Princeton Offense

The Princeton Offense is an offensive basketball style that was developed at Princeton University by Pete Carril. The offense emphasizes constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, and disciplined teamwork. 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.

The offense is a very slow developing one, 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).

Versions of the Princeton offense are run by the New Orleans Hornets, New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings, and Washington Wizards in the NBA. It is only rarely used in the NCAA. The six college teams best known for utilizing the offense are Princeton, the 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 current Princeton head coach Joe Scott), North Carolina State, Northwestern (installed by head coach Bill Carmody, another Carril protege and a former Princeton head coach), and Samford University (installed by head coach Jimmy Tillette). USC also appears to be running the offense since the hiring of Tim Floyd. The spread of the offense is relatively recent, as Carril was not interested in encouraging rival schools to lift Princeton's system and use it against them.

Source

• "Princeton Offense Keeps Hoyas on the Move", Washington Post, Mike Wise, March 23, 2006; Page E12.