Jim Foster 3-2 zone concepts
Jim Foster has been a women’s college basketball coach since 1991 when he was the head coach at Vanderbilt. He then took the head women’s job at Ohio State and is currently the head coach at Chattanooga. The following are his thoughts and strategies for executing the 3-2 zone defense. I have also attached some diagrams to help visualize the points listed below.
A. Positioning of Defenders | Jim Foster 3-2 zone concepts
– Don’t extend to far outside the 3pt line
– The more your defense overextends the more susceptible the zone becomes to penetration
– Top player starts above the key, bottom four guys start with one foot in the lane, hands high and ready to cover out on the perimeter
– Only come out a step or 2 outside the 3pt line
– Players must move as the ball is in flight
B. Zone’s vulnerability | Jim Foster 3-2 zone concepts
– Corners, skip passes, good shooters
– Any defense is most vulnerable when the ball gets to the high post (this includes man & zone defenses)
– There is no help if the ball gets in the middle of the floor
– Players work together to cut down driving lanes
C. Zone Responsibilities | Jim Foster 3-2 zone concepts
– Wing player covers foul line extended
– Top player drops to cover high post
– Ball side post covers corner
– Backside post covers block
– Backside guard is safety in the lane, slightly below foul line
D. Zone Rotations | Jim Foster 3-2 zone concepts
– The skip pass may be the most difficult to defend
– If the skip pass goes from wing to wing this is an easy rotation for the backside wing defender to cover
– If the ball is skipped from wing to corner the wing defender still takes the initial pass (to far for post player to get) but there are two options from this point
1) Bump the guard off: Post player can push the wing defender off once he’s able to recover
2) Guards can “X”: Most good teams will catch in the corner and rotate the ball to the wing quickly. If your players communicate well the top guy can take the wing pass and defender that was on the corner can rotate back to the high post.
E. Guarding the ball at the High Post | Jim Foster 3-2 zone concepts
– Coach Foster has a unique way of handling the pass to the high post
(I have attached a diagram to show his rotation)
– If the ball gets to the high post it’s difficult for the wings to guard him so he uses the post player to come up and cover while the wings drop to the sides
Since the high post is usually occupied by a post player the bottom defender that has a post player on his side stays and the empty side covers the ball at the high post
The best zone defenses are active and communicate very well. These are the basic concepts of Coach Jim Foster’s 3-2 zone.
Click on the pdf link to download the basketball plays:
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