Five-Out Cut (The Vacuum)
In five-out, every pass from the top pulls a cork: the passer cuts through the empty lane and the whole floor rotates one spot.
THE TRIGGER — ONE LOOK
A pass leaving the top spot with the lane completely empty behind it — the vacated spot and the open paint appear the instant the ball is in the air.
YOUR JOB, BY WHERE YOU'RE STANDING
Passer
Pass and basket-cut hard — straight down the empty lane, off your defender's turned head.
Your defender jumps toward the pass the moment you throw it. The lane behind him is empty by design — a hard cut arrives before he can find you again.
Adjacent wing
Fill the top spot the cutter just vacated — arrive as he clears the lane.
An unfilled top kills the reversal and lets the defense load up on the ball. Filling keeps five spots occupied and starts the next pass-and-cut wave.
Receiver
Catch with your eyes on the cutter — the layup pass is your first read, every time.
The cutter is open for exactly one beat while his defender's head is turned. Look anywhere else first and the window shuts; hit it in stride and it's a layup.
THE NEXT BEAT
The cutter's defender turns his head to follow the pass — one heartbeat where he can't see his man. If the layup pass isn't there, the cutter clears to a corner and the defense has to re-find five moving players.
GOES DEEPER