Dribble Drive Motion and Organized Streetball
The Dribble Drive Motion is the current fad in high school basketball, especially after national articles have credited the success of the Memphis Tigers and Boston Celtics to Vance Walberg’s offense. Blitz Basketball is my version of a DDM offense, which I developed while coaching the u-9 Hoop Masters AAU team in Los Angeles with Ahmad Clayton and Jerome Green.
On a girls’ basketball forum recently, I saw two characterizations of the offense:
1. The version of the DDM as a complex offense; and
2. The version of the DDM as “organized streetball.”
There is the perception that because Memphis runs the offense, it only works with exceptional athletes. Not true. Also, some people believe you need only one great ball handler. Again, not true. On many sites, coaches converse over the intricacies of the offense and the correct terminology, attempting to re-create Walberg’s system perfectly.
I wrote Blitz Basketball because Herb Welling, a high school coach in Omaha, thought it was important to write the book and publicize a system of play which teaches kids to play the game, rather than to run plays, much like yesterday’s post: “Principles vs. Plays.”
On the forum, my friend who uses the name “Intelligent Hoodlum” on the world wide web writes:
All it is, is organized streetball. And very contrary to popular belief, you can’t play this style with only one ball handler, and with only one shooter; everyone on the court has to be a good ball handler–at least, against each attacker’s height range–and everyone on the court has to be able to shoot at least a mid-range jumper, whether it’s attacking the basket, spotting-up, or turning-around. The IH hasn’t even mentioned the fact that each one of the players has to be a good passer, with enough IQ. The IH thinks that he just described players who have FUNDAMENTALS and IQ.
And by the way, the pick-and-roll game and the give-and-go game are integral parts of a comprehensive off-the-dribble offense (might any of you sports fans pay attention to the NBA?). The IH thinks you scholars of the game call it “The Princeton Offense.”
The IH makes two important points:
1. When you play basketball, instead of running plays, you have to learn the game and learn to read and react to teammate’s and defenders and to make decisions. Especially at a developmental level, this should be the goal, rather than to develop kids who are expert at running the Flex or moving from Point A to Point B in another system.
2. When the offense is slowed down, it is the “Princeton offense,” which most people equate with fundamentally sound; however, when played quickly, it is called “streetball” which usually equates with the absence of fundamentals.
The offense is what is. I used the offense because I wanted all of the players to handle the ball. I wanted a way to play without defining positions. I wanted all the players to be aggressive attacking the basket. I wanted to simplify the decision-making for players off the dribble to build confidence in their play making abilities. And, if we had to shoot an outside shot (remember, the kids were nine), I wanted them to catch the ball already facing the basket, as I believe that gives a player the best opportunity to make an outside shot.
The goal was to create a system which developed skills while also enabling us to compete against bigger players and teams. Rather than spend practice time memorizing plays, players played and scrimmaged, handling the ball against pressure, shooting contested lay-ups, passing off the dribble, etc. They practiced the skills that a player needs to possess to be successful as he develops regardless of the system in which he eventually plays.
This is an interesting topic. It is probably one that potentially could receive tons of great debate. Some interesting thoughts from Eric Musselman’s Blog: http://emuss.blogspot.com/ on the system. He quotes Duane Silver, “The Dribble Drive Motion Offense: This offense is really street ball with great spacing.” I would have to argue that if you define streetball as attacking the basket than this is basic premise of the offense. However, the offense is much more than “streetball with great spacing” it does require a lot of new and different movements to learn. It requires the ability to read the defense and react with the appropriate rotation which might involve players relocating through a set offense. The basic concepts could theoretically be ran and your team could be successful. As you move into more advanced play, you need to delve deeper into the intricacies of the offensive system. For example, practicing predetermined set plays to put players into position to exploit an offensive opportunity. In my opinion, it could be classified as complicated street ball?
Coach Norman
coachnorman.com
coachnorman100 said this on September 25, 2008 at 7:08 AM |
First, I think it’s funny that “streetball” has such a negative connotation today. My goal is to develop players who have the game sense to match the old guys who play nothing but streetball. I stopped playing pick-up basketball because kids don’t know how to play basketball anymore because they only play in situations with a command-style coach who makes all the decisions and determines the entire system.
Second, it depends how you run it. I swear, the first two times I saw Walberg’s teams run his system, once when he was at Clovis West and once at Fresno City, I had no idea that they ran this system. When he was at Clovis, I remember some of the spacing that he runs from different sets, but I mainly remember Chris Hernandez passing to the wing and looping through to the opposite corner, Clovis reversing the ball to Hernandez in the corner and Hernandez passing to Rodriguez on the left block. At FCC, I just remember Tyrone Jackson scoring at-will however he wanted. At CW, I never would have described it as “streetball;” when I saw it at FCC, it looked much more like 1v1 AAU-ball.
However, if the defense stops the initial penetration – and that is part of it, as if the defense cannot top initial penetration, why pass? why set up an offense? why make the game hard? – then the offense moves a lot like the Princeton offense without the high post player. It looks for the same thing: lay-ups, dunks and 3-pointers. However, in the Princeton offense, they exhibit more patience as they tried to limit possessions, while the DDM grew out of a pressing defense, so they want to create more possessions, so they look for the first open shot rather than seeing if the defense will make a mistake in the last 5 seconds of the shot clock.
Third, I know that Walberg has very sound reasons for running his offense and I explain my reasons behind the Blitz offense in my book. I wonder if all these hypercritical coaches really have a reason behind their offense. Why do they run sets to get those shots? Are those the best shots for their players? My reasoning may be wrong, and Walberg’s may be wrong, but we can explain why we do what we do. Can others? When I started Blitz, with 9-year-olds, I wanted all outside shots to be taken by players who caught the ball already squared to the basket. I didn’t want layers to pivot or move: just catch and shoot. I felt that gave the young players the best opportunity to succeed.
When I ran it as a j.c. asst. coach, the head coach started the season running a 1-4 high offense. we committed 50 turnovers in a game. The offense did not fit the personnel. But, it was the offense she always ran and so she ran it. When she gave me control of our offense, we increased our scoring per game by 25 points and upset one of the top teams in the state. we maximized the limited skills of our point guard and maybe a couple other players effective as spot-up shooters.
If Walberg had popularized the offense with his small, white high school kids, rather than with Memphis University, I doubt people would call it “streetball.” Instead, people would call it good fundamental basketball with players who can drive, pass and shoot.
Brian McCormick said this on September 25, 2008 at 11:12 AM |
Sorry, but the pure DDM (or rather the AASAA) and the pure Princeton offense are completely different.
Quite simply, the DDM is based off a DRIBBLE DRIVE and involves NO SCREENS AWAY FROM THE BALL. The Princeton offense is based off PASSING, the classic backdoor cut and give and go, and involves screens away from the ball. One could execute the Princeton offense without dribbling. If you tried to execute the DDM without dribbling, you would get called for traveling. A lot.
It’s apples and oranges.
mclendonfastbreak said this on October 27, 2008 at 8:14 PM |
Nobody said it was the same. I wrote that it moves in a similar way, with the exception of the high post, and it tries to accomplish the same thing: lay-ups and open threes.
Brian McCormick said this on October 27, 2008 at 9:04 PM |