Princeton Offense Install Plan: First 10 Practices

Download the corrected printable plan.

Use this outline as a planning example. Repeat a practice block when the group needs more work. The numbered practice gives the staff an order, while player recognition determines when to add another choice.

Practices 1-2: alignment and the complete Chin picture

Start 5 on the ballside block, the forwards one step above the free-throw line extended and the guards elbow extended above the arc. Walk through the handoff, weakside exchange and reversal. Show where 5 moves for the screens.

Practices 3-4: Chin timing and denial

Player 3 cuts when the ball leaves 4 for 2 on the wing. Player 5 backscreens 3 and immediately flares 4. Present a denied wing pass separately and teach the dribble-at backdoor. Use the Chin lesson and its original diagram.

Practices 5-6: continuation and a Low option

Teach the Chin dribble-up, fills and reversal when the first options are covered. Add a feed to 5 on the block and one Low split or cut. After the post passes out, connect the wing dribble-up to Chin. Establish that option before giving the players more choices.

Practices 7-8: Point and the pass-up connection

Use the Wave entry to free 5 at the elbow. After the pass to 5, the passer cuts Over, Away or Under. Teach one route and its continuation before adding another. Add the wing pass-up connection after players understand Point.

Practice 9: the counter the team needs

Use a specific defensive response. For a denied Point high-post entry, teach Pearl with the ballhandler's spin dribble and the correct post-and-flare spacing. For another problem, choose the answer attached to that action's source diagram.

Practice 10: live possessions and review

Begin with the learned entries and let the defense play. Check the timing, read, pass and continuation separately. A temporary teaching constraint can isolate a detail, but remove it before the final live segment. Players should take a sound scoring opportunity when it appears.

A daily teaching sequence

1. Show the complete action.
2. Break down the difficult detail.
3. Present a defensive cue deliberately.
4. Let the defense choose.
5. Restore the full possession and review the decision.

Use the source drill guide to select the breakdown. Use the four-week guide when a longer calendar is useful. Both are planning examples for the same teaching priorities.

Staff readiness check

Before advancing, the players should be able to identify who holds the ball, what starts the cut and where everyone goes when the first option is covered. Keep a single set of terms on the staff's practice plan.

For a staff handout, print this corrected page from the browser. The original playbook provides the diagrams for each teaching block.

Teaching reference: Lee DeForest's Princeton Offense Blueprint, printed pages 6-24 and 57-63. Practice numbering is a planning example.