Duke basketball plays in this collection are less a list of set plays than a motion offense with named pieces. The motion offense is the one Mike Krzyzewski presented in 1987: five players moving and screening with no set pattern, reading how they are guarded. Alongside it are an early offense Duke ran off the break and the starting sets the motion can begin from. A last section applies motion ideas to a zone. It comes from the same written notes, but the notes do not credit it to Coach Krzyzewski, so read it as motion teaching against a zone, not as his zone offense. This page draws 15 of those pieces across 37 frames. Every frame is redrawn from the original diagrams, and the text under it names where each player goes.
Duke Basketball Plays at a Glance
The early offense comes first: a post who sprints ahead, a cut through, three screens for the wing and a high-low finish. The motion rules show the two moves without the ball and how the 3 out, 2 in motion works, with posts screening for posts and perimeter players screening for each other. The starting sets are seven alignments the motion can open from. The zone section uses the same motion ideas against a zone: fill the gaps, stack to distort it, split it with the dribble, reverse it, flash behind it and screen it. The original also holds shooting and two- and three-man teaching drills, which are not drawn here.
| Play | Family | Frames | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transition Push | Early Offense Off the Break | 1 | One post sprints ahead of the ball, both wings run wide to the three-point line, and the point guard looks up the floor first. |
| Through Action | Early Offense Off the Break | 4 | The point guard passes to a wing and cuts through, the trailer screens for the other wing, and the first passer runs off three screens. |
| Hi-Lo Action | Early Offense Off the Break | 2 | A screen away on the perimeter while one post flashes high and the other posts low, which sets up the high-low pass. |
| V Cut and Backdoor | The Motion Rules | 2 | The two basic moves without the ball. A player read high goes backdoor, a player played loose V cuts to get open. |
| 3 Out 2 In Motion | The Motion Rules | 3 | Five-man motion where every player can play inside and outside. Posts work with posts and perimeter players with perimeter players after the first pass. |
| Motion With a Permanent Perimeter Player | The Motion Rules | 1 | The same motion with one player who never posts up, usually the ball-handling guard. He screens inside and then clears back out. |
| High-Low and Stack Sets | Starting Sets | 5 | The base 3-2 set with the posts high and low, and four stack alignments the motion can start from. |
| Foul Line Sets | Starting Sets | 2 | Two players side by side at the free-throw line, either the two perimeter players or the two posts. |
| Fill the Gaps | Motion Against a Zone | 2 | Stand in the natural gaps of the zone so one defender has to guard two players. The alignment changes with the zone's front. |
| Distortion Stacks | Motion Against a Zone | 4 | Overload and stack players to confuse the zone, so that one defender is left with no one to guard. |
| Penetrate the Gaps | Motion Against a Zone | 2 | Use the dribble to split two defenders, draw them both, and pass to the open man. |
| Attacking the 1-3-1 | Motion Against a Zone | 1 | Overload one side and attack the outside defender on that side. |
| Ball Reversal and the Skip | Motion Against a Zone | 3 | Move the zone with a dribble and a pass back, or throw over it with a skip pass. |
| Flash From Behind the Zone | Motion Against a Zone | 2 | A player the zone cannot see cuts into the soft middle for the catch. |
| Screen the Zone | Motion Against a Zone | 3 | Screen the defender who has to slide, the middle man of the back line, or the slides the zone makes on a reversal. |
How to Read These Diagrams
Every play is drawn frame by frame, one diagram for each frame of the original, and the text under each diagram says where every player starts and where he goes. The basket is at the bottom of each diagram. Sides are named as a player sees them facing the basket, so the left wing is on the right side of the picture. A solid arrow is a cut, a dashed arrow is a pass, a wavy line is a dribble and a line ending in a short bar is a screen. The diagram guide covers the symbols in full. No offensive player starts a frame standing in the lane. Where a source frame had someone there, he is drawn on the nearest lane line or block.
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Early Offense Off the Break
Transition Push
One post sprints ahead of the ball, both wings run wide to the three-point line, and the point guard looks up the floor first.
