COACHES - FUNDAMENTALS AND YOUTH BASKETBALL

The Inside-Outside Game

by Arnaud Guppillotte

Arnaud Guppillotte is the head coach of the

French Womens U16 national team, which
won the bronze medal at this years FIBA
European Championship, and head coach
at the French National Center (INSEP) in
Paris. He was also assistant coach of the
Womens U16 team, which won the silver
medal at the FIBA 2005 European Championship.
The offensive efficiency of a team depends
basically on the balance between the outside game (shooting from the 3-point line),

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pass him the ball.

It is important that the inside player maintains this position and gives a target to the
passer for a few seconds, without letting
the defender push him away from his position.
Create a target to receive the ball: the inside player should provide the passer a
definite visual target to pass him the ball:
the outside hand, away from the defender
is an excellent target.

the ability to penetrate the defense by dribbling, and the internal game (the post play).
This balance provides a team on offense
the chance to alternate each of these basic aspects of the offensive game, which
allows it to open up the court and create
problems for the defense, which is now
spread out on the court. As you will see, the
collaboration between the perimeter and
inside players is an essential key for any
successful offense.
I cannot analyze all the aspects of the inside-outside game in this article, but I would
like to first describe the play of the post, the
5, on both the technical and tactical side.

THE POSITION
Coaches cannot teach a definite position
for every player.
Positioning will be set based on size and
the physical and technical characteristics
of each player.
Players will set themselves up in different
ways on the court, but even so, there are
some guidelines that every inside player
should follow:
Keep close to the defender: maintain
physical contact with him (with the
back, arms, hips, and shoulder). This
will help lock him into that position and
keep him from getting to the ball.
Get around the defender if he moves in
front: use the swimming movement
(like the crawl style swimming stroke)
to get by the defender, making good use
of your arms and legs to gain the best
position.
Maintain a low center of gravity: have a
good, wide stance, which will keep you
from being forced to push and fight too
much for the position.
Move your head: this allows you to
watch what is happening benind you as
well as what is going on with your other
teammates and defenders on the court.
Create a wide space: use the legs and
arms to create as much space as possible so you can create a good target
for the passer.
Point your feet: make sure your feet are
aimed toward the half-court line so you
can offer a secure target for the passer.

TECHNICAL AND TACTICAL SIDE:

A. THE INSIDE PLAYER
Create space to receive the ball: this is a
primary aim of the inside player. He must
create a space in the middle of the lane, on
the low post, or on the short corner, providing a precise target for the passer. This will
allow the outside player the best chance to

B. THE OUTSIDE PLAYER

The attitude: The outside player must be
able to drive and shoot to keep his defender
busy, but he also has to be able to read the
stance and position of his defender and use
the proper pass (under the defenders arms,
at the hips, or head level) to get the ball to
the post.

D.1

D.4

D.7

D.2

D.5

D.8

D.3

D.6

D.9

THE TECHNIQUE OF PASSING

The outside passer must master different
types of passes for getting the ball to the inside player, each based on the target offered by the inside player and the position
of the defender.
Direct bounce pass (same hand, same
foot).
Direct bounce pass crossing forward
with the front leg (right hand, left foot,
or vice versa).
Pass after a dribble for finding a better
angle.
Lob pass (if the inside player is fronted).
Pass with the external or internal hand,
when the outside player drives in the
lane and passes to the inside player
near him.
Aside from the type of pass used, the passer must be:
Quick.
Precise.
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COACHES - FUNDAMENTALS AND YOUTH BASKETBALL

D.10

D.12

D.15

D.11

D.13

D.16

Able to create space from the defender.

He can also fake before passing; for example, fake a lob pass, and then quickly make
a bounce pass to the low post.
Tactical aspects: the outside passer must
also be aware of the different situations on
the court before making any pass to the inside player. Most importantly, he must be
aware how the inside player is guarded. For
example, if the post player is guarded in
front, he can make a skip pass to the opposite side, while the inside player seals
off his defender and then receives the pass
from the other side of the court.
C. COLLABORATIONS
WITH TWO OUTSIDE PLAYERS
There are three types of collaborations
that will get the ball inside:
With a pass.
By a dribble.
In an indirect way.
All these types of plays are designed to
keep extra defenders from helping out on
the post player, allowing the post player to
either play one-on-one or else pass the
ball back out to the perimeter player.
WITH A PASS
From the high-post area on the weak side,
5 cuts in the lane, seals his defender near
the basket, and receives the pass from 3,
who, after the pass, screens for 2 (diagr.
1).
From the high-post area on the weak side,
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baseline, the inside player goes to the

high-post spot to receive a pass (diagr. 5).
Inside player on the low-post on the weak
side: if the outside player drives to the
middle of the lane, the inside player cuts
on the baseline opposite to the path his
teammate is taking to the basket (diagr. 6).
If the outside player drives to the baseline,
the inside player cuts to the middle of the
lane (diagr. 7).
D.14

