Even if the shot is missed, you have an interior presence potentially to score on a putback. This compact zone allows a big, intimidating defender to stay around the basket at all. 3 and 5 crash the boards with 4 already in a good position to rebound. Three in a line is a 1-3-1 zone that keeps the Big around the basket. The bottom defender is tied up with 4 posting up, so 2 should have plenty of room to shoot. Techniqueīe sure 5’s pass to 1 is made quickly as the defense is collapsing into the middle. 1 passes to 2 in the corner for the open 3-point shot. World Heritage Encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most definitive collection ever assembled. 5 then quickly turns to the weak side and passes to 1. 131 Defense And Offense: The 131 defense and offense is a popular strategy used in basketball. 2 and 1 shift lower with 2 moving to the weak-side corner. 5 comes high and replaces 4 in the middle. 4 then dives from the middle to the right block. The offense also is in a 1-3-1 look with the center on the block opposite where the initial pass is going.ġ passes to 3 on the right wing. The ball gets to the middle of the floor, which forces the defense to collapse and opens the backside for a quick pass to the wing, then an extra pass to the corner for an open 3-pointer. The Mountaineers ran this set early in the contest with the game tied 8-8. West Virginia faced Baylor’s stingy 1-3-1 defense in a recent Big 12 matchup. While it’s important to attack the open baseline against a 1-3-1, throwing the ball to the middle then firing a pass to the opposite side gives you a numbers advantage and an open shot. With the criteria being my eye test, here is a list of the college coaches who lead the pack in zone defense and excellence.By Basketball Coach Weekly in Basketball playsįrom Bob Huggins, head coach for the West Virginia Mountaineers man-to-man defense, several simple motion patterns are presented, and a few simple. Move on air-time of the pass Players must rotate to the next position as the ball is being passed through the air. It is a good choice for novice level teams. No direct passes Your defense must not allow any straight-line passes. So, who is left-other than Hopkins-to carry on the zone torch?īesides the old basketball coach in Syracuse, there are still a few holdouts who use the zone effectively and could get the zone off life support for the next generation of hoops fans to enjoy. The 1-3-1 offense is a simple offensive set, easy to learn, with good spacing, a high. Jim Boeheim’s heir apparent, Mike Hopkins, will likely hold onto that defense for quite a while, considering it’s what he knows and what has worked at Syracuse for almost 40 years. Both coaches implemented a vicious zone, with Chaney’s match-up zone being a frustrating hybrid and Boeheim’s 2-3 zone being that old George Foreman jab that you know is coming but can’t avoid.įran Dunphy took over the reins at Temple when Chaney left and put that tired zone to bed. John Chaney is comfortably into his retirement, and Jim Boeheim may not be far from his. Play the flash cut to the high post or elbow man-to-man. If O5 steps outside, X5 has him/her man-to-man. Coaches don’t have the personnel (length) to play the zone effectively.Ĭoaches who employ the zone know that it can be a powerful offensive weapon that creates bad shots and allows for long rebounds and great transition basketball.įor many years, coaches most associated with the zone defense were John Chaney of Temple and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse. X5 plays O5 man-to-man at all times, while the other four defenders rotate around X5.
Coaches don’t know how to coach the zone effectively.Ģ. Many college coaches have some zone plays in the book but will only break them out on special occasions.ġ. I’ve expounded on the merits of the zone in the past, but the zone is going the way of the dinosaur. Young men are taught that the zone defense is gimmicky and is only effective at hiding bad players, saving good players from foul trouble and switching up the tempo of a game-meaning slowing it down. The likelihood of zone being played greatly diminishes as the quality of the players increases and vice versa. Anyone who has played pick-up basketball has heard the question, “Do you want to go man-to-man or zone?”