Frame 1. 1 brings the ball up the middle, just inside half court. 2 has sprinted wide to the right wing and 3 to the left wing, both spaced out on the three-point line. 5 has run ahead of everyone and is just above the free-throw line, sprinting down the lane to the rim. 4 is not in the picture: he takes the ball out after a made basket and trails the play. 1 looks up the floor first, for a long pass to 5 at the rim, then for either wing. A wing who catches can shoot the three or drive to the rim, which is drawn as a dribble from each side.
Through Action
The point guard passes to a wing and cuts through, the trailer screens for the other wing, and the first passer runs off three screens.
Frame 1. The ball has gone ahead to 2 on the right wing. 1 is at the top of the key after his pass, 3 is on the left wing and 5 is in the lane on the left side, where he ran to the rim. 4 is still trailing, well behind the top of the key on the left side. As soon as 1 has passed, he cuts through the lane to the left block, just outside 5. 5 crosses the lane to post up on the right block, the ball side, and 2 can feed him there. 2 can also shoot or drive from the wing.
Frame 2. 4, the trailer, has arrived in the left slot and screens for 3 on the left wing. 3 comes off the screen up to the top of the key. 1 is on the left block and 5 on the right block. 2 has the ball on the right wing. He can drive to the middle toward the right elbow, or look for 5 posting up. If neither is there, 2 passes to 3 at the top of the key.
Frame 3. 3 has the ball at the top of the key. 2 is on the right wing, 5 on the right block, 1 on the left block and 4 on the left side, just inside the arc. After his pass, 2 cuts along the baseline under the basket. 5 holds his spot on the right block as the first screen, 1 steps into the lane to screen for him, and 4 steps up to screen. 2 runs off all three toward the left wing.
Frame 4. 3 still has the ball at the top of the key. 2 has come off the screens and is on the left side near the short corner, with 4 just above him. 1 is on the left side of the lane after his screen and 5 is on the right block. 2 reads his defender. He can curl tight around 4 toward the free-throw line for the pass from 3, or, if the defender cheats over the top, bump out to the left corner instead. 1 cuts around a screen by 5 to the right wing, and after the curl 2 can pass across to him there.
Hi-Lo Action
A screen away on the perimeter while one post flashes high and the other posts low, which sets up the high-low pass.
Frame 1. If nothing is open, 3 passes from the top of the key to 2 on the left wing. 3 then screens away for 1 on the right wing and keeps going to the right corner, and 1 comes a little way up the arc toward the top of the key. 4, at the left mid-post, posts up on the left block. 5 leaves the right block and cuts up to the high post at the left elbow, so one post is high and one is low.
Frame 2. 2 has the ball on the left wing and passes to 5 at the high post, above the left elbow. 4 seals his defender on the left block and steps into the lane, and 5 throws the high-low pass to him. 1 on the right wing and 3 in the right corner are spotted up on the far side, so 5 can also kick the ball to either one for a three.
The Motion Rules
V Cut and Backdoor
The two basic moves without the ball. A player read high goes backdoor, a player played loose V cuts to get open.
Frame 1. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, a step to the right side, and 2 is on the right wing. Only 1, 2 and 2's defender are drawn. The defender plays 2 high, between him and the ball. 2 takes him higher, a step or two away from the basket, then cuts hard backdoor toward the rim, and 1 passes to him on the cut.
Frame 2. Same spots: 1 has the ball at the top of the key and 2 is on the right wing. This time 2's defender sags off him toward the lane. 2 steps in toward the basket to take his man that way, then V cuts back out above the wing, and 1 passes to him there.
3 Out 2 In Motion
Five-man motion where every player can play inside and outside. Posts work with posts and perimeter players with perimeter players after the first pass.
Frame 1. 1 has the ball in the right slot, 3 is in the left slot, 2 on the right wing, 5 at the left elbow and 4 on the right block. With the ball up top, the two screens to look for are a down screen and a back screen. 5 steps out from the left elbow and back screens for 3. 3 jabs toward the screen, steps away, then cuts behind it to the left block. 2 screens down for 4, and 4 walks his man into the lane, then comes off the screen to the right wing. 1 waits for the screens and passes to 4.
