Baseline Out of Bounds Plays: Complete Playbook
Baseline out of bounds plays give your team a free scoring opportunity every time you inbound from under the basket. Use the right formation, read the defense, and turn dead-ball situations into high-percentage looks.
Why BLOBs Are Your Best Free Points
A baseline out of bounds play — BLOB — is any dead-ball inbound taken from under the opponent's basket. That single detail changes everything about the offensive math. Your team is already in scoring position, the clock does not start until the ball is touched, and the defense cannot double-team before the inbound. You control when the play begins.
That combination of geography and dead clock makes baseline OB sets the highest free-point opportunity in basketball. A well-designed BLOB should generate a layup or open three on nearly every possession. Most high school and youth teams treat BLOBs as an afterthought — a quick lob or a scramble to get the ball in. That is a mistake that gives the defense a free stop.
The five-second inbound count is the only real constraint you face. The best BLOB systems are built around that constraint: every player has a job, the inbounder has options, and the play is designed to exploit whatever the defense gives first. Teams that practice their baseline sets consistently will score two to six extra points per game purely from dead-ball situations that other teams waste.
The most common high school mistake is treating the inbounder as a passer and nothing else. That gift-wraps the five-second count for the defense — one hard denial on the primary option and the offense is stuck. Every BLOB must have an action that threatens to use the inbounder as a receiver late in the count.
— BLOB Plays Concept, Basketball Vault
The Four Formation Families
Every BLOB in the playbook collapses into one of four starting alignments. Learning the shell is the installation work. The specific play is just a tagged finish layered on top of a formation your players already know. Four formations cover every game situation you will face.
Box Set
Two players on each block, forming a rectangle around the paint. The Box is the deepest formation family by far, with eight or more named variations. It works because blockers occupy four danger zones simultaneously — the defense cannot sag or shift without leaving someone open. The Box alignment generates a lob off a back screen as the primary, a shooter off a stagger as the secondary, a post catch off a cross screen as the tertiary, and the inbounder on a step-in as the last resort. Install Box as your default BLOB front because it teaches all four reads from a single picture.
Line/Stack Set
All four players stacked on one side, baseline extended, tight together. Stack plays create a quick-hitter lean: one or two players peel out in sequence and the first open look fires immediately. This formation favors teams with a clear best shooter. The first peel is the decoy; the second peel is the scoring action. Use Line/Stack as a complement to the Box base, not a replacement — it is a one-read set that works best when the defense has started cheating to your Box actions.
1-4 Flat / Spread
Four players strung across the lane at one height, elbow to elbow or block to block. The Spread attacks the defense's tendency to collapse together in the paint. When defenders sag, the Flat formation puts a body everywhere the zone wants to sit. The "4 Flat" play gets your best finisher a lob by pinning the inbounder's defender and clearing one side of the floor. The NC State Bracket Buster Slip action also runs out of a flat spread — one slip read off the flat keeps the action completely clean and defenders unprepared.
Diamond / Triangle
A layered triangle with a body at the top, elbow, and block on the same side. The Diamond attacks zone defenses and packed man defenses through the middle seam. Use this formation when the opponent retreats into a packed lane. The core Triangle rule: screen the screener, but do not roll the middle screener. That middle body is the decoy that holds the zone in place while the real cut happens through the vacated seam.
Man Defense Reads and Screen Actions
Against man defense, every BLOB works through the same mechanical cycle: a cutter uses a screen, and the screener is immediately screened by a third player. That screen-the-screener structure is the single most recurring pattern across the entire BLOB library. Teach it as a standalone drill before installing any specific play — once players understand the pattern, every new set becomes one walk-through.
Back Screen for a Lob
A screener sets a back screen for a big or athletic cutter going to the rim. If the defense over-helps to stop the lob, the screener pops open — that is the slip read, and it is always available. The back screen for a lob appears in Box 1, Diamond 1, and the Duke Elbow 5 Lob. It is the most direct BLOB action available because it scores at the rim, the highest-percentage location on the floor. Run this read against any man defense that sags or helps toward the paint.
Stagger Screen for a Shooter
Two players set a staggered baseline double screen for a designated shooter curling to the corner or wing. This is the standard "get a three" BLOB read and the right call when you need a three-point shot. Box 3 (stagger to the corner), Box Triple (triple stagger for switching stress), and the Boston Celtics 4 Across are all stagger-for-shooter families. The more players you put in the stagger, the harder the switch becomes — three bodies on one shooter overwhelms any switch-heavy defense.
