Objective
Start half-court offense cleanly against denial pressure using four interchangeable entries from the 1-4 high alignment, each with a built-in backdoor punishment.
Setup
Area
Half court
Players
5 offensive players; add aggressive denying defenders as soon as the shape is learned
Equipment
1 ball
Duration
12–15 minutes per install block
How it works
- 1
Set the line
1 crosses half court with the ball. 4 and 5 post up at the two elbows, 2 and 3 stand at the free-throw line extended on each wing. The lane below the foul line stays empty — that vacuum is the set's whole threat.
- 2
Entry 1 — Wing entry with UCLA cut
1 hits 2 on the wing, then cuts hard off 5's shoulder to the ball-side block — the classic UCLA cut. 2 reads: 1 sealing on the block, then 5 stepping out for a ball screen, then the swing to 4 flashing high.
- 3
Entry 2 — Elbow entry with backdoors
When both wings are denied, 1 passes to 4 at the elbow. The instant 4 catches, 2 and 3 plant and cut backdoor from the wings — 4 pivots baseline and delivers a bounce pass into the empty lane. If neither backdoor is on, 1 and 4 flow into a handoff.
- 4
Entry 3 — Dribble entry
If every pass is denied, 1 simply dribbles at 2's wing. That dribble is 2's backdoor trigger: he cuts to the rim and clears to the weak corner if nothing arrives, while 5 lifts to keep the elbow space open. Offense continues with 1 on the wing.
- 5
Entry 4 — High ball screen
5 steps up and screens for 1 in the middle third while 4 dives to the weak-side block. With the lane pre-emptied by the alignment, the roll arrives against no help — the spacing modern spread pick-and-roll borrowed.
Coaching points
Every cut starts with a set-up step away from the target — backdoors die when cutters drift instead of plant-and-go.
Elbow catches must be strong: chin the ball, pivot to face the baseline, and see both wings before the defense recovers.
The point guard should read which entry the defense concedes rather than pre-calling one; denial always concedes something.
Wings hold the free-throw-line-extended height — sagging toward the corner shrinks the backdoor lane the set exists to create.
Variations
1-4 low counter
Drop the same four players to the baseline — bigs on the blocks, wings in the corners — for late-clock isolations: the point guard attacks one-on-one with no help in driving range.
Double high screens
4 and 5 screen for 1 simultaneously; he picks a side while the other big dives. A clean answer when defenses ICE the single high ball screen.
Build it in Coach Board
Create the 1-4 high line once in Coach Board, animate the four entries as separate sequences, and label each with its trigger — 'wing denied', 'everything denied', 'switch-heavy'. Share the clips as one link: players learn the set as a decision tree, not four unrelated plays.
Open Coach Board