Horns Flare: A Simple Set Every Youth Team Can Run
What is the Horns formation?
Horns is a starting alignment, not a play. The point guard has the ball at the top, two bigs stand at the elbows (the corners of the free-throw line), and two shooters stand in the corners. From that shape a team can run dozens of actions. Horns Flare is one of the simplest and one of the hardest to guard at the youth level.
How to run Horns Flare
- Elbow entry. The 4 pops out from the elbow a step or two and the point guard (1) passes to him.
- Flare screen. The 5 steps up from the other elbow and sets a flare screen on 1's defender. A flare screen is set so the cutter moves away from the ball, not toward it.
- Flare to the wing. 1 comes off the screen to the wing, behind the three-point line.
- Skip pass. 4 throws a skip pass over the top to 1 for the shot. After screening, 5 rolls to the rim as the second option.
Why it works
Most youth defenders have never guarded a flare screen. They are taught to follow their man, and a flare screen puts a body between them and the shooter as he moves away. By the time the defender fights through, the skip pass is already in the air.
The play also has a built-in answer for the defense's best adjustment. If the big guarding 5 steps out to help on the flare, 5 rolls to an empty lane.
Coaching points
- The screener has to find the defender. A flare screen set in open space does nothing.
- The point guard waits for the screen. The most common mistake is leaving early and running into his own screener.
- The 4 must be able to throw a skip pass. Practice it: a one-handed overhead pass that clears the help defender.
- Corners stay in the corners. If a shooter drifts in, his defender becomes a helper on the flare.
Frequently asked questions
A flare screen is a screen set for a player moving away from the ball toward the perimeter. It is the opposite of a down screen or back screen, which bring the cutter toward the ball or basket.
Teams at the 6th grade level and up can run it. The limiting factor is usually the skip pass. If the player at the elbow can't throw it accurately over a defender, run a different Horns action.
The 5 who set the screen now has a guard on him. He should roll straight to the rim and post. The 4 at the elbow has a direct pass to him.
Related
Boys Program Director, MN Rush. Varsity assistant for Rogers Boys Basketball and former head coach at North Branch. Founded MN Rush in 2017. boys@mnrush.com