Frame 2. 4 has the ball on the right wing after the down screen. 1 is in the right slot, 5 in the left slot, 2 on the right block and 3 at the left mid-post. On top, 5 screens away for 1, and 1 jabs toward the screen, then comes off 5's screen to the left wing, where 4 passes across to him. Inside, 2 screens across the lane for 3. 3 steps toward the screen, then flashes to the high post on the right side, and 2 steps back toward the ball on the right block.
Frame 3. 1 has the ball in the left slot. Between frames 5 has moved from the left slot to the top of the key, a move with no arrow. 3 is at the right elbow after his flash, 4 on the right wing and 2 on the right block. The ball is now on the left side, so 2 crosses the lane to the left block to keep the floor balanced and spaced.
Motion With a Permanent Perimeter Player
The same motion with one player who never posts up, usually the ball-handling guard. He screens inside and then clears back out.
Frame 1. Only 1, 3 and 5 are drawn. 1 is the permanent perimeter player. He has the ball on the left wing, 3 is on the left block and 5 is at the top of the key. 1 passes to 5, then screens down for 3. 3 comes off the screen out to the left wing, and 1, who stays on the perimeter in this version, clears out to the left corner after his screen.
Starting Sets
High-Low and Stack Sets
The base 3-2 set with the posts high and low, and four stack alignments the motion can start from.
Frame 1. The base set for five on five: three out and two in, with the posts high and low. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 3 is on the left wing and 2 on the right wing. 5 is low on the left block and 4 high at the right elbow. Each defender is drawn on his man. Restrictions can be added to five on five to teach the motion moves.
Frame 2. Two stacks low. 1 has the ball at the top of the key. 3 and 5 stack on the left block, 3 at the bottom and 5 just above him. 2 and 4 stack the same way on the right block, 2 at the bottom and 4 above him.
Frame 3. High-low stacks. 1 has the ball at the top of the key. 2 and 4 stack low on the right block, 2 at the bottom. 3 and 5 stack high on the left side, 3 at the left elbow and 5 just above him, outside the free-throw line.
Frame 4. Two stacks high, one at each elbow. 3 is at the left elbow with 5 just above him, and 2 is at the right elbow with 4 just above him. 1 has the ball at the top of the key.
Frame 5. A single stack. 4 and 5 stack on the left block, 4 low and 5 above him. 3 is on the left wing, 2 on the right wing, and 1 has the ball at the top of the key.
Foul Line Sets
Two players side by side at the free-throw line, either the two perimeter players or the two posts.
Frame 1. Two perimeter players at the free-throw line. 5 is on the left block and 4 on the right block. 3 and 2 stand side by side just above the free-throw line, 3 on the left and 2 on the right. 1 has the ball at the top of the key.
Frame 2. Two post players at the free-throw line. 5 and 4 stand side by side on the free-throw line, 5 on the left and 4 on the right. 3 is on the left wing, 2 on the right wing, and 1 has the ball at the top of the key.
Motion Against a Zone
Fill the Gaps
Stand in the natural gaps of the zone so one defender has to guard two players. The alignment changes with the zone's front.
Frame 1. Against an even front, a zone with two defenders up top such as a 2-3. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, in the gap between the two front defenders. 3 is on the left wing and 2 on the right wing, in the gaps between the front line and the back line. 5 and 4 sit low on the left and right blocks, behind the back line.
Frame 2. Against an odd front, a zone with one defender up top such as a 1-2-2. The offense puts two guards up top, one in each gap beside the point defender: 1 has the ball in the left slot and 2 is in the right slot. 3 is in the left corner, below the defender on the left side, and 5 and 4 sit low on the left and right blocks.
Distortion Stacks
Overload and stack players to confuse the zone, so that one defender is left with no one to guard.
Frame 1. High-low stacks against a 2-3 zone. 3 and 5 stack low on the left block, 3 below 5. 2 and 4 stack on the right lane line, 2 at the mid-post and 4 just below the right elbow. 1 has the ball at the top of the key.
Frame 2. Two stacks high against a 2-3 zone. 3 and 5 stack on the left lane line, 3 at the mid-post and 5 just below the left elbow. 2 and 4 stack the same way on the right lane line, 2 at the mid-post and 4 just below the right elbow. Both stacks sit just behind the front line of the zone. 1 has the ball at the top of the key.
