Inside the play: Texas alley oop play

Many alley oop sets start with a backscreen, such as this Utah State’s play. This Texas alley oop set utilized a different type of setup, yet it was still executed for a dunk.

The play starts with Tristan Thompson working to post up but J’mison Morgan denies the entry pass. Thompson then turns and sets a screen for Cory Joseph, who is stationed just off the block. Joseph had started on the wing to space the floor for the post up but moved in to receive the screen once he realized Thompson was not going to get the ball.

A look at VCU’s game winning possession

We talked about cutting off the post last night with this Cleveland State post. During the last possession of VCU’s game, we saw this concept in action again and it allowed Jamie Skeen to hit the game winning shot which meant VCU would advance in the CAA tournament.

First, Skeen comes out to set a ball screen for Joey Rodriguez. The defender has to hedge to stop Rodriguez from getting into the paint, which allows Skeen to get position in the post by sealing the defender as he recovers after the hedge. The defender is trailing Skeen, since he had to hedge on the ball screen and Skeen is able to use this to pin the defender on his back and gain position in the post.