How Pauline Love will run Alabama women’s basketball offense ...Middle East

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How Pauline Love will run Alabama women’s basketball offense

Since his arrival in Tuscaloosa, Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats has instilled a distinct offensive style and brand in his program. 

Oats’ teams are known for shooting a high volume of threes, being aggressive in transition and constantly initiating pick-and-rolls involving several players in motion. This up-tempo style has become vital for Alabama’s success as a program and has caused the Crimson Tide to consistently be one of the top offenses in the nation. 

    The success Alabama has found from the strong offensive identity of Oats’ teams raises a question: What style of offense will define Alabama women’s basketball under new head coach Pauline Love?

    Love’s answer? The “Princeton Offense,” a common offensive style popularized by the late Princeton men’s basketball coach Pete Carril.

    This offensive scheme entails a variety of plays that are effectively “positionless” and involve almost all off-ball players going into motion at any given time. Like quarterbacks, the players involved in a Princeton Offense are constantly reading their defenders and reacting accordingly.  

    Actions in the Princeton Offense are often dependent on the location of the post player. One set of plays starts with this player in the low post — a pass will be made to a player on the wing, who will read whether an inside pass can be made to the post. If this option is unavailable, the ball-handler will initiate a new action with a perimeter player, such as a dribble handoff.

    Alternatively, a play can begin with the post player setting a back-screen and moving out to the three-point line. If this happens, the ball-handler will read the back-screen to see if it opened up a cutter, and if not, the post player will receive the ball at the three-point line to read the rest of the offense.

    In these types of actions, the post player will often be holding the ball at the top of the key, waiting to give the ball off for a dribble-handoff or an open shooter coming off a pindown. 

    Because these sets of plays require ball-handlers to constantly dump the ball off and switch directly into off-ball motions, the Princeton Offense is fast-paced and physically demanding on its players. It requires constant movement and continuous readings of the defense’s positioning. 

    “We’re going to play with a pace,” Love said. “We’re still going to be able to play fast.” 

    The last set of plays in the Princeton Offense, known as the “chin series,” is a set that starts with the guards and forwards being spaced across the three-point line, while the post player begins in the low post. The perimeter players initiate a dribble handoff and a set of passes across the court, while the post player will set a back-screen to open up a cut for one of the wings.

    If this action opens up a layup for the cutter, the offense will have an easy scoring chance at the rim. If not, the cutter dribbles the ball back out and the offense will set up another screen. 

    Because the post player is often counted upon to read the defense with the ball in their hand, this offense depends on a cerebral center who can be trusted with the ball at the top of the key and make clean passes. 

    If Alabama is to execute these plays cleanly, taller forwards such as senior Naomi Jones and sophomore Kylie Torrence will be asked to set effective screens, be strong with the ball in their hands and make critical passes without turnovers. The Crimson Tide will be challenged by both the intellectual rigor and the physical stamina of Love’s offensive scheme.  

    “I know what it takes. I know what it looks like,” Love said. “In the SEC it’s tough. A lot of motivational talks to get kids through it.” 

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