Early Offense with Frank Martin

South Carolina Coach Frank Martin spoke on early offense at A Nike Championship Coaches Clinic I attended in Wisconsin. He was great to listen to and very intense, yet funny. I would love to play for him.

Here are 20 points he left us with on early offense, otherwise known as secondary break.

1.       You can’t be a running team sometimes. Coach Martin stressed the importance of running as a style of play. He felt that in order to be an effective up tempo offense you must commit your practices and philosophy to being a running squad.

2.       Martin stressed that his players must be in tremendous shape. Obviously to run for an entire game, your players must be well conditioned.

3.       Martin emphasized that successful early offense teams don’t let the defense set. He used the term “Pressure offense”.

4.       Martin told us that a “broken floor” equals a numbers situation. In other words with the defense broken down and unable to get set as in point 3, the offense as the attacking team, has a distinct advantage.

5.       Your first pass to a wing makes the defense defend. Martin showed us that getting the ball to one of your wings gets the ball into a threatening offensive position and causes the defense to adjust.

6.       Get your first opportunity off of the pass up the sideline. The defense must get back and find the ball. This passes extends the floor pushes the tempo.

7.       Coach Martin mentioned some advice to each type of player on the offensive end. There are points, wings (ball side or opposite), rim runners and trailers. He spoke on the point first, he was not exhaustive in his thoughts on each position, and he just highlighted some keys for each position. Generally a post initiates early offense with an outlet pass up the sideline. Martin likes his point guard to catch the inbounds pass between the foul line and hash mark. As far as the defense will allow.

8.       “Wings should never look back, they should box out and run like heck.” Martin said. Coach Martin also added that wings should pull up or make a play. They should check down through shot, drive, and post entry. Martin illustrated the importance of wings improving the post entry angle. The opposite wing should look for back cut, lift, drive, shoot or, post entry. They should learn to square their shoulders and present a target off of any back cut.

9.       He addressed the bigs as well. Martin’s philosophy dictates that the big that gets it becomes trailer and the big that doesn’t becomes the filler.

10.   Martin teaches that if the trail is jammed, post must make back cut out to drag defender away.

11.   Rip, this makes the defender sit then you can pass over the top.

12.   3 seconds does not start until the ball crosses half court, post starts at rim. Coach Martin then wants his bigs to work for position.

13.   If post filler is denied, look for trailer.

14.   Martin directs his trailer to stop at the top to complete a triangle for post entry.

15.   Early offense causes “crossmatching” or bad matches for the defense, getting speedy players on bigs, and smaller guards trying to defend bigs.

16.   Frank Martin feels it is better to get someone stepping into a shot in transition than 63 passes in a set for a fade away.

17.   Corner players stay there until top is ready to play with them. Martin wants his corner players to lift the defense and make them play corner to baseline.

18.   Coach Martin teaches his kids to make it hard for the defense to understand help.

19.   Coach Martin wants his players to be in constant “attack mode”.

20.   Martin wants the right shot, in the right spot, by the right guy.