inbounds

BLOB box-elevator family

For this baseline out-of-bounds (BLOB) entry, four players start in a box. A shooter first screens behind a teammate's defender to free that teammate toward the basket. The shooter then moves between two teammates who set screens to free the outside shot.

How it runs

Box Elevator: inside cut before the shooter comes out

Basketball For Coaches’ Box Elevator uses 2 as the first screener and outside shooter, 3 as the rim cutter, and 4 and 5 as the higher screeners. Our version keeps safe clearance through the gap. The added finish or frontcourt continuation is an original CoachAssist teaching choice, not a source-prescribed next play.

1–5 are players on offense. X1–X5 are defenders. Each number stays with the same player in every step; it does not lock that player into a position.

Diagram 1 of 9

2 approaches from below the basket

2 goes below the rim, then turns toward the back-screen spot. 3 waits until 2 is set.

Diagram key

Source: Basketball For Coaches — Middle Split, Box Elevator and 45 Stack

Use Previous and Next beside the court, or choose a numbered step. Arrows on the court show where players or the ball move. CoachAssist drew this example; it does not show every way to run the scheme.

A selected throw-in example, not every play from this formation. Source mechanics are separated from original CoachAssist teaching tasks. Check the actual throw-in location and competition rules before practice.

In this guide · jump to a topic

Understand the starting jobs

Which version the court shows

BFC’s Box Elevator has an early rim option and a later outside receiver using two screeners. Those catches are alternatives.

Source-backed summary; versions may differ.

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Before putting defenders on the court

Walk the passage between the higher screeners with no defender. Players must understand safe clearance and the need to establish legal screening position, not squeeze someone between moving bodies. Start the eventual shooter at a makeable distance. A longer shot is not automatically a better result from an elaborate entry.

CoachAssist suggestion—not the source’s exact practice.

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Play through the catch

Know the job after the throw-in

Use the diagram to identify the first secure catch, then stop before advancing. Ask the receiver to locate the basket being attacked, the nearest defender, and a safe teammate. Ask the inbounder where to enter after releasing. A completed throw-in is not the same as an available shot.

Walk the selected branch once, with each player naming the next job.
Replay it with the first option covered.
Continue after the catch into the team’s agreed offense; do not invent a forced final pass just to finish the drawing.

CoachAssist suggestion—not the source’s exact practice.

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Read the defender

When the preferred option is unavailable

When: The first rim cut is covered and the outside receiver is also tracked.

Do this: Do not instruct the screeners to close onto the trailing defender. Use another visible target or stop the teaching repetition to correct spacing.

Then: After a safe outside catch, preserve an outlet instead of requiring an immediate contested shot.

CoachAssist suggestion—not the source’s exact practice.

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What to emphasize

CoachAssist practice idea: walk through the inbound pass and player movements. Add defenders who block the first pass. Then play live, keeping another receiver available to get the ball in safely.

Correct the cause

A problem to watch for

Problem: The outside receiver starts before the first cutter clears.

Try this correction: Separate the two actions in a walk-through and name the visible clearance cue.

Check: The first cutter has room to finish or leave before the next route crosses the area.

CoachAssist suggestion—not the source’s exact practice.

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Compare versions without mixing them

What changes—and what does not

Changes: entry, read.

An elevator refers to a paired-screen idea, but plays sharing that word can use different screen orders. Gels’s Gator has two elevator actions; Shields’s similarly titled play uses a different screen-the-screener sequence. The title alone is insufficient.

When to use it: Name the formation, intended first catch, and next action when comparing another play. New player numbers or a mirrored court alone do not establish a new tactic. Variations mentioned only in text are not additional selectable diagrams.

Written variant · this option does not have its own walkthrough here.

Source-backed summary; versions may differ.

How to teach it

Choose the level that matches what your players can do now. These steps work for boys and girls. Start simpler if players need more practice.

Select level to learn

Learn it at your group’s level

Learn passing and stopping first

Set it up: Adult passer and one receiver moving between widely spaced markers, not people.

Move through the open route.
Stop in balance and show hands.
Catch at a suitable shooting distance.

Add more when: The receiver controls the stop and ball.

Check it in play

Uncrowded route.
No contact task.

CoachAssist suggestion—not the source’s exact practice.

No byline displayed · Five Simple Basketball Inbound Plays

CoachAssist wrote these teaching steps. They are not an exact copy of any coach’s practice plan.

What can go wrong and how to adjust

The two teammates must establish legal screening positions before the defender arrives; do not promise an open shot.

Coaches and teams that use it

We have not confirmed a specific coach or team using this version. Teams may use the same name for different plays.

Drills for this scheme · steps and diagrams

The level selector changes the teaching steps above. It does not change these drills. Check the number of players, equipment and difficulty before using a drill.

Elevator Screen Drill

Court diagram · view the drill first

Builds a skill used in this scheme: Isolates the shooter’s path and timing between two screens. Screeners must be legally set with adequate clearance; it omits the baseline out-of-bounds play’s first screen behind a defender and look toward the basket.

A no-defense walkthrough teaches a shooter’s path between two screeners and their legal set timing.

