Flex alignment, four out and one in: 1 and 2 in the slots as a two-guard front, 3 and 4 deep in the corners, 5 on the left block. Everyone plays every spot, so these numbers are starting positions, not jobs.

1 reverses the ball to 2. The guard-to-guard pass is the trigger: nothing else moves until the ball is in the air, and cutting early is the most common mistake in the offense.

5 steps off the block and sets a flat baseline screen facing the sideline, between the block and the corner. 5 gets set and holds it: a screen that is still moving when the cutter arrives is a foul or a miss.

3 reads his defender and flex-cuts off 5's screen across the lane to the ball-side block: low side if the defender is on his high hip, over the top if he cheats under. 2's first look is 3 at the block.

Screen the screener: 1 drops down the lane line and sets a downscreen on 5's defender. The downscreen fires as the flex cut completes, not before, and 1 is set before 5 moves.

5 pops off 1's downscreen to the left slot for the jumper or the next reversal, and 1 fills the left corner. The floor is now the mirror image of the start.

2 reverses to 5. Second trigger: the same two actions are about to run on the other side.

3 steps off the right block and sets the flex screen for 4, flat on the baseline. 3 is set before 4 moves.

4 flex-cuts off 3's screen across the lane to the left block. Same cut, mirrored. 5 looks inside first; 2 is about to downscreen 3 for the next reversal.

5 feeds 4 on the block. If the block feed is not there, 2 downscreens 3, 3 pops to the right slot, and the third cycle begins with 4 as the flex screener.

4 scores on the block. Guards get these layups as often as bigs do: Juan Dixon's points at Maryland came off flex cuts, which is why every player has to be willing to post.

2 has the ball at the wing. 5 steps across the lane to set the flex screen on the lane line, feet set and wide, because a screener who is still moving when the cutter arrives gives the defense a foul call instead of a cut.

3 reads his defender, goes under the screen along the baseline, and cuts hard to the ball-side block; 2 looks inside to him first, because the flex cut is the first option and skipping the look teaches the cutter to coast.

As 3 clears, 1 sprints down from the slot to screen the screener, setting the down screen on 5 at the lane line; the timing is the drill, which is why 1 waits for 3 to clear and not a count sooner.

5 curls off 1's down screen up to the elbow with his eyes on the ball the whole way, because a screener who fades instead of coming to the elbow turns an open jumper into a long contested one.

2 passes to 5 at the elbow and 1 fills the corner after screening, because the second screener clearing to the corner every time is what keeps the next side of the continuity open.

5 shoots the elbow jumper; then the four rotate 1 to 5 to 3 to 2, because every player needs to screen, cut, and shoot the action in the same minute.

Box alignment: 1 at the top, 4 and 5 at the elbows, 2 and 3 on the blocks. Tight and symmetrical, so the defense cannot tell which way the entry goes.

4 and 5 step out from the elbows to the slots. The blocks stay put. This is the two-guard front appearing out of a box.

1 enters to 4 at the left slot. 5 holds the right slot for one beat; the weak-side screen comes next.

5 drops from the right slot and downscreens 3's defender on the right block. 5 is set before 3 moves.

3 pops off 5's downscreen to the right slot while 1 fills the left corner. Four out, one in, with 2 on the left block as the first flex screener.

4 reverses to 3. The offense is live: this pass triggers the flex screen.

2 steps off the left block and sets the flex screen for 1 in the corner, flat on the baseline. 2 is set before 1 moves.

1 flex-cuts off 2's screen from the corner to the right block. 3 looks inside first.

3 feeds 1 on the block. If it is covered, 4 downscreens 2, 2 pops to the left slot, and it is the base continuity from here.

1 scores on the block. The point guard posting on the first cut is the Maryland signature: the smallest player on the floor gets the easiest shot.

Flex alignment, four out and one in: 1 and 2 in the slots as a two-guard front, 3 and 4 deep in the corners, 5 on the left block. Everyone plays every spot, so these numbers are starting positions, not jobs.

1 reverses the ball to 2. The guard-to-guard pass is the trigger: nothing else moves until the ball is in the air, and cutting early is the most common mistake in the offense.

5 steps off the block and sets a flat baseline screen facing the sideline, between the block and the corner. 5 gets set and holds it: a screen that is still moving when the cutter arrives is a foul or a miss.

3 reads his defender and flex-cuts off 5's screen across the lane to the ball-side block: low side if the defender is on his high hip, over the top if he cheats under. 2's first look is 3 at the block.

Screen the screener: 1 drops down the lane line and sets a downscreen on 5's defender. The downscreen fires as the flex cut completes, not before, and 1 is set before 5 moves.

5's defender trails him tightly over the top of 1's screen, so instead of popping, 5 curls tight off 1's shoulder into the lane toward the elbow. 1 opens to the ball and slides to the corner.

2 hits 5 on the curl. A defender who helps on the curl leaves either 1 in the corner or 3 on the block open.

5 shoots the short jumper or finishes at the rim. The curl is the read that keeps a defense from trailing every downscreen in the offense.