Garland Pinholster Wheel Offense Playbook by Wes Kosel

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 Offenses | Continuity Offense Plays

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December 16, 2013

Garland Pinholster Wheel Offense Playbook by Wes Kosel

Here is a Garland Pinholster Wheel Offense playbook based on notes and diagrams from Coach Garland Pinholster. Coach Pinholster is credited for the innovation of the wheel offense. He created the Garland Pinholster Wheel Offense in the late 1950s while coaching at Oglethorpe University (Georgia). He coached 10 years at Oglethorpe compiling a 180-68 record at Oglethorpe and was 276-89 during his career as a college coach.

In the notes, Coach Pinholster states that he didn’t create this offense, but that his opponents created it for him. The Garland Pinholster Wheel Offense came out of a need for a single formation to attack both man to man and zone defenses. Opponents would alternate defenses against his teams, and Pinholster didn’t like the way his teams had to reset into either a man or zone offense. The Garland Pinholster Wheel Offense got the name “Wheel” because it has a hub (the pivot man), spokes (the 4 other players), and the spokes rotate around the middle and revolve like a wheel. Also, the wheel can be run at different speeds and can be stopped and reversed. This is a continuity offense that moves the players in a circular, or wheel-like pattern to create scoring opportunities. Pinholster had great defensive teams, and used this offense to keep possession so that the opposing team had fewer possessions and therefore fewer opportunities to score.

The first chapter is an overload 1-3-1 formation, with 3 players in a line down the side of the key and one player on each wing. This chapter has several cutting options and strategies for running the wheel out of this formation. The second chapter is counter movement options out of the 1-3-1 formation. Chapter 3 is a 2-1-2 formation with 4 players out and 1 player inside at the high post. The 2-1-2 is used as a concealment strategy, and 3 options are shown for transitioning from the 2-1-2 concealment into the 1-3-1 formation.

I hope you enjoy this playbook.
Coach Wes Kosel

Wes Kosel is an assistant coach for men’s basketball under Head Coach Tommy Jones at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX. 2013-2014 marks the second year for Kosel at TLU. Prior to arriving at TLU, Kosel served as a student assistant coach under Head Coach Chad Killscrow at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, KS. Kosel has an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from the University of Kansas, and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Physical Education from the University of Houston. The Bartlesville, OK native is also a NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and teaches weight training and aerobic fitness courses at Texas Lutheran. He has coached AAU programs, volunteered with elementary and middle school basketball teams, and has worked basketball camps for various programs including the Houston Rockets, University of Houston, Texas State, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

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Click on the pdf link to download the basketball offenses: