Best Plays vs. 2-3 Zone by Adam Spinella

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.

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Zone Offense

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February 20, 2015

Best Plays vs. 2-3 Zone by Adam Spinella

It’s almost inevitable – at some point in your season you will see a 2-3 zone. Every coach prepares for these times with sets that they put into their playbook. They work at being unselfish and moving the ball, finding the weak spots in the high post and short corner, and rely on knocking down shots from outside when they face a zone. This will work against a team that plays zone for an extended period of time – you must be patient and wait for the right shot, especially if the team plays mainly zone defense. Those teams, who use it as their base defense, will need to see different looks but will be beaten with hot shooting and crisp ball movement.

Then there are teams who use a 2-3 zone as a change of pace. For those teams, it is best to punish them for going to a zone and make them go back to man-to-man. Teams that change to a zone in the middle of the game are usually looking to slow down the pace, protect a player in foul trouble or simply cannot guard you in man-to-man. I like to take back the advantage by pushing tempo with a few quick hitters, showing that my team is experienced and ready for a zone and will slice it quickly.

The following video shows some of the best plays I have seen against a zone. Some of them, from North Carolina, Iowa State and Connecticut, are quick hitters that strike early in the shot clock. Others, from Michigan and Louisville, wait on what the defense gives and are more patient to attack. Good teams have balance, but the right set can make a zone feel like it is helpless no matter how it rotates.

Coach Adam Spinella is entering his first season as an Assistant Coach at Culver Academies in Culver, IN. Spinella spent the three years prior as a Student Assistant Coach at Division III Dickinson College. The Dickinson Men’s Team advanced to two NCAA Tournaments and accumulated an overall record of 59-26 (.694) during the three-year span, with the 2013-2014 season ending in the Division III Elite Eight. A native of Bow, New Hampshire, Spinella has a keen interest in X’s and O’s, particularly in professional basketball, and skill development.

2-3 zone