Unlocking the Full Potential of the Pick-and-Roll in a Ball Screen Offense

with Kyle Keller,
Texas A&M University Assistant Coach;
Stephen F. Austin Head Coach from 2016 to 2025;
2022 Western Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions (WAC);
2020 Southland Regular Season Champions;
2020 TABC Division I Men's College Basketball Coach of the Year;
2018 Southland Conference Coach of the Year;
Texas A&M Assistant Coach from 2011 to 2016 (with Billy Kennedy);
Kansas Assistant Coach from 2008 to 2011 (with Bill Self);
Oklahoma State Assistant Coach from 1999 to 2006 (with Eddie Sutton);
In 2019, Keller coached the SFA Lumberjacks to one of college basketball's biggest upsets of all time (#1 ranked Duke - home - at Cameron Indoor Stadium)

Using the pick and roll to create mismatches and post entries can lead to easy buckets. As one of the top scoring teams in the country, Stephen F Austin State University, under head coach Kyle Keller, has averaged 80 points per game three times in the past seven seasons.

All of Coach Keller’s offensive success has come via using a ball-screen continuity offense that is simple and creates scoring opportunities within two quick passes.

In this on-court video, Coach Keller lays out the details of the ball screen continuity offense that has helped the Lumberjacks generate one of the highest scoring offenses in the country.

Beginning in transition, Keller describes the basic alignment to get the offense flowing – with players looking to push the ball and initiate a quick offense to keep opposing defenses on their toes. Coach Keller shows you that by filling deep corners, finding a rim runner, and taking advantage of a trail 4 player that can pick and pop you’ll have multiple ways to attack any defense. With two ways to get into offense players, you’ll learn how to incorporate different screening actions or dribble handoff actions to get your team attacking any style of defense, as well as how to use two quick passes to enable players to find either the open shooter in the corner or a high-percentage post-entry opportunity.

Offensive Action 

Pick-and-roll actions can be used in different ways to keep defenses off-balance and guessing. In this video, Coach Keller shows you how to best use the pick and roll in either a high ball-screen area or with a side pick-and-roll area. Both are effective methods for getting your corner shooter either an open look or a look at the high post for a post entry.

With an emphasis on reading the screen, Keller shows you how guards should come off screens and look to score, while having ‘10 toes to the rim.’ This modernized offense can be used with players that are not your typical offensive-focused players. The high ball screen takes advantage of a hard hedge or switch that most defenses look to use in between the lane lines.  

Coach Keller also demonstrates how side ball-screens can take advantage of having shooters in the corner and how using shorter passes helps emphasize the concept of using two quick passes to create a scoring opportunity. 

Post Feeds and Entries 

Getting high-percentage shots around the rim leads to easy buckets. Coach Keller showcases how getting post players the ball is one of the things this offense does well – again stressing that if no one holds the ball within this offense, that your team can utilize two quick passes to get a post entry. Keller also shows the best strategies for using the high post as a point of entry to get an inside look, while emphasizing that this fun style of play breaks down defenses and leads to easy points in the paint!

Next, Coach Keller shows how using simple ball-screen motion offense can lead to easy buckets and that easy buckets, allows your team to go on runs and score in bunches.

Coach Keller’s ball-screen continuity offense is all about simplicity and taking advantage of ball movement and he shows examples of how two quick passes create any scoring opportunity close to the rim.  

By averaging over 80 points per game in three out of his last five seasons, Coach Keller has proven that he knows how to put together a simple offense. This must-watch instructional coaching video shows you the inside secrets to an excellent offense that can be run against any kind of defense!

Customer Review: 5 Out of 5 Stars. ‘This is an excellent video! Perfect if you are looking for a fun style of play that takes advantage of your players' talents.’   

62 minutes. 2023.