Powerful Pick-And-Roll Offense - With 6 Proven Counter Attacks Based On How An Opponent Defends Screens

with Shaka Smart, Marquette University Head Men's Basketball Coach;
2023 NABC Coach of the Year;
2023 AP Coach of the Year;
2023 Henry Iba Award;
2023 Big East Coach of the Year;
University of Texas Head Coach from 2015 to 2021;
2021 Big 12 Tournament Champions;
2019 National Invitation Tournament champions;
2016 USA Basketball U18 National Team Head Coach;
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Head Coach from 2009 to 2015;
2012 CAA Tournament and 2015 A-10 Tournament Champions;
2011 NCAA Regional Champions - Final Four;
2010 CBI Champions;
2011 Clarence Gaines National Coach of the Year;
in each of his six seasons as head coach at VCU, Coach Smart led VCU to over 26 wins

Shaka Smart knows what it takes to build the kind of culture that’s needed to produce a consistent, winning basketball program. In this video, the successful coach details how he builds his program culture from the ground up, including how he holds his players accountable and also provides a detailed look at one of the best Pick-and-Roll offenses in the country!

Smart has built three different college programs into top contenders – not just through on-court X’s and O’s, but also what they emphasize off the court. In the opening segment of this highly informative, on-the-court instructional video, Coach Smart covers the integral intangibles you need to emphasize and look to see consistently from your players to help build a winning, successful culture; things like: being on time, developing a work ethic that is second to none and many others. 

Pick-And-Roll Concepts

Diving deep into a fascinating look at his tough-to-defend, Pick-and-Roll offense, Coach Smart begins the on-court Xs and Os action by pointing out the importance of having capable, attacking guards in your Pick-and-Roll offense. In the 2021 season, Smart’s squad led the country in Pick-and-Roll efficiency – largely due to the way his backcourt players attacked on offense.  

Smart outlines that you need to focus on what you do best as an offense, rather than how an opposing coach would typically guard a Pick-and-Roll action. Using advice he’s gleaned from NBA coaches, Smart shows off the three primary types of Pick-and-Roll actions: 

• ‘Spread,’ 
• ‘ACE’ and 
• ‘Empty.’

Using these types of Pick-and-Roll actions, Smart describes how you will naturally learn to take advantage of the different types of Pick-and-Roll defenses that an opponent throws at you. If a defense, for example, makes the decision to have their defenders go under the screen while defending the Pick-and-Roll, Smart outlines three terrific options you can utilize: 

1) using ‘Spread’ Pick-and-Roll to get downhill, 

2) shooting behind the screener, or 

3) flipping the screener and using a re-screen to create a new scoring opportunity. 

Pick-And-Roll Actions 

With any well-executed Pick-and-Roll comes the subsequent action of what to do once the ball handler gets into the paint. Being able to read the defense and quickly read the Pick-and-Roll defense is a must for ball handlers.  

In this segment, Smart details over 6 different actions you can use against various Pick-and-Roll coverages, including what to do againstan under ball-screen – by using a twist action where the screener will set a flat screen at the last second to force the defender to make a choice on which way to force you to use the screen. Against a trap – by using a ‘Go Cut’ (Smart shows how he teaches post players to automatically slip the screen and allow for an easy bounce pass to the middle and create a 4 on 3 advantage in the half court). 

Against a switching defense, Smart shows off what he calls ‘Bruce Action’ that features a screener setting a screen on the back pocket of the defender, followed by a secondary ball screen to create a highly effective scoring opportunity in the paint for your best ball handlers.

Shaka Smart is a master at developing an offense that uses and sets effective ball screens. His ability to use today’s NBA screening concepts and combine them with other principles have helped him develop one of the best Pick-and-Roll offenses in today’s game.  

With this jam-packed video, you will come away with a new understanding of the Pick-and-Roll game – and you’ll be able to easily add these highly effective Pick-and-Roll concepts into your own offense, as well as also come away with valuable team/culture-building concepts that will help take your program to the next level!

56 minutes. 2022.