Last second plays from endline

Coach,

If possible, if you have an extra time out, this time out can be used to "scout" a defensive set-up and see if the defenders tip off their defensive strategy. You see this all the time in the NBA when they show an inbounds formation and let 1-2 seconds run to see how the defender will try to stop a play.  In a sense you have two plays.  The problem with his is twofold.  First, if you have no timeout of course it won't work, and second if you don't have experienced players use to seeing a variety of defenses they can become more confused.  None-the-less it is one approach "what to do next".

If there are fewer than 2 seconds on the clock there are two basic strategies that can work.  The first is to set some type of side or back pick for one of your best athletes-scorers or PG and attempt to pass the ball inbounds up the court near or beyond half court.  Key to this is the pass hitting the player in stride while running towards your basket and not away.  This gives them the best chance to get some kind of pass off.  The second option is to simply make a long pass two one of your best athletes or tallest player (with good hands) and attempt a long pass into the scoring end for a catch and shoot play, similar to Christian Laettner's famous shot against Kentucky in the NCAA Finals.  You can also run a "Hook and Ladder" tip type play similar to what Valparaiso Coach Homer Drew did with his son in the famous NCAA Tournament game.  The taller player drew the 2-3 defenders and a tip pass, almost like a "dink pass" in volleyball, went to the younger Drew who nailed the shot for the win.

If you have 3-5 seconds you have quite a bit more flexibility in what you can run.  I would look to run something like what they do in NFL Football where they have the quarterback pump fake to a certain location on the court and then rifle a pass to a "disguised receiver" behind or to the outside of an intended receiver.  This will work against man or zone.  Use a back screen or blind screen of some type to open up a shooter for a last second shot.  The good news about 3-5 seconds is that you could actually inbounds the ball to your PG/passer up the court and have enough time to drive, draw and dish to the shooter.  When we get our animation tools up in the future here on the HIghway I'll put together a clinic which addresses these types of situations so it will be easier to visualize.

For now, let's imagine 4 guys lined up parallel to the sideline about 10 feet from the left sideline for example.  Maybe the defense is playing man to man.  Or they may show man and attempt to play 2-2-1 zone behind on the pass.  The key is screening for an open area to rifle a long pass into scoring position within the last 2 seconds of the play and where one or more defenders who would help are screened off from that area.  Now the three guys closest to your scoring basket start to flash parallel to the baseline across to the middle of the court.  The man in the line closest to the inbounder takes 1-2 steps back like they are going to get the ball inbounds and try to dribble attack.  The last man in in the line nearest the scoring basket takes 2 hard steps to the middle to draw a defender.  Whether or not they draw one is almost irrelevant (man or zone).  After the second hard step they immediately sprint up the backside of where the inbounds line started and is looking to head-hunt the defender (if man) on the last man nearest the ball (and hopefully near or beyond half court). This would handle almost any kind of zone because the goal is to screen a specific player no matter where they are on the back size of the zone after attempting to draw them up toward another teammate cutting in front of them.  The idea is to catch a man or zone area defender off-guard with a blind screen to open an area to catch and shoot.  Now this is only a conceptual idea but what I'm attempting to get you to draw out for yourself are ideas how you can advance the ball into a scoring position almost despite what a defensive team throws at you.  Maybe you go box and back pick on both sidelines, and use the back pick man on one side to release middle (when the defenders yell switch) and fire a pass to them, who in turn look to "hook and ladder" to another.  This is somewhat of an academic problem that I think more coaches need to think through.  Create a play or variation that will handle virtually any defense that is thrown at you in the last seconds.  Think through how you would defend it  yourself, and then find the counter to create that opening. 

For example if I am going to defend this situation I want to keep everything in front of me and prevent penetration.  I want the ball to be passed to a player moving back toward the inbounding endline and not toward the basket.  This will absorb one or two seconds from that 3-5 second time left to score and make it very difficult to get off a good shot.  So in designing my play I want to create a pass entry that gets a player moving toward the basket or fairly far down the court towards our basket.  On a 3-5 second play you normally have enough time to inbounds the ball and get a screen on a dribbler.  The problem if you take 2-3 second to dribble advance, the dribbler almost necessarily has to become the shooter.  These are types of things to think through and will depend on the type of personnel you have as well.  If I am facing a 2-2-1 zone, the middle is vulnerable to a pass up the court.  However the defense also knows this and will try to collapse the middle.  So I would want to feignt a pass to the middle by creating a diversion to open a cutter to the middle knowing this isn't our primary option.  Instead I'd try to draw one of the two deep back line players and try to pin them in to the middle or back screen them as they momentarily collapse.  If they are matching up out of a zone formation, run the same play but just remember against any "match-up" type defense you have to have a screening action to create an opening or somebody will be shooting against a pressuring defender.   

Finally most teams don't have a great leaper but if you do, consider using something like the Carolina Attack against a zone where action is drawn to one side of the court while the interior of the zone near the basket back screens for a leaper at the basket.  If the time allows and the passer can make it look like a desparation shot, you might get a clean dunk or tip attempt at the buzzer.  In general I'm not a big fan of the tip plays near the basket to end a game because it's a much lower percentage shot (to catch or tip and control a lob) then it is to have a player simply shoot a shot even if against pressure.

Coaches let us hear from you and what has worked for you in last second game situations.