How Florida Has Dominated With Pick And Roll Offense

By
Eric Fawcett
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In coming away with one of their most exciting wins in recent history, withstanding a fantastic West Virginia team for a 85-80 win, the Gators demonstrated just how good an offensive team they can be. They hit 47% of their threes and finished at 1.2 points per possession, an astonishing number considering any time you get above 1 a coach is going to be extremely happy. West Virginia might not be the defensive masterminds they have been known for in recent seasons but they are tough, long, and athletic, and the Gators were able to gash them for bucket after bucket. 

 

In fact, the strength of the Gators this season has been their offense. This might come as a surprise considering Mike White has been known as a defense first coach and his early teams at Florida have clamped down defensively and struggled offensively but this year that has totally flipped. The Gators are 18th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency, and only 51st in adjusted defensive efficiency. This team, as least as currently constituted, is offense first and it’s their scorers that are carrying the load and making up for an occasionally porous defense. 

 

Why have they been so good offensively, and what allowed them to put up so many points on West Virginia?

 

A large reason why has been their pick and roll offense. Florida has been dominating teams in the pick and roll this season and it has been their number one attack. Here is a few of the buckets they were able to get against West Virginia coming in the pick and roll.

When you look at the numbers, Florida is nothing short of spectacular in the pick and roll this season. At an even 1.0 points per possession they are currently 25th in the country in pick and roll efficiency, a number made even more spectacular by the fact that they have played a much more difficult schedule and many more challenging defenses than most of the teams ahead of them. The pick and roll has also accounted for 26% of their total shots, so they have been able to remain efficient in the pick and roll attack despite a large sample size and heavy volume.

 

For starters, it’s their personnel. Tre Mann is one of the best pick and roll guards in the country right now, using his threat as a scorer to soften up defenses. Mann has been arguably the best shooter off the dribble in the country this season, hitting a remarkable 45% of his off the dribble threes, and that means defenses have to be prepared for him to pull at any moment. If teams want to sit behind the screen he’ll punish them, and if they try to crowd him he can blow by with an array of dribble moves.

 

Tyree Appleby has also been a major threat out of pick and roll. He’s arguably the best passer on the Gators and that means if defenses don’t tag the roller he’ll hit them with a laser of a pass that they can finish with a dunk. He’s also incredibly slippery and has drawn a ton of fouls from defenses trying to trap him, another great way to put up points the easy way at the charity stripe.

 

It’s not just the guards doing the work as Florida has two fantastic pick and roll bigs. Colin Castleton is someone who sets really good screens, picking the correct angle to allow the guard to attack. He’s also got great hands to finish when a pass is rifled in his direction and those great hands also allow him to finish. A lot of being a good pick and roll big is timing, and Castleton’s decisions of when to release from the screen and explode towards the hoop have confused defenses and allowed so many of Florida’s open shots.

 

Omar Payne has been no slouch either, and he’s the most exciting kind of pick and roll big man–the lob finisher. If Tre Mann or Tyree Appleby wants to throw it up to him they simply have to put it up near the rim higher than any defender can get to because they know Payne has the explosiveness and length to get to the ball, catch, and finish with authority. 

 

It’s also not just the ball handler and screen setter that have made the pick and roll so successful. Noah Locke and Scottie Lewis have been more than capable catch and shoot players that space the floor, making their defenders have to think twice about helping on a roll or trying to sit in the gap on a Tyree Appleby or Tre Mann drive. It’s a team effort and even the floor spacing shooters have played a big part in allowing the Gators to have such a successful pick and roll. 

 

Another thing that makes Florida’s pick and roll attack so effective is the fact that they have multiple pick and roll plays that they can pull out. In the previous video you saw a “zoom” ball screen (a dribble handoff into ball screen) and a “drag” ball screen (an early pick and roll in transition) but that’s not all.

 

They love to run duck in ball screens as a continuity, especially with two bigs on the floor. When they do that, there is a second big sealing the help defender on the inside while the pick and roll happens. When it’s most successful, the ball handler can get all the way to the rim for a layup without the help defender able to contest the shot. Here are some examples:

The Gators also like to run a “ram” ball screen from the sideline (ram refers to screening the screener to get an initial advantage). Not only can this side ball screen work, but it also opens up to a flare for a shooter which has worked for Noah Locke. Take a look at that play here:

While those are some of Florida’s common ball screen plays that isn’t all of them. They also run “Spain” ball screens (setting a back screen for the roller and then popping out for a three) or Princeton ball screens where they go through the Princeton offense ending in a typical spread ball screen. 

 

By not relying on one single ball screen attack the Gators have multiple ways they can utilize the pick and roll and keep defenses on their toes. They can also cater their pick and roll offense to who is on the floor, and to who they want taking the shot.

 

Florida’s best offensive players this season have arguably been Tre Mann, the threat on the perimeter, and Colin Castleton, a load on the inside. When they have combined in the pick and roll, it has had great returns for the Gators. Mann-Castleton pick and rolls have resulted in 1.1 points per possession, making it one of the most efficient offensive plays the Gators can run. 

 

What we saw in the West Virginia game is something that will hopefully be the case moving forward and that’s the Gators winning close games because of their pick and roll offense. In the end of close games, no matter what level of basketball in the modern era, it always seems to come down to pick and rolls. Using pick and rolls you can ensure the ball is in the hands of your best scorer, and it’s also a great way to make sure you utilize the clock in the best possible way. Since most games end with pick and rolls in the final minute, Florida’s talent at utilizing them is going to pay dividends in the clutch. That’s what we saw against West Virginia, and hopefully that’s what we see moving forward. 

 

Eric Fawcett
Eric Fawcett
Eric is a basketball coach and writer from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His work has been found at NBA international properties, ESPN, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Lindy's and others. He loves zone defenses, the extra pass, and a 30 second shot clock. Growing up in Canada, an American channel showing SEC basketball games was his first exposure to Gator hoops, and he has been hooked ever since. You can follow him on Twitter at @ericfawcett_.

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