and if so, what are the keys to running it successfully?

It can be at division three, at least.  Ran it fairly well at Curry.    Mainly was get speed, Athleticism, ball handling, and at least one each of someone who can shoot PER and someone who could do low post.

It definitely is a viable offense.  I mostly run it just because I love stats and hate slowdown games in the 50’s.  Here’s some of things I look for in players:

I group players into 3 positions guards, forwards, and bigs. I generally have 5-6 guards, 3-4 forwards, and 2-3 bigs. It is important to have speed at every position. At D2 I want players to end up with a minimum of 70 spd for guards, 50 spd for forwards, and 25 spd for bigs.

Guards are pretty similar to guards in other systems. Speed is the most important attribute.  If I had my choice of 5 guards I’d have two outside shooters, a pure pt, and a couple players with high spd/ath (with at least one having decent LP). The high spd/ath guards can cause serious foul trouble to opposing teams.

For forwards I look for versatility. Ath and Spd are still very important, but I’d also look for BH and Pass.  TO’s are a big issue in the FB, so, it helps to have decent BH and Pass at all positions.  Pretty much every category besides SB, Sta, and Dur are important for these positions.  This is an advantage to the FB because many other coaches pass on these types of players.  This guy is still pretty young, but I think once his spd goes up 10-15 more pts he’ll be an ideal forward (high LP, Per, and Pass)

I like versatility from my bigs too, but you can get by with a couple of more traditional bigs.  That said this is the hardest mold to recruit for because you don’t want to take a player that will never be above 20 spd and that limits your pool of candidates.  I also am big on getting high rebounding from these spots.  I would rather have an elite ath/reb combo than ath/lp combo because usually a few of my forwards can score inside.

 

One major benefit from the style of play is that with a ath/spd advantage you can live from the FT line.

Depth is also a big issue.  Bench matchups are almost as important as the starting five matchups.

The major fallback is that you’ll have lots of TO’s.

If you choose to run the FB with the FCP it makes stamina and depth much more important.  With just the FB you need depth or stamina, but can get away with just having one of the two. 

Athleticism	55	Low
Speed	36	High
Rebounding	41	Low
Defense	60	Low
Shot Blocking	21	High
Low-post	26	High
Perimeter	15	High
Ball Handling	29	High
Passing	37	Low
Work Ethic	47
Stamina	86
Durability	55

Can this guy be good on the fastbreak at d2 level with 3 years left?

Posted by phillyboy108 on 3/27/2012 4:28:00 PM (view original):

Athleticism	55	Low
Speed	36	High
Rebounding	41	Low
Defense	60	Low
Shot Blocking	21	High
Low-post	26	High
Perimeter	15	High
Ball Handling	29	High
Passing	37	Low
Work Ethic	47
Stamina	86
Durability	55

Can this guy be good on the fastbreak at d2 level with 3 years left?

ath is a little low, but otherwise looks pretty good

Posted by therewas47 on 3/27/2012 4:21:00 PM (view original):

It definitely is a viable offense.  I mostly run it just because I love stats and hate slowdown games in the 50’s.  Here’s some of things I look for in players:

I group players into 3 positions guards, forwards, and bigs. I generally have 5-6 guards, 3-4 forwards, and 2-3 bigs. It is important to have speed at every position. At D2 I want players to end up with a minimum of 70 spd for guards, 50 spd for forwards, and 25 spd for bigs.

Guards are pretty similar to guards in other systems. Speed is the most important attribute.  If I had my choice of 5 guards I’d have two outside shooters, a pure pt, and a couple players with high spd/ath (with at least one having decent LP). The high spd/ath guards can cause serious foul trouble to opposing teams.

For forwards I look for versatility. Ath and Spd are still very important, but I’d also look for BH and Pass.  TO’s are a big issue in the FB, so, it helps to have decent BH and Pass at all positions.  Pretty much every category besides SB, Sta, and Dur are important for these positions.  This is an advantage to the FB because many other coaches pass on these types of players.  This guy is still pretty young, but I think once his spd goes up 10-15 more pts he’ll be an ideal forward (high LP, Per, and Pass)

I like versatility from my bigs too, but you can get by with a couple of more traditional bigs.  That said this is the hardest mold to recruit for because you don’t want to take a player that will never be above 20 spd and that limits your pool of candidates.  I also am big on getting high rebounding from these spots.  I would rather have an elite ath/reb combo than ath/lp combo because usually a few of my forwards can score inside.

 

One major benefit from the style of play is that with a ath/spd advantage you can live from the FT line.

Depth is also a big issue.  Bench matchups are almost as important as the starting five matchups.

The major fallback is that you’ll have lots of TO’s.

If you choose to run the FB with the FCP it makes stamina and depth much more important.  With just the FB you need depth or stamina, but can get away with just having one of the two. 

excellent post, thanks! Take a look at my Valdosta St team, how does it stack up?

From my perspective, DACJ, you have great ATH, you need to gain more BH, and a little more speed wouldn't hurt.  I found at Curry that a high BH for your guards especially was doubly important to cut down on the turnover factory.

Does passing matter a ton? What do big guys need to do great in the fastbreak?
(first time recruiting for a fastbreak team)

Passing always matters;  I just find BH to cut down on the turnovers more important in a FB.

Dacj your team is a lot better than mine so I don't know how much quality advice I can give.  Carolan because of his low speed is the only non-walk on that I don't think  is that good for the FB.  I'd also suggest looking for a minimum of 15 bh/pass for bigs.  That said even he will be O.K. because he is fairly skilled. but don't take many of that build because they won't be as good as they would be in other systems. 
You should be one of the top teams in the D2 of your world next season.  Both Stutler and Goodman are very good and Vassallo is going to be great on D.  You also have quality depth which is extremely important in the offense.  If I can't find a guy that will be a star, I focus more on players that have a high amount of 'usable seasons'.  If you can't find a good player for a spot find a guy who can be a decent bench player by his Soph year. and possibly a average starter as a senior.  For example this guy never started a game, but dominated bench players. 

Posted by therewas47 on 3/27/2012 6:42:00 PM (view original):
Dacj your team is a lot better than mine so I don't know how much quality advice I can give.  Carolan because of his low speed is the only non-walk on that I don't think  is that good for the FB.  I'd also suggest looking for a minimum of 15 bh/pass for bigs.  That said even he will be O.K. because he is fairly skilled. but don't take many of that build because they won't be as good as they would be in other systems. 
You should be one of the top teams in the D2 of your world next season.  Both Stutler and Goodman are very good and Vassallo is going to be great on D.  You also have quality depth which is extremely important in the offense.  If I can't find a guy that will be a star, I focus more on players that have a high amount of 'usable seasons'.  If you can't find a good player for a spot find a guy who can be a decent bench player by his Soph year. and possibly a average starter as a senior.  For example this guy never started a game, but dominated bench players. 

thx - I always worry about my lack of per....

         http://whatifsports.com/hd/PlayerProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=0&pid=2000080
is this a good guy to bring the ball up in a fast break offense

I have a team in DIII Naismith (Staten Island) that has been pretty stamina heavy - we've been pretty successful running the FB/FCP combo. Stamina and Depth are important - you need to have at least a 10 player rotation of guys that won't tire out easily

Posted by phillyboy108 on 3/27/2012 4:28:00 PM (view original):

Athleticism	55	Low
Speed	36	High
Rebounding	41	Low
Defense	60	Low
Shot Blocking	21	High
Low-post	26	High
Perimeter	15	High
Ball Handling	29	High
Passing	37	Low
Work Ethic	47
Stamina	86
Durability	55

Can this guy be good on the fastbreak at d2 level with 3 years left?

oops i thought you said 4yrs left. He probably won't be decent till his sr year.

im ok with that dont really need him this year anyway