Press Break

What: Beat full-court pressure cleanly, then attack the unsettled defense for an early-offense advantage. The press only works if we panic.

Principles

Get the ball inbounded fast. 5-second count is real. First option: the closest open guard.
Reverse the ball. Most presses pre-rotate one side. Reversal kills the rotation.
Two outlets minimum. Always have a release on each sideline plus a middle option.
Push the advantage. When you beat the press, you have 3-on-2 or 4-on-3 going the other way. Don't slow down.
The middle is gold. Get to the middle of the floor and the press dies.

Alignments

1-4 alignment (default)

Inbounder on the baseline. 1 in the middle. 2 and 3 on the wings. 4 trailing in the middle of the floor. 5 sprints to the rim immediately as the safety / outlet for long pass.

2-1-2 alignment (vs face-guarding presses)

Two guards stacked at the FT line. They split. Whoever gets free, gets the inbound.

Stack alignment (back-tap)

4 stacked at the FT line. Inbounder lobs over the stack to the rim runner. Risky, but breaks aggressive trapping presses by going over.

Movement rules

Catch facing the basket. Pivot upcourt before you do anything else.
Move the ball with passes, not the dribble. Two passes beat any rotation.
Don't pick up your dribble in a trap. Split the trap or pass out before you pick it up.
Sprint the rim. A 5 sprinting at the rim creates a 4-on-3 advantage no matter what the press does.

How we run it (Trojan)

Carter middle, inbounder is whoever rebounds (usually Yopa or Denault Gabriel).
Bennett and the other wing on the sidelines.
Inbound to whoever is open. Reverse if needed. Get to the middle.
Yopa sprints the rim hard. Lob option live.
After we cross half, immediate flow into early offense (drag screen).