Basic sets and options
 | 1 Principles of zone attack - line up in the gaps (grey areas) of the zone (Tony Barone - distort the zone) - dribble penetrate the gaps (make two defenders guard one attacker) - start (or even keep) the bigs behind the zone (attack from behind) - reverse the ball, skip pass (Bill Self - the ball moves the zone) - pass fake, misdirection dribble (dribble throw-back) - attack the short corner (Kermit Davis, Lawrence Frank, Tony Barone, Jim Calhoun) and high post (Bob Huggins - there is no help in the middle of the floor, Kermit Davis - use the high post to keep the defence in, make them guard it) - screen the zone - overload the zone (Bill Self, Billy Donovan) - weakside rebounding. Basic sets and options 1) Against an even-front zone a) 3-out 2-in Options for post movement - x-cut low post, high post (Bill Self, Memphis) - once a bottom defender comes out on the ball, the ballside low post reads and hits the short corner (Bill Self) - once a ballside has been created, the low post can step out to the short corner (Heath Millar) - x-cut short corner, midpost (Kermit Davis zone motion, Bruce Weber) - x-cut short corner, high post (Pitt, UConn, Heath Millar) - x-cut short corner, high post if a top defender goes out on ball reversal, or short corner, midpost if a bottom defender goes out (shown, based on coachesclipboard.ca, see Davis) - weakside seal or flash and go back, ballside seal or short corner (Duke) - a ballside post can stay on ball reversal and screen the back of the zone (Canada Basketball). Other options - perimeter motion (Self, Pitt, 5star high-low) - dribble drag action out of the corner (Self, Davis, Millar) - bleed on a skip pass or high-post reversal (Self, Pitt, Millar) - crackdown screen (Self, Millar) - weakside screen-in (Davis, Self) Entries - 3-out 2-in, posts can start low behind the zone - shallow cut (Geno Auriemma) - 4 ballscreens for 1 (Izzo arm chop) - 1-4 (Memphis) - 1-3-1 - 4-out with trailer (UConn) - to use against an odd-front zone, tilt the offence by dribbling off centre while keeping proper spacing (Maryland Women, also Memphis, Davis). coachesclipboard.ca Getting the ball into the middle of the zone is a fundamental principle, this can be done by dribble penetration, flashing into the middle, or posting at the elbows. Flash from behind the zone with your back to a sideline, hands up, stop or pause in a gap between the top and bottom rows of the defence. Against zone defence, playing at the elbow (with your back to the far sideline) is much more effective than the middle of the foul line for several reasons, Perimeter players must get every third pass into the high post, see the middle of the zone, be patient (wait for cutters), and use pass fakes to create passing lanes (e.g., a pass fake from the wing to the top will often influence the top defenders higher). Sheri Coate - the weakside post attacks the area where the (on-ball) defender comes from (high post or short corner), the ballhandler must know where his defender came from. |
 | 2 b) 4-out 1-in Baseline runner. See Duke for entry options (e.g., 4 starts at the foul line and pops out when 1 dribble pushes a wing to a corner). Variations - perimeter motion (Clock, Atkins Iowa, 5star Iowa, also China) - 4 or 5 is always weakside for rebounding (Atkins Iowa, 5star Iowa) - 4 ballscreens for ball reversal (Florida ballscreen 3s). |
 | 3 c) 1-3-1 Dave Odom 1-3-1 - ballside 5 has his back to the baseline. Tom Izzo, Jack Bennett - never have 1 and 4 in a tandem. Grinnell - if 4 can't get the ball after one reversal from side to side, he will probably step out of the high post and the low post will replace him, or they have an open set and rely more on dribble penetration. Geno Auriemma - on ball reversal the rule is pass to the baseline if the bottom defender comes on the ball, or pass the ball right back if a top defender comes out. Option - 1-2-3-4 play catch, 5 moves block to block. Also see Kermit Davis vs. a (trapping) 1-3-1. |
 | 4 |
 | 5 2) Against an odd-front zone a) 2-3 With baseline running, see Duke (three deep), Atkins baseline runner, Kermit Davis vs 1-3-1. Without baseline running, see Pitt vs 1-3-1, Syracuse vs 1-3-1. Options - on a pass to the corner, the weakside big cuts to the high post (Pitt, Syracuse) - reverse-action entry, inside (post) rotation on a pass out of the corner, see Runner, Reverse. Also see Dave Odom rover against a 2-3 zone - on the pass to 2, 4 gets his back on the baseline, 5 comes to the high post. Instead of running to the corner, 2 can cut up the middle of the lane. |
 | 6 b) Overload Two-guard front, baseline runner, posts x-cut (two-man rotation). See Versoix overload, Huggins dive and fill, Atkins North Carolina t-game, Steve Bzomowski, Kermit Davis four high, Atkins high, Heath Millar. Options - high-post ballscreens (Huggins, Atkins, Davis, Versoix) - use ballscreens against an even-front zone (Atkins) - high-post ball reversal (Huggins, Versoix) - drag action (Millar, Atkins t-game, Versoix) - perimeter motion (Versoix, Davis) Variations - three-man rotation (Huggins, Atkins t-game) - 4 and 5 do not x-cut, 5 is the low post, 4 is the high post (Dave Odom 1-3-1) - 5 is the low post, 4 and 2 cut to fill the low wing and high post (Dave Odom vs 1-3-1). For entries see Huggins (2-1-2, 1-4), Millar (2-1-2), Versoix (3-out 2-in, dribble push a wing), and Versoix entries. |
 | 7 c) 4-out 1-in See Duke, Bauer, USA, also Greece. Option (shown) - 5 ballscreens for perimeter players (USA, also Greece). Jay Wright - try to run your man-to-man offence against zones, don't worry about recognizing one-guard or two-guard fronts, focus on scoring. Get your shooters in when you see a zone, any zone offence looks great with 4 shooters on the floor. Ballscreens are highly effective, especially with shooters - it's a naked ballscreen, there is no hedge, think one dribble and shot. |
 | 8 d) 2-1-2 Usually against a 1-3-1. See 2-1-2, 5star 2-1-2. Option - on a corner touch or corner trap, the weakside corner flashes to the ballside elbow (see Pitt, Syracuse, Atkins baseline). Variation - 5 stays low for rebounding, see Pitt vs. 1-3-1. Also see Dave Odom vs. 1-3-1. |