Get the ball to your star player

From Lon Kruger’s Oklahoma playbook

When defenses are fixated on overplaying your scorer, have the player take a step high, receive a backdoor screen and score on an over-the-top lob pass at the hoop.

Why use it

The best way to force a defense from constantly jumping the perimeter on your talented shooter is to send the shooter backdoor behind the defense. This play comes from Lon Kruger at Oklahoma. The Sooners ran it for their Player of the Year candidate, Buddy Hield, in an early-season game against Washington State.

Set up

From a Horns set in which your two posts are located at opposite elbows and your other two guards are in opposite corners, your point guard is dribbling at the top shaded to the side away from your top scorer.

How to play

Your scorer (3 in this instance) takes a step high out of the corner, which brings the defender away from the baseline. On this step, 5 runs toward 3 and sets a backscreen.

3 uses the screen to come free along the baseline. 4 steps high to set a ball screen as 2 dives toward the hoop [1]. 1 uses the ball screen to gain a step on the defense, then lofts a lob toward the rim for 3 [2]. 3 elevates, catches the ball and scores before landing, which eliminates any chance of a defender recovering in time [3].

Technique

Be sure 4 sets a solid ball screen for 1 and 1 dribbles hard off it. If either player is hesitant, it ruins the timing of the lob pass and the opportunity is gone.

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