Princeton offense

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The Princeton offense ( German  Princeton offensive ) is a basketball attack strategy . Characteristic is the high pass and running intensity and a conscious avoidance of the zone close to the basket.

history

The Princeton offense was developed in 1967 by college basketball coach Pete Carill, who coached the Princeton University basketball team. Since the Princeton team was not very athletic, but was game-intelligent, strong in running and equipped with good distance throwers, Carill designed a pass and running-intensive system that was tailored to the strengths of this team. Until his retirement in 1996, Carill coached the Princeton team, leading it to 13 Ivy League titles and eleven times to the finals of the NCAA college championships. The majority of these successes were achieved without outstanding individual players, but arose from a strong collective.

description

In the classic attack strategy, the center and power forward are close to the basket in the so-called post, the small forward in mid-distance, and the players on the three-point line. In the Princeton Offense, on the other hand, the center positions itself on the free-throw line, i.e. in the so-called high post, and all other players stand in a semicircle on the three-point line. This forces the opposing team to defend far away from the basket. The entire width of the space is used, and in particular a hole is created directly under the basket. The aim of the system is to achieve either an unrestricted layup or a free throw from distance.

The Princeton offense relies on confusing the defense through dynamic passing and free running. The standard move is the so-called "give and go" (Eng .: pass and run free). If an attacker plays the ball, he can run into one of the many free spaces and pull his defender along. It is also conceivable that a player without a ball simply walks into the hole from the outside and is completely free after a pass (technical term: back door ). This hole can also be, for. B. can be exploited to a simple lay-up by clever blocking and passing (technical term: pick and roll ). If the opposing team wants to fill this hole, it is outnumbered on the outside, which provokes an open throw from distance.

In contrast to conventional basketball strategies, screens (dt .: body blocks) are rarely used, but many cuts, d. H. short sprints without the ball towards the basket. Contrary to the usual way of playing, the center stands far away from the basket and acts less as a basket hunter and more as a pass station. A Princeton Center is therefore an above-average pass-giver and middle-distance thrower.

The system is very pass- and running-intensive and requires unselfish players with a good throw. On the other hand, athleticism and explosiveness are of secondary importance, which is why it suits players with an average physique.

Strengths and weaknesses

A well-rehearsed Princeton offense is very exhausting for the opposing team, as there are many give and goes and every defender is constantly chasing after his attacker. There are also an above-average number of simple lay-ups and open distance throws. The pedagogical element of this tactic is also valued, as it rewards teamwork and “easy-to-learn” talents such as running and passing.

On the other hand, the Princeton offense is criticized as "soft". John Thompson III. complains: “ People say the Princeton offense… are slow white guys that… take a 3-pointer or get a layup,”. ) They are slow white boys who either take three-point throws or layups. Actions with great explosiveness (e.g. dunks from the low post) or "selfish" 1-on-1 situations are rarely provided for in this game system. So far, no team (see below) has succeeded in winning an NBA title with the Princeton offense.

application

Aside from Carill, it was used successfully by his student John Thompson III for the Georgetown Hoyas college team.

In the NBA , the Sacramento Kings played the Princeton offense under coach Rick Adelman for years. With the very intelligent center / power forward combination Vlade Divac / Chris Webber , distance shooter Peja Stojaković and pick-and-roll specialist Mike Bibby , the Kings made it to the Western Conference Finals twice.

In addition, the New Jersey Nets played the Princeton offense under coach Byron Scott and reached the NBA Finals twice. At a lower level, they also played the New Orleans Hornets and the Washington Wizards .

Footnotes

  1. ^ A b Carril Is Yoda to Notion of Perpetual Motion , New York Times.
  2. ^ A b c Pete Carril's Princeton Offense , New Jersey Monthly.
  3. ↑ a b Princeton Offense ( Memento of May 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), hoopstactics.com

literature

  • Derek Sheridan: Basketball's Princeton-Style Offense: A Simplified Approach for High School Coaches . Cardinal Publ Group, Terre Haute, Ind. 2008, ISBN 978-1-930546-92-9 .

Web links