Basketball: Design Your Own Baseline Inbound Play
Each team, with one student acting as coach, draws a baseline out-of-bounds play on a whiteboard, rehearses it and runs it against a defense that hasn't seen it. Students practice creating an advantage with screens and cuts and explaining tactics to teammates.
How to play
- Make teams of 5 and choose a coach for each; give each team a whiteboard with a half court drawn on it.
- Design (5 min): each team draws a baseline inbound play with at least one screen and two passing options; the coach explains it to the team.
- Walk-through without defense (4 min): each team runs its play 4 times at its own basket, adjusting timing and spots.
- Competition (10 min): match two teams on a half court. Each runs its play 5 times against the other team's defense; scoring within 8 seconds of the inbound is worth 2 points and any other basket is 1.
- After the third rep there's a 1-minute timeout: the offensive coach can change one option and the defense can adjust.
Rules
- The inbounder has 5 seconds and can't step onto the court before passing.
- Coaches can only give instructions during timeouts, not during the play.
- Defenders stay one arm's length (about 3 ft) from the inbounder to avoid hitting them.
Variations
Easier
Play 3-on-3 with a single passing option and passive defense on the first attempt.
Standard
5-on-5 with a team-designed play and a 5-rep competition.
Harder
The defense picks zone or man-to-man on every inbound, and the play must have an option against each.
Adaptations
- A student with limited mobility can be the coach or the permanent inbounder.
- For students with autism, provide a whiteboard template with numbered spots and sample arrows.
- If skill level is low, let the play end in an undefended layup during walk-throughs.
Learning goals
- Design a simple play that creates an advantage with screens and cuts.
- Explain a tactical idea clearly to teammates from the coach role.
- Adjust the play after reading how the defense responds.
Equipment for a class of 25
- basketballs: 5
- pinnies: 15
- basketball hoops: 4
- whiteboards: 5
Teacher tip
Student-designed plays usually have too many steps, so cap the diagram at three movements. Let them fail the first time; the timeout is where most of the learning happens.
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