Category: Coach Vic's Instruction and Advice
Type: Philosophy
OFFENSIVE SETS
Above: Front Court Set. Below: Offensive Court Grid
To be organized, players need to know where to be on the court and what to do when they get there. “Sets” help them do this. Sets are formations of positions. Each position is assigned tasks and play options.
If players are to know where to be and what do at all times, there should be a set for each part of the basketball court. The diagram below is of an offensive court grid, consisting of the full-court, back court, mid-court, and front court.
The Offensive Court Grid
The arrow in the diagram below shows the direction in which one team advances the ball. That team’s back court is the half of the court located between the baseline and the centre line. The mid-court, is the area 8 to 10 ft. on either side of the centre line; the front court is the area between the mid-court boundary and the farther baseline. The full court includes the back court, mid-court, and the front court.
Offensive Sets
The offensive sets are the back-court, mid-court, front-court, and full-court sets.
The back-court set - Players select this set as they anticipate ball possession in their back court. There are several entries which cue players to occupy positions in this set: a defensive rebound, a baseline throw-in (after a score), a sideline throw-in (after a violation), or a steal or intercepted pass. Because this set is a springboard for play in the full-court set (fast-break play), it is usually called the outlet set.
The mid-court set: As the ball enters the mid-court, players occupy positions in the mid-court set. The player with the ball has three options: to execute a fast-break triangle entry, to execute a front-court set entry, or to maintain play in the mid-court set.
The front-court set: Players occupy positions in the front-court set when a teammate executes a passing or dribble entry from the mid-court or when play ends in the fast-break triangle (full-court play). Below is an example of a front-court set with a two-guard front. Numbers are used to represent positions. The odd numbers represent the strong-side positions (three positions) and the even numbers the weak-side (two positions). The circle around the #1 position represents the location of the ball. The #1 represents the Point position, the #3 the Strong-Side Forward, #5 the Post, the #2 the Weak-side Guard, and the #4 the Weak-Side Forward.
The full-court set: The full-court set organizes play over the entire court, that is, from the back court, through the mid-court, and into the front-court. Full-court involves three phases: outlet, penetration, and fast-break triangle.
the outlet phase - This phase occurs in the back court. Players use the outlet set to advance the ball as quickly as possible.
the penetration phase - In this phase, the player with the ball executes a dribble or passing entry into the fast-break triangle, usually from the mid-court. There are times, however, when the player with the ball can execute an entry into the fast-break triangle directly from the back court. The player should always look for this option first.
the fast-break triangle phase - In this phase, the triangle, which consists of three positions (the Point, the Hole, and the Baseline), is used to exploit numerical advantages over the defence, such as 2-on-1 and 3-on-2. Not exploiting such an advantage cues transition from the fast-break triangle into the front-court set.
The two players who are not part of the fast-break triangle occupy the two Trail positions.
Each time phase transition from defence to offence occurs, the first thing players should do is occupy positions in a particular offensive set. What each player does depends on which position he/she occupies. Play begins as players occupy their positions.
NOTE: This tip is only an introduction into how sets can help organize play over the entire basketball court. If you are interested in more related information, watch for future tips on this subject or ‘Ask Vic’.
Submitted by: Vic Pruden
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