Objective
Build an offense that runs on reads instead of plays, keeping four perimeter players spaced and moving while the post player seals, flashes and screens by clear rules.
Setup
Area
Half court
Players
5 offensive players; start 4v0 on the perimeter, then add the post, then defenders
Equipment
1 ball, 4 cones for the slot and wing spots
Duration
15–20 minutes per practice, adding one rule per week
How it works
- 1
Fill the four spots
Two guards stand in the slots, above each elbow and just outside the arc. Two wings sit at the free-throw line extended, a step behind the three-point line. That puts 15 to 18 feet between neighbours: close enough for a crisp pass, far enough that one defender cannot guard two players.
- 2
Pass and cut, then refill
The passer basket-cuts hard to the rim, showing a target hand. If the defender jumps to the ball, he cuts behind him; if the defender stays, he cuts in front. No return pass means he exits to the open spot on the side with fewer players, and teammates fill one spot toward the ball.
- 3
Screen away and read the defender
Instead of cutting, the passer can screen for the teammate away from the ball. The cutter reads his defender: trailing means curl into the lane, cheating over the top means back-cut, sagging under means pop out or flare for a catch-and-shoot. The screener then steps back to the ball, often open when the defense switches.
- 4
Dribble at means backdoor
When a ball handler dribbles toward a teammate, that teammate cuts backdoor immediately. If the layup is not there, he clears to the opposite side, and the dribbler takes the spot he left. Later in the install, the same dribble can become a handoff when the defender sags.
- 5
Give the post player one set of rules
Most coaches keep the post on the weak side of the lane to leave the ball side open for drives, with permission to flash to the ball-side block or high post and hold for a two count before retreating. With a dominant big, flip it: the post follows the ball side to side and seals for the entry on every reversal.
| Situation | Rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You pass the ball | Basket-cut or screen away, never stand | Moves your defender and opens the spot you left |
| Your defender denies you | Plant and cut backdoor | Denial leaves the rim open behind the defender |
| Ball is dribbled at you | Cut backdoor, clear to the far side | Gives the dribbler space and a layup pass |
| A spot opens near the ball | Fill toward the ball | Keeps four players spaced 15 to 18 feet apart |
| Post, ball on the far side | Stay weak side, flash for a two count | Keeps the ball-side driving lane empty |
| Shot goes up | Post and weak-side wing crash, top guard back | Rebounding without giving up transition |
Coaching points
Spacing is the first rule: two players standing on the same spot erase every read in the system.
Cuts start with a change of pace, a slow walk into the defender and then an explosive first step to the rim.
The post never camps in the lane longer than two seconds, both for the three-second rule and to keep driving lanes open.
Every catch starts facing the rim; defenders only close out hard when the receiver is a shooting threat.
One player sprints back on every shot while the post and the weak-side wing crash the glass.
Variations
Rotating post
Any perimeter player who cuts to the block can stay there as the new post while the old post pops out to the open spot. This puts a guard in the post against a smaller defender and keeps one player from doing all the screening.
4 out 1 in against a zone
Against a zone, passers always cut instead of screening away, and each cutter finds the gap in the zone, stops there and shows a target. The post short-corners or flashes to the high post, and the perimeter players fill toward the ball quickly so every pass has an angle.
Build it in Coach Board
Players stop standing still once they know each rule's trigger. Build a Coach Board court with the four perimeter spots and the post, then make one short animated board per rule: pass and cut, screen away, dribble at and post flash. Share them as a playbook link before practice, and scrub back to the frame where a filler went to the wrong spot so the fix takes seconds, not a walkthrough.