4–12 players · 6–10 minutes · basketballs

Purpose

A no-defense walkthrough teaches a shooter’s path between two screeners and their legal set timing.

Set it up

Four players: shooter, two screeners and wing passer, one ball. Start with no defender and ample gap clearance. Coach checks screen positions and timing before considering a fifth guided defender. Spare balls and waiting players stay outside the active routes.

Run the drill

Agree on a short timed interval and begin at walkthrough pace. Use one active ball and one group in the playing area; add controlled opposition only when players understand the routes and can stop safely.
The shooter moves through the clear gap at walkthrough pace.
After the shooter clears, screeners rehearse moving to their selected positions and becoming stationary; nobody closes into an approaching player.
The shooter receives at a comfortable range only when the passing window is open.
With guided defense later, leave the gate open or abandon the action whenever legal time and space to set are unavailable.
End the repetition on a controlled finish, dead ball or coach stop. Clear the ball and landing area before restarting; rotate roles and rest within the planned interval, without extending it to reach a target.

Scoring

Optional: within a short coach-chosen timed interval, count sound decisions, controlled catches or completed defensive possessions. Stop at the planned time or sooner; no required makes, winning streak or exercise penalty. Rotate roles and allow rest regardless of the score.

Coach the details

A cutter clearing the gap does not make a moving gate legal. The screeners still need legal position and clearance.
The defense-free timing rehearsal is the default; no contact, trap or squeezed passage is the objective.
Use comfortable passing and shooting distances and an appropriate ball. Progress by demonstrated control, not speed: keep eyes on the play, leave stopping/landing space, and stop if a route or loose ball creates a collision risk.
Screens begin without contact. Establish a balanced, stationary position with the time and space required by the competition rules; keep arms in and do not lean, hold, shove or step into an approaching defender. Decline the action when legal clearance is unavailable.

Ways to adapt the drill

Original CoachAssist display adaptation: these edited steps, workload limits and optional scoring are coaching adaptations, not a claim that the cited author prescribed this exact version.
The teaching-level selector does not automatically adapt these drills for age or ability. A coach must choose suitable roles, equipment, contact, space and progressions; simplify or defer anything the group is not ready to perform.

Screen Setting Fundamentals (P.A.S.S.)

Court diagram · view the drill first

Builds a skill used in this scheme: Teaches stopping and holding legal position before adding a second screener. A moving gate is not made legal simply by waiting for the shooter to pass.

A controlled progression teaches setting and using a stationary screen.

3–12 players · 5–10 minutes · basketballs

Purpose

A controlled progression teaches setting and using a stationary screen.

Set it up

Three players: screener, cutter and cooperative defender, plus a coach passer. Begin without contact on one side of a half court. Spare balls and waiting players stay outside the active routes.

Run the drill

Agree on a short timed interval and begin at walkthrough pace. Use one active ball and one group in the playing area; add controlled opposition only when players understand the routes and can stop safely.
The screener approaches at walkthrough pace and establishes a balanced position with legal clearance.
The cutter waits until the screen is set, then moves close enough to use its angle without colliding with the screener.
The coach passes only through an open window; the cutter catches balanced and may shoot from a comfortable range.
The screener holds position until the cutter clears, then opens toward the ball. Rotate all player roles.
End the repetition on a controlled finish, dead ball or coach stop. Clear the ball and landing area before restarting; rotate roles and rest within the planned interval, without extending it to reach a target.

Scoring

Coach the details

Do not require contact for a screen to count. Add guided defense only after the group understands positioning and timing.
Use comfortable passing and shooting distances and an appropriate ball. Progress by demonstrated control, not speed: keep eyes on the play, leave stopping/landing space, and stop if a route or loose ball creates a collision risk.
Screens begin without contact. Establish a balanced, stationary position with the time and space required by the competition rules; keep arms in and do not lean, hold, shove or step into an approaching defender. Decline the action when legal clearance is unavailable.

Ways to adapt the drill

Original CoachAssist display adaptation: these edited steps, workload limits and optional scoring are coaching adaptations, not a claim that the cited author prescribed this exact version.
The teaching-level selector does not automatically adapt these drills for age or ability. A coach must choose suitable roles, equipment, contact, space and progressions; simplify or defer anything the group is not ready to perform.

Sources and what we could confirm

The sources support the system guide. CoachAssist created the practice steps and checks; they are suggestions, not tested programs or a coach’s full playbook. The linked drills practice parts of the system.

Coaches run this in different ways. The sources below describe the versions covered here. These sources do not cover every possible version.

Five Simple Basketball Inbound Plays
No byline displayed · Basketball For Coaches · publication date not listed
Public written coaching reference; undated unless specified. No linked paid video reviewed.
Box Baseline Out-of-Bounds Plays
James A. Gels · Coach’s Clipboard · publication date not listed
Public Gator description checked to distinguish its two elevator actions from other similarly named plays. No complete collection or source artwork reproduced.
Box Elevator BLOB
Brandon Shields · FastModel Sports · 2022-08-02
Public instructions describe backscreen/screen-the-screener; not assumed to be a conventional elevator gate.