Transition play
Transition: Drag Screen
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 6 steps
About this play
The drag screen, the ball screen set in transition by the trailing big before the defense is matched up. Fred Hoiberg's version at Iowa State is the one I teach from: 1 pushes up one side, the wings run to the corners, the first big runs to the block on the ball side, and the second big sprints into a screen at the arc on the middle side of the ball handler. Run it on every trip where the primary break is stopped but the defense is still retreating, because that is the moment a ball screen is hardest to guard. Why it works: the screener's defender is behind the play, so nobody is in position to tag the roll, and the on-ball defender is backpedaling, so he cannot get over the screen or into an ice. The big on the block clears across the lane as the ball comes off the screen, moving with it, so the paint is open for the roll and the help under the rim has two bigs to guard. Personnel: 5 a big who sprints into screens and rolls hard, 4 a big who reads the ball and clears, 3 a corner shooter who lifts to the wing on time. The read for 1 is the two defenders back: score if nobody steps up, pocket pass to the roll if X5 shows, kick to 3 lifting if the help comes from the wing. Dribble at least twice past the screen before deciding, otherwise the help can cover both the ball and the pass back. The counter when a defense starts jumping the drag early is the slip: 5 shows the screen and slips to the rim before it is set, and the same pocket pass is a layup. Common mistakes: the drag set outside the arc, the roller leaving before contact, and the block big standing still so the roll runs into his man. Coach's Clipboard's write-up of Hoiberg's drag is where I got the reads and the mirror cut, and Nick Nurse's clinic clip shows the same screen in his spread offense. Watch the clip, then read the page.
