Basketball Offense - 2-1-2 High-Post Offense
From the Coach’s Clipboard Basketball Playbook"Helping coaches coach better..."
This is a simple man-to-man offense that can be very effective if you have a talented, athletic O4 who can make the shot from the free-throw line area, and can also dribble-drive 1-on-1. Having good corner shooters makes it even more difficult to defend. This offense spreads the floor with good floor balance, and you can run a lot of options. It is somewhat similar to the 4-out "High" offense.
You can use your high post player O4 as either a scorer or a screener. In diagram A, the ball is passed to O4 from the top. When the ball is at the top, there usually is no helpside defense as the X2 and X5 defenders may be wide from the basket. O4 can shoot the shot from the free-throw line, or make a 1-on-1 dribble move to the hoop. If either the X2 or X5 defender slide in to help (diagram B), O4 kicks the ball out to the short corner or corner (where the help defense came from), for a wide-open shot.
In diagram C, O4 is a screener, running a simple pick and roll play with O1. O4 for could screen and roll with any of the perimeter players. Making a ball-screen (and roll) with a corner player can also work.
Now look at diagrams D-F below. Here, O4 is a screener. The ball is passed to the corner O5. O3 cuts off O4's back-screen for the pass and lay-up. If the defense switches this screen, O3 should clear to the opposite corner, hopefully taking the X4 defender along. O4 should have inside position on the smaller X3 defender (diagram E), and cuts to the hoop for the pass from O5, and the lay-up.
Now (diagram F) if X3 was able to stay with O3, then O1 cuts around O4 as the next cutter to the hoop. Again, if the defense switches, O4 should seal and roll to the hoop. If the X1 defender slides below the screen (into the paint), O1 can flare to the wing (instead of cutting around the screen) and will be open for the pass on the left wing and the 3-point shot.
In diagram G, O4 screens for O2. O2 comes around the screen for the pass from O1 and the shot. O4 rolls to the hoop after screening.
Diagrams H and I show how other plays can be run off this set. In diagram H, we run a simple weave-screen play. O1 dribbles at O2, hands the ball off and screens X2. O2 comes around the screen with the ball and the shot. Diagram I shows the counter to this play when the X2 defender overplays O2... now O2 back-cuts for the pass and lay-up.
You can do a lot of different things with this set, but if O4 is your best player, I believe the best thing is getting the ball to O4 in the high post and let him/her go 1-on-1 with the X4 defender.