Cross Screen for a Post Seal
A cutter crosses the lane, setting a screen that frees a big for a post catch. Box 5 is the clearest example: the cross screen puts the post on a seal, and the defender gets caught behind with no way to recover. This read is underused at the high school level because coaches focus on jump shots from BLOB sets. A sealed big at the block with momentum toward the basket is a layup or a drawn foul — often a better outcome than a contested corner three.
DHO / Step-In for the Inbounder
Any time a player drives toward the inbounder and then reverses direction, the inbounder steps in-bounds and catches the return pass. Used in the Step In Fist play: the five steps up the lane for an apparent lob entry, then the one steps in-bounds to receive from the five at the wing. Now the five and two run a pick-and-roll, turning the BLOB into an immediate two-man game. This action is the best counter when the defense is over-denying every option near the basket.
Zone Defense Reads and Seam Flooding
Against a zone defense, the ball is not beaten by a screen — it is beaten by putting more cutters in adjacent gaps than the zone has bodies to cover. The core zone BLOB principle: two players cut to adjacent gaps simultaneously so the middle defender cannot help on both. Every zone BLOB in the playbook follows this structure in one form or another.
Corner Flash Plus Weakside Seal
One player slashes to the strong-side corner, pulling the bottom wing defender of the zone out of position. Simultaneously, a big seals the middle defender. The result is a one-on-one post opportunity and a corner three read at the same time. The "Slash" BLOB is the cleanest version: the point guard calls "Slash" plus a player's name, and that player cuts immediately to the corner while the five seals middle. Zero installation time once players know the rule. This is the dedicated zone BLOB answer for any program — one call, one cut, one seal.
Two-Phase Corner Reversal Lob Sequence
The KU Zone sets are the most efficient two-phase zone BLOB in the library. Phase one sends a cutter to the corner off a top screen — the defense rotates to cover. Phase two uses ball reversal to trigger a back screen for a lob on the backside, catching the zone mid-rotation. Teach it as two timed cuts, not a single fast action. The timing is the play. When the zone rotates to cover phase one, the phase two cutter goes — and the zone cannot get back.
Weakside Seam Dive
One cutter draws the middle defender of the zone to the opposite block, carving space on the weak side. A wing then loops through a screen right into the vacated seam. The timing piece is critical: the weakside cutter goes a split second early to freeze the middle defender before the wing loops. This action is especially effective against a 2-3 zone whose middle defender has natural instincts to sag toward the ball — use his instincts against him.
Skip Pass to the Corner
When zone defenders collapse toward the ball, a skip to the baseline corner on the opposite side beats their rotation. This works best against a 2-3 zone where the top two defenders must both chase the skip. Execute with a pump fake to hold the near defender before making the skip pass. Do not skip without the pump fake — the near defender will recover too quickly and contest the catch.
End-of-Game BLOB Situations
End-of-game BLOB design is a separate discipline. Answer "two or three?" before calling any end-of-game set — the play design is fundamentally different depending on your deficit. Down one or two, you need a lob or a post entry (Box 5, Duke Elbow 5 Lob). Down three, you need a shooter off a stagger (Box Triple, 4 Low Spread). That one-question decision framework should happen before any timeout breaks, not on the sideline with five seconds left.
Under One Second
The inbound catch is the shot. The catcher must be a shooter already in position to catch and release in one motion — design the set so the catch happens two to three feet behind the line. A back screen for the catch (not the shot) is the mechanism. If the defense switches, the five slips for the lob as the backup read. At under one second there is no time for a second dribble or a pivot — the shooter must be free at the moment of the catch.
Two to Four Seconds
One designed screen creates the shot. The triple screen is the "need a three / defense knows it" solution — three bodies screening one shooter overloads any switching ability. Box Triple and the Boston Celtics 4 Across are purpose-built for this window. The built-in counter to any stagger-for-shooter action: a back screener on the backside creates a lob read if the defense overcommits to covering the shooter. Call the lob if you see them chasing — do not force the three.
The Double Loop
When two options run the same screen simultaneously — one curling, one shadowing behind — the defense cannot make a clean rotation to cover both. The Double Loop uses exactly this: three loops around four and five, and two cuts immediately behind three as a shadow. Both players get clean looks; the passer reads which one is more open at the moment of release. This is the best end-of-game call when the defense has one player tasked with taking away your primary shooter.
Design the Fake First
The most repeatable end-of-game BLOB principle: the real action is the one that comes second. In the Duke Elbow 5 Lob, the decoy is the corner cutter who pulls the help defender, and the real play is the five wheeling around a back screen for the lob. The Duke Bracket Buster Pin Down Curl works the same way: a double pin-down holds both defenders, then the curl is the free finish. When designing any end-of-game set, start with what you want to score and then build a decoy that forces the defense to help before it happens.
