Inside the play: Virginia Tech cuts off the post

One thing that frustrates me is when players stand and watch when the ball is entered into the post. It seems rationale to think that spacing the floor allows the post man to have more room to work but staying stationary allows the help defense to sag and disrupt the post player (especially if they don’t have to worry about guarding the three point shot).

That is why I was ecstatic when Victor Davila made a great cut which of course, led to an easy dunk. Take a look.

Perry Jones seals his defender for a layup

Perry Jones showed nice recognition of the defense in their game today against La Salle, as he sees his defender is in poor position and seals him off for the layup.

A few ways to get the post man open

Today we are going to look at how a team can get a man open in the post. There are a couple ways to do this, outside of just having the player post up. Let’s get to it.

Working hard

This is the most obvious way to get open in the post, as the player  relies on individual work to seal off his man and get the ball. In the following clip, watch the Bradley player call for the swing pass and seal off his defender with his off arm. He does a good job of gaining position and keeping it as he gets the entry pass.

Off the ball movement: Ball in the post

This post will touch on what players should do when the ball is in the post. While sometimes it is fine to stand and watch the post man go to work, some off the ball action can give the post player more options and more openings to create for himself.

There are basically two options that offensive players have once the ball is entered into the post: Dive from the high post or relocate to a new spot. Let’s look at these after the break.