Thursday, February 12, 2015

10 CONCEPTS THAT HURT A ZONE VIA MIKE DUNLAP

Earlier this week I spoke of a great resource. Brooklyn Kohlheim is an assistant coach at Nova Southeastern University.  She puts out an email blast periodically every few weeks -- AND IT IS OUTSTANDING!!! It includes PDFs of plays and drills, links to great articles and videos.  Doesn't matter what level you coach on, there is something outstanding in each mailing. Click here to see how you can sign up.

Here is yet another example of some of the stuff you can receive via email:


10 CONCEPTS THAT HURT A ZONE FROM MIKE DUNLAP
 
1) Quick and consistent ball reversal.
 
2) The inside-out attack with ball movement.
 
3) Dribble penetration, which makes two defenders guard one. Additionally, when this
occurs, pitch for open 3's.
 
4) Teams that pound the boards to either finish, kick out for open 3, or get fouled.
 
5) The full reversal, which means that the zone doesn't mind the quick reversal from wing --‐ point--‐ wing, but hates the same reversal and the ball is passed to the corner? Why? This flattens the zone out, frequently exposes the 5 man, forces zone to bump, and opens up the top of the zone for a shot or penetration.
 
6) Cut and replace. I believe excessive cutting is easier to guard than a well timed cut and replace action. My point here is the players need to think "attack" instead of multiple cuts....give me a quality set (e.g. 1-3-1 versus 2-3 zone), big spacing, and quick, "full" reversals over a continuity attack any day....too much cutting numbs the player and does not allow him to really see and think about scoring!
 
7) Screening. I always say one quality screen is worth three poorly executed screens. The zone does not like to be screened, especially the weak side.
 
8) Set Plays. Always nice to know you have a package to use for a specific shot from a certain player. It is important to remember that offense is only move and countermove.
 
9) Dribble chase. A dribble at forces the zone to bump and this involves communication, which is exactly what defense does poorly in most cases.
 
10) 4 around 1 or 5 out. A big box set, get ball moving...NO CUTTING ....same with 5 out....show a 2-1-2 set with 5 at nail/free throw line and just pull him/her straight out, above 3 point line.....and get the ball moving...then go to your attack set.