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Today at a Glance:

👀 ICYMI: Last Sunday, we dissected the 3-2 "Monster" Zone, including its rotations and effectiveness against the PNR and zone penetration. View the breakdown HERE.

📺 SGTV: Olympiacos - Attacking Unders 🔒 {SG Plus}

🎤 Slappin' Glass Podcast: Scott Waterman {Academy of Art University}

🥇Best of the Week: Marco Belinelli & Pinch Post Splits

📚 Interesting Reads: Rules and Truths, Beware the Quick Fix, and Learning to Lead

Let's dive in...

Attacking Unders

*Special thanks to our newest partners, the world leader in international sport tours, Beyond Sports. Hear more about Beyond Sports and why over 650 universities and programs have trusted them for their international tours in this week's podcast! More about this partnership in upcoming weeks!

When building out one's PNR offense, two major considerations should be given to the strengths of the players involved and finding solutions to various coverages to fit those strengths. In the past, we have looked at several different solutions in attacking the 🔒Drop, 🔒Ice, and 🔒Switch coverages. Today, we will focus on Euroleague club Olympiacos' solution to attacking "Unders" (player guarding the ball going under the screen) in the PNR through the use of the 🔒rescreen and 🔒off ball cutting.

Oftentimes, defenses make the decision to go under in the PNR due to the reluctance and/or inconsistency of the ball handler to shoot behind the screen. With no advantage created on the first screen, a natural tendency for the offense is to play to the rescreen to help get the ballscreen lower on the floor, where 1) the ball handler will be comfortable to shoot or 2) the defender will be forced to go over.

However, if the defense is determined to continue going under the screen, real thought should be given to how confident you are in allowing the ball handler to dominate a possession in search of a solution against the under. Perhaps this is not your cup of tea...

Zooming In: As demonstrated above, the possession can really stall out when the offense is committed to attacking through the rescreen. However, if your point guard is equipped with the midrange skills and creativity similar to Marcelinho Huertas, let'm cook!

For those of us that don't possess that caliber of player (or patience) to create an advantage, something else is needed to help turn that defensive under into an advantage for the offense.

Enter Olympiacos, who, this season, chose to attack the under with their point guard, Thomas Walkup, by using the rescreen to initiate quick off-ball actions. Specifically, when the rescreen brought the ball back towards the 2-men side, Olympiacos attempted to create an advantage through a quick 45 cut followed by a pitch/toss with the corner man sprinting up...

Why it was effective?

Understanding their personnel, Coach Bartzokas was aware that Thomas Walkup, a willing passer, would often face unders in the PNR, especially early in the possession. However, he also had proficient shooters at the forward position in Kostas Papanikolaou, Alec Peter, and particularly Euroleague MVP Sasha Vezenkov. Therefore, Olympiacos could exploit the under and distort the defensive shell by quickly flipping the screen and playing directly for the forward coming up out of the corner.

Zooming In: In the clip above, Walkup immediately takes the rescreen to direct the play towards the 2-men side and exploit the low defender. It is important to highlight that when Walkup's defender goes under for a second time on the rescreen, he often finds himself positioned too low to offer any meaningful support or disrupt the toss.

Another crucial aspect in Olympiacos' under attack strategy was their frequent usage of short angle/step-up screens or DHO's with their 7-footer, Moustapha Fall, rolling aggressively towards the rim. As a result, they knew their rescreens would often direct the point guard back towards the 2-men side. Here's an example where the two players are behind the action with Fall rolling to the rim...

Zooming In: To alleviate the pressure on the defensive big to handle both the ball and the roll in a short angled screen, defenses may opt to go under and compel a rescreen back to the 2-man side. This approach allows nail help to offer increased support on the ball, preventing the ball handler from gaining depth in the ball screen and cutting off their potential offensive options.

Let the chess match begin! Armed with this knowledge and the increased attention given to the corner (as mentioned above) allowed for favorable situations where the 45 cut could be utilized to create easy scoring opportunities...

