Zone Busting

[waterhead]

I think this team is well equipped to handle just about any team against man to man D. However, when presented with a zone, are we going to find a way to excel? IMO we should see a lot of zone if opposing coaches have scouted us well enough. When you throw in the new rules about "hand checks" etc...it would seem to be the D of choice for many teams moving forward.

We aren't particularly great at 3 pointers. Our coach still doesn't seem to have found the "magic bullet" for zone busting.. We will remain in games because of our D against zone...but our ability to bust zones this year will play heavily into how far we can go as a team...or how high we can be seeded. We have plenty of slashers now with height to pass over a zone...but do we have the gameplan?

I am very excited about this team but that excitement is still tempered until we see enough zones. What do you think?

 

[Robert]

I think Rubles and Jackson are going to be key to busting the zone for us. You need guys who can play in the high post and on the baseline against the zone who can make good decisions. Both guys are very good passers for their size... but I could see either one having a tendency to pound the rock on the floor and get themselves in trouble trying to shoot the gaps.

Our 3-point shooting is what it is. We don't have any guys who are lights-out, but we know that Kilpatrick, Sanders, and even Guyn are all capable of getting hot. We haven't gotten a chance to see what the freshmen can do from deep, but we will need them to knock down some perimeter jumpers as well. Also, somewhat surprisingly, Shaq Thomas knocked down 3 of 8 last season... that flat jumper of his drives us all nuts, but maybe he can knock down a few for us.

 

[JasonS]

Zone busting is not just about shooting threes. Ultimately that tends to be the open shot when a zone is broken properly. Penetration is the key to breaking the zone. Get it to collapse and move and then the shots open up. If you can't break it with dribble penetration, you need to pass the ball to the high post. JJ and Titus should be good in that role. Lawrence will be in time as well.

 

[Nomadic1]

I think this team is well equipped to handle just about any team against man to man D. However, when presented with a zone, are we going to find a way to excel? IMO we should see a lot of zone if opposing coaches have scouted us well enough. When you throw in the new rules about "hand checks" etc...it would seem to be the D of choice for many teams moving forward.

We aren't particularly great at 3 pointers. Our coach still doesn't seem to have found the "magic bullet" for zone busting.. We will remain in games because of our D against zone...but our ability to bust zones this year will play heavily into how far we can go as a team...or how high we can be seeded. We have plenty of slashers now with height to pass over a zone...but do we have the gameplan?

I am very excited about this team but that excitement is still tempered until we see enough zones. What do you think?

I think Sanders can hit open 3's just fine, SK can hit some as well but after that, it drops off pretty quick. One thing we have going for us, is our forwards can pass pretty sharply. We're not Georgetown but I think we can pick some good shots. One thing outside of that, with our length, if we can press well enough to get TO's and get baskets in transition, other teams might not be able to run much defense.(Zone or otherwise.)
This string of weak games will be key to our development.

JMO though.

 

[ervins84]

If we keep leading the nation in Offensive Rebounding percentage it won't matter much what they play. Currently rebounding just over 50% of our misses which is insane

 

[ucswais]

Titus in the middle will be effective against the zone. Kilpatrick could shoot them out of it. It will be hard enough to rebound against UC in man, zone will be even harder. I don't think it should be a major problem for us, but it has been in the past so I think it's definitely a valid concern.