What's so bad about zone defense?

[GoRMU]

Could someone explain to me why so many coaches, including Andy Toole, despise zone defense? It seems as though many coaches believe that man-to-man is the only proper way to play the game. To Coach Toole's credit, he has shown his flexibility by switching to zone the past few games, although apparently out of frustration or desperation, since his usual defensive system was not working this year either because his current players were not executing properly, or the rule changes have made it more difficult, or a combination of both. Even though, I believe Toole made a comment that having his team play zone makes his stomach very uncomfortable. It seems to me that often when I see teams playing zone, it's often quite effective. What's so bad abut zone defense?

 

[Andrew_Chiappazzi]

I think it's because typically, the zone is pretty passive. It's a bit more reactionary as a defense compared to how aggressive a team can be with ball pressure and other things with a man defense. It's also harder to rebound out of a zone, requiring more effort and more focus, which can be a problem (as evidenced by RMU Wednesday night).

But Toole has included some man-defense principles on the perimeter with his zone, so I think it's becoming more palatable.

 

[GoRMU]

Thanks, I did not realize the difference if makes in rebounding.

 

[Andrew_Chiappazzi]

Generally speaking, it's a spacing issue. In zone, players are assigned to a specific area and stay in that area. They have to be vigilant and make the effort to crash the boards when a shot goes up.

In man, it's natural for everyone to collapse towards the paint as the ball ends up there. Either they're collapsing in because an opposing player is driving there, or they're collapsing in because their man is drifting in to look for a pass off a drive or try to get an offensive rebound.

 

[Ma$1954]

Disclaimer - OK State fan and a Rivals subscriber (O-State Illustrated) here. I don't know much about Robert Morris University, so I was just trying to learn more about your school. I read the article on your home page about scheduling and now visiting your forum just to see the topics on the minds of your fans.

I am no expert on zone vs man-to-man, but I was going to offer a few things I had learned over the years. But it's not an easy answer. So I went out to the web and found that Wikipedia has some pretty good insight on the advantages and disadvantages of zone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_defense - You'll probably have to copy/paste.

For any of you traveling to Stillwater today, I hope you have an enjoyable experience at Gallagher-Iba Arena. FYI - Gallagher was our Wrestling Coach about 50 yrs ago that won about 10 National Championships. And Heny Iba was our basketball coach for a couple of decades 40's-early 70's. He was a strong proponent and nationally recognized innovator of man-to-man defense.

Anyway, best of luck to your team and safe travels to those coming to visit.

 

[ColonialCrazy]

Nice of you to drop by...Hope the colonials pull the upset tonight but I did pick Ok-state to win the national title. As a sixer fan I hope to see Marcus Smart in Philly next year!

Good luck tonight and in Big 12 play.

 

[Ma$1954]

We were very fortunate to get Smart (no pun intended) to stay a second year. He's an impressive talent and genuinely nice guy with his head on straight, ie no ego but very competitive... should be a Top 5 pick in the draft. We'd sure like to keep him here to play with Kevin Durant and Westbrook, but not a very realistic possibility.

It's been 60 years since we've had a national champion in basketball, but I think we have as good of a chance as any as long as we stay healthy. Great team chemistry and Smart has 7 or 8 very athletic teammates. I suspect Smart will be assigned to minimize Anderson's effectiveness. I've already got the DVR set just in case the Alamo Bowl (TX/OR) is a good one