Today, we give you fair warning. If you are a die-hard basketball fan, you should prepare to have your mind blown. What we have planned from tomorrow’s post through the end of the Final Four is nothing short of crazy.
Not “I love my team” crazy. Not eyebrow raising crazy. We’re talking Hoosiers, “barking at the moon in my living room” crazy (movie quote fans know what we mean).
The brackets are out and we are so excited for the coming Madness that we have taken the gloves off and decided we are going to try and surprise you every day the rest of the way.
Please do not miss tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day post. In the meantime, do your bracket research, get ready to enter some free contests, and revel in the madness!
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Why aren’t more coaches interested in Layer 1 of the Read & React?
by Rick Torbett
Why aren’t more coaches interested in Layer 1 of the Read & React?
The answer may be that most coaches have not heard of the Read & React and even fewer have done any serious investigation. As you know, Layer 1 is given away on the website. If you’re going to explain the Read & React to a coach, this is where you start and if you can’t interest them with this Layer, then it’s hard for them to hang in there until they can see the big picture.
Here’s why I think most coaches look past Layer 1 Pass & Cut: They only see the initial
scoring opportunities, i.e., the give-and-go that comes from a Front Cut or a Rear Cut. They think that it is easily defended (which we all know is not the case), but more importantly,
they don’t see what Layer 1 creates:
- Draft Drives: They don’t pick up on the fact that an immediate “help defender” one position away has been temporarily taken out of the picture. A dribble drive down the path of the cutter takes advantage of “Space Creation” made possible by the cutter.
- Fill Cuts: There are unique scoring opportunities made possible for the player who fills the open spot. The first is the “Read Line Rear Cut” – if the defender is denying – very difficult to defend. The second is to “Curl the Puppydog” – if the defender is trailing. The third is what happens immediately after the filler receives the pass: a chance to attack while in motion; perhaps to “Rip Against the Grain”; etc. The Fill Cut is a situation tailor made for a Slasher.
- Spacing, Player Movement, and Ball Movement: They fail to see that in only a few seconds, a Read & React team can make the defense change sides of the floor, defend on the perimeter, defend a North-South Cut, defend in the post, and close out multiple times. Modern day defense requires five defenders guarding two-thirds of the floor. Layer 1 can break that down for most teams in a only 10-15 seconds.
- Next Best Actions: The uninitiated coach does not understand how the Read & React is built (obviously) and won’t investigate long enough to discover the NBA. Next Best Action decisions are given to the players only AFTER or DURING a basket cut. The remaining 19 layers are contingent on the action of someone cutting the lane and threatening the basket. Layer 1 is the door that players must open in order to make decisions like the following:
- During a basket cut, stop and post-up (if there’s an advantage).
- Set a screen for a post player before filling out.
- Set a Pin Screen on weakside defenders.
- Use a Pin Screen set by one of your Read & React teammates.
- Set a Back Screen for anyone, anywhere on the perimeter.
- Use another cutting teammate as a Brush Screen.
- Set a Brush Screen for another cutting teammate and then shape-up for the ball.
- Use a screen set by your post player; either coming into the lane or going out.
- Use both post players (if you have them) as double staggered screens.
- And the list goes on…
I know of many high level coaches who have “taken a look” at the Read & React, only to skip over the first layer as if it’s something only for youth teams and camps. In this case, the saying is true: “They really don’t know what they’re missing!”
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What is the Read & React?
Please share your questions, comments, thoughts, experiences, etc. in the ‘Leave a Reply’ section below…
