We try to promote opportunities which lend themselves to the percentage shot. We believe in getting the ball inside for the shot whenever possible. Outside shots are always available. We have no reservations about shooting from the outside. However, we prefer doing so after the ball has gone inside or to the baseline initially. We then can be more confident about our offensive rebounding. Also, we will have placed pressure on the the defense to foul us while we moved the ball inside. This is vitally important. Some teams tend to overlook the importance of setting up conditions which make the defense more prone to fouling. At North Carolina, we consider this a major part of our offensive strategy.Since we believe it is essential to move the defense before it can be penetrated, we emphasize the importance of passing several times before a shot is take against a set defend.
How do we define a good shot? The amount of defensive pressure, length of the shot, and individual player characteristics are each factors which determine what is or is not a good shot. Much depends on the shooting skill of the the individual player. Each man must be aware of his percentages from various positions on the court. For some players, a lightly guarded twenty-foot jumper will be a higher percentage shot than on taken at close range among a number of defensive players. The shooter must have confidence that his shot will go in. The other four men must assume it will not go through the net in order to provide good offensive rebounding protection and defensive balance.
Although good board coverage is designed into all our offensive plans, I would not consider rebounding a major factor responsible for our overall high field-goal percentage. I would be more inclined to attribute it to good shot selection and our pressure defense, which gives us some easy scoring opportunities off the fast break.
From "Basketball Multiple Offense and Defense" by Dean Smith
