Princeton offense

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The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots may be traced back to Franklin “Cappy” Cappon, who coached at Princeton in the late 1930s.^{[citation needed]}

The offense usually starts out with four players outside the three-point arc with one player at the top of the key. The ball is kept in constant motion through passing until either a mismatch allows a player to cut inside to the basket or a player without the ball cuts toward the unoccupied area under and around the basket, and is passed the ball for a lay-up. Having a strong post player is important because this player is critical to passing to backdoor cutters, and can draw help defense to open outside shots.

The hallmark of the offense is the backdoor pass, where a player on the wing suddenly moves in towards the basket, receives a bounce pass from a guard on the perimeter, and (if done correctly) finds himself with no defenders between him and a layup. Alternatively, when the defensive team attempts to pack the paint to prevent backdoors, the offense utilizes three point shots from the perimeter. All five players in the offense-- including the center-- should be competent at making a three point attempt, further spreading the floor.

The offense is a very slow developing one, relying on a high number of passes, and is often used by teams facing opponents with superior athletic talent, to maintain a low-scoring game (believing that a high-scoring game would favor the athletically superior opponent).

[edit] Examples of use

Versions of the Princeton offense have been run by the New Orleans Hornets, New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings, and Washington Wizards in the NBA. It was introduced by Rick Adelman to the Houston Rockets for the 2007-08 season. It is only rarely used in the NCAA — in part because it requires all five players on the floor to be adept at ball handling, dribbling, passing, and shooting.^{[citation needed]}

The nine college teams best known^{[citation needed]} for utilizing the offense are

Princeton,
Georgetown Hoyas (coach John Thompson III played under Carril at Princeton, and was later an assistant and head coach there),
Air Force (where it was installed by former Carril player and protege and former Princeton head coach Joe Scott),
Northwestern (installed by head coach Bill Carmody, another Carril protege and a former Princeton head coach),
Richmond (under Chris Mooney, a former Princeton player and assistant coach at Air Force), and
Brown University, which installed the offense for the '06-'07 season when former Princeton player and Northwestern Assistant Coach Craig Robinson took over the squad.
Samford University, under Jimmy Tillette,
USC under Tim Floyd, and
Arizona State University under Herb Sendek.

In 2006-7, Vanderbilt University ran facets of the Princeton offense as well.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Use at Princeton

During his tenure at Princeton (1967-1996), Carril compiled a 514-261 (.658 winning percentage) record as the best record of any coach in Ivy League basketball history. His teams won 13 Ivy League championships during his 29-year tenure with the Tigers, and his teams received 11 NCAA Tournament berths and 2 NIT berths. Princeton captured the NIT title in 1975.

After his retirement from Princeton, Carril served as an assistant coach for the NBA's Sacramento Kings until 2006. During his time with Sacramento, Carril helped Rick Adelman, who became the Kings' head coach in 1998, install the Princeton offense and saw the Kings blossom into one of the best teams in the NBA.

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