Frame 3. A triple stack against a one-guard front. 3, 4 and 5 line up on the left lane line, 3 on the block, 4 at the mid-post and 5 just below the left elbow. 1 has the ball in the left slot and 2 is in the right slot, one on each side of the point defender. No one stands low on the right side, so the back defender there has no one to guard.
Frame 4. Two stacks low against a one-guard front. 3 and 5 stack on the left block, 3 below 5, and 2 and 4 stack on the right block, 2 below 4. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, alone against the point defender.
Penetrate the Gaps
Use the dribble to split two defenders, draw them both, and pass to the open man.
Frame 1. 1 has the ball at the top of the key against a 2-3 zone. 3 is on the left wing, 2 on the right wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 1 dribbles straight into the gap between the two front defenders. Both step in to stop him, and he passes out to 3 on the left wing.
Frame 2. 3 has the ball on the left wing. 1 is in the high post, a step above the free-throw line, 2 is on the right wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 3 dribbles into the gap between the left front defender and the left back defender. Both step over to stop him, and 3 passes to 1 in the high post behind them.
Attacking the 1-3-1
Overload one side and attack the outside defender on that side.
Frame 1. The overload is on the left side: 1 has the ball in the left slot, 3 is in the left corner and 5 on the left block. 2 is in the right slot and 4 on the right block. 1 dribbles straight at the 1-3-1's defender on the left wing. If he steps up to the ball, 1 passes to 3 in the corner or to 5 on the block.
Ball Reversal and the Skip
Move the zone with a dribble and a pass back, or throw over it with a skip pass.
Frame 1. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 3 is on the left wing, 2 on the right wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 1 dribbles toward the right wing. 2 makes a shallow cut, in along the free-throw line and back out to the top of the key, and 1 passes back to him there. A dribble to the wing and a pass back to the top is the most effective way to reverse the ball.
Frame 2. The same reversal with a high post. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 2 is at the nail, 3 on the left wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 1 dribbles to the right wing, which empties the top of the key, and 2 steps out from the high post to the top of the key for the pass back.
Frame 3. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 3 is on the left wing, 2 on the right wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 1 dribbles to the right and passes to 2 on the right wing, and the whole zone slides toward the ball. 2 throws the skip pass over the top, all the way across to 3 on the left wing, the side the zone just left.
Flash From Behind the Zone
A player the zone cannot see cuts into the soft middle for the catch.
Frame 1. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 3 is on the left wing, 2 on the right wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 5 flashes from the left block up behind the front line of the zone into the middle, just under the free-throw line, and 1 passes to him there.
Frame 2. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 3 is on the left wing, 2 on the right wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 1 passes to 2 on the right wing. 3 flashes from the weak-side wing, across behind the front line of the zone to the middle of the free-throw line, and 2 passes to him there.
Screen the Zone
Screen the defender who has to slide, the middle man of the back line, or the slides the zone makes on a reversal.
Frame 1. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 2 is on the right wing, 3 on the left wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 1 dribbles at the right front defender, who steps up to him. 4 steps out from the right block and screens the back defender on that side, and 2 drifts from the wing down to the right corner behind the screen. 1 passes to 2 in the corner.
Frame 2. 1 has the ball at the top of the key, 2 is on the right wing, 3 on the left wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 1 dribbles toward the right wing and the right front defender slides with him. 2 goes to the right corner, 1 passes to him, and the right back defender runs out to cover him. 4 screens the middle defender of the back line so he cannot slide over, then steps out to the right mid-post, and 2 passes in to him there.
Frame 3. 3 has the ball on the left wing, 1 is at the top of the key, 2 on the right wing, 5 on the left block and 4 on the right block. 3 passes to 1, and 1 dribbles toward the right side, so the zone wants to slide that way. 4 screens the middle back defender and 2 screens the defender in the middle of the free-throw line, the two who would slide over. 5 cuts along the baseline from the left block, behind both screens, to the right side of the lane, and 1 passes to him there.
Ideas That Repeat
- Read your defender first. Played high, go backdoor. Played loose, V cut and catch.
