"Cardinal Dive" - Man-to-Man Offense

"Cardinal Dive"

Offense against a man-to-man defense

This is a little something I picked up from watching the Louisville Cardinals the past couple years in the NCAA tournament.  They're a treat to watch, and Rick Pitino has some pretty nice draw-ups in his playbook.  Here's how it runs!

1. The play is set up in sort of a 2-guard set with the center at the high post and two wing players.
2. The play begins with the point guard (let's call him Russ) passing the ball to the forward "F" (probably your 4-man) at the top of the key.  The center sets a screen at the elbow, and Russ dives to the basket.  If Russ's man is playing tight and gets caught on the screen, look for a lob in there.  This probably isn't ideal, but it's a possibility.
3. The ball is then swung to the 3-man "F" on the wing.  The 4-man who passed the ball dives to the block.  You're really not looking for any sort of pass here.
4. The 2-guard on the away-side and the center walk down to set what should look like a double-screen for Russ.  Instead, the 2-guard bolts off the center's screen to the top of the key.  As the screening action is occurring, the 3-man dribbles up a couple dribbles and passes to the 2-guard coming off the screen.  If he is wide open, that's a good shot.  If not, no problem, that's not the end of the play.
5. The center then slides down and over a bit to set a downscreen for Russ coming up.  Simultaneously, after the 3-man passes to the 2-guard, he will drift back as the 4-man curls around to set a backscreen for the 3-man.  So on ball-side, you've got a downscreen for your point guard and on the opposite side you've got a backscreen going on.
6. There are four options on this play now.  The 2-guard can either a) hit Russ coming off the downscreen, b) skip to the flaring 3-man off the backscreen, c) hit the 4-man slipping or rolling, or d) hit the center slipping or rolling.  If the 4- or 5-men's defenders help on the screen, slip.  The back-court defender will be trailing Russ, so if the center's defender helps, he can slip for a wide-open lay-up.  Similarly, if the 4-man's defender recognizes the backscreen, he will most likely pop out or at least show hard while the 3-man's defender recovers.  In this split second, the 4-man has to recognize what his defender is doing and slip to the basket.

This play is so lethal because, assuming the big men can recognize when their defenders help off, this will result in a wide-open three or a wide-open lay-up/dunk on the slip.  I've got a few more "Pitino Plays" coming soon for you guys.