“Ricky”
Term: Ricky
Definition: a backscreen followed by a down screen for the same player; more broadly, a screen and rescreen involving the same cutter and screener each time, with the second screen set in the opposite direction of the first
Synonyms: rescreen, comeback
Ricky Variations:
- Wiper: a flare screen followed by a cross screen for the same player
- Oklahoma: a double drag followed by a pin-down for the first screener to come back toward the ball
See Also: Double Drag (77), Chin, Top-Lock, Iverson
Origin of the Name: Unknown
How It Works:
In the example above, 5 sets a backscreen for 2 (the type of backscreen is a “chin”), and then 5 sets a down screen for 2.
In this next example, of wiper action, 4 sets a flare screen for 2 to cut away from the ball, and then 4 sets a wide pin for 2 to cut back toward the ball.
This last example is a 1–4 Iverson (2’s horizontal cut in the first frame is the “Iverson”). After 2 curls 4’s initial screen, he pivots and receives a second screen from 4 in the opposite direction.
Why It Works: Multiple reasons.
- Navigating two consecutive screens is difficult for any defender.
- Ricky is often a wrinkle to a common action, such as the Chin screen above. The defender might relax when he spots the Chin screen, knowing he’s prepared for it. But then the Chin screen turns into a Ricky.
- When Ricky is part of a Double Drag, any attention the screener’s defender gives to the ballhandler (such as hedging/showing) takes him out of position to help against the Ricky screen.
Examples:
In this variation of a Spain Veer, Danilo Gallinari rejects the backscreen from Tony Snell and instead cuts of the ricky screen from Clint Capela:
How Defenses Stop It:
In the Double Drag example, some teams will automatically “top-lock” the first ballscreener: guard the top side of him to prevent the Ricky screen.
The drawback to top-locking is that it concedes the backdoor cut:
