Hi, in this video we'll look at The fundamentals of zone defense. We'll look at the various defensive sets, why you would want to choose one set over another and the specifics of what you should be doing as a member of a zone defense. Offenses and defenses are in a continual struggle to gain an advantage over each other. A defense is chosen to respond to the strengths and weaknesses of the offense. The offense then responds to try to take advantage of the weaknesses of the defense. Some people think that you either play a man-to-man defense or a zone defense. In reality there are hybrid defenses that are part man-to-man and part zone And many of the skills normally associated with man-to-man defenses are applied by individuals when guarding opponents in their zone. The primary difference between a man-to-man defense and a zone defense lies in the names of the two defenses. In a man-to-man defense your primary responsibility is to guard a specific opponent - though there are exceptions to that instruction. In a zone defense, your primary responsibility is to guard an area of the court - referred to as a zone - but there are exceptions to that instruction as well. Zones are normally circular in shape and about 10 to 15 feet across. The size of the zone normally depends on the mobility of the defender guarding that zone. There are several zone defensive sets. They're referred to by a series of numbers. The numbers represent the count of zones that are set up across the court starting at half court and working down to the baseline. For example a 2-1-2 zone Defense has two zones, with each centered at an elbow of the free throw lane, one zone in the center of the lane, and two more zones located near the blocks (those are the large rectangular marks along the free-throw lane, near the baseline). A 1-3-1 zone defense has one zone located near the top of the key, three spread out along the free throw line extended, and one low and in the center of the free throw lane. A 1-2-2 zone defense has one zone at the top of the key and 4 more at each corner of the lane. You can modify these locations slightly to create the other two popular zone defensive sets - a 2-3 and a 3-2. You've probably already recognized that the numbers in the name of a zone defensive set always add up to 5 - the number of defensive players on the court. That's because each zone will be guarded by a single defender. The defender will be focused on keeping the ball out of their zone by preventing the offense from moving people into their zone or passing or dribbling the ball into their zone. Each defender starts at the "home" position of their zone which is the center of the circle. They can be pulled outward from the center of their zone by the movement of the ball and their opponents but, under ordinary circumstances, they should not leave their zone. As the ball moves around the court the defenders respond. The amount of their response depends on how close the ball is to their zone. The closer the ball, the more the defender is drawn toward the ball and toward the edge of their zone. As the ball moves away, the defenders move back toward the center of their zone. In this example, the ball is located at the wing and the defender who owns the elbow zone on that side is strongly drawn to the ball on a line from the center of the zone toward the ball. Other defenders are also drawn to the ball but to a lesser extent. If an opponent without the ball enters your zone, you guard them just as you would if you were in a man to man defense: chest to your opponent, body between your opponent and the basket, one hand in the passing lane and the other on your opponent. If you're located down on the block, it might be a better strategy to front your opponent and get help from behind from a teammate in the event that your opponents try to pass over your head. If you don't have an opponent in your zone you should assume a good athletic stance - ready to move quickly and to go high or low to intercept or block a pass. Don't let opponents move through your zone - at least, don't let them move through unchallenged. As an opponent approaches your zone you should move to screen or pick them. Under no circumstance should anyone be allowed to pass through the lane unblocked and in a straight line. How do you keep track of the ball and everyone on the offense so that you can respond to the movement of the ball and stop opponents from entering your zone and the lane? You can't be lazy, that's for sure! Instead, you have to be moving all the time and that includes your head. Keep looking around to verify where every opponent is located. When you can't look all around, use your hands to reach behind you and feel around. Let your hands be the eyes in the back of your head. Finally talk to each other. Warn your teammate if you see an opponent cutting toward them or sneaking behind them. This is especially important for the defenders at the back of the zone since they can see more of the court than their teammates. Don't leave your zone completely unless you're able to put a solid trap on the opponent with the ball. If you leave your zone you create a huge whole that a good opponent will take immediate advantage of. However, don't blindly stay in your zone if the ball is between you and the basket. Be ready to help out if your teammate gets out manned or pulled out of his zone. Only the player with the ball can score so there's no sense in tightly guarding an opponent in your zone when the ball is already behind you or wide open on the edge of the lane. So why would you want to assume one defensive set over another? Basically, it has to do with where your opponent is mostly likely to score. Younger, smaller players are poor shooters from the outside so a set that puts lots of defenders in the lane like the 2-1-2 will be preferred. It might even be a good idea to start out in a 2-1-2 until the offense can prove that they shoot reliably from the outside. Once they do, you will see teams switch to a 2-3 or a 3-2 depending on where the outside shooting is coming from. If the scoring is coming from the top of the key or just to prevent your opponents from easily swinging the ball from one side of the court to the other, one player in the 3-2 will step forward and form a 1-2-2 set. There are some defensive sets that are part zone and part man-to-man. These hybrid defensive sets are usually used when one or two opponents are significantly better players than the rest of their team. A common defense to apply when there's one superstar on the other team is called a box and 1. The term "box" comes from the arrangement of 4 zone defenders at the four corners of the lane and a single defender - usually the best defensive player at the same position as the superstar - playing a tight man to man on the superstar at all times. Their job is to prevent the superstar from getting the ball. If there are two superstars, then a popular defense is called a triangle and 2. The term "triangle" comes from the arrangement of 3 zone defenders in a triangle in the lane while the 2 best defenders take the two superstars and make their lives miserable. Boxing out can be a challenge when running a zone defense, because defenders don't have a clear opponent to box out, and many teams forget to do it entirely. That can leave the basket wide open for a slashing offensive player to follow the ball and put it back in. As soon as the shot goes up, each defender should find an opponent and box them out. That may result in two defenders boxing out the same opponent but that's still better than doing nothing. In summary: Defenders in