5 cuts in the lane, cannot receive the ball

under the basket, so he then posts down
in the low-post area, receives the pass
from 3, who then screens for 2, and rolls to
the basket toward the weak side. At the
same time, 2 replaces 3 (diagr. 2).
From the high-post area on the weak side,
5 cuts in the lane, cannot receive the ball
under the basket, and then sets himself
out in the short corner, and receives the
ball from 3, who then cuts in the lane and
goes out on the opposite corner, outside
of the three-point line (diagr. 3).
BY A DRIBBLE
We can also use the collaborations by
dribbling to get the ball to the post.
Inside player on the low-post, on the ball
side: If the outside player drives to the
middle of the lane, the inside player goes
to the short corner to receive a pass (diagr. 4).If the outside player drives to the

The inside player on the low post is overplayed in front on the ball side: the wing
on the weak side goes on the high-post
spot, receives the ball from wing on the
the strong side, and passes to the inside
player, who has sealed his defender (diagr. 8).
The wing with the ball can also make a
skip pass to the weak side wing. who
passes to the inside player, who has
sealed his defender under the basket (diagr. 9).
First Choice: one-on-one for the Inside
Player. The area near the basket is where
there will be the best shooting percentage, so the inside player, once he receives
the ball, must be able to successfully play
one-on-one and score.
Back to the basket: if the inside player has
a size advantage on his defender, he must
make two or three strong dribbles and
step toward the basket to force his defender to step inside the lane.

D.17

D.19

D.21

D.18

D.20

D.22

Facing the basket: if the inside player is

smaller than his defender, he must turn and
face up to the basket and beat his defender
to the basket with his quickness and
strength. The inside player must be able to
establish and keep contact with his defender, while always mantaining good balance.
Second Choice: passing to the outside
players. If, after the count of three, the inside player cannot go to to the basket, he
must be able to see the entire court, and
pass to teammates on the perimeter. Once
the ball is in the hands of the inside player,
the outside players must move to new spots
in order to give the inside player the best
possible passing lanes (diagr. 10 and 11).
D. STRATEGICAL ASPECTS
Lets now see how we can apply the insideoutside game to the offense, showing different basic plays involving three players.
The player in the middle of the court passes
to the wing, then cuts to the low-post spot,
making a baseline screen on the weak side
for the inside player (diagr. 12).
The high post receives the ball from the
wing, who then cuts near the high post, receives a hand-off pass, and dribbles toward
the other wing. The other wing goes down
on the low post (diagr. 13). The wing on the
low post then makes a diagonal screen for
the high post, who cuts to the basket and
receives the ball (diagr. 14).

The high post screens the wing and then,

right after, is screened by the teammate in
the low post (screen-the-screener). He
cuts to the basket and receives the ball
from the teammate who has dribbled on
the other side of the court (diagr. 15).
The player in the middle of the court dribbles toward the wing, who then goes down
to the low post spot to receive a screen by
the high post. The wing then comes high
and the post turns to face the dribbler and
receives the ball from him (diagr. 16).
Five-on-five with the inside-outside play:
here are some sample of offensive sets
based on the inside-outside play.
The first one is a play that is often used by
Le Mans, the French Division I team. Starting from a 1-4 set, the point guard passes
to one of the wings, fakes to go to toward
the ball, and then quickly cuts to the basket, brushing off the shoulder of the high
post on the ball side. If the point guard is
not open to receive the ball, he is screened
by the weak side high post (diagr. 17).
After the screen, he goes outside the
three-point line on the weak side. In the
meantime, the wing with the ball has
passed it to the high post, who popped out.
The high post passes to the point guard,
while the wing on the weak side goes
down on the low-post spot (diagr. 18).
The wing, who sets himself on the low
post, screens-the-screener on the baseline, and then receives a vertical screen
from the weak-side high post. The ball

handler can pass to the post, who received

the screen, or to the wing, who pops out of
the vertical screen (diagr. 19).
Here is another offensive set that is often
used by Barcelona, the Spanish Division I
team. It is still based on the inside-outside
play. Four players are in the lane, two on
the low post spots, one under the basket,
one at the high post, and the ball handler
in the middle of the court. A player under
the basket chooses to go out, using the
screens of one of the low posts. In this
case, he pops out on the right side of the
court, and receives the ball from the point
guard. In the meantime, the high post steps
out of the lane (diagr. 20).
Right after he has passed the ball, the point
guard is screened by the high post, cuts in
the lane, and then starts to set a staggered
screen with the low post on the ball side
(diagr. 21).
The ball handler passes the ball to the high
post, who sets himself outside the lane.
The low post pass to the other weak side
teammate, who has popped out of the lane.
After the pass, the wing uses the staggered screen and cuts in the lane to receive the ball (diagr. 22).
I have only described a few of the offensive sets and detailed when they should
be used for inside-outside play. However,
the coach must adapt his offense to his
players, especially to the skills of the inside players. Finally, he must create an offense that has continuity and proper
spacing on the court.
Fiba Assist Magazine | 34 2008 | Page 11