Yardbarker: Luke Ridnour

Friday game report: Bucks at Timberwolves

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:44:11 -0500

ON THE COURT PLAYER OF THE GAME: Backup point guard Luke Ridnour found his shooting stroke, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second half and drilling a pair of three-pointers. "With all the hype surrounding Brandon (Jennings), Luke has been sitting there in the shadows a little bit," Bucks guard Charlie Bell said. "He really came big for us tonight, and we need that. He didn't play much in the first couple games. That's what a real pro does, he just goes ...

The Sports-O-Ween That Wouldn't Die

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:40:35 -0500

Halloween is long gone, but people still keep submitting their terribly lame and occasionally offensive sports costumes so that we can post them on this site and embarrass their loved ones. Who are we to deny them their infamy? So here's the second (and hopefully final) round of Sports-O-Ween. Even Michael Myers didn't die this hard. A-Rod and Jeter as a gay couple? This is just so insensitive I can't even believe that.... What? These two dudes are actually gay? Oh well, in that c...

Luke Ridnour, No. 13

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:51:51 -0500

It's understandable if point guard Luke Ridnour, entering his seventh NBA season, finds himself in a bit of a comfort zone this season under coach Scott Skiles. After all, it hasn't been often that he's been familiar with his coach's system at the start of a season. "It's kind of nice to be able to run the same system two years in a row," he said. "I've had a lot of coaches. In the last five years, this is the second time I've had the s...

Selby schedules Eugene visit

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:19:37 -0500

Oregon's coaching staff is relentless in its pursuit of the next great point guard. Terrell Brandon, Luke Ridnour and Aaron Brooks have all thrived at Oregon before moving on to the next level. This year they're recruiting another who will be a game-changing player at the next level

Ernie Kent's 1-4 Offensive Sets

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:33:00 -0500

Although I'm mostly a University of Washington Huskies fan, over the past decade or so, I've enjoyed watching plenty of Oregon basketball games, especially living here in the Pacific Northwest. I used to drive down and watch Luke Ridnour, then later to watch Aaron Brooks. Offensively, the Ducks have always been an uptempo team, and in the halfcourt, they run a lot of 1-4 high or 1-4 low sets. So much so, that I'm told that a lot of varsity coaches began running 1-4 sets. I put together some notes from a Nike Clinic and a FIBA assist article showing a couple of plays out of the 1-4, one high, and one low.

Some general principles from Ernie Kent:

- you always have multiple reads and at least 2 cuts on every screen
- on screens, the cutter must close the gap and cut off the pick with his shoulder on screener's hip

1-4 High

Ernie Kent calls this play 'Eagle'. They use it as one of their primary half-court offensive plays because it provides both inside and outside scoring opportunities. The 1-4 high difficult play to defend because the alignment forces the weak side defenders to make decisions about whether to guard the post or to concentrate
on covering shooters coming off double downscreens.

The setup is one point guard, two wings, and two big men at the corner of the freethrow lane.

O1 dribbles the ball to the right side of the court. As he does, the ball side post, O5, slides down the lane to the low post position and the ball side wing 2 slides to the corner. O4 pops to the top of the key as O1 reaches the wing area,

As O1 reverses it to O4, O2 makes a flex cut off of the screen by O5. While doing this, he is looking to bump O5's defender to clear some space for O5 to repost deeper in the lane. O2 continues through the lane to the weak side block area. O3 slides in toward the lane,

As O1 gets the ball back from O4, he immediately looks to dump the ball inside to the post if he is open. Otherwise, O1 looks back toward O2 coming off the double downscreen set by O4 and O3.

The tail of the play has O3 going out to the ball side baseline after he sets the double for the shooter, O2. If O5 cannot receive the ball in the low post, he turns and screens in for O3, who goes in the opposite corner, and O1 passes the ball to O3,

1-4 Low

Ernie Kent calls this play '3' because it is designed to get an open 3-pointer for your team's best shooter. The flex action is meant to disguise the movement with both a double downscreen and a screen the screener action to free up shooters.

The initial alignment is 1-4 low across the baseline, with the best shooter being O2 who is always in the right corner.

O1 dribbles to O2’s side, staying even with the lane line. O4 flashes up the lane to receive the ball from O1. O3 takes one step off the lane and sets a back screen for O2. Using O3’s screen, O2 makes a flex cut across the lane to the low block,

As O2 cuts off O3’s back screen, O1 should set a downscreen for O3 (his man should be helping defensively in the lane). O1 then clears to the corner. O4 hits O3 with a pass. If O3 is open, he can take the 3-pointer. O5 should slide out of the corner to get a better screening angle,

O5 and O4 set a double screen for O2 for the open 3-point shot,

If you want to learn more about Oregon's 1-4 continuity offense, then check out Ernie Kent's DVD on Motion Offense and Quick Hitters.

Luke Ridnour Misses the Point

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:10:00 -0500

Mo Williams: This new commercial is going to be insane.Rashard Lewis: For real, we look tight.Kevin Durant: Yeah.Rashard Lewis: Who else they got comin'?Mo Williams: I don't know. You know, Kev?Kevin Durant: No.Rashard Lewis: I think Iggy coming. And I heard Luke Ridnour was coming, but that can't be true.Mo Williams: Who is Luke Ridnour?Rashard Lewis: He play for the Sonics.Kevin Durant: No.Rashard Lewis: Oh, right. He play for the Thunder.Kevin Durant: No.(door opens)Mo Williams...

Brandon Jennings Acting Up Again?

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:30:00 -0500

by Gary WashburnFiled under: Bucks, Knicks, NBA DraftIf his late appearance at the NBA Draft wasn't enough, freshly minted Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings continued his personal attack of Ricky Rubio and then added the New York Knicks to his hit list. Perhaps it's time for Jennings to keep quiet until he achieves something in the NBA.Apparently talking with rapper Joe Budden on a blog cam following the draft, a recorded Jennings ripped the Knicks for passing him up in the draft...

The Exultant Return Of Ramon Sessions, Roto God

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:30:53 -0500

You know why Scott Skiles gets paid the big bucks? Because when he takes over a team, he looks to see how players performed when given the playing time, and then he buries them on the depth chart behind Luke Ridnour and Tyronne Lue. 44 points, 12 assists, and five boards last night. Congrats to those [...]

Last Night's Results: NBA & NBL

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:31:46 -0500

Warriors v Bucks | photo: Yahoo! Golden State Warriors 94 (Azubuike 24, Maggette 16, Wright 13) Milwaukee Bucks 98 (Bogut 18, Ridnour 16, Jefferson 13) Played in China Attendance: 13,225 Andrew Bogut's 18 lead a balanced Milwaukee attack to a 4 point win over the Warriors. Bogut paired his 18 points ...

Separted at Birth: Superbad!

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 15:34:14 -0500

From reader Tom, Michael Cera and Luke Ridnour