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.

Post cutter opens up the wing shooter

When a ball gets entered into the post, a cutter through the lane presents many options for the offensive team. A cutter in this situation will open up one of three things – himself (if nobody picks him up), the post man or the opposite wing (if the help defense guards the cutter). This will depend on where the cutter comes from and who the defense chooses to guard but you will often see one of these options open up.

Let’s pick up this Cleveland State play part of the way through the possession, as the ball gets entered into the post and a cutter comes from the top of the key after the entry pass.

The cutter can come from either the passer or the top of the key (see green arrows). It depends on a few factors, including – the preference of the team, the strengths of the players relative to their positions on the floor and the positioning of the defense.