UCLA Cut Into Ball Screen
Setup: Continuous action combining a backcut entry, isolation opportunity, and PnR.
Actions And Plays
UCLA Cut
The UCLA Cut is one of the oldest and most reliable actions in basketball, named after John Wooden's UCLA teams that popularized it.
Direct answer
What is UCLA Cut?
The UCLA Cut is one of the oldest and most reliable actions in basketball, named after John Wooden's UCLA teams that popularized it.
Quick facts
| Category | Actions And Plays |
|---|---|
| Source volume | BASKETBALL_PLAY_VAULT.md |
What it is
- The UCLA Cut is one of the oldest and most reliable actions in basketball, named after John Wooden's UCLA teams that popularized it.
How it works
- The cut must happen immediately after the pass — hesitation kills the action.
- The high-post player catches, pivots to face, and waits to read the cutter before making a decision.
- The cutter goes ball-side, running off the high-post player's near hip, forcing the defender to fight through or go under the screen.
- UCLA into DHO (Dribble Handoff): If the cutter does not receive the layup pass, they continue through the lane to the opposite block.
- The high-post player, having not passed, dribbles toward the wing where a second guard is positioned.
Reads and counters
- Read 1 — Layup / Dump-off If the cutter's defender gets caught on the high post player or trails, the high-post player delivers a quick pass for a layup.
- This is the primary read and the action's entire purpose.
- Read 2 — Kick Back If the defense collapses on the cutter (help rotates), the high-post player kicks the ball back out to the perimeter — either to a wing who relocated or to a guard filling behind the cutter.
- Read 3 — Skip Pass If two defenders commit to the high post and cutter, a skip pass to the weak-side corner or wing creates a wide-open three-pointer.
- This is the "punishment" read for over-helping defenses.
Bilingual terms
| English | UCLA Cut |
|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | UCLA空切 |
| Traditional Chinese | 加州大學洛杉磯分校剪輯 |
Related concepts
Laker Cut
The Laker Cut (also called a give-and-go in its simplest form) refers specifically to the action where a player passes into the post and then immediately cuts to the basket on the ball side — cutting between the post…
Zipper Cut
The Zipper Cut is a baseline-to-top movement where a player cuts from the corner or baseline up the lane line toward the ball handler at the top of the key.
Iverson Cut
The actual wing-to-wing cut used in Iverson action, designed to make a defender chase across high screens before the catch.
Ram Screen
The Ram Screen is a clever two-screen action that creates confusion by using a guard to screen for a big, then having that big immediately turn and set a ball screen.
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