(Rental)-Keys To Scoring Quickly In Transition

Ryan Odom: Keys to Scoring Quickly in Transition

University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) head basketball coach Ryan Odom’s popularity soared when he led his Retrievers to the first-ever NCAA tournament victory by a No. 16 seed last season. UMBC defeated top-ranked Virginia and Odom led the program to a school record 25-11 season capped by an America East Conference tournament championship.

Odom has had success thanks to his belief in an up-tempo style of offense. In this video, he breaks down his fast break philosophy and how his team runs zone offense. You will also get an inside look at how Odom takes less talented players and turns them into a machine that can beat anyone on any given night.

The UMBC Fast Break Philosophy

Coach Odom first shares with you his beliefs and philosophy behind his transition offense. He has an undying love for the 3-pointer and his teams work to either get a layup or a wide open 3-point shot. The keys to doing so are:

• Searching for open 3-pointers
• Searching for layups
• Scoring in the first 7 to 10 seconds
• Scrambling an opponent’s defense

Another key to Odom’s fast break is simply confidence. You have to build confidence in your players’ abilities to shoot the basketball. He will always encourage them to take an open shot regardless of whether they have a hot hand or not.

Components of the UMBC Fast Break

Coach Odom’s transition offense is incredibly simple and quite effective. Its simplicity allows players to learn quickly and respond to any situation instantaneously. In order to run the offense correctly, players must understand the following:

• The 5-man must try to beat his defender down the court
• The wings must sprint to the deep corners
• The wings must be prepared to shoot at all times
• The point guard directs the offense, pushes the pace, and must have the ability to make quick decisions

UMBC Offense Drills

With an understanding of the philosophy and of the key components of Coach Odom’s offense, he then offers you some of the drills he uses to teach it. The drills work on repeating the actions vital to the offense so they become second nature.

The final segment of the video features Odom sharing his 10 principles of operating against zone defenses. The type of zone does not matter, according to Odom, because the principles he shares can beat any zone defense.

For those looking to play fast and score quickly, Coach Odom shares with you the secrets that allowed his UMBC team to pull the biggest upset in the history of the NCAA tournament.