Jeff Culver UCCS Zone Offense by Wes Kosel

Mike Young Wofford Terriers Corner Pin Series

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 19, 2015

Jeff Culver UCCS Zone Offense by Wes Kosel

Attached are two zone offense plays from University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS) head coach Jeff Culver. UCCS is currently ranked #20 in the NCAA Division II national rankings, and is 20-4 this season. UCCS is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), which is consistently one of the best men’s basketball conferences in Division II. UCCS is 14-4 in the RMAC this season. Two other RMAC schools are ranked in the national rankings (#9 Metro State & #14 Colorado Mines). Jeff Culver is in his 3rd season as head coach of the UCCS Mountain Lions. In his first season, the Mountain Lions compiled a 5-21 record. In his second year as head coach, he turned 5 wins into 21 and finished with a 21-9 record. Before taking over at UCCS, Culver was the head men’s basketball coach and athletic director at Johnson & Wales (Denver), an NAIA institution. In these two zone plays against a 2-3, Culver gets the defense moving to set up lob and dribble penetration plays.

Jeff Culver UCCS Zone Offense – Zone Lob
1 passes to 3 to make x4 jump out and guard the ball on the wing. 3 passes back to 1 making the defense shift. Once 1 has the ball, he dribbles towards the left wing causing the zone defense to shift even further. 4 slides in behind the zone to set a screen on x5 in the middle of the lane. 3 makes a cut to the basket and looks for the lob pass from 1.

Jeff Culver UCCS Zone Offense – Zone Squeeze
1, 3, and 2 move the ball around the outside of the zone to get the 2-3 defense moving. After several turns, 1 gets the ball at the top of the key and both 3 and 2 cross the floor to screen x1 and x2 at the top of the zone. 1 dribbles between the screens and looks to penetrate into the lane. Depending on what defender steps up will determine whether 1 shoots the ball or passes off to 4 or 5.

Wes Kosel is an assistant coach for men’s basketball under Head Coach Andy Partee at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO. Kosel joined the staff at Colorado College after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Lutheran University and one season at Haskell Indian Nations University. Kosel has an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from the University of Kansas, and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Physical Education from the University of Houston. The Bartlesville, OK native is also a NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), a certified personal trainer (NSCA-CPT), and taught weight training and aerobic fitness courses while coaching at Texas Lutheran. He has coached AAU programs, volunteered with elementary and middle school basketball teams, and has worked basketball camps for various programs including the Houston Rockets, University of Houston, Texas State, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Jeff Culver