Off Season Player Development with Read & React

The time to focus on player development is in the off season. That statement is nothing surprising. But, you can work on player skills while developing Read & React habits, even if you aren’t allowed in the gym. Here’s how one of our earliest adopters did just that. He grouped his girls in threes and […]

Dribble At Fill

A couple of weeks ago, Uie saw something he hadn’t seen his team do before – they didn’t practice it, they didn’t plan it, it just… happened. It’s what we call a Dribble At Fill and when done in a game, it is extremely difficult to guard. It looks pretty too (which is a bonus). […]

Attacking a Sagging Defense

One of the defenses that Read & React coaches sometimes struggle against is a sagging man to man. And, it makes sense. If you don’t have shooters, a defense can interfere with all the cutting and penetration of the Read & React by playing off and protecting the paint. But, as I’m sure you’ve already […]

Layers Can Be Unique to Players

Let me tell you something that you already know: each one of your players is different. Each has a unique set of skills, a unique capacity for learning, a unique hype number, and of course, a unique personality. But, are you treating them that way? Please read as deeply into that question as possible, but […]

Changing Gears with the Read & React Offense

Watching the men’s Final Four and more specifically, the championship game, reminded me of one of the reasons I created the Read & React. It has nothing to do with the implementation of the offense; rather, it is how to use the Read & React during a game. Let me begin by saying that I’m […]

Drive at the High Post

What is the proper reaction for a post player in the high post on a drive directly at him? I’ve seen this question a couple of times now and thought it would be a good time to clarify it completely. By the way, for those of you with the Read & React, you can find […]

What if the Safety Valve is Covered?

The Safety Valve is the final available option on dribble penetration – if the rim is covered, if the Natural Pitch is covered, if the Baseline Cut is covered, if Post Slides are covered, you’re left with only one option (that’s why it’s called the Safety Valve). And, there’s a lot of security in that […]

Bounce Off Escape Attack

In yesterday’s post, we mentioned the simplicity of the Escape Hatch for a dribble penetrator who can’t make it all the way to the rim or just doesn’t like what he sees. Today, let’s take it one step further. What if that ball handler (1 in this case) drove right, bounced off to the Escape […]

Bounce Off Escape

Occasionally in the depth of the Read & React, some of the simplest concepts can get overlooked. The Bounce Off Escape came up the last time I was on the floor with Rick. It’s a simple concept, really, and just needs to be pointed out. When the ball handler drives, one spot over (in the […]

Hook & Look: A Quick Tweak for Attacking Zones

We get a lot of questions about zones. For coaches that have been used to running separate man and zone offenses, it is sometimes difficult to make the mental transition that the Read & React Offense can be used for both. Sure, there are certain layers that work better against zones and there are a […]