I have coached enough years that I think that I should start to become competitive, but I am not getting there.  If anybody runs these two sets or knows enough about them and would like to help me out/answer some questions, that would be great!  Thanks!

I sent you a sitemail, I'm not the most experienced or best coach you might hope to hear from, but will hopefully give you some ideas.

Just from a quick look your bigs dont board nearly well enough for a zone set.  You could try to offset that some by running a 2-3, but your weak d at the guard spots would be easy pickings for anyone with a decent shooter.

I would try maybe running a 2-3 and bringing Deberry and Tomlin off the bench, and start Buckley and Myron.  Deberry and Tomlin would kill 2nd units on offense.  You can hide a bad defender in zone, you just can't hide that many. 

Lol nevermind didn't see you had a shirt on Buckley. 

Thanks guys, yes I made some overhauls to my defense (well in my mind at least).  I started all defense except for Deberry (I just want him in the game).  Barber will get back into the starting lineup once he gets healthy!  Thanks for the input! :)

Is Barber injured?  I don't think he is.  That's mistake #1.  If you were determined to play 2-3, then Barber has to be in the middle, he's the only reasonable C you have.

The better way to go is to play 3-2 and start Barber at C and Griffiths at PF.  Shubert & Smith can back them up.  With only 4 forwards, you really cannot play 2-3.  Nobody except Griffiths can score in the post (that's a problem to be addressed in recruiting).    Deberry & Tomlin have to start at guard.  Put Monico at SF and he will help out their wretched defense in a 3-2.   Harrison is probably your backup PG, Baker backs up at SG and Myron is backup at SF (& SG).  Wright looks like he might develop into a decent SF and can cover some minutes at PF this season too.

For future recruiting, just use aejones' method and make sure each guard will get ATH + SPD > 120 when fully developed.  If they won't get there, then cut them off your list.  Due to zone's rebounding weakness, you need C & PF to have REB & SB (with ATH).  Barber is actually an acceptable C for DIII!  56 ATH, 70+ REB, ~50 DEF & 70+ SB.  Ok.  It'd be nice if he had a good LP and STAM rating, but he definitely starts on that team!

Barber is injured. I couldn't see it from the link, but when I looked at his team through my old Wooden resume, I could see it. He's just getting back to playing shape now. He can probably start now.

I pretty much agree with the rest of rogelio's suggestions, as Jay has probably noticed, with one minor exception. I'd be playing Deberry - Tomlin - Monico - Shubert - Barber with Griffiths backing up both frontcourt positions, Myron backing up the SG and SF (both Myron and Griffiths can be very good scoring options off the bench). I like Shubert over Griffiths for rebounding purposes, because if he's going to play 3-2, he's going to need the boards more than a few extra post points per game. Griffiths can get plenty of points off the bench anyway. I'd definitely shade inside. I'd default to 3-2 at -2 (maybe up to 0 for really 3-heavy teams). Deberry will still get in foul trouble sometimes, but having Monico in that group at the SF position should help.

Thanks for the thoughts guys.  Last game, I went 2-3 (-1) while starting Deberry and Monico up top, Myron and Griffiths at the 3-4 and Shubert in the middle.  Once Barber gets back from injury, he will be my 5, pushing Shubert to the 4 and Griff to come off the bench.

I thought last night was as well as I have played.  Lost to a top 25 team by 11.

Deberry still got in foul trouble.  If I play 3-2 will that help balance him out?  Like in 2-3 it's just him and Monico.  But, if I go 3-2 does that factor in Myron as well?  Or does the PG become what the C is in 2-3 and only has stuff by himself?

Playing 3-2 *should* help. 3-2 pairs pg-sg-sf together, the pg is never on an island in zone. In my opinion, some of the problem you're still getting while playing 2-3 is that your opponents are still going right at the pg position (and you can expect that all year) and then there are only 2 guys to handle them. Having the 3rd guy, even if he brings the overall average of the backcourt down a little, should help because (my opinion again here) it spreads the fouls between 3 guys. You can make a case for starting Myron over Tomlin in the 3-2, especially against teams with excellent guards; but it's kind of pick your poison with your team, because your offense is going to run best with Deberry and Tomlin together as much as possible. In theory, what you want to do is take all those fouls Deberry and Tomlin are getting, and expose Monico, who is by far your best defensive player, to those foul opportunities. It won't always work that way, and you'll need to manage your expectations a little. But IMO, this is your best shot as a default gameplan.