Top 10 Sets of 2020
The Best of the Best
Welcome to the Slappin’ Glass Newsletter, where we explore some of the best ideas, strategies, and coaches from around the world of basketball.
This is Part 2 of our “Year-In- Review” Series where we’re looking back and some of our favorite sets, learnings, and takeaways of 2020.
Here is Part 1 if you missed it.
Today we’ll count down our Top 10 Sets of the Year. Before we do, if you enjoy the newsletter we always appreciate a share with other like-minded coaches. Thank you!
Let’s dive in…
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To wrap up 2020, we recorded a “Year-In-Review” Special Episode where we reflected on our biggest learnings and takeaways of the year. We discussed our favorite podcast moments, the X’s and O’s that stuck with us the most, interesting strategies, behind the scenes “Bloopers”, and finally, we concluded the year by putting each other on the “Overrated/Underrated” hot seat.
Again, thank you for the support.
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Top 10 Sets of the Year
We spent time over the past month talking to coaches, ourselves, and potentially some Twitter bots about the best sets and actions of the year. These ten really stuck out to us, so here we go…
Top 10 Sets of 2020
#10 - KK Primorska - { Horns Flex Hook }
The action at the beginning of this set is fairly normal… the Horns to Flex Screen… but the “Flex Reject into Zoom Action WITH A Hook Screen” ending… Damn Daniel.
#9 - Fenerbahce - { Post Entry RIP Screen }
As we’ll see on this list, we love what Coach Kokoskov does after the ball is entered to the Post. A lot of movement in this one, but the Double Cross Screen into a RIP Screen is tough to guard.
# 8 - Johns Hopkins - { Double Drag Flare }
This Double Drag Screen with a shooter in the 2nd Spot puts the defense in quite a predicament, especially with a PG that’s able to attack downhill.
#7 - Valencia BC - { Horns Flex Spain }
Sometimes “Flex” gets a bad rap, but here’s the “old-school” action making a 2nd appearance in the Top 10. It’s difficult to defend especially how Valencia uses it to flow into a secondary action.
# 6 - NCAA/Europe Crossover - { Iverson Loop Series }
The amount of reps and practice it takes to effectively run this series is somewhat ironic given the name, but what we love about this series, are all the additional actions that can be run if the initial backdoor is not available.
#5 - Mornar Bar - {Twirl to RIP/Pin }
Easily one of the more creative actions of the year. The Stagger and Twirl movement at the beginning really sets up the meat of the play, which is a clever Screen-the-Screener starting from a RIP Screen.
#4 - Multiple European Teams - { Boomerang to Step-Up }
A really simple design, but so many of the best sets are. The magic is that this action takes advantage the solid defensive principle of “jumping to the ball”. Immediately throwing the ball back to the guard then flowing into a Step-Up Screen often catches the defense off-balance and unable to apply their normal PNR coverage.
#3 - Fenerbahce - { Post Entry to Staggers }
Coach Kokoskov once again shows his offensive wizardry on a post catch. It’s not just that Fenerbahce runs a backside stagger screen to free up a shooter, but it’s HOW they do it… see in the first two clips how the offensive player in the corner “Hooks” his screen so the defender never sees it coming.
#2 - Zalgiris - { False Motion/Top Weave }
This great action from Coach Schiller also has roots with Coach Kokoskov and the Slovenian National Team. There’s so much great space created from the Weave and “45 Cuts” at the beginning of the set that the defense is often caught playing on their heels. There are also tons of nice variations that Zalgiris run from this set.
#1 - Multiple European/NBA/NCAA Teams - { Ghost Screen Flare }
And… at #1… Another simple but highly effective play design. We love the Ghost Screen and talked about it in our Year-In-Review podcast. The speed and timing of this set creates a split second of confusion defensively and enough of a gap for a talented guard to get into and wreak havoc.
Here are the PDF’s of the TOP 10 Sets of 2020
We’ve got more “Best of the Best” from 2020 coming in our regular “Sunday Mornin’ Newsletter” this weekend. So we’ll see you then.
Thanks for the support this year.
Dan and Pat