UK's 2009 Recruiting Class and the Dribble-Drive Motion

Kentucky head coach John Calipari has managed to land one of the greatest recruiting classes in college basketball history. His 2009 class ranks on paper with the likes of the Fab Five at Michigan in 1991.

According to Rivals.com, the Kentucky class consists of four 5-star players and two 4-star players. Perhaps the most impressive details, besides the depth of the class, is the fact that Kentucky will have the top two recruits in the entire 2009 class. Point guard John Wall is the top player in the class and big man DeMarcus Cousins is ranked second.

One thing that will be interesting to observe will be the effectiveness of each recruit in John Calipari's infamous dribble-drive motion offense. Calipari's offense depends on a deep bench of talented players that have the quickness to get to the basket and the ability to shoot from the perimeter.

Kentucky's 2009 Recruiting Class and the DDM:

1. John Wall, PG, 6-4, 184: Wall is the prototypical point guard for the DDM. If Calipari had the ability to clone players, he would make a John Wall clone every season to run his offense. Wall has the size and speed to attack the rim like several other Calipari point guards - Tyreke Evans and most notably Derrick Rose. Wall should be a superstar in the DDM.

2. DeMarcus Cousins, PF, 6-9, 250: Cousins is the perfect big man to play in the dribble-drive motion. He is agile, can run the floor and has a nice touch from outside the paint. Cousins is big and athletic allowing him to attack the rim with authority. It is very possible that we'll see Cousins playing the low post position in the DDM, while Patick Patterson moves his game out on the floor a little more. Cousins and Patterson will compliment each other nicely and create incredible matchup difficulties for opposing defenses.

3. Darnell Dodson, SF, 6-7, 215: Dodson is somewhat of an unknown as a JUCO transfer, but he is said to be long and athletic with a nice jumper. The scouting report on Dodson indicates that he also has the quickness and athleticism to be a very effective player in Calipari's offense. Calipari recruited Dodson to Memphis previously and feels that he will be a nice player in the DDM.

4. Jon Hood, SG, 6-6, 185: Hood was originally a Billy Gillispie recruit, but Calipari has stated that he has been pleasantly surprised with Hood's ability on the court. Hood has a nice outside jumpshot and the quickness to drive to the basket. He will likely be a reserve, but Hood has a bright future in Lexington.

5. Daniel Orton, C, 6-10, 260: Orton was also recruited by the previous coachine regime. He is a more traditional big man in size and stature. Orton is a power player that figures to spend the majority of his time in and around the paint. With Patterson and Cousins on the roster, Orton will likely be a reserve big man. He will almost certainly see significant minutes, however, and his effectiveness in the DDM will rely heavily on his ability to get up and down the court.

6. Eric Bledsoe, PG, 6-1, 185: Bledsoe, like Wall, is the prototypical DDM point guard. He is quick and explosive with the ball and has the ability to beat most everyone in a one-on-one situation. He is somewhat smaller than Wall, but has more-than-adequate skills to succeed. It will be interesting to see if Bledsoe is a reserve behind Wall or if Calipari figures a way to start both. Either way, Bledsoe will excel in the dribble-drive motion offense.

A Closer Look at the DDM

John Calipari implemented AASAA (attack, attack, skip, attack, attack) Offense after sharing a meal with an innovative junior college coach named Vance Walberg. As the two enjoyed a meal, Calipari hit Walberg with a question he was not used to. "So tell me, Vance," he said, "what do you run?"

Walberg must have been a talented salesman because one of college basketball’s top-level coaches decided to implement Walberg’s AASAA offense after that conversation. Calipari added a few wrinkles of his own and started calling the system the Dribble-Drive Motion offense. He describes it as a wide-open, European-based offense that allows the players to attack the rim on every opportunity. He has called it “Princeton on steroids.” Calipari says that players love his system because it allows them to feel unleashed.

This offense is certainly very different than most other offenses. It is founded on dribble penetration from the perimeter players. There are no screens in the Dribble-Drive Motion and the post man actually runs to the weak side rather than posting up on the strong, or ball, side. The success of the offense is determined by proper spacing and driving lanes to the basket. When ran properly, the offense yields either layup or three-point attempts and virtually eliminates the mid-range jumpshots.

Calipari has added a few additional wrinkles to Walberg’s base system. In Calipari’s version, the team sometimes swings the ball around the perimeter before getting into the offense. Occasionally, he will have a player set a high ball-screen in an attempt to spring the point guard to the basket. Another wrinkle he has implemented is that he may allow his big men to rush the basket for a potential alley-oop pass.

John Calipari will bring the DDM offense to Lexington with him and he will be building the Kentucky Wildcats around his philosophy. It is hard to argue with his results to this point. He has enjoyed an impressive run at Memphis using the Dribble-Drive Motion.

Calipari’s offense is best suited for a certain type of player and its success is directly related to having the proper personnel. Several traits that are necessary for starring in the DDM are:

- Requires quick, smart and explosive guards

- Relies on agile big men that can shoot from the perimeter and run down court

- Calls for a deep bench of talented players

- Needs good three-point shooters that can punish sagging man-to-man and zone defenses