Pre-game this play...

[zebraman]

Originally Posted by ronny mulkey

I have about 3 questions with this play:

1. How far over from the sideline do you go to indicate that you still have a count?
2. If you were the L, would you initiate a rotation with your T in this position?
3. If a turnover occurred, what would you expect from your L if he has rotated?

I'm not completely sure that I understand the picture you painted, but I will assume that I do.

I pregame that if the C even thinks there might be a trap, he should slide up and be ready to officiate the trap. That tells the L to crossover to the C's side (it's referred to as a C-initiated rotation). If the C waits until the trap happens, he's too late to help the T.

1) The C or T always stays with a 5-second count until it ends, even if the ball goes out of your primary. Yes, this means that we will occasionally having the C and T both watching the same play. As T in 3-person, I work on the court a little bit but I never go past the FT lane-line extended on my side. As had been posted before, the C and the T have to have great non-verbal communication to show when one is taking the play and when one is giving it up. Another part of my pregame is finding out what my partners do to show that they are picking up a play (some people step up, some give a false count, some turn their bodies......)

2) It's actually the C that initiates this rotation by coming up to H/C and reffing the trap.

3) I always expect the "old T and C" to look back to see which side the new trail is on. That is part of my pregame. I think it looks horrible for the new T to cross from one side to the other to balance the floor.