First, let’s start with the fact that 4-Out 1-In Motion has nearly been perfected by Majerus during his tenure at the University of Utah. He has a reputation of being truly one of the game’s best teachers when it comes to this motion offense alignment. He not only understands the nuances of 4-Out 1-In but is the consummate teacher in the individual development of each position and how it should be played.
Second, this is not your ordinary 30 minute video with a coach standing at a lectern with an overhead projector. It is in fact, a three DVD set with over four hours of Majerus delving into every detail of his motion philosophy. It is all done on the court with a team to demonstrate all the inside pointers that has made Majerus a master of this phase of motion.
An important note in regard to this DVD series is that you don’t have to be a motion coach to benefit from Majerus and his philosophy. He talks a great deal about individual details that can be utilized with your team regardless of what offense you use. In fact, one of the motion alignments we utilize at LSU is the 4-Out 1-In (we refer to it as Regular).
We don’t run it exactly like Majerus. In fact, we have several differences but you can bet that we were able to take a great deal from this video and incorporate it into our execution methods.
While this review is far too short to even begin listing the key points brought out by Majerus, we thought we’d list a few that we will take and involve in our offensive system.
◄Spacing is critical. Not just early in the possession but after the ball has been reversed a few times. Majerus refers to this as “spacing maintenance.” In fact, he says the key to being a good offensive coach is teaching offense so that you finish with good spacing, not just start with it.
◄Spacing goals:
-Too high
-Too wide
-Too far apart
-Too spread apart
◄Offensive philosophy should center around:
-Who am I?
-Who are my teammates?
-Who is covering me?
-Who is covering my teammates?
◄Be decisive against the closeout.
-Majerus wants “economy of motion” (less is more)
◄Complete your cut to the front of the rim.
-Great passers feed you at the rim
-Don’t pass to a cutter who broke their cut off
◄Essence of good basketball
-Personnel recognition
-Role recognition
-Know who your best player is
-Get your best players the most shots
◄On the double staggered screen, make sure the two screeners are not in the same plane. The second screener should be inside the 1st screener’s hip if the defense jumps to the lane. The second screener should be outside the 1st screener’s hip if the defense is tagging.
◄All screens should finish outside the NBA 3.
◄Continue your cut based on your momentum.
◄Post feeder cuts to the basket in the direction opposite of his/her defenders head turn.
These are just a few of the things we got from this three DVD set. Majerus is a great teacher and there is a reason this is called Encyclopedia of 4-Out 1-In Motion.
