COACH'S DICTIONARY
The language of high-performance coaching—organized for action.
45 Cut (Burn Cut)
From the wing, a hard diagonal cut to the rim to punish nail help.
ATO (After Timeout)
A set play run immediately after a timeout to exploit matchups or create a quick score.
Ball Screen
A screen set on the on-ball defender to trigger pick-and-roll action.
Blue/Weak Coverage
On side P&R, force the ball to the sideline/weak hand to keep action out of the middle.
Delay (5-Out) Series
Flow into 5-out spacing with the trailing big at the top to play DHO/screens with all five out.
DHO (Dribble Hand-Off)
A ball exchange where the handler hands the ball to a teammate while moving.
Double Drag
Two consecutive ball screens (often roll + pop) in transition or early offense.
Drop Coverage
Pick-and-roll defense where the big drops into the paint while the guard fights over.
Dunker Spot
Baseline area outside the lane used by a finisher to occupy help and finish.
Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%)
Shooting efficiency weighting made threes by 1.5. eFG% = (FGM + 0.5 ‘d7 3PM) / FGA.
Elevator Screen
Two screeners close to trap the defender as the shooter runs through.
Empty Corner
Run action with no corner spacer on one side to reduce weak-side help.
Flare Screen
A diagonal screen that frees a cutter away from the ball for a shot.
Floppy (Single-Double)
Shooter starts under the rim with single or double down-screen options to get free.
Gaggle
Compact multi-player screen action (often stagger or screen-the-screener) to create confusion.
Hammer Action
Drive on one side with a weak-side back screen to the corner for a skip-pass three.
Hit-Ahead / Pitch-Ahead Pass
Immediately advancing the ball via pass to beat the defense down the floor.
Horns Set
Formation with two players at the elbows and two in the corners enabling multiple options.
ICE
Side pick-and-roll coverage that forces the ball toward the baseline and away from the middle.
Iverson Cut
A cut across two high elbow screens to initiate offense or isolate a scorer.
Jamming Cutters
Physical denial or bump of cutters through the lane to disrupt timing.
Jamming the Rebounder
Pressure on the defensive rebounder to delay the outlet and slow transition.
Lift/Drift
Off-ball reactions to drives: lift to slot or drift to corner to maintain spacing.
Motion Offense
An offense built on cutting, screening, and spacing rather than fixed plays.
Nail Help
Help at the center of the free-throw line to stop straight-line drives.
Pistol Action
Quick 3-man action (guard-to-guard pass into DHO or ball screen) early in the clock.
Ram Screen
A screen for the screener before the ball screen to disguise the action.
Scram Switch
Pre-rotation switch off-ball to remove a mismatch before it’s punished.
Screen Assist (Hustle Stat)
A credited screen that directly frees a teammate for a made field goal.
Secondary Assist (Hockey Assist)
The pass leading to an assist, capturing creation chains.
Short Roll
Screener stops around the foul line to catch and play-make vs aggressive coverage.
Slip Screen
Screener fakes the screen and cuts to the rim to beat a switch or trap.
Snapback Screen
Cutter reverses direction to reuse a second screen and create separation.
Spacing
Proper distribution of players to create driving lanes and passing angles.
Spain Pick-and-Roll
Back screen on the big defender after a ball screen to free the roller.
Tag the Roller
Brief help to impede the screener rolling to the rim, buying recovery time.
Top-Lock
Off-ball denial: defender jumps to the cutter’s top side to take away the pindown route.
Transition Defense
Organization and sprint-back principles immediately after a change of possession.
True Shooting Percentage (TS%)
Overall scoring efficiency including twos, threes, and free throws. TS% = PTS / (2 ‘s / (FGA + 0.44 / FTA)).
Two-Side Fast Break
Both wings are filled in transition to force balanced defensive decisions.
Usage Rate (USG%)
Share of team possessions a player ends with a shot, drawn foul, or turnover while on the floor.
Veer Action
Late defensive switch where the guard peels off and the big takes the ball in P&R.
X-Out Rotation
Weak-side recovery where defenders exchange closeouts in an ‘X’ pattern.
Zoom Action
A pin-down into a dribble hand-off to get a shooter downhill with a live dribble.
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