5-Out play
5-Out: Dribble-At Back Cut and the Handoff
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 8 steps
About this play
The dribble-at, the one trigger in 5-out that needs no defensive mistake. Why: when the pass to the wing is pressured, the ball handler speed dribbles at the wing, and the rule says anyone dribbled at takes one step to the ball and back cuts to the rim; the handler takes his spot and the fills follow. If the defender drops under to wait for the back cut, the second half of the rule applies: the handler turns his back to the defense on a power dribble and the teammate comes to the ball for the handoff, which is a pass and a screen at once. Counter shown: the scouted defense plays the back cut, so the ball handler power dribbles at the corner for the handoff, the receiver turns the corner into the middle, and the kick finds the shooter whose defender helped, then one more pass finds the open man. Rule: a back cut is always finished to the rim, and a handoff receiver runs through it. The dribble-at rule is Read and React's, as the Better Basketball glossary lays it out; Hooper University's Richmond breakdown shows it at the college level and Coach's Clipboard has the drill, so look them up.
