The Princeton Offense is a staple across all levels of basketball. The offense was created by Pete Carril, who was the head coach at Princeton University from 1967-1996, which is where the name was derived. The Princeton offense has been modernized to fit today’s spacing and player ability.
There’s a misconception that the Princeton offense is slow and requires a certain type of IQ to be able to run at a high level. Ultimately, the Princeton offense is playing in space, playing out of splits, throwing back door cuts, shooting three’s and scoring out of the pick and roll. This is the definition of modern basketball.
Pete Carril led Princeton to 13 Ivy League Championships, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and spearheaded one of the greatest upsets in NCAA Tournament history by knocking off #1 UCLA in 1996. Michigan played for an NCAA Championship under John Beilein running Princeton action. At the NBA level, the Kings have become one of the most prolific offenses in the league running Princeton. These are two successful examples, and there are many more, including Richmond, Colorado State, Air Force, Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets.
The offense is made up of different series or actions, each of which creates it’s own advantages and scoring opportunities through great spacing and player movement. Examples include Point, Chin, and Low. In this breakdown, we will focus on the Chin Series. You’ll see this action being used at the collegiate and professional level. Chin is a great way to put pressure on the rim and create high percentage scoring opportunities across multiple options and reads.
The Chin Series starts with the guards (1 & 2) positioned in the slots lane line extended, and the forwards (3 & 4) on the wings free throw line extended. The 5-man is positioned on the strong side elbow.
The action starts when the ball is reversed from slot-to-slot (1 passing to 2). Many teams will use the forwards out entry to create the initial movement. The ball is then swung to the wing as the passer makes a chin cut off of 5’s back screen. Hitting the chin cut at the rim for an easy finish is the primary scoring option within the chin series. With the offense all above the free line extended, the defense loses the ability to help at the rim off the Chin cut.
If 1 does not receive the pass at the rim off his chin cut, he will continue through to the strong side corner. After setting the initial back screen, 5 will then turn and set the flare screen for 2 to flare to the top of the key for a potential catch & shoot opportunity. The offensive player receiving the flare screen will walk his defender 2-3 steps towards the basket to set the angle of the screen up. 2 is looking for the catch and shoot opportunity and will flow into the pick and roll if there’s no open shot.
If the 2 doesn’t receive the pass, he will continue his cut through the lane and look for a pass to score at the rim, similar to the original Chin cut. If he doesn’t receive the pass, he will empty to the weak side corner, pushing the corner man up to the wing.
A few other options if the flare screen isn’t open is to pop the 5 man for the catch and then flow into Zoom action. The Zoom includes a 45 cut from the wing before getting into the dribble hand off with the lifting corner man.
The 5 man can also pop to the ball side elbow and play 2 man game on the open side of the floor. Air Force does a great job with this look. This can lead to a throw and go or get directly into a pick and roll.
Chin is a great option to get the defense covering multiple sides of the floor, defending multiple cuts, putting players in close out situations and having to defend a pick and roll.
Check out a full breakdown of the Air Force Princeton Offense below!