I want to run fastbreak on a new D2 team, just because I've never run it before. I'm trying to better understand the pros and cons of each defense I could pair with FB. A couple of other things:

- I don't want to have to spend much time on gameplanning each day (which I'm guessing rules out zone, at least compared to M2M or press, but tell me if you feel differently.)
- The team I'm considering is in the same division as two very good human teams, one triangle-press and one FB-press/zone. Both teams are 200-500 mi from my school.

Help appreciated!

Press. I barely gameplanned at all, just looked at how many 3s the opponent shot, and adjusted defense setting between -2 and +4 based on how far from 33% they are, defaulting to +1. (So 100 3FGA out of 300 total FGA lands at +1; >50% lands at +4, <15% lands at -2).

You do need to highly prioritize stamina; avoid recruiting guys who won’t get to the high 70s quickly, and shoot for team stamina in the 80s. Try to avoid walkons and ineligibles, and think twice before redshirting anyone. You can manage to run with 11 if you have 80+ team stamina, and no glaring weak spots in the lineup, like 2 PF with 74 stamina. But in general, 12 is much better.

Prioritize speed and stamina about the same as athleticism. Defense is great, but slightly lower priority; same with ball handling. You can mostly ignore passing anywhere except your point guards. Make sure you have some guys who can rebound, and some guys who can shoot; don’t worry about block or low post.

i feel like roughly anything goes. fb-press/zone is pretty interesting, because its the highest and lowest fatigue fb set. when you are 12 deep, you could run it out, and if not, you could run the zone instead. or maybe even a hcp, although im not really a fan of hcp and kinda think its a waste as it has a meaningful impact on fatigue and only raises TOs for 20% of possessions. basically i'd run it if you feel the extra fatigue is nearly 0 cost.

i think fb/fcp is hands-down the most dominant set in the game for really, really, really good teams, and you can overcome a lot of talent with depth. but fb/fcp is SO intense on fatigue, that simply being 12 deep is not enough, even if its an even rotation (5 guards 5 bigs 2 sfs, or what have you). you really need stamina. stamina is a top line core for every player in every situation for fb/fcp, its up there with passing for pg, per for per scorers, ath or reb for bigs. you really basically only want upperclassmen in the 80s and preferably 90s, i think 85 is a good team average target for the whole team.

fb/man is a great scheme that is near and dear to my heart, and is an easier transition for folks are not really accustomed to fb, because man is the most straightforward of the defenses. fb is different than the 3 main offenses which are all way more similar to each other than fb is to any of them, so i think the man pairing helps reduce complexity. pairing with man is a quality scheme that can be run with 10 players, is very possibly the best man scheme for really good man teams, and is one that is not too hard to ease into.

i think most folks aren't that comfortable with fb or zone, so putting them together can be a bit rough, but if you are already comfortable with one or both, it should be fine. fb/zone is by a little bit the lowest fatigue fb scheme, and may seem backwards with zone being the lowest fatigue defense and fb being the highest, but you kind of can take things to an extreme you otherwise could not. you still want 10 players if you can get it, but because zone and fb are both star oriented schemes that allow you to really focus on things like reb/def in bigs and pass in pgs, etc - you can get REALLY good at all of those things. it also lets you recruit the most untraditional players. fb allows non traditional, high ath/spd low lp/per scorers to be a lot more effective, and zone allows you some slack on the ath/def pairing that seemingly half of the coaches prioritize above all else. strong 3 point scorers are a must, but otherwise, you really have a lot of flexibility, and studs can go super far.

I'd like to know where you're going bhan? And if i might be able to drag you somewhere else! (Unless I'm one of the coaches wherever you are considering)

Not to beat a dead horse, but if you’ve checked the forums lately, FB/Press is overpowered.

Thanks shoe and gillispie, that's really useful info.

One other question: does FB/FCP change your approach to scouting / recruiting? Not in terms of core ratings (that's already been covered here), but I mean more in terms of, since you really need to fill all 12 slots, do you either start with a wider pool of recruits, or aim a little lower on the "other" ratings so you don't lose battles as often?

At D2 FB/press, I wouldn’t aim lower necessarily. I still went after the guys I wanted. I’d just spread attention a little wider, and move off guys a little faster. Whereas with my flex/combo team, I may be willing to go deeper into battles for top level guys, even battling mid-majors sometimes, if I have a preference advantage or I don’t think they can go all in on effort. Cultivating your backup options early and watching them are higher priorities.

Thanks shoe.