Secondary break by Bradley Zellner

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.

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Basketball Coaching | Basketball Plays | Early Offense

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April 19, 2014

Secondary break by Bradley Zellner

An offense capable of constantly attacking the defense will gain an advantage as the game wears on. One way to attack the defense is by running a secondary break. Teams that push the ball up have a good chance of scoring an easy basket. When the offense does not score a fast break basket it is essential to have a secondary break to fall back on. A good secondary break will be a quick hitter that flows into the team’s half court offense.

A secondary break gives the offense a few advantages throughout the game. This forces the defense to play defense immediately. An offense that brings the ball out to set up an offense gives the defense a chance to relax for a few seconds. Often times in transition, the defense is forced to guard the person nearest to them. This will cause mismatch opportunities for the offense. This advantage could lead to easy baskets and potential foul trouble for the defense.

Secondary 04 is from Tom Izzo of Michigan State. This secondary involves the point guard passing the ball ahead to the wing and then sprinting into a UCLA cut. Point guard will then set a back screen for the 4 man while 2 will dribble towards 1. 2 will pass to 1 as 4 seals his man in the post.

Secondary 05 is a quick hitter that works well for a good shooting point guard. Jim Boeheim ran this play for Tyler Ennis at Syracuse. It is also will flow into dribble drive offense. The point guard reverses the ball to the 4 and cuts to weak side block. 5 replaces the PG. 3 sets a down screen for PG. The ball is reversed to the PG. He can shoot or receive a ball screen from 5. The offense can flow into dribble drive offense.

Brad Zellner was most recently the Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, IN; where he was deeply involved in all phases of the program. From daily practice planning and coaching to game preparation in decision making, Zellner played an integral role in the program’s daily operation. During his 4 years at IU Southeast, the team was consistently a nationally ranked team (the highest ranking being 3rd), while winning 4 straight regular season and 4 conference championships. IU Southeast made regular appearances at the NAIA National Tournament with 2 sweet 16, 2 elite 8 and 1 final four appearance. Zellner also help recruit and develop 11 All-Conference, 2 Conference player of the year, 3 Honorable Mention All-Americans, 1 Second Team All-American and 1 First Team All-American.

Coach Zellner also served as Head Coach for one season at Miami University Hamilton in Hamilton, Ohio. When hired at Miami-Hamilton, Zellner had to recruit almost the entire roster with only 5 weeks before the start of classes. The season finished with 14 wins and a runner up finish in the ORCC State Championship.

Prior to that, Zellner served his first stint as an Assistant Coach at IU Southeast. He helped rebuild a program that had won only 6 games prior to Zellner’s arrival. He was involved in all aspects of daily operations, served as the recruiting coordinator and worked mainly with the development of the perimeter players. IU Southeast averaged 17 wins a season, won 3 conference championships and made one appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. Coach Zellner helped recruit and develop 9 All-Conference Players, 2 Conference Players of the Year and 4 Honorable Mention All-Americans. Coach Zellner has worked numerous summer basketball camps. He served as camp director at Indiana Univeristy Southeast. He also worked summer camps at The Ohio State University, Northern Kentucky University, Xavier University, University of Cincinnati, Taylor University and Eastern Kentucky University. He was also involved in AAU basketball for Team Southern Indiana and Denali Basketball Club. Coach Zellner holds a Master’s of Sports Science degree in Sports Management/Coaching from the United States Sports Academy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Eastern Kentucky University. While at EKU, Zellner served as a student manager for the men’s basketball team. He handled various administrative duties for the basketball program.