Playing In Their Shoes: Michigan Wolverines
John Beilien has long been considered one of the best coaches in basketball regardless of level. He runs an offensive system that many know as the 2-guard offense but it’s roots date back very far and Coach Beilein has since created something truly unique. It’s not a style that you’ll see other coaches run for the simple fact that the cuts and reads involved were designed by John himself. We will detail my personal version of the offense and give some insight as to how this has made the wolverines a nightmare to gameplan for. Before diving into the O’s and X’s, understand that the best offense is better and more skilled players. The Michigan staff is incredibly well respected for it’s ability to create skilled and intelligent basketball players on both ends of the floor.
One way to develop your players for any system is with the use of 3 on 3 competitions involving various rules. Here is a link to one of my articles detailing that area of player development.
Entries and Spacing
The following entries can not only flow into each other, but also into the actions that will be listed later in the article. The entries can be an offense in and of itself at lower levels as well. Most of the entries can be initiated via ball reversal or wing entry as well.
Circle
The first entry involves a simple dribble handoff with a weakside downscreen. It’s important to not just exchange to “occupy the defense”. The reason being is we are trying to constantly put pressure on the defense. If the defense were to overplay, then we would be able to throw a backdoor cut without much help on the weakside.
Square
Here we have two speed cuts straight down towards the lane line once the ball is entered to the wing via pass. Of course as the offensive player lifts to receive the ball, they have an opportunity to look for a backdoor pass.
X or Cross
Similar to the Square action, X involves the players in the slot crossing infront of the player at the nail or high post. The simple brush screen can be enough to free up an offensive player to get to the rim.
Nail or Elbow
Getting the ball to the high post allows our player to look for cutters as well as attack the basket after facing up. There are several ways to go about this such as cutting to the rim like the square action, setting a down screen or also a Flare screen. Another fun wrinkle is to cross in front of the ball looking for a handoff.
Fist Ace and Deuce
The most popular entry involves using the pick and roll. Due to the spacing, any dribble handoff will be followed by our nail player with a ballscreen. This remains the same wether the handoff is from slot to slot or from slot to the corner. Ace means that there is one player on the strongside while deuce has two players in that area. What’s important is the weakside action that takes place. Players may simply stay spaced on the perimeter but may also take one of the two cutting scenarios that i call Drop and Circle. Down or flare screen actions may also take place based on which defender is sinking into help position more. A retreat dribble by the lead guard would also trigger a spread pick and roll as well. If a player takes a backdoor cut, then we remain in pick and roll spacing before flowing into motion.
You can learn more about the cutting and screening options in the article link below.
Post Split
The low post split has been around for decades but teams like the Golden State Warriors have used it with lethal results. This concept creates more space for the low post player to score since the defenders are now unable to help down on the post. This puts more stress on the weakside defenders since they must now be prepared to help on any cutters that may slip a screen.
Actions
The following actions have two entries within this particular spacing which constantly forces the defense to expand. These can be run together in concert with the above entires for added effectiveness. It’s important to remember that we are trying to get the best shot possible and that may occur at literally any time. We are not trying to run a play for the sake of running it, but rather we are trying to create a scoring opportunity as soon as possible. There is no defense for the proper cut, screen or drive in response to what the defense does and that is the reason why Michigan is such a nightmare to defend since you can’t scout them very easily.
Chin
This action involves a continous use of backscreens and flare screens which gives the “five” the option to slip to the rim as a counter. After setting those screens, the continuity may continue but what’s more effective is to entry the ball to the nail and engage in a split screening action. The wing and corner plays may cut or screen before flowing into a dribble handoff and ballscreen. The weakside of the floor will also screen or cut looking to score as well. The team cannot progress further into the scheme without understanding the details of Chin.
Reversal entry
Wing entry
Nail entry after flare screen
This downscreen and curl action is only one of MANY of the possibilities.
Shuffle
Following the ball reversal to the opposite wing, we have a shuffle screen followed by a staggered screen. Following all of this movement, we will flow into a spread pick and roll. If the shooter isn’t open off of the stagger, they may either curl to the rim or follow towards a ballscreen as the “five” trails behind as well. The wing and reversal entries are the same for this action.
Hawk
The final action is something that had come to mind while watching the Hawk action at the NBA level. Similar to the ever popular UCLA cut, a player from the slot sprints off of an elbow screen towards the basket. The main difference being that instead of a pass entry to the wing, the ball will be dribbled to the wing while the cutter sprints off at the same time. Designed for a post concept from the Utah Jazz and other teams, we will entry the ball into the post and wait for the backscreen and stagger screen to take place. Our inside player will look for cutters or attack the basket.
Wing entry
Reversal entry
The Michigan Wolverines are arguably my favorite program to watch and i’m glad i was able to give a small glimpse into their offensive scheme. For more questions about to implement the system with your team as well as more detail on how to use this specific spacing, email me at KJTHESCOUT@outlook.com or via twitter at KJ_THE_SCOUT.
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