A Point Guard's Command of the Pick & Roll with Damon Stoudamire

with Damon Stoudamire,
Georgia Tech Head Coach from 2023 to 2026;
Boston Celtics Assistant Coach from 2021 to 2023;
University of Pacific Head Coach from 2016 to 2021;
Ben Jobe Award (2020):
WCC Coach of the Year (2020);
was an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies, Arizona Wildcats, and Memphis Tigers;
As a senior point guard at the University of Arizona, was named first team All-American, 1995 Pac-10 Player of the Year and a Wooden Award Finalist;
15 year NBA veteran;
1996 NBA Rookie of the Year

Screen and roll offense is a hallmark within today's NBA game and is quickly becoming more prevalent within the college and high school ranks. The ability to have a team's best play maker operate while coming off a screen and attacking downhill at the heart of a defense can create nightmares for the opposition. The pick & roll places a defense into a scrambling state, having to defend multiple scoring threats with a single defender. It also creates scoring opportunities for an offense looking for high percentage shots.

Former player/now coach (an All-American at Arizona) Damon Stoudamire is best known for being one of the toughest and grittiest point guards of his era. A tenacious scorer with great instincts, Stoudamire relied upon basketball smarts in order to overcome a lack of size at his position. As the head coach at Pacific, Stoudamire incorporated a heavy dose of ball-screen offense.

The Point Guard

The former NBA point guard, and now coach, shares his secrets to how important the point guard is to running the pick & roll. Stoudamire lists the three tenets a point guard must follow and gives pointers on how to best execute these plays.

The Pick & Roll: Options and Decision-making

Using on-court 4-on-4 instruction, Coach Stoudamire has players operate at roughly 70% speed in order to fully teach players the nuances involved within several types of on-ball screening action. You'll see eight forms of pick & rolls, such as:

• When the corner spot is vacant
• When the corner spot is occupied
• Angled screens on the wing
• Drag screen while exiting transition
• Action out of double-high posts (Horns set)

Each contains options to counter defensive adjustments and get multiple players the ball.

Within each scenario, talking points include:

• The mindset required to be a stand-out at the point guard position.
• Patience, and how it may be the most important requirement to executing off of an on-ball screen.
• The spacing necessary to force the defense into having to defend multiple scoring options with a single player.
• Various scoring options and how each player on the court can be utilized depending on how the defense chooses to defend each action.
• The definitions of such terms as the "step-up," "stringing out," and how they translate into the point guard's ability to make critical decisions at a moment's notice.

Side Pick and Roll

Coach Stoudamire introduces the most common pick & roll play as the "Side Pick & Roll." In this play, there are as many as four scoring options that include the point guard, forwards, and center that will all lead to an open shot

With this video, you'll get insight into the mind of one of the greatest point guards to ever run the pick & roll - Damon Stoudamire!

55 minutes. 2017.