Level Up Your Conceptual Offense: The "Barkley"
Improve Your Halfcourt Conceptual Offense this Offseason
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The kids now call it “Booty Ball.” The OGs know it as a Barkley post backdown. Truth is, it’s older than Sir Charles’ 80s short shorts. In every era, the move has proven to be an effective strategy both for scoring 1-on-1 and for creating scoring opportunities for teammates.
If you aren’t familiar with the term, “Barkley,” it’s simply when a player dribbles from the perimeter into a post-up scenario. On the post-up dribble, the ballhandler’s eyes go to the middle of the court. He watches for cutters, watches for help defenders, and watches for big advantage 3s opportunities. At the same time, he feels the on-ball defender and waits for that defender to lean or get out of position then counters with a move to the rim.