5-Out play
5-Out: Spread Drag Screen
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 8 steps
About this play
The drag screen is the first thing I teach once a team can run the floor, because it turns a slow break into a ball screen before the defense is set: the five, last up the floor, runs straight into a screen on the handler as he crosses into the front court. Two details make it a drag instead of a pick: the five sets it with a foot inside the arc, not at half court, so the handler is already a threat when he comes off it, and he turns his back to the sideline so the handler's man has to climb over him, since a defender who can duck under never gets separated from the ball. Why spread spacing: the strong corner is filled, so as the handler comes off, the corner player lifts to the wing at the same moment, and his defender cannot step into the lane to stop the roll and stay on the wing with a shooter at the same time; whichever he picks, the handler passes to the other. The two weak-side players stand wide at the sideline, because a defender guarding a shooter that far out cannot sink into the lane without giving up a three. Counter shown: the scouted defense drops the big and tags the roll from the lifted wing, so the kick goes to the man the tagger left, who attacks the long closeout baseline, and the roller seals his man for the dump, because a drop and a tag leave the shooter and then the rim. Rule: the handler reads the on-ball defender first, over means turn the corner, under means shoot, and the screener's angle decides which one he gets. Most of this comes from Hooper University's 5-out early offense actions, both the write-up and the video, which cover zoom and the get alongside the drag; read them if you want the whole early-offense package.
