[81alum]

There are some things I don't understand about the offense, one of which is what is the point of getting the ball to our bogs 10 feet from the basket so much?  Kaylee is just not great at scoring from that range and Alanna gets mobbed, which is why she had so many turnovers or part of the reason.  We need to establish better inside position and get the ball to the bigs quicker when they do that.  We are making life difficult for Alanna, who often ends up trying to beat a double or taking a tough shot farther out than is optimal.  I just don't think we are giving our bigs the best chance to succeed right now. 

From what I have read about the Princeton, what you are seeing is the essence of the Princeton.  The post comes out from the block to the elbow to pull defenders away from the basket and make room for back door cuts.  The post is the only member of the team who is not flying all over the place, but she is cycling back and forth from the block to the elbow, and from one elbow to the other.

That is exactly what happened when Smith came out to the elbow, received the ball, and passed to Sniezek for a back door cut.

Unfortunately, the really excellent Jamie Angeli instructional videos are not all available on Youtube and I can't find the the one that explains the post entry.  But you can get an idea of why the post comes out to the elbow from this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXpPo6kX-vw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTXdd-onSxY

It also may explain why Tara told the bigs to practice shooting over the summer and why Fingall is doing so much better.  Bigs must be able to make that shot from the elbow.  Dodson, most probably, doesn't have that shot yet?  Just a guess.  They do go down to the post too--but they don't hang out there regularly because that just clogs the space needed for the motion.

Thus the Princeton offense is a 4-out 1-in offense, except that one of the 4 is always running "in" and through the defense as the rotations progress.  In contrast, nearly all other offenses like the triangle are 3-out 2-in, with the 5 player at the low block and the 4 at the opposite elbow.  Thus, in the Princeton, one of your "bigs" has to be a good enough three point shooter to be one of the four players 4 stationed on the outside arc, and then has to be agile enough to run through traffic regularly, while the other big player who plays "in" just moves between the low block and the elbow.

So what does this do to the "bigs"? 

The 5 must be able to shoot from the elbow, must be able to put it on the floor and go "up the rail" to the basket, and must be an especially good passer to other players running the baseline for a back door cut.

The 4 must be able to run through the defense like a guard.  One hope is that while the motion causes the defense to switch defenders repeatedly rather than trying to keep up with the offensive players, that the 4 will wind up being guarded by a short guard and can turn and make a jumpshot if the path to the basket is not clear.

I think you can see why this is a long-term conversion.  Kaylee can only play the 5, and we have seen no evidence at all that she can regularly make 10 foot jumpers.  She is not going to be effective in the Princeton unless she can make short jumpshots or take it to the rim off a dribble.  Nadia seems well suited to the 5--she can make those jumpers and she is a good passer.  Dodson is probably still developing both those skills.  Smith is well suited to the four. 

[81alum]

There are some things I don't understand about the offense, one of which is what is the point of getting the ball to our bogs 10 feet from the basket so much?  Kaylee is just not great at scoring from that range and Alanna gets mobbed, which is why she had so many turnovers or part of the reason.  We need to establish better inside position and get the ball to the bigs quicker when they do that.  We are making life difficult for Alanna, who often ends up trying to beat a double or taking a tough shot farther out than is optimal.  I just don't think we are giving our bigs the best chance to succeed right now. 

From what I have read about the Princeton, what you are seeing is the essence of the Princeton.  The post comes out from the block to the elbow to pull defenders away from the basket and make room for back door cuts.  The post is the only member of the team who is not flying all over the place, but she is cycling back and forth from the block to the elbow, and from one elbow to the other.

That is exactly what happened when Smith came out to the elbow, received the ball, and passed to Sniezek for a back door cut.

Unfortunately, the really excellent Jamie Angeli instructional videos are not all available on Youtube and I can't find the the one that explains the post entry.  But you can get an idea of why the post comes out to the elbow from this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXpPo6kX-vw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTXdd-onSxY

It also may explain why Tara told the bigs to practice shooting over the summer and why Fingall is doing so much better.  Bigs must be able to make that shot from the elbow.  Dodson, most probably, doesn't have that shot yet?  Just a guess.  They do go down to the post too--but they don't hang out there regularly because that just clogs the space needed for the motion.

Thus the Princeton offense is a 4-out 1-in offense, except that one of the 4 is always running "in" and through the defense as the rotations progress.  In contrast, nearly all other offenses like the triangle are 3-out 2-in, with the 5 player at the low block and the 4 at the opposite elbow.  Thus, in the Princeton, one of your "bigs" has to be a good enough three point shooter to be one of the four players 4 stationed on the outside arc, and then has to be agile enough to run through traffic regularly, while the other big player who plays "in" just moves between the low block and the elbow.

So what does this do to the "bigs"? 

The 5 must be able to shoot from the elbow, must be able to put it on the floor and go "up the rail" to the basket, and must be an especially good passer to other players running the baseline for a back door cut.

The 4 must be able to run through the defense like a guard.  One hope is that while the motion causes the defense to switch defenders repeatedly rather than trying to keep up with the offensive players, that the 4 will wind up being guarded by a short guard and can turn and make a jumpshot if the path to the basket is not clear.

I think you can see why this is a long-term conversion.  Kaylee can only play the 5, and we have seen no evidence at all that she can regularly make 10 foot jumpers.  She is not going to be effective in the Princeton unless she can make short jumpshots or take it to the rim off a dribble.  Nadia seems well suited to the 5--she can make those jumpers and she is a good passer.  Dodson is probably still developing both those skills.  Smith is well suited to the four.