Why are my guys fouling out early in games and how do I fix this? Running  2-3 zone. Does it have anything to do with target mins vs fatigue?

Sorry if you could look at these teams actually

I assume we're talking the Framingham St. team that's 12-12 here...

Depending how you have your target minutes or fatigue set, that could be part of the issue, but the truth is your foul problems are probably the result of lots of little things compounding atop each other. Your defense IQ's are low in zone, which is going to be exacerbated by the low defense ratings several of your players have, which is going to further be influenced by the low athleticism and speed of the team as a whole, which can also be impacted by the tempo you decide to play at (uptempo = more possessions generally which = more chances to get whistled for a foul). 

Without knowing specific settings, it's hard to say. I'd check your team practice and see how much time you're throwing into the zone D...I'd say 20 at a minimum and 25 ideally for now to get those IQs up as fast as possible. 

I am just looking for any advice I can get. How would you run that team? 

Posted by jcee1281 on 11/20/2011 6:40:00 PM (view original):
I am just looking for any advice I can get. How would you run that team? 

I'd go slowdown every game. From what I see, the biggest liability is the lack of depth at the guard positions. You've got three guards basically to rotate through the two guard slots. Even with a zone D that's got to be producing fatigue issues in games (which, again, will feed the foul trouble that prompted the thread...). You want to minimize that exposure as much as possible (if you need significant guard minutes from a PF, that can't be a good thing). The best way to do that is to eat clock. All three of the guards have 80+ staminas, so a slow tempo has the potential to get them 28-30 minutes per game, depending on opponent settings.

Positioning-wise, I'm not sure what I'd do...my gut says to run a lot of + to further minimize the likelihood of picking up fouls (and to try and reduce the number of 3-pt shots at times when the 10 and 28 defenders are the two in the top of the 2-3 zone). Considering the number of bigs on the roster, you can probably get away with it, especially if your rotation is set for having both the 86 and the 80 rebounder on the court at the same time for large stretches of the game, without too much negative effect in the rebound department.

Honestly, at 13-12, I think you've done a heck of a job coaching with whatever you've been doing. There's only so much you can do with the pieces that are there...I'd be recruiting guard depth like a mother in the off-season.

How about those others about to start up?

Could someone be kind enough and tell me how you would run my Bowdoin team? Player distro, depth chart, game planning...etc.