EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PICK AND ROLL OFFENSE AT THE 2017 EUROPEAN U’20 CHAMPIONSHIP

Pick and roll actions have become one of the most frequently used offensive cooperations in youth basketball games. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variables of performance time of the pick and roll every five minutes, the pair of players who participated in the pick and roll and the offensive action of the ball handler after the screen, in the 2017 European U’20 Championship and how these affect its effectiveness. The sample of the study was the sixteen games of the second round of the Championship, taking place in Heraklion, Greece. The instrument used for the analysis of the matches was the SportScout STA Version 3.2. Analysis with ꭓ 2 (Chi-square) was used. A total of 658 pick and roll screens were found, of which 264 were successful (40.1%) and 394 (59.9%) failed. Furthermore, most pick and roll actions were performed in the first five-minute span of the first quarter of the games (n=103, 15.7%). The guard as the ball handler and the forward as the screener was the pair of players who participated in the majority of pick and rolls (n=296, 45%). Regarding the actions that took place after the screen, about 60% of the pick and rolls the ball handler chose to finish the action himself in 63.1% of the pick and rolls recorded either by driving to the basket (n=225, 34.2%) or with a shot (n=190, 28.9%). Most successful pick and rolls resulted in a successful two-point shot field goal (n=144, 54.5%) and most failed pick and rolls resulted in a failed two-point field goal attempt (n=200, 50.8%). The results of this research can provide information to coaches and players so they can organize better their training and maximize the performance of their team’s offense. Article visualizations