Basketball: One Possession Games, Teaching Scenarios

Champions win critical situations late in close games. Have predetermined, practiced plans. Teach players the why. 

Presume a full court and 'short clock' scenarios to practice. We practiced special situations each practice but not many endgames. Here are a few. 

Scenario 1. Leading by 3, Opponent's ball SLOB with 7 seconds remaining. No timeouts. 

• First, ask players for possible choices and their why. 
• Second, play it out (multiple times), with and without fouling to prevent a three. 
• Play out the conclusion (including free throws). 

Here's a rational approach from this reference. I'm not telling anybody what to do, be prepared to justify their approach. 

"To review, don’t foul and you are going to overtime 1 out of 5 times. Foul and there is a less than 1 in 20 chance you can be tied in the missed free throw scenario."

Scenario 2. Tie score, our ball, ATO. 5 seconds remaining. Fullcourt. Defense pressing. One timeout remaining. 

• What's our first priority? Getting the ball in safely and not committing an offensive foul. There are defensive strategies (and illegal plays) designed to draw offensive fouls. I teach some of them to help players avoid being 'suckered'. 
• What's our preference? Advance the ball to halfcourt in 1-2 seconds to set up a final shot set play (such as those below). 

Here's one of my favorites. 

If you don't need a three, find a closer shot. We tied one game when the 5 sprinted in after the pass for a putback! 
 

Scenario 3. Trailing by 1. Ten seconds remaining. Opponent's ball SLOB at halfcourt in the bonus. No timeouts. 

• What's our biggest opponent? TIME. We need the ball back and/or time stoppage. 
• What's the plan? Learn to foul ASAP while going for the steal. There is no substitute for practicing the scenario. 
• Full pressure on each player. Don't worry about anything else. 

Scenario 4. Leading by 1. Thirty seconds remaining. SLOB. Our ball. No shot clock. 

• Get the ball in safely, then what? Run clock, get the ball to our best free throw shooters. If we have an excellent ball handler who can shoot free throws, "Four Corners" is a great option. 
• What should we expect? They are going for the steal or the foul so be tough with the ball. 
• DO NOT take some random open shot to be the hero. You won't be the hero but will earn extra tickets to the pine. 

Scenario 5. Trailing by 2. Our ball BOB, ten seconds remaining. If you have a best BOB, don't save it. 

A great screen-the-screener action. 

A variant on "America's Play" to get a layup for 4. 

Lagniappe.