- Set up every screen with a V cut before using it.
- With the ball up top, look for a down screen on one side and a back screen on the other.
- A screener is not done after the screen. He steps back to the ball, steps out for a pass or clears to the perimeter.
- Keep one post high and one low, so the high post can hit the low post or kick to a shooter.
- Against a zone, stand in the gaps and make one defender guard two players.
- Move the zone, then attack the side it just left: a dribble and a pass back, a skip pass or a flash from behind.
The principles behind these rules are in motion offense basketball, with practice work in drills to teach motion offense. The break that feeds it is in early offense and fast break and transition offense, and a Duke set from film is broken down in the Duke loop lob against USC Upstate. The screens are covered in basketball screens, down screen basketball and back screen basketball, the backdoor read in cut or backdoor: reading the denial and backdoor triggers, and the high-low pass in high-low offense. For the zone section, see how to attack a zone defense, zone offense against a 2-3 and the 1-3-1 zone defense. Duke is one of the programs on the college basketball plays page under the Offense hub. Teach the moves without the ball first, then add one screen at a time until the five can play without a call.
Questions Coaches Ask About Duke Basketball Plays
Does Duke's motion offense have set plays?
Not in the usual sense. The motion has no set pattern. Players read their defenders and use cuts and screens, and the named pieces on this page are the rules, alignments and actions the offense is built from.
What is the 3 out, 2 in motion?
Three players on the perimeter and two inside. After the first pass the two posts work together and the three perimeter players work together, with down screens, back screens and screens away.
What is a permanent perimeter player?
A player, usually the ball-handling guard, who never posts up. He can screen inside, but after the screen he clears back out to the perimeter.
How did Duke's early offense work?
One post sprints ahead of the ball, the wings run wide to the three-point line, and the point guard looks up the floor first. If nothing is open, he passes to a wing and cuts through, the trailer screens for the other wing, and the wing who reversed the ball runs off three screens toward the far side.
Can the motion offense be used against a zone?
Yes. The zone section on this page shows how, though the notes it comes from do not credit it to Coach Krzyzewski. The same ideas apply: fill the gaps, stack and overload to distort the zone, split it with the dribble, reverse the ball, flash in behind it and screen the defenders who have to slide.
School profile: Duke Blue Devils on College Basketball Recruit.
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See the playbook packsMore College Basketball Plays
- College Basketball Plays: Sets and Systems by Program
- Butler Basketball Plays: Brad Stevens Ball Screen Sets
- Gonzaga Basketball Plays: Flex Quick Hitters
- Kansas Basketball Plays: Bill Self 2-3 Zone Offense
- Michigan State Basketball Plays: Tom Izzo Sets
- Xavier Basketball Plays: Chris Mack Man Offense Sets
- Northern Kentucky Basketball Plays: AI, Delay and Strong Sets
- Pitt Basketball Plays: 1-4 High Sets and Ball Screens
- Davidson Basketball Plays: Motion Offense Rules and Actions
- Belmont Basketball Plays: Backdoor, Chicago, Chin and Nail Sets
- UConn Basketball Plays: 2023 Half-Court Sets Frame by Frame
- Michigan Basketball Plays: Beilein Chin and Shuffle Sets
- Florida Basketball Plays: Billy Donovan Spread Pick and Roll
- Wisconsin Basketball Plays: Bo Ryan Swing Offense Sets
- UCLA Basketball Plays: John Wooden High Post Options
- Memphis Basketball Plays: 2006 Dribble Drive Motion Sets
- West Virginia Basketball Plays: George King's Zone Press
- Villanova Basketball Plays: Jay Wright 4-Out, Perretta Motion
- Seattle U Basketball Plays: The Chin Offense, Read by Read
- UConn Women's Basketball Plays: Auriemma's Strong and Elbow Sets
- BYU Basketball Plays: Mark Pope Pistol, Ricky and STS Sets
- Wichita State Basketball Plays: Shocker, 57 WU, 1-3-1 Special
- Virginia Basketball Plays: Blocker-Mover Sets, Frame by Frame
Back to College Basketball Plays and every Offense page.
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