How many times have you had to play a season without a good point guard? How often have you heard other coaches say that their team would be good if they had a good point guard?

There is no doubt that it is difficult to field a quality basketball team without a quality point guard, one who can lead the team against good defensive pressure, make good decisions on the ball, have the speed to ignite a team’s fast break, put defensive pressure on opponents’ guards, and perform the many other things a player in that position must do.

What do you do when you face a season without a good base game? You certainly can’t put a mediocre point guard on the floor and expect him to run your offense and defense like a quality point guard would. You may have a great offense that you’ve used for years, but that offense requires a quality player to “run the show.” What will you do next?

First of all, you have to make adjustments to your offense. You cannot execute the same plays that you have successfully used in the past.

The best adjustment you can make is to have your mediocre point guard “hand the ball over early.” Most good players in that position will dribble the ball to start an offense regardless of the pressure they are under. Your mediocre guard must pass the ball to someone else before advancing toward the center line or simply crossing the center line.

To whom should it happen?

You must pass to the 2 or 3 man wing player, or you must pass to a post player who breaks away from the basket and into a position outside the top of the circle.

The player to whom you pass the ball should be reasonably good at handling the ball and should know how you want the offense to start once you receive the ball. Do you want me to have an option, or do you want me to pass to a specific player or position? Do you want him to penetrate and make decisions based on the reaction of the defense?

Your 2 player, often another guard, may have more freedom than your 3 player, who is often your wing.

If the ball is passed to a post player, he must face the basket and pass the ball to another player without dribbling. Few post players can effectively drive the ball away from the basket. They are excellent offensive shooters as the defensive post is usually not very good at rushing the opening pass; however few can dribble well and in this situation they must be taught to keep the ball off the ground and to swing the ball to the other side of the court.

Let’s look at the options in each situation.

If the ball was fed to player 2 or 3, they could (1) push the post or (2) dribble into position to make a pass to the other wing, or (3) drive to the basket looking to draw the defense and then pass to an open player.

If the ball is thrown into player 4 or 5, they could (1) look to feed the low post or (2) immediately pass to the offside wing player. If the post player has the skill, he could dribble to a wing player and make a dribble handoff to the wing. Many post players can do this, particularly if they receive daily practice in the skill.

In all these situations, the offense has been initiated WITHOUT the setter making the initiation.

Which of these players would be the best for the guard to make the “early pass”?

It would depend on (1) the ball handling ability of the wing or post and (2) the defensive ability of the opponent. If the 2 man is being defended by a player who can put up good defensive pressure, then the mediocre guard can be trained to make the early pass to the 3 man. This early pass can be done in the backcourt.

If both the 2nd and 3rd players are defended by excellent defenders, then the point guard should send the ball to the post player who is being defended by the weaker defender.

Who gets the first pass from the point guard isn’t as important as getting the ball out of the point guard’s hands BEFORE he has a chance to make a mistake.

What if your mediocre point guard is a good shot? He can turn the ball over early, cut hard to the basket, and then come off a screen down for a potential open shot.

What about the counterattack? The team can train to pass the ball to the best handler and fastest wing player. They can then advance the ball on the fast break. However, you can emphasize “explosive” dribbling. The rebounder, instead of making a walk-off pass, simply advances the ball quickly on the dribble.

Who gets the first pass from the point guard isn’t as important as getting the ball out of the point guard’s hands BEFORE he has a chance to make a mistake.

A point of emphasis. If the decision is made to make the first pass to a 2 or 3 player, that pass can be made before the guard passes the halfway line. If the pass is to be made to the post player, the point guard should dribble just across the halfway line of the court and then make his pass to the post.

Another option when you don’t have a good setter is to use a 2 guard front on offense. But this would require another whole article to discuss. Forty years ago, most teams had a 2 point guard front and never relied on just one “point guard”. Without a good point guard in today’s game, a 2 guard front could be the answer for your season. But to execute it, you need to know the 2 guard offense! That would prohibit most trainers from running it. (If you want to see someone who knows how to execute the 2-guard forward offense, look at the Uconn women’s team under Gino Auriemma. They do it perfectly and the coaches can learn a lot from their execution.