Cincinnati Last Second Full Court BS

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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March 29, 2015

Cincinnati Last Second Full Court BS

If you’re looking for a close game during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the best place to look is usually in the match ups between the 8 and 9 seeds. Last weekend, the 8 and 9 game between Cincinnati and Purdue did not disappoint. With 7.4 seconds left Cincinnati had the ball down 2 and had to go the full-length of the court in order to extend the game.

Associate Head Coach Larry Davis had been filling in for Head Coach Mick Cronin for a majority of the season while he recovered from a heart ailment. With the Cincinnati season on the line Coach Davis drew up as good a play as possible given the situation.

The play was designed for second leading scorer Troy Caupain and started with him inbounding the basketball. This proved to be a key aspect of the set as Purdue, and any other team in this situation, did a great job making the player catch the ball going away from the hoop. Caupain inbounded the ball to Kevin Johnson who then shuffled it back to Caupain after he stepped in bounds. This allowed Caupain to catch the ball going down hill and towards the rim.

Once Caupain crossed half court Gary Clark, who was positioned at the free throw line , elevated to above the 3 point line to set a ball screen for him. Cincinnati stationed shooters in each corner: Farad Cobb and Jermaine Sanders, each who shot 34% from 3 on the season.

Purdue switched the ball screen and Caupain attacked the switch going down hill towards the corner where Sanders was stationed.

As Caupain headed toward the rim the underrated part of the play happened. Cincinnati rolled up two players along the 3 point, Cobb who was in the weak side corner and Johnson was on the strong side wing. Both players circled behind the ball along the 3 point line effectively dragging the help away from the rim. As Caupain reached the paint, Sanders’ defender couldn’t help off the strong side corner giving Caupain a one on one opportunity at the rim.

Yes, Caupain made a difficult shot that had so much english on it that it fell through, but the play was perfectly designed to almost prevent any help by the Purdue defenders.

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Follow Coach John Zall on Twitter!!!

Coach John Zall just completed his first season as an Assistant Coach at Division II Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. This past season Franklin Pierce University won 20 games and advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Zall arrived at Franklin Pierce after spending the past 3 seasons as the Associate Head Coach/Head JV Coach at O’Bryant High school in Roxbury, MA. During his tenure at O’Bryant the program improved from 4 wins to 12 wins and qualified for the MIAA State Tournament twice.

Coach Zall also has experience as an AAU Head Coach for the Boston Warriors. As Head Coach for the Warriors his team won the 2011 16U State Title and twice competed in AAU Nationals down in Orlando, FL. On top of being a student at Northeastern University, Zall was named Head Coach of the Men’s Club Basketball team for the 2012-13 season. During his lone season as Head Coach, Northeastern finished second in the Northeast Regional Tournament featuring colleges from throughout the East Coast. Coach Zall has also spent time as a Head Coach in the Bay State Games where his team won the Bronze Medal in 2012 and at various camps including: Five Star, Boston Celtics, NIKE, Franklin Pierce University, Hoop Group and The Elite 75.

Click on the pdf link to download the Cincinnati Last Second Full Court BS Play: