So I'm considering a switch in offense and I'm looking for some tips on what I should consider differently. I know motion was more focused on good passers and spread the ball a lot. I've never run flex before, is there anything in particular I should consider recruiting for in the flex?

Any other tips on using the flex successfully would be appreciated.

I don't think there is a significant difference between motion-flex-triangle.    

There is a thread somewhere that describes the difference in game play, I'll look for it for you.

Hoops 101 says that Flex is a variation of the Motion offense and requires good passing, speed, and outside shooting. The theory is that you should have strong LP for guards and strong Per for bigs because all players are considered interchangable. Having a minimum speed of 20 for PF/C and decent rebounding for guards is also considered beneficial. As Trentonjoe pointed out however, many coaches don't see a lot of difference in actual game play.

http://www.whatifsports.com/forums/Posts.aspx?TopicID=447942&ThreadID=9687143#l_9687143

This is the only thing I found. I guess this raises other questions though.

1. Would it really hurt to not have bigs who can shoot and guards with lp? Reason I ask is I assume if I have good perimeter guards and LP for bigs, (say anything 80 or higher for DII in either category) they would still follow a natural flow (spread the floor and put it inside to a big, or drive it in and kick it out to a shooter). Is it really just the theory that a big who can shoot or guard who can LP is a threat is supposed to be what makes the offense effective. If that is the case, we are playing a sim where I don't think there is that much consideration of the threat.

2.With the statement in hoops 101 that "it does not require a big presence inside to be effective", does that make having a solid team with big men somewhat less effective (recruiting doesn't always work how we want) or is it just a general statement of it's not necessary, but you could still be effective.

Most of the comments seem that most don't see a lot of difference (in game), so I feel like maybe I shouldn't bother changing (still debating it), but its good to try to figure out some of these details. Another reason I still consider it is I've seen a lot say that triangle doesn't run much different, but I've somehow always struggled when using a triangle offense while I've been a bit more effective with a motion (not the same players, but generally the same type of players and gameplanning).

The main difference I have seen between motion and flex had to do with ability to load up shots on one or two players(in particular guards). Motion is often very balanced so there is a little less consistency in loaded distros.

be careful about reading too much into that hoops 101, especially considering how ancient it is. half the **** in those WIS made guides is wrong, at this point.

when you say, motion relies on passing, i guess i would disagree - you can get away with strong bh, solid but not great passing, more so in the motion offense than triangle or flex, IMO. obviously, passing is valuable in ALL offenses though.

i think fat has it right, the main difference is in how distribution works. lets see... you are in d2. yeah, you have to balance things more in motion, but not ridiculously more. also, in flex, a pure spd/per guard is going to be better for you than in motion. and a great ath/spd/bh good per guard is going to be better for you in motion, than flex. you can push a flex strong 3 point shooter to take more shots, and more 3s (+2 is no problem in the flex), than you could in motion. on the whole, if you have a very good, balanced offensive team, motion will serve you better, while if you have a couple stars, especially guards, and some really poor offensive players, flex will treat you better.

Posted by girt25 on 5/23/2012 12:26:00 PM (view original):

poncho, I would very strongly advise against making this change. Very little difference and little-to-no benefit, and you're guaranteed to set yourself back.

girt is right

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Good points made. I never switched too much on O/D sets, so I'm never too sure of the effect. The only reason I was even considering it now is because I'm losing 6 seniors this year and had a bit of a disappointing season considering 6 seniors and thought it might be time to try something out.