If you watch the NCAA, one offense that you’ll see often is the high post spread motion. Many teams run this offense, including Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks and Brad Underwood’s SFA and Oklahoma State teams. All these teams have winning records and the highly versatile high post spread offense is a reason why.
This system uses “4 out, 1 in” spacing with 4 perimeter players spread out above the free throw line and one big at the high post. This unique arrangement is great because:
- Score inside without a dominating big man– this offense draws the big up away from the basket, creating space for drives and back door cuts.
- Good vs pressure– overplaying will lead to an open backdoor layup/make the defense vulnerable to the many back screens in the offense.
- Can run vs many defenses– the spread offense works vs a zone or man because it’s so versatile. Anti-zone concepts like overloading, spacing and using the high post are already applied.
- Easy to teach basic continuity, plenty to build upon– as my videos will demonstrate, teams regularly get buckets off its standard action, yet there are also dozens of sets for special situations.
However, there’s a couple of reasons why only high school or college teams tend to run this offense:
- Need a scrappy, yet skilled big man– the high post big is one of the most important positions on the floor. You need a big who can not only shoot and drive from there, but also set tons of tough screens and fight for offensive rebounds. However, he doesn’t need to be able to score with post moves.
- Entire team needs great timing on passes and catches– everyone need to be able to pass the ball in this offense, not just your point guard. If you want to run this offense you’ll have to run tons of passing drills from day one of practice.
That said, as we’ve seen with these NCAA teams, when you have the right personnel, you can pile up tons of points on defenses. It’s certainly a great offense for player development as it puts players in situations where they’ll have to read the defense and decide whether to pass or attack.
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