Two of LSU Coach Kim Mulkey’s Game-Winning Inbounds Plays

• By Grant Young

The middle of the basketball season is an ideal time to introduce new inbounds plays into an offense for several reasons. 

By this point in the season, players have generally developed a better understanding of the team's overall offensive system and their roles within it. They’ve had time to refine their skills and build chemistry with teammates, making them more receptive to learning and executing new plays. 

Plus, as teams progress through the season, they often face opponents with varying defensive styles. Implementing new inbounds plays can provide a fresh approach to counteract specific defensive schemes or tendencies that have been observed. This flexibility can give the team a strategic edge, especially during crucial matchups. 

Finally, by integrating new plays, coaches can address specific issues they’ve observed in previous games, turning weaknesses into strengths as they move toward the postseason.

While all of this is true, installing just any average inbounds play won’t do when it comes to making a difference for your team. This is where we introduce Kim Mulkey. 

Coach Mulkey, the most successful player-turned-coach in college basketball history, was named head coach of the LSU women’s basketball team on April 25, 2021, and is entering her fourth season as the head women’s basketball coach at LSU. 

Mulkey led her LSU squad to an NCAA National Championship in 2023, as the Tigers compiled a 34-2 record, including a perfect 17-0 record at home in the PMAC, before defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023 National Championship game. 

With this win, Mulkey became the first head coach in college basketball history to win national championships with multiple programs. She has four national championships as a head coach (Baylor and LSU), one as an assistant coach (Louisiana Tech), and two as a player (Louisiana Tech).

Coach Mulkey has an excellent array of inbounds plays, which she shares in her ‘Kim Mulkey - Quick Hitters & In Bound Plays’. We have pulled two of the most effective and are detailing them for you to install as soon as possible while there’s still time this season.

11

One of the top inbounds plays in Coach Mulkey’s arsenal is what she calls ‘11’. 

For this inbounds play to work, it’s crucial that a coach have a reliable shooter that can catch and finish a midrange jump shot along the baseline, because this ‘11’ play all-but guarantees they’re going to get an open look.

This play begins with two post players (who are standing in the middle of the paint, equal parts between the block and the free throw line) setting a staggered screen, with one player in the paint and another on the ball-side block. 

The aforementioned shooter starts on the opposite side of those two screeners and uses both consecutive screens to get away from their defender. Once they pass the second screener, they’ll curl around toward the baseline, receive the pass, and pull up for an immediate midrange look that should be uncontested. 

Because of how clustered it is in the paint with the two screeners, it’s nearly impossible for the shooter’s defender to keep up with them.

For this play to work, it’s important that the two screeners keep their backs facing where they want the shooter to get free. 

If the baseline jumper doesn’t become available after those two screens and the ensuing pass for some reason, there are other backup options available. The other guard (who starts the play at the top of the key) will come set a down screen for the inbounder, who will then flash to the wing for a three-point shot. If that shot isn’t available, then you have the ball at the top of the key to get into your normal offense. 

33 Down

The focus for this next inbounds play, which Coach Mulkey calls ‘33 Down’, is ideally to get a preferable 1 on 1 matchup on the block with your best post player. 

The play begins with one player in each corner and two players stacked up against each other on either the far-side block or in the paint. Once the play begins, the stacked player that’s closer to the basket (who should be capable of hitting a jump shot) will peel outward and flash toward the near-side free throw line. This will cause the player who’s guarding her to peel out as well to contest a jumper. 

The pass (which should be crisp and not a lob to maximize time in space) will to go this player who peeled out toward the free throw line or elbow. From there, the top play is to get the ball into the other player in the paint, who can be sealing their defender. But if that isn’t available, the player can take that shot at the elbow. 

If neither of these options becomes available for some reason, the player in the near side corner can execute a back cut toward the basket. 

If you’ve executed this play once or twice before then opposing teams will become wise to it. In this case, you can make an alteration where the top player in the stack (who would usually be sealing after the initial pass) can flash toward the basket. Because the defense will be expecting them to go to the top of the key, this should leave the space under the basket open which makes for an easy layup.