Basketball Quick hitters : Thirty One

• This quick hitter is a situational play that should only be run for an athletic guard who can catch and finish near the rim.

• 31 probably should not be part of a team’s regular offensive attack, and with very few exceptions would not be an appropriate play at any level below high
  school boys varsity due to the athleticism and skill level required of the player for whom the play is being run (Player 1 in Figure A.).

• 31 is a great play for shifting momentum, when executed correctly and at the right time. The last time I ran this play was 8 years ago in our final regular season game as an assistant coach at Ballard High School in Seattle with coaches Max Silverman and Rob Sarmiento.
  The game was our biggest of the year; if we lost the game, our season was over. If we won, we made the district playoffs. The opponent had beaten us in our only other matchup of the year at home by two points at the buzzer, and was a remarkably consistent and well-coached. team. We ran 31 to open the game, for our great junior guard, Michael Thompson.

Figure A.

Figure B.

• The outcome? We opened the game with an alley-oop dunk that shocked our opponent, who had seen us open in our standard motion offense all year long. We capitalized on the momentum with 3 consecutive steals out of our full court 2-2-1 press and opened the game with a 9-0 run. Ballard won the game in overtime and earned a berth in districts.

• 31 is run for Player 1, who should be the team’s most athletic perimeter player. This does not necessarily have to be the regular point guard. In fact, putting a small point guard at the 3 position for this play can be beneficial by forcing a height mismatch on the lob if the opponent switches the back-screen.

• 1 begins the action by passing to 2 on the wing . 1 then sets his man up for a screen by taking one or two short steps towards the ball

  • The ball-side post player (4) pops to
    the ball-side corner.

  • The weak-side post player (5) flashes to the ball-side post in order to clear the weak-side basket area of any defenders. Since it is crucial that 5’s defender follow 5 across the lane,
    5 should be the team’s best low-post scorer.

  • The weak side wing (3) back screens 1’s defender. The further from the basket that this screen occurs, the better, so 1 must draw his man as far out as possible by showing his hands to 2 as he steps to the ball.

• 1 comes off of 3’s back screen and receives a lob pass from 2 to score.