Nate Oats: Advantage Basketball - How to Attack Hard Hedge & Switching Defenses

with Nate Oats,
University of Alabama Head Men's Basketball Coach;
2024 Final Four;
2x SEC Regular Season Champions (2021, 2023);
2x SEC Tournament Champions (2021, 2023);
2021 SEC Coach of the Year;
University of Buffalo Head Coach from 2015 to 2019;
2x MAC Regular Season Champions (2018, 2019);
3x MAC Tournament Champions (2016, 2018, 2019);
2x MAC Coach of the Year (2018, 2019);
2x NABC District Coach of the Year (2018, 2019);
Buffalo Assistant Coach from 2013 to 2015;
Romulus HS (MI) Head Coach from 2002 to 2013;
2013 State Class A Championship (MI);
3x Michigan State HS Coach of the Year (2005, 2008, 2009);
Wisconsin-Whitewater Assistant Coach from 2000 to 2002;
Played college basketball for Maranatha Baptist

Coaches interested in learning to play at a faster pace will enjoy this video - as Alabama's Nate Oats introduces the integral components to 'Advantage Basketball'; spreading the floor, taking threes, and playing at a fast pace - a system to exploit mismatches you have over opponents and score points in bunches! Coach Oats outlines this system and with on court demonstrations, shares how you can incorporate it with your own team to win more games.

Basic Components, Drag Ball-Screen Series

Coach Oats begins by defining his Advantage Basketball system and shares how, once the advantage has been created, his team moves into their 'point-5 game.' The point-5 game means that a player has half a second to make a decision  - on what to do  - when they get the ball in their hands.

You will see Oats detail how he coaches playing 'in the flow' to take advantage of gaining possession and getting numbers. On misses and steals, he instructs players to utilize drag ball screens. On made baskets, it's all about getting into a 5-Out look and executing the offense -- including gaining an advantage by using single- and double-down screens.

Coach Oats shows his drag ball-screen action; with players spread out on the perimeter and utilizing a trailing player who runs the middle of the floor, you will see how the ball screen is used to create an advantage for the point guard against a variety of defensive ball-screen coverages.

An important teaching point comes when Coach Oats explains his preference for having the ball screener get to the lower third of defender. This forces the on-ball defender to fight over the top of the ball screen. By doing this, an advantage is created as the point guard can get downhill and attack the middle of the floor in transition.

If the defense gets two defenders on the ball, Oats explains that the offense has a 4-on-3 advantage on the back end of the play. This is illustrated in detail as Oats shows how to attack teams that like to trap ball screens.

Playing Off the Catch in Transition

If the point guard passes the ball coming off the ball screen, Coach Oats outlines how and why the remaining players on the perimeter need to know their roles and options. With an emphasis on making defenses pay for helping on drives with three-point shooting, Oats details the best options that will be available for anyone who catches a pass on the perimeter from the point guard.

One obvious option in transition is to shoot a three-point shot. Coach Oats shows how shooting the three forces opposing defenses to defend the perimeter and explains that defenders need to be ready to close out hard and how you can take advantage of that.

Coach Oats then details a second option - making 'one-more pass' when available and why it's advantageous to do so. Oats explains that once a perimeter player catches a pass in transition and draws a closeout from another perimeter player's defender, the extra-pass option is available and why it can lead to a wide-open three-point shot.

A third option is to drive to the basket against the close-out defender. This occurs when a defender closes out too hard and is so determined to prevent a three-point shot from taking place, that the drive becomes available. Off this option, Oats shows how the driver can either get a layup, dump the ball into the post, or kick out to another perimeter player for a three-point shot.

For any coach looking for a numbers advantage on offense, Coach Oats' Advantage system offers ideal options; Coach Oats' excellent breakdown of the system makes this a must-see video!

45 minutes. 2024.