Type of Offense

There are only two types of offense: free-lance and controlled. In a free-lance offense, players make their own patterns, depending upon the defensive deployment and the ability of the opponents.

Free-lance is not as free, or uncontrolled, as the name implies. All two-on-two and three-on-three plays should always be part of your drills. Controlled offense is a set patterned offense. Both types must fall into one of the following classification, based on the position of the offensive players in relation to the basket and the defensive players guarding them:

1. Five Offensive Players Outside –
2. Four Offensive Players Outside and One Inside –
3. Three Offensive Players Outside and Two Inside –
4. Two Offensive Players Outside and Three Inside –
5. One Offensive Player Outside and Four Inside –

Offenses that begin from this structure are a 3-2 (wide) and a five-man weave. Normally this is a four-man weave system or a single type of offense in which the corner men are approximately 18 or 19 feet from the basket. Three offenses start from this structure:

1. A double-post places the two larger men in closer to the basket than the other three. The 3-2 offense may have three front men moving while the two inside men are stationary in close to the basket.
2. A 1-3-1 offense uses a tandem pivot, one high and one low.
3. An overload offense overloads one side of the court, passing the ball to the side that has only one player and having a teammate who was away from the ball cut off a post man toward the ball.

This is a standard 2-3 offense in which the forwards are within eighteen feet of the basket. This offense has four players close to the basket such as a stack offense which usually forces a zone to play you man-to-man.