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Zone Offense question - 2008/01/07 14:32 In Saturday's KY/Louisville game Rick Pitino used a flat 3-2 zone against KY. At times it looked like a 1-2-2 and at times more like a 3-2. Occasionally, he shifted to a 2-3 or man to man for variety. KY countered the 3-2 by matching up out front, instead of hitting the gaps by using 2 men. There was a KY offensive player lined up with each Louisville defender. It didn't work very well at all and the end result was usually that Crawford or Bradley would get frustrated and take it one on the world or they'd force it in to Patterson who was quickly surrounded by Louisville defenders. I mentioned it to someone the next day who is pretty knowledgeable about basketball and he had noticed the same thing. He said he couldn't understand why KY wasn't attacking the gaps. Mike Pratt, the color commentator for the UK radio broadcast, mentioned it at least 3 times. Am I missing something here? Has anyone ever successfully attacked a zone by lining up WITH the zone instead of in the gaps?

Thanks,
David
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Re:Zone Offense question - 2008/01/07 16:05 I didn't see the game, but I have matched up with a zone. I generally believe most coaches play a zone when they feel they cannot guard the other team, as most coaches, especially at that level, prefer man2man defense. So, if the other team is telling me they can't guard me, I want to make them guard me.
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Re:Zone Offense question - 2008/01/07 16:10 How well does matching up compare to hitting the gaps? I've always been taught and when I coached practiced the method of attacking the gaps. It seems that matching up makes it easier to guard you IMHO.

David
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Re:Zone Offense question - 2008/01/07 19:03 It depends on personnel and how you attack. Most zones work because players get passive and stop moving. If that happens, your alignment or philosophy does not really matter. If you stay aggressive and move the ball, again, your alignment should not matter that much.

We faced a team who ran a 2-3 set against a 2-3 defense. They executed better against a zone than any team I have seen. They utilized both corners and the high and low post. When the ball was moved quickly from side to side, they always caught the defense out of position.

Whether you start matched up with the zone or not, you always attack open spots. If I have the ball and I attack with the dribble, I am attacking a gap, whether I start matched up with a defender or not. If I cut, I cut into an open area whether I am matched with the defender or not. In many ways, it's sematics.

My team right now starts with a four-out against a zone. However, you could say it is a 2 -3 alignment or even a 2-2-1 alignment, depending on how technical you want to get.

I think the philosophy is the same: man or zone, if you can get 2 players to guard 1, somebody is open. Now, how you create these situations differs, whether you set a lot of screens and force two players to go with the cutter, leaving the screener open, or you dribble penetrate to draw help and kick to the open man or you get the ball into the post and draw a double team and kick.

The point that I always find interesting is that against man defense, many teams try to create spacing to isolate a player 1v1, especially on the block. However, somehow this principle does not hold against zones. If I can get my post player isolated 1v1 on the block against a zone, I think that is good offense, just as I do against man defense. I think zones trick players into thinking they can only pass to players in wide open space. But, what's the difference between a post isolated 1v1 in man versus in zone?
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Re:Zone Offense question - 2008/01/11 14:44 Agreeing with Brian here...you can definitely have success matching up with the zone. The point of attacking gaps is to draw a second (even third) defender. If you've got one on you already, it's no different than playing versus a man-to-man defense.

In fact, it can be easier, as the defensive players don't stay with their men if they're active, cutting and slashing.

Besides, if you think about it, if you typically align 3-2 on offense vs. man, what is the defensive alignment?
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Re:Zone Offense question - 2008/01/20 16:32 I've found, somewhat accidently I admit, that most if not all of the principles we employ to get an iso in the low post against a man work against a zone. Often times they work better vs a zone because of the different mind set a defense has when they play zone. This is great for making practices efficient, because you can streamline the way you teach. For example, you can say this is how we play on offense, instead of having one set of methods vs man and another vs zone.
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