open shooters.

As athletes transition into half court offense, Coach Richey provides a series of actions including a Houston Series that uses a dribble hand-off and a ball screen to create a pick & roll or pick & pop action for your post.

Zone Offense

By putting a playmaker in the middle of the zone and using passing and cutting actions, you can create a simple, but effective zone offense against any opponent. Using a 4 around 1 set, your players can still use your man-to-man cutting actions to score. As your players feel more and more comfortable with cutting actions, you can add in a ball screen to create a pick & roll offense that will leave wide open back cutters or wide open shooters.

Coach Richey has put together an offensive system where all actions flow right into an easy offense that your players will love. By teaching your players how to read the defense and play without running through a continuous offense, they will become unguardable and have the ability to create scoring opportunities!

78 minutes. 2019.