Posted by milwood on 11/16/2012 3:29:00 PM (view original):
This may be true that the zone can "hide" a bad defender, but there is a flip side to this as well. There is no such thing as a shut down defender in the zone like there is in man. Which can be a bit frustrating too, from the zone defense coach point of view.
The defense will not be as good with that bad defender in the lineup as it would with another good defender. If you want to win by having a strong defense you don't want a poor defender out there no matter what defense you run.
I agree. I have also found that zones mix more effectively to deal with other teams shooting tendencies than other defenses. I will mix and match defensive and offensive lineups with the zone to match up against opponents to some degree of success. For example, in a 3-2 or 2-3, you can lock down on teams inside or outside strength by choosing the position of the wing defenders, and can customize your wing defenders. I will often put together a 3-2 with athletic SG and SF to start one game and a 2-3 with athletic 3 and 4 to rebound better the next. Last season, a coach in Rupp ran the 2-3 at a +2 through the tournament and made the Final Four. I haven't taken this approach before. I adjust for most games, but I thought that it was a cool approach to consider.