(Rental)-Transition Offense, Spread Attack, & Skill Development

Open Practice: Transition Offense, Spread Attack & Skill Development

Xavier University has remained an elite Big East program under head coach Travis Steele who spent seven seasons as an assistant with the Musketeers helping to guide the program to eight NCAA tournament appearances and the 2017 Elite Eight. In this video, you will learn to play the up-tempo motion offense that Steele employs at Xavier.

In addition, you will see effective practice drills for handling pressure and for developing low post play. Coach Steele shares some of his favorite baseline inbound plays and a strategy for creating a number of options off a single play simply by rearranging player assignments.

Transition Offense

Coach Steele shows you two different strategies for attacking with fast break. “Carolina” is the transition offense used after made baskets. It is a more structured approach where players have specific responsibilities and play as fast and as spaced as possible.

After a miss, the “Phoenix” break is used to attack the floor with spacing. It puts pressure on the defense with rim runs, drives, and pick and rolls. The “Run the Circuit” drill is shown as well. It can help you run through all of the options in this transition system.

Spread Offense

In the half-court, Steele’s teams don’t simply slow down. You will see Coach Steele’s motion offense at work. It spaces the floor with four perimeter players to create driving lanes. There is plenty of ball and player movement as well as cuts, dribble hand-offs, and brush screens.

“Flip” action incorporates the low post into a ball screen at any spot on the floor. You’ll see how to communicate the different actions to players on the floor. Coach Steele also shows you how to add weak-side actions into your ball screens to occupy help defenders.

Coach Steele shows you different drills to work on the offense. 2-on-2 Ball Screen teaches players to beat their defender and draw help. The 4-on-4 drill challenges ball handlers to make correct decisions based on defensive rotations.

Skill Development

In the final phase of the video, Coach Steele shows five drills to develop how players handle pressure and play through the low post. Two Feet in the Paint works on the partnership between guards and posts. Baseline Finishes teaches posts to relocate and finish strong on dribble penetration. Around the Horn Passing works on passing and catching under pressure.

Coach Steele does a great job of showing you the fast break, an up-tempo offense, and how to develop players so they can handle pressure.