Five Plays Worth Installing Right Now
You do not need twenty BLOB plays. You need five that your players understand completely and can execute under pressure. Start with these five and add only when your base sets are automatic.
NC State BLOB Slip
The cleanest, lowest-instruction BLOB available. Standard alignment — the screening action is the decoy, and the screener slips to the rim. The inbounder reads which look is open: the curl off the screen or the slip. Two options, zero complexity. Install this first as your baseline go-to BLOB because it simultaneously teaches the most important defensive reading skill — recognizing and reacting to the slip. This play also works against both man and zone with the same alignment, which saves practice time.
Duke Elbow 5 Lob
The four cuts to the corner as a decoy, pulling the help defender. The five starts toward the ball, then wheels around a back screen to the rim for the lob. If the two's defender sags to help on the lob, the inbounder fakes and hits the two cutting to the basket for a layup. Two options with a built-in counter, named after a recognizable program — players respond to named-coach plays. Teachable in a single walk-through. This is the right call when you have an athletic five who can catch a back screen at the rim.
Slash Zone BLOB
The point guard calls "Slash" plus a player's name at the inbound line. The named player immediately cuts corner. The five seals the middle defender. The four clears weakside. Result: a corner three versus a sagging zone, or a one-on-one post for the five if the corner is covered. Zero extra installation time once players know the rule. This is the dedicated zone BLOB — one call answers the zone every time.
Box Triple
Triple staggered baseline screens for a corner three. Designed specifically for switch-heavy defenses — three bodies on one shooter overwhelms any switching scheme. Call this when the defense has started switching every screen on BLOBs and is cheating to take away your primary option. Not a quick-hitter; it needs a second to develop. Teach this late in the season after the Box base is clean and automatic, not as an early installation.
KU Zone 2
Two-phase zone attack: phase one sends the five to screen the top of the zone for a corner cut and ball reversal, occupying all four zone defenders. Phase two triggers a back screen for the five on the backside as the ball reaches the far side, freeing the five for a lob or layup through the zone's rotation gap. This is the right zone call when a single flash-and-seal is not enough — when the zone is well-organized and disciplined enough to take away one-action reads.
Practice and Installation Tips
The most common BLOB execution breakdown at the high school level has nothing to do with the play design. It happens because the inbounder panics under the five-second count and throws a desperation pass. Run every BLOB in practice with a live five-count and a coach trailing behind the inbounder to simulate crowd pressure and defensive hands. Players must experience that pressure in practice before they can manage it in a game.
Build from one shell. Install Box 1 (back screen lob), Box 3 (stagger for the shooter), and the NC State Slip from the same Box look before adding any other formation. Players see one picture; the call tells them which option fires. One walk-through per play, all from the same formation. The NKU model — everything from one alignment, numbers rotate — suggests four sets maximum from the same shell before you add a second formation. Depth of execution beats width of installation every time.
Match your BLOB to your personnel before installing. The right play depends on whether you have a lob threat at the five, a corner shooter, or a primary pick-and-roll creator. Box 1 and the Duke Lob require a five who can catch a back screen at the rim. Box 3 and Box Triple require a shooter with a quick release. Slash and the step-in actions work with almost any personnel. Know your roster before you choose your base sets.
Teach the T Series as your last-timeout play. When the defense has locked down normal reads, the T Series gives the inbounder four legitimate options to read in real time — lob, pin screen for a catch-and-shoot, post entry, and screen for the inbounder. Most BLOB plays have two reads; the T Series is the exception. Reserve it for late-game possessions when nothing else is working and the defense has studied your base sets.
Before any end-of-game BLOB timeout, ask yourself "two or three?" out loud with your assistants. That one question determines the entire play design — down one or two means you want a lob or a post catch near the basket, while down three means you need a shooter off a stagger or triple screen. Getting the deficit question wrong wastes the timeout and the possession.
- Build everything from the Box shell first — install Box 1 (lob), Box 3 (stagger shooter), and NC State Slip before adding any other formation or alignment.
- Add "Slash" as your dedicated zone BLOB — one call, one named cut to the corner, one post seal in the middle. No diagram needed once players know the rule.
- Practice BLOBs with a live five-second count every session — most execution breakdowns are the inbounder panicking, not players running wrong cuts.
- Every BLOB must include an action that can use the inbounder as a receiver — if the defense locks down all four players, the inbounder steps in and catches.
- Answer "two or three?" before calling any end-of-game BLOB set — the play design is fundamentally different based on your deficit going into the final possession.
- Cap your BLOB library at four to five sets max from one base shell — depth of execution and automatic reads under pressure beat having twelve plays nobody runs cleanly.
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