Mark Fox Georgia Bulldogs Chin Shuffle Action by Adam Spinella

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 17, 2015

Mark Fox Georgia Bulldogs Chin Shuffle Action by Adam Spinella

Georgia coach Mark Fox has done a fantastic job turning around a Bulldog program that has been towards the bottom of the SEC for the better part of a decade. Now securing an at-large birth to the NCAA Tournament, Mark Fox is finally getting some well-deserved recognition, in particular for his offense. Mark Fox employs a lot of high post actions, raising his big men to the elbows and the three point line to open driving lanes and take away help at the rim. The multitude of dribble handoffs that Georgia runs keeps defenses honest, and the speed at which they run them makes them dangerous offensively.

One of the most impressive sets I saw Mark Fox and his team run during their second game of the year against Kentucky was a variation of the Chin offense that split into the shuffle offense. By moving the ball side-to-side several times, the defense was forced to shift and move by reacting to the player and ball movement. The shuffle offense is effective because it allows a post-up opportunity with great spacing; Fox’s set drops the trailer or the 4-man to the block for what can be a mis-match post.

The point guard 1 dribbles the ball down the side of the floor that he wants to get his 4-man posted on. 4, the trailer, sets a down screen on the opposite side of the floor and then moves to the wing. As 1 hands off to 2, 2 will swing the ball around the perimeter and then make the chin-cut off of 5 at the high post. When 3 swings to 4, he cuts to the ball-side corner, which creates a lot of traffic on that side of the floor and an overload.

After 3 clears to the corner, 4 reverses the ball to the big man 5 as he steps out to the perimeter. When 5 swings the ball back to 1, that triggers 4 to make a shuffle cut off of 2 to the ball-side block. This is where 4 looks for the post-up. As soon as he clears through, a screen-the-screener action occurs when 2 comes off a down screen from 5. Either 2 or 4 are the primary scoring options.

Here is the video of the play being run against Kentucky. Pay close attention to how the defense shifts from side-to-side due to both the player and ball movement.

The last play in the video shows the Chin aspect of the set, in which they break away from looking at the Shuffle action and move to the traditional back screen-ball screen model. For teams that sag off the 5-man to clog the lane and allow x2 to get through the down screen, this is a great counter – there will be very little help on the screen so that the ball handler can get to the rim. For Georgia this is especially dangerous due to their shooting big men.

Coach Adam Spinella is entering his first season as an Assistant Coach at Culver Academies in Culver, IN. Spinella spent the three years prior as a Student Assistant Coach at Division III Dickinson College. The Dickinson Men’s Team advanced to two NCAA Tournaments and accumulated an overall record of 59-26 (.694) during the three-year span, with the 2013-2014 season ending in the Division III Elite Eight. A native of Bow, New Hampshire, Spinella has a keen interest in X’s and O’s, particularly in professional basketball, and skill development.

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