One of the best places that I have found to take sets from is the Euroleague. Euroleague coaches run some great stuff and it shows throughout the course of a Euroleague game. From the various Euroleague games I have watched over the past year I have come to realize some common trends about Euroleague teams offensive sets:

1. Most teams love the pick and roll:

– The pick and roll (or pick and pop) is one of the hardest things to guard, and it shows when watching a Euroleague game. The thing that looks different form the NBA is that the Euroleague teams generally run guys off of off ball screens before they get into their pick and roll action (instead of just coming down and running a pick and roll). Another thing that is different is that Euroleague coaches are not afraid of setting on ball screens anywhere on the court, and from any angle; whether that is in the corner, wing, top of the key, or anywhere in between.

 2. Euroleague teams love unconventional cuts:

– It doesn’t take a genius to watch five minutes of a Euroleague game and realize that their “conventional” cuts are different than American “conventional” cuts. This action helps create confusion among the defense having to defend things they may not have seen before. Euroleague coaches do a great job of having their player make these unconventional cuts, and putting their players in position to come off of an on ball or off ball screen.

3. Offensive sets are geared for the best player:

– Like American coaches, Euroleague coaches want what we all want, our best players taking high quality shots.

Here are five sets from CSKA Moscow’s semifinal game against Olympiacos from this year.

Jordan Graneto is an Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach at Sprague High School. You can follow him on Twitter! @jordangraneto.