Pick and Roll Reads: Drop, Hedge, Switch, and Ice
The ball screen is a read, not a play
Most youth teams teach the pick and roll as a fixed sequence: use the screen, the big rolls, pass to him. Real defenses don't cooperate. The guard has to read what the screener's defender does and choose the answer that matches. There are four coverages worth teaching at the high school level.
Drop coverage
The screener's defender backs up toward the rim and waits for the ball handler to come to him. He is giving up the mid-range shot to protect the rim and the roll.
The read: take the pull-up jumper, or "snake" the screen by dribbling back across the screener's path to pin the dropping big behind you. Do not drive straight into him.
Hedge or show
The screener's defender jumps out above the screen to slow the ball handler, then recovers back to the roller. For a moment, two defenders are on the ball.
The read: the roller is open behind the hedge. Make the pocket pass (a bounce pass between the two defenders). If the hedge is soft, split it with one dribble. If it's hard, reject the screen and go the other way.
Switch
The two defenders trade assignments. The big takes the ball handler and the guard takes the screener.
The read: if you see the switch coming early, the screener slips (dives to the rim before setting the screen). If the switch already happened, there are two mismatches: a slow big on your guard and a small guard on your big. Post the big or attack the slow defender off the dribble.
Ice (sideline)
On a side ball screen, the on-ball defender jumps to the high side and forces the ball handler toward the baseline, away from the screen. The big waits at the level of the screen.
The read: reject the screen and attack the middle, which the defender opened by jumping high. Or have the screener re-screen on the baseline side to flip the angle.
Coaching points
- Name the coverage out loud in practice. "Drop." "Hedge." Guards who can name it can beat it.
- Two dribbles off the screen, maximum. Longer than that and the defense has recovered.
- The screener's job after the screen depends on the coverage. Roll against drop and hedge. Slip against a switch. Re-screen against ice.
- Spacing is the hidden read. If the corner shooter drifts in, his defender becomes the help and every read gets harder.
Frequently asked questions
Drop coverage is a pick and roll defense where the screener's defender backs up toward the rim instead of coming out to the ball handler. It protects the rim and the roll and concedes the mid-range pull-up.
A pocket pass is a bounce pass from the ball handler to the rolling screener, thrown through the gap between the two defenders. It is the standard answer to a hedge.
Icing (also called "blue" or "down") is a side pick and roll coverage where the on-ball defender forces the ball handler away from the screen toward the sideline and baseline, where the big is waiting.
Snaking is when the ball handler uses the screen and then dribbles back across the screener's path, so the screener's defender (usually in drop coverage) ends up pinned behind the ball handler.
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