Two summers ago, we had the privilege of hosting UCAM Murcia Head Coach, Sito Alonso, on the podcast for a highly anticipated conversation about coaching creativity and his innovative tactics, particularly the “Goalkeeper” or “Spy” Defense {đź”’} and Post Split Screens.
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Renowned for initiating offense through the post and utilizing split cuts off the elbow, Coach Alonso provided valuable insights into the timing, spacing, screening rules, and counters that make this action so effective. Since then, we have continued to follow his teams—as he remains one of our favorite studies—to observe how he continues to refine and implement new strategies.
This brings us to the focus of today’s newsletter and video breakdown: an Inverted Post Ballscreen to Uphill Pitch. Coach Alonso has been using this post-trigger screening action to create short-roll opportunities or pick-and-pop shooting solutions.
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Zooming In: On the post catch, the passer follows the pass to set an inverted ballscreen. The intent is to create a late-arriving big as the post player dribbles up into a “Pitch & Pick” or Step-Up Screen, with a guard positioned in the middle third of the court.
Zooming In 2.0: If the inverted post ballscreen succeeds in creating confusion or delaying the defensive big into the middle-third ballscreen, Murcia can open up easier pocket passing windows for the point guard to find the big on the short roll. Alternatively, as shown above, it can create a much longer closeout for the big to attack off the pop.
Deploying the Action – The Argentina Break
In studying Murcia this season, Coach Alonso organizes the screening action through a few different sets, one of them being the Argentina Break. This break is a tried and true action we celebrated in a previous newsletter for its ability to organize two scoring actions within the first eight seconds of the shot clock…
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Zooming In: A quick recap on the Argentina Break, pushing with pace up the floor, the point guard will receive a ballscreen along the basket-line, while, simultaneously, the rim-running big will receive a cross screen from a guard at the rim, mirroring the ball. If the big is not open off the cross screen, the play continues as the guard under the rim receives a down screen from the initial big who set the ballscreen.
Coach Alonso utilizes the Argentina Break to generate a post catch, which initiates the screening action and leads to a ballscreen for the guard coming off the pin-down in the middle third of the court…
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Zooming In: With both the inverted ballscreen and pin-down screen, neither defender is attached as the play progresses into the pitch ballscreen.
Randomizing the Action – Transition Flow
Over the course of this season, as the offense has become more accustomed to the action, Murcia has been able to self-organize the action without needing a set prompt. The ability to adapt and execute the action spontaneously allows the offense to maintain their pace and fluidity, making it more difficult for the defense to anticipate or disrupt the action.
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Zooming In: A key to the execution of this action is balancing the weak side of the floor by lifting a ballhandler into the middle third while diving the partner big or 4-man to the rim. This flattens the defense behind the ballscreen, creating space for the pop or short roll.
Adapting it into a flow or play-after-the-play concept is where we begin to see parallels to Coach Mody Maor’s inverted screening {đź”’} concept we explored when faced with a less-dynamic player or big in the corner…
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By utilizing the inverted ballscreen prior to an uphill pitch, Coach Alonso continues to showcase the power of triggering offense through the post, emphasizing its effectiveness as a catalyst for spacing, screening, and dynamic offensive flow. To learn more on this action please view the full breakdown now on SGTV!