Indeed, there are numerous exits and strategies that can be employed when attacking through the 2-men side, allowing teams to tailor a personnel-based approach. As the season progressed, Olympiacos adapted by shifting their strategy from utilizing a 45 cut to incorporating a flare screen to exploit the under defense. By constantly evolving and introducing fresh elements to their offensive repertoire, Olympiacos maintained a dynamic and unpredictable approach that challenged opposing defenses.

To learn much more on Olympiacos rescreen flare attack, plus view the variety of exits generated from their under solutions, view today's breakdown now on SGTV!

Together with Hudl

We're proud to partner with one of the best tech companies in the world of sports, Hudl! Every play, every stat, every breakdown. On their own, they’re essential. But all together, they’re undeniable. Hudl recently introduced their newest product, Hudl Instat – a new advanced data platform that integrates with Sportscode and every Hudl product you rely on to create an all-in-one data powerhouse. Hudl Instat’s advanced tagging and next-level stat reports help you develop your team – and its global film library helps you find the missing piece to get the most out of every second of film. Visit hudl.com/slappinglass to learn more.

Slappin' Glass Podcast

"Some of our most talented players do have that chip on their shoulder, a little bit of an ego, And I think you have to do a great job managing it. And so how can we manage it to get them to see that their success is going to come when they can be fully bought into the team And when they see that their success can come when others have success. that's when teams get really good." - Scott Waterman on managing ego

It was another thought-provoking week on the podcast as we were joined by Academy of Art University Head Coach, Scott Waterman, for a second time on the show! Coach Waterman was a willing guinea pig back in the day as our 2nd guest ever on the podcast and since then has led ArtU to two straight NCAA appearances, picking up the 2022 PacWest Conference Coach of the Year honors along the way. In this terrific interview Coach Waterman shares his thoughts on

Advantage/disadvantage drills
Generating "rotation steals"
And we talk managing potential "red flags" and keeping things simple during the always fun "Start, Sub or Sit!?"

Listen to the entire great conversation with Coach Waterman here...

Listen Now!

Tactical

📺 Virtus Bologna - Pin Punch • Twist • Grenade

"Virtus Bologna turns a pin down into a post entry grenade off the twirl screen for Marco Belinelli."

✚ Pair With: Our podcast conversation with Virtus Bologna & Spanish NT Head Coach Sergio Scariolo.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Our recent breakdown on creative set design by Tenerife for their shooter, Sasu Salin.

📺 Nova Southeastern - Pinch Post • Weakside Splits

"D2 National Champs Nova Southeastern playing to an elbow split out of the pinch post."

✚ Pair With: Nova Southeastern's Snug DHOs.

🔒SG Plus Content: Our Inside the Set series with Coach Josh Schertz on teaching splits and "gaggles."

Interesting Reads

📚 Rules, Truths, Beliefs

"Average returns sustained for an above-average period of time leads to extraordinary returns."

📚 Beware the Quick Fix

"Other researchers have found similar results, but in Dean Oliver’s “Basketball on Paper,” there’s a further wrinkle: The good teams stay good even longer than you’d expect. A lifetime in and around the league has given a lot of clues as to what’s driving all this: Some teams have great soil."

📚 The Leap to Leader

"In this article I’ll explore the mental shifts needed to become a leader and to handle the challenges you’ll encounter in your new role. The process involves identifying and communicating your core values and learning how to approach tough decisions. It requires setting the bar for your team’s performance and learning to compartmentalize so that you can find the right pace for yourself. And it requires expanding your self-awareness and paying attention to the stories you tell yourself about your experiences—your successes and failures, your bad times and good ones—when you contemplate the arc of your career and life."

Quote of the Week

"I'm singing for the love of it

Have mercy on the man who sings to be adored."

- Singer/Songwriter, Josh Ritter, "Snow is Gone"

Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

Dan and Pat

info@slappinglass.com

Slappin' Glass

🏀 Don't. Go. Under.