IBCA Podcast · Iowa Basketball Coaches Association

BJ Windhorst (part 1) Flow PnR, Calls vs triggers, Forcing the over, and Gets {retired/Valley High school}

July 14, 2025·36 min·3 clips

Why slot ball screens are nearly impossible to defend, according to former coach BJ Windhorst.

This episode features host Chris and guest BJ Windhorst, a former high school head coach, discussing offensive strategies for ball screens in basketball. Windhorst emphasizes the importance of scoring in transition before a defense is set, as facing a set defense makes scoring significantly harder. His teams practiced transitioning into half-court offense with triggers based on the positioning of the four and five men, particularly utilizing a player named Trevin as a trailing screener. Windhorst prefers initiating ball screens at the slot areas rather than the wings, as it complicates defensive loading and offers better refusal options. A key action involved a dribble handoff (DHO) on the wing immediately followed by a ball screen to create downhill attacks. For side ball screens, his teams used a "twirl" action, re-screening to change angles and create driving lanes, often with an empty corner. Windhorst details a "weak" call to clear a side for Trevin to receive a pass on a short roll, allowing him to score or pass from the mid-post. He describes an automatic "X cut" when the ball enters the post, involving an exchange and slip to the rim for a pocket pass or a kick-out to the opposite slot. The "Florida" set, a flat ball screen with a roll and replace, served as their primary end-of-clock offense, generating rim attacks in crucial state tournament games. Windhorst stresses teaching ball handlers to engage their defender and "get into" them before using a screen to create proper leverage. He advocates for teaching players to look to refuse the screen first, as the defensive reaction often sets up the ideal use of the screen. The conversation covers methods to punish defenses that go under screens, including rejections, pull-up threes, and the cat-and-mouse game between the ball handler and screener. A specific counter involves passing to the screener for a jump stop, followed by options like a DHO, a fake DHO into a "zero cut," or a simple backdoor cut. The tone is highly instructional and conversational, focused on practical coaching points and shared experiences. This episode is ideal for basketball coaches seeking detailed, actionable strategies for ball-screen offense and half-court initiation. Listeners looking for broad basketball theory or non-coaching content might find it too niche.

As heard by us

A clinic on half-court ball screens, post entries, and the reads that punish help.

BJ Windhorst lays out half-court ball-screen offense with a focus on how to get into it and where the screen should land. He turns coaching shorthand into clear rules: beat the defense before it is set, use an automatic X cut when the ball goes to the post, and let the backside…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a coach's clinic on half-court ball-screen decisions, this one stays in the details.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from IBCA Podcast