Guilty as charged. The two are essentially the same.
I tend to use the term upscreen in the paint area to emphasize direction of the screen, especially in flex or high/low continuities. Oftentimes, in a flex, the second screen is down on the post with the curl cut. As the D adjusts to this, we like to counter with the post screening up allowing the cutter up high (the one who would have set the downscreen in this case) to rub off and basket cut, looking for a lay-up.
Another example is when you want to keep your big man near the blocks. After the downscreen and curl-cut with the post moving up the lane line to the high post, the downscreener then screens up for the post who rubs off cutting back down. Keeps the big boy on the blocks if you don't want him out on the arc, especially if you have a mismatch in post height to your advantage.
All screens away from the basket are set on the back of the defender, so you are right, upscreen and backscreen are the same. I picked up the term along with the concepts at a coaches clinic several years ago and it stuck. Never really thought about it much.
Hey, if no one has ever heard of it, do I get to copyright it?
