Published in Coach & Athlete January 1960, pg. 16-17, 43.

Coach Rupp begins his 30th year at Kentucky with a 608-106 record. His coaching honors are too numerous to enumerate here. Touching only the high spots, they include 19 Southeastern Conference titles/ 4 national tournament titles; 4 Sugar Bowl Tournament championships; Coach of the Year in 1950; Basketball Hall of Fame and Kentucky Hall of Fame. He has developed more All-Americans and more players for the pro ranks than any other coach. He has made basketball the major sport in Kentucky and he is a prime factor in making the game popular throughout the nation.

By Adolph Rupp

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY we think in terms of an offense that is built on the single pivot play. For this we require a boy who is 6' 6" or better and who has sufficient weight to maintain his position. The ability to handle the ball is the first requirement of a good pivot man. Jumping is one of the essential requirements of a pivot man. Today, many boys who are 6' 6" or better do not have the requirements that we like in a boy due to the fact that they played center in high school, were bigger than most of the boys they played against, and too often stood flat-footed because they' were not required to jump. As a result, many of these boys do not have mobility. The first requirement when the ball goes up for the center jump to open a game is that the center can out-jump his opponent and get the ball for his team. He always has two opportunities in each game to do this and this may be the difference between victory and defeat.

As I have said many times before, it is the accumulation of little things during a game that will bring about defeat. The big things never beat you because if they are big factors you are usually beaten to begin with.

The reason we want a pivot man with weight is that we want him to be able to maintain his offensive and defensive position under the basket where he may tap the ball on the offensive board and regain possession on the defensive board.

It is difficult to describe how a pivot man must play during a game. This will be determined entirely by the opposing defensive man. If he meets very little opposition in assuming a position then, of course, he will not have a great problem. A defensive man may be required to fight for his position and, therefore, we tell our boys to hurry down as soon as they can and get in position because our entire offense depends on how quickly we can start our play.

If a center meets a great deal of opposition on the free throw line, he may have to go back near the basket and come out to meet the pass.

A very important item should be noted here. The guards should then be intelligent enough to time the play so that the ball will reach the pivot man just as he gets to the free throw line. If the ball is not passed in at precisely the exact time the defensive man will be there to bother the pivot man again and you have exactly the same situation that you tried to get away from when the pivot man moved back to the base line and then came out. It may be necessary for the pivot man to move down the side of the floor, reverse his man, and then fight his way to the free throw line.

It is impossible to establish a definite pattern unless you know how the opposition will play you. You should play to the weakness of your opposition. That will best tell you how to establish your position.

A PIVOT MAN SHOULD HAVE MOBILITY. By this we mean, he should be light on his feet and be able to move quickly. He will find a lot of rough play under the basket. He must avoid the temptation of falling into the same pattern. He should remain cool. A good pivot man should have good strong hands. He should have good judgment. He must know when to pass the ball, when to hold it, and he must be able to pass it flawlessly and accurately to cutting teammates. He must know when to throw it back out to men, when to reverse, and when to go in and get a shot himself, or when to execute a pet mechanical shot that he may have of his own.

Foot Work Important

We like to think that the foot work of a pivot man is important. Some like to stand with their feet together and legs straight and their backs straight. I believe this is the established pattern for a pivot man. He should use his hands and hold them at the position where he wishes to catch the ball. That gives a good target to the ball passer. By keeping his legs straight and his back straight, it will give him protection so that a defensive man can not knock the ball away from him. Far too often, pivot men play in a crouched position and we try to get away from that. Only when floor bounces are used to get into the pivot man should he assume a crouched position. However, we, at the University of Kentucky, throw a higher pass to our pivot man whenever we pass in from the guards in front of the pivot man or from the forwards on the side of the court. To be sure to get the ball he may have to take a slight shuffle jump to meet this pass. In either position, the ball should be held at approximately the maximum extension of the arms. When catching the ball, squeeze it, so that a bump by a defensive man will not jar it loose. The center should always face the play. The first thing he must look for is men cutting for the basket. If they are open he should pass to them. This is important. If men constantly run toward the basket and are open and never get a pass they will not continue to do this. Crashing guards can relieve pressure on a pivot man and if the guards are open the defensive man will be required to take them. This will enable the pivot man to get away to score. The pivot man should roll straight back to the basket in attempting to score. He may do this with a dribble or he may do it with a slide and dribble, which is possibly more effective. After catching the ball, he should use a head fake. If the defensive man goes for this fake, the pivot man then should place his foot back of the heel of the defensive man and roll in the opposite direction of the head fake. If the defensive man does not go for the fake, drop the shoulder and drive by on the same side of the head fake. When the shot is taken, it should be more in the nature of a high jump than a broad jump, this gives maximum protection.

A pivot man carries his hands fairly high. Even when coming down on a fast break. If the pivot man is not able to make a pass immediately and the defensive man is playing directly behind him, he should then bring the ball directly in front of his body. He should watch the arms of the defensive man. If the defensive man makes an attempt to get the ball and extends his arms over the shoulder, the pivot man should make a one handed underhand pass or floor bounce to a teammate cutting to the basket. If the defensive man's arms are below the pivot man's arms, he can then make a one handed overhand pass. The pivot man should keep his head up so that he can see teammates cutting for the baskets.

In a definite pattern of play the pivot man knows where the cutter will be and where the man that is open should be. The screens will tell him this. We tell our boys never to pass the ball into the pivot man unless the pattern has been established, or unless the pivot man is open for a scoring opportunity. Keep the ball out on the floor until you are ready to run a play. Passes thrown into the pivot man from the side of the floor should be thrown as far in front of him as he can reach because the defensive man may be crowding him and attempt to knock the ball away.

The foot work will be determined by the pressure that is put on the pivot man by the defending man. A pivot man has three options after he received the pass. One, is to pass it to a cutter going to the basket. The second, is to attempt to score himself, and the third, is to throw the ball back out to someone on the floor, if the first two opportunities do not present themselves.

Pivot men, far too often, take bad shots at the basket when they should be passing back out on the floor.

In attempting to score we try to use the one step pivot jump or the slide dribble, where we slide both feet as we take the dribble and then take off with the foot nearest the basket. He may also be able, after receiving the ball, to make a turn and use a jump shot; or he may use a two handed jump shot; or, he may dribble away from his position and go to the side of the floor and take a shot from there. That is the reason that we say a pivot man should have a good sense of judgment. He should know when to shoot, when he is open, when to pass or when to take the ball back out on the floor and set up another play.

Defense

THE DEFENSE of the pivot man is also important. We like to think that defensively we will play in front of the pivot man if he is within 8 feet of the basket. Since pivot men are about the same size, a pass should not be made over the defensive man. He should be sufficiently alert not to enable his opponent to slip away from him. If the ball is on the side of the floor the defensive man should play in such a position to put pressure on the offensive man to force him out on the floor and not enable him to get the pass. If the shot is taken, we try to block out the offensive man by a back turn. We do not like the front turn.

The defensive man should have his knees bent, feet well under him, not spread, so that he can easily move in any direction. He should keep his hands in such a position as to deflect the pass whenever he can do so.

Again I want to emphasize that pivot play is determined largely by situations and I am hopeful that this small discussion of it will prove helpful to the boys who are playing this position.

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