Secondary Break (UNC / Roy Williams)

What: A continuous flow that starts the moment the break ends. No reset, no walk-up. Five players know exactly where to be in lanes 1-5.

The Carolina secondary

The secondary break extends the numbered break into a flowing motion that doesn't require a half-court call.

Lane assignments

• 1 (PG): trails for the second swing
• 2: ball-side corner, deep
• 3: opposite wing
• 4: trail big, comes to high-post elbow
• 5: rim runner, posts up ball-side

The flow

1. PG pushes, hits the wing in transition.
2. Wing swings to opposite wing (or back to PG who reverses).
3. 4 flashes high-post elbow.
4. PG enters to 4 at the elbow.
5. 4 can: feed 5 posting up, hit the cutter, shoot the elbow jumper, or run a side ball-screen with the wing.
6. If nothing, flow directly into half-court motion.

Why it works

• No "set" call needed. Players know the spots.
• Hard to scout because it's the same action over and over but the read changes by personnel.
• Great for young teams: assignments are simple, decision-making is sequential.

Foundational reading

• Dean Smith, Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense (1981)
• Roy Williams, Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court (2009)

See also

• systems/transition/numbered-break.md
• systems/transition/early-offense.md