The Starting Five: BYU's 5-Out Offense (HV+)
The details behind Mark Pope's highly efficient pace-and-space offense.
Welcome back to another edition of The Starting Five. To read last week’s version, you can click/tap here.
One of the biggest surprises from the non-conference portion of the season has been Mark Pope’s BYU team. The Cougars have posted impressive efficiency numbers — albeit against a weaker schedule.
Currently, BYU — which was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12 preseason media poll — ranks third in the country in kenpom.
There are some signs that regression could be in store for BYU. For example, opponents have shot just 26% from three against the Cougars. That number will almost certainly increase during Big 12 play.
However, today’s newsletter isn’t intended to judge how BYU will fair over the course of Big 12 play and beyond. Instead, it’s to highlight the fun offensive style of play Pope is employing in Provo.
The Cougars currently rank seventh in the country in three-point volume (3PA/FGA) and 33rd in the average possession length — so this team plays with pace and space.
Different Offense, Same Fundamentals
Mark Pope hasn’t been afraid to change his offensive scheme over the course of his head coaching career. During his time at Utah Valley, he became known for his “Pistol” ball screen continuity.
Then in his first season at BYU, he went away from “Pistol” in favor of a more traditional (sometimes called Euro) ball screen continuity.
This season, Pope isn’t running either of those offenses. He’s running 5-out (sometimes called “Delay”) offense with his 5-man at the top of the key.
In fact, an early season injury to big man Fousseyni Traore has only pushed the Cougars to play more 5-out. That’s because the injury has moved Aly Khalifa — one of the best passing big men in the country and a capable three-point shooter — into the starting lineup.
We’ll get into the specifics of BYU’s offense in a minute, but there are certain fundamentals that are always in Pope’s offenses.
Great spacing
The ability to counter the opponent by reading the defense
First, let’s look at the great spacing…
Lifting a big man to create space
Most 5-out offenses start with (*…checks notes...*) five players out on the perimeter. You can see that spacing in the image below.
BYU does things a little differently. On many possessions, the Cougars start with a big man near the basket and then lift him up as the first action is occurring.
In the clip below, you can see #0 Noah Waterman lifting up towards the slot.
#50 Aly Khalifa spins back towards Waterman who gets a look from three on the play. Waterman doesn’t make the shot here, but he’s shooting 43% from deep on the season.
Ultimately, Waterman gets to the slot where he would normally be in 5-out offense —he just starts out low instead.
To see why that initial lift can be useful, let’s go back to the game against Utah. Again Waterman starts out on the block and lifts up to the slot.
This time #4 Atiki Ally Atiki is the 5-man. While he’s not nearly as good of a passer as Khalifa, he’s a superior roller to the hoop.
Notice how Waterman times his lift with Atiki’s roll. That clears out the help and leaves Atiki open for the lob.
The lift is a fundamental part of BYU’s offense that you’ll see in some of the other clips later in this newsletter.