The 5 Out Circle Motion Offense “Tennessee”

“TENNESSEE” A Guide to the 5-Out Circle Motion Offense The 5 Out Circle Motion Offense “Tennessee” WHAT IS THE CIRCLE MOTION? BASIC ACTION ADDING MOTION DECISION MAKING WHAT ARE THE SCORING OPPORTUNITIES? CORNER OPTION ATTACKING VS PRESSURE DEFENSE ATTACKING VS SAGGING DEFENSE ATTACKING VS SWITCHING DEFENSE KEY FUNDAMENTALS WITHIN THE OFFENSE QUICK HITTING SETS OUT OF CIRCLE MOTION VARIATIONS FLOWING FROM A 5 OUT BREAK HOW TO DRILL COMMON PITFALLS TERMINOLOGY MY STORY PROMOTIONS WHAT IS THE CIRCLE MOTION? The Circle Motion is a 5-out, open post offense with completely interchangeable positions. Although the offense is interchangeable, we generally want shooters in the corners, cutters/finishers on the wings, and a screener at the top of the key. That is the optimal alignment, but as we cycle through the offense, players will find themselves in every spot. This makes having skilled players very important - they will all be handling the ball and making decisions. It is an equal opportunity offense that will make each player on the court feel involved. The strength of the offense is geared around ball movement (cutting, screening and ball reversals) although there are some opportunities to penetrate with the dribble. Hard cuts make the offense work. If players jog through the cuts, the offense will not be as successful as it could be. For that reason, the offense can be physically demanding to run - three players sprinting through the action on every ball reversal. For the same reason, the offense is difficult to guard. The offense can be initiated from the top of the key or from either wing, but the basic series of screening and cutting takes place any time we pass the ball from the top of the key to the wing. We used a sideline 5-out break so we initiated from the wing, which I preferred because we could double reverse, shifting the defense from side to side, into the first series of cuts and screens. We also used our 5 position at the top of the key, so he would become the first down screener in the offense, which I preferred. Using your 1 to initiate from the top of the key has the advantage that the ball can be entered to either side. BASIC ACTION The core movement of the Circle Motion is a three player bunch action. This means three players converge together and use each other to cut and screen. It occurs anytime the offense passes from the top of the key to the wing. The terminology we use to describe each position is down screen, butt cut and long cut. The down screener is screening near the outside edge of the lane, about one step towards the baseline from the elbow. He is screening for the long cutter, and the butt cutter is cutting off the butt of the down screener. If the down screener can screen the butt cutter’s defender, effectively making contact with two defenders on his down screen, that is optimal. The long cutter wants to walk his man in a few steps before making a hard cut, changing pace, to come off the down screen. The basic action can be effective as a set play used sporadically throughout a game. The action is fairly monotonous, and can be scouted by a diligent opponent. Against undisciplined teams that do not jump to the ball, this action will work consistently. Against well-principled defensive teams, it can be used effectively as a change of pace, but I would not recommend using this as a base offense all throughout the game. We will get into some of the features that make this offense a viable base offense that can be used in any amount throughout the course of a game, but before that, let’s examine how we get back to our 5-out shape to continue the offense. We are looking to move the ball to an open cutter to score or collapse the defense. If no scoring option is present, we need to reverse the ball and run the action again on the other side. To do that, we need to get back to our 5-out shape. The long cutter has come to the top of the key off the down screen. He will fill the position at the top of the key and become the down screener after the ball is reversed. He may need to pop out towards half court if he is not open at the three point line. The down screener flairs out to the wing. He will become the passer when the ball is reversed. The butt cutter fills out to the corner after curling to the rim.