Duke transitions with slip to rim

From the Duke Blue Devils playbook

The Blue Devils ran some beautiful sets finishing with high-percentage shots to shake off the feisty UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in the first round – including this transition play.

Why use it

Duke led UNC-Wilmington 59-49 with 13:23 remaining in the teams’ first-round NCAA Tournament game. After grabbing a defensive rebound, the Blue Devils raced down floor to run and ran the following movements before the defense was set.

Set up

After securing a defensive rebound and pushing the ball up the floor, the ball handler is dribbling on the left side while a guard or small forward has raced down the floor on the right side and is near the wing.

How to play

2 attacks the middle with the dribble, then fires a pass across to 3 on the right wing. 2 then relocates to the right corner. 1, 5 and 4 continue moving into the front court and fan into three separate directions [1]. As 4 enters the front court and moves toward the right side, 3 passes to 4. 3 then takes a couple steps toward the basket and 2 replaces 3 on the right wing from the corner [2]. 4 then dribbles toward the top and it appears 5 is coming across to set a ball screen. 5 slips the screen as 4 dribbles behind 5. On the slip, 4 passes to 5 going to the hoop for a layup [3].

Technique

As the defenders communicate about what they are going to do on the ball screen, 5 slips it and doesn’t allow the opposite time to recover. 3 has moved to the corner to pull his or her defender in that direction.

If you’re inspired by today’s drill and you want your team to shoot like Duke, take a look at Mike Krzyzewski’s Open Practice: Shooting Drills DVD.