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{{Short description|Style of basketball play}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
The '''four corners offense''', also known as the '''four-corner stall'''<ref name=boring/> or the '''four corners delay offense''',<ref name=delay/> is an offensive strategy for stalling in [[basketball]], primarily used in [[college basketball]] and [[high school basketball]] before the [[shot clock]] was instituted.{{efn|{{asof|2017}}, the shot clock was only used in high school basketball in eight U.S. states.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.basketballforcoaches.com/high-school-shot-clock/ |title=4 Reasons Why High School Basketball NEEDS a Shot Clock |website=basketballforcoaches.com |date=January 25, 2017 |accessdate=June 18, 2023}}</ref> See also [[Shot clock#US high schools rules]].}} Four players stand in the corners of the offensive half-court while the fifth player dribbles the ball in the middle. The [[point guard]] usually stays in the middle, but the middle player may periodically switch, temporarily, with one of the corner players.

==Usage==
A four corners offense was most frequently used prior to the introduction of the [[shot clock]] in order to retain a lead by holding on to the ball until the clock ran out. The trailing team would be forced to spread their defense in hopes of getting a steal, which often allowed easy drives to the basket by the offense. The offense typically would seek to score, but only on extremely safe shots.<ref name=delay/> The players in the corners might try to make backdoor cuts, or the [[point guard]] could drive the lane. Sometimes, one team would run the four corners offense throughout a game to reduce the number of possessions, in hopes of being able to defeat a superior opponent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketballforcoaches.com/four-corners-offense/|title=Four Corners Offense - Complete Coaching Guide|date=11 April 2016|website=Basketballforcoaches.com|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref>

Even if the offense wanted to hold the ball until the end of the game, some strategy was necessary since the rules did not (and still do not) let a player hold the ball for more than five seconds while being closely guarded. So, some mechanism to facilitate safe passes was needed, which this offense provided. There were (and still are) other slowdown strategies,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasketballSpreadOffense.html |title=Basketball Offense - Spread Delay Offense |first=James |last=Gels |website=coachesclipboard.net |accessdate=June 18, 2023}}</ref> but the four corners was the most well known.

==History==
[[File:Dean Smith 1973.jpg|thumb|right|upright=.75|[[Dean Smith]], head coach at [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina]], popularized the four corners offense in the early 1960s.]]
The offense was created by the early 1950s by [[John McLendon]], head coach of the [[North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball|North Carolina Central Eagles]], and popularized by longtime [[North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball|North Carolina Tar Heels]] head coach [[Dean Smith]] in the early 1960s.<ref name=delay>{{cite news |url=https://www.coachesclipboard.net/DelayOffense.html |title=Basketball Offense - 4-Corners Delay Offense |first=James |last=Gels |website=coachesclipboard.net |accessdate=June 18, 2023}}</ref> He used it to great effect under point guard [[Phil Ford (basketball)|Phil Ford]];<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1977/12/08/ford-born-to-run-the-four-corners/220de0f9-54bf-49c4-9f3f-b6c5c4eeb301/ |title=Ford Born to Run the Four Corners |first=Betty |last=Cuniberti |date=December 8, 1977 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> it was during his career that some writers referred to the offense as the "Ford Corners."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-heres-one-ford-wh/126671134/ |title=Here's One Ford Whose Motor Is Always Running |first=David |last=Zucchino |newspaper=[[The News & Observer]] |location=[[Raleigh, North Carolina]] |page=49 |date=January 25, 1976 |accessdate=June 18, 2023 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

Basketball's "[[Five-second rule (basketball)|5 seconds closely guarded]]" rule was originally introduced partly to prevent stalling, and other rule changes were made to the college rules through the 1970s in hopes of eliminating stalling without using a shot clock as the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) had since its [[1954–55 NBA season|1954–55 season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.dailyamerican.com/2008-01-26/sports/26314883_1_dribble-count-definition|title=Closely Guarded, understanding basketball rules. AKA: The five-second count|website=Schurz-dailyamerican|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref> There was a perception that the NBA shot clock did not allow time to work the ball to get a good shot, and that it would reduce the opportunity for varied styles of play.

However, by the early 1980s, fans were fed up.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/11/sports/use-of-shot-clock-is-growing.html|title=Use of Shot Clock Is Growing|first=Gordon S. Jr.|last=White|date=July 11, 1982|access-date=February 24, 2019|website=[[The New York Times]]|via=nytimes.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> In the nationally televised 1982 [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC) championship game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the [[Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball|Virginia Cavaliers]], North Carolina held the ball for roughly the last seven minutes of the second half to nurse a small lead, eventually winning, 47–45.<ref name=boring>{{cite news |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/03.07.html |title=Boring, But It Worked |last=White Jr. |first=Gordon S. |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 7, 1982 |accessdate=June 18, 2023 |via=nytimes.com |url-access=limited}}</ref> The next year, the ACC and other conferences introduced a shot clock experimentally, along with a [[three-point field goal]] to force defenses to spread out. In 1985, the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA) adopted a shot clock nationally and added the three-pointer a year later.<ref name="auto"/>

===Tributes===
This style of offense was so distinctive that a local restaurant-bar in [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]], was named Four Corners in homage to Dean Smith, a local hero.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fourcornersgrille.com/chapel-hill-four-corners-about |title= About Us |website=Fourcornersgrille.com |access-date=June 18, 2023}}</ref>

On February 21, 2015, the Tar Heels, coached by Smith protege [[Roy Williams (coach)|Roy Williams]], successfully ran the offense on the opening possession against [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball|Georgia Tech]] as a tribute to the recently deceased Smith.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/unc/article11302811.html|title=Four Corners tribute to Dean Smith highlights UNC's 89-60 rout of Georgia Tech|website=Newsobserver|access-date=February 24, 2019}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRVmc6dO0g8 UNC vs. Duke], highlights of North Carolina using the four corners against Duke on February 24, 1979
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CCoppMxRho UNC vs. Virginia], highlights of North Carolina and Virginia on March 7, 1982; North Carolina use the four corners for the final seven minutes

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[[Category:Basketball terminology]]
[[Category:North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball]]
[[Category:Basketball strategy]]