The Concept- Pass the Ball, Cut Hard, Help A Teammate Get an Open Shot
Coaches, the truth of the matter is that Coach Carril wears no "S" on his chest. He is like many other coaches who have sustained the test of time primarily because they understand and excel at teaching the basics of the game, know how to simply the most critical details, and persistently drill fundamentals. This video reveals both the simplicity of basketball with the complexity of teaching read and react offenses. It has many elements of Bob Knight' 70's passing game. Even more so Coach Carril compares it to Tex Winter's Triangle Offense in it's basic design.
Simply put it is brilliant and yet not simple to teach. Don't expect to your team to execute this offense over night. Secondly, if you can't teach your players how to pass, dribble, cut, and shoot as a highly proficient level you'll be disappointed in this offense. With these disclaimers said, the video is a joy to watch. It is sort of like uncovering an ancient historical treasure revealing what went on centuries before. Pete Carril isn't a charismatic personality like Rick Pitino, Bobby Cremins, or Bobby Huggins, but he knows the game and how to teach it.
Throughout the Princeton Offense: Part 1 Coach Carril continues to emphasize the 4 basic teaching concepts that make the offense work. I would share them with you, but that would be giving away all of pandora's box. To tease you a little, here is one; "Watch the man in front of you which dictates what you do". These are recurrent themes through the course of the video and through the various offensive options he teaches.
In fact throughout the the course of the video Coach Carril gives small but quite significant coaching tips for teaching fundamentally sound offense. I have labeled these Carrilism's* (with apologizes to the Coach for lack of a better term) and have sprinkled a few of them in Italics through the course of this review.
The Basic Offense
This offense comes down to executing four basics:
Cutting
Screening
Passing
Accurate Shooting
Coach Carril's philosophy is that a lot of hard cuts open things up for other players. The goal is that you are "always trying to do something for a teammate". There are a series of 2 man plays, 3 man plays, and in the right circumstances 1 on 1, which he walks and talks you through in both a chalk talk and court session with players.
Of primary importance to this offense is that it revolves around a passing center. The center is like the hub of the offense. He must see everything, and must be the kind of guy who likes to pass the ball. If your center won't give it up, than you will have trouble running this offense. If your center will give up the ball Coach Carril says "he will score more points by passing more".
The Options
Now in reviewing the Princeton Offense I want to give you enough of the structure of the video to keep your interest without giving away the kitchen sink. Coach Carril teaches the offense by going through the 4 or 5 basic read and react set play options. Within each set he further breaks them down into various sub-options which are taught in a proficient manner. At times the video is a little hard to follow but that I believe this is due much more to the difficulty in teaching read and react offenses, than any inability of Coach Carril to explain it. The more you use it the offense the easier the reads become and make sense for your players.
The first major option Coach Carril teaches is the Low Post Play. This part of the offense if very similar to the Bull's Triangle Offense with Guard and Forward cut or scissors options based on how a defender plays each pass. He covers 5 specific options which will get you shots from the screening action off of the low post pass. An example of this is Option 1: Guard shoots coming off the screen (He demonstrates the importance of teaching how to set the pick without committing an offensive foul). Guard pulls up off the inside pivot foot ready to shoot off this screening action.
The next major option taught is what to do when a shot isn't available or the Dribble Option. You should still have your dribble (dribble out or dribble at the pressure). When the passing lane is denied, the player goes backdoor. The hard cut is effective because it forces the defense to help, opening up other teammates for easy shots.
*Carilism- To run this offense you must have players that can pass, dribble, and shoot. When you are skillful enough on offense, you will dictate what the defense does. But when you are without skills the defense dictates what happens.
The third part of the offense Coach Carill covers is Going Cross Court for more options. For example off backdoor cut making a skip pass to weak side). On most back door cuts a second defender is drawn to help on the backdoor cut, when this happens the center may spot a teammate weakside for the 3 point shot. Any help defenders who sag are open to skip passes for 3 point shots. You must have good shooters to run this offense.
The fourth major options are Swinging the Ball to the weak side. For example one rule is the passer weak side must screen down for the center man. the center then receives the return pass and and may run one of several options including a dribble screen with the guard (This is called the center dribble screen option).
*Carilism-Anybody you put on the block you must show them how to score on the block. Your players must know how to make a shot. You must be able to execute when you get the ball in scoring position.
The final major option Coach Carril covers is moving to a one guard front and options off of Passing to the Center. These options include screening toward the ball and scissors cutting, going back door, and screening away from the ball. Each of these are covered in detail with various read and react options depending upon the defenders and ball positions.
It would be a major injustice for me to try to explain the breakdown options off of these main set play options because there are quite a few and extremely detailed. The only way you are going to be able to learn this offense if to get the videos and study them and develop your own teaching progression for the Princeton Offense. Coach Carril does a commendable job of giving you enough of the options and rules to make that possible in the limited time available in an 1 and 1/4 hour video.
There are play animation diagrams of the offensive options included in the video in addition to on court demonstrations which assist you in understanding what he is teaching and how the movements should occur. What will be slightly more difficult for you to teach will be the timing and spacing of the offense, and even more so drilling your players to have well rounded fundamentals at all positions. This alone is the basic premise of the offense. However after spending more than an hour observing his teaching methods you can easily see why his teams became giant killers through discipline, unselfishness, and teamwork.
*Carilism-Make sure you release off your picks looking for the ball to reduce your defenders ability to help off of screens.
*Carilism- If you get doubled, throw it right back to the man who passed it to you.
Pete's Wrap Up
Coach Carril qualifies this fine video effort by stating that to be successful:
You must execute
You must have timing.
Your players must understand what they can do.
Your players must understand what they are good at (their capabilities).
Know the points on the court where you are going to score, and you must show them the things they have to do to score.
*Carilism- In basketball you are either a surgeon or a meat cutter (butcher). Skills such as passing and cutting require you to be a surgeon (demonstration on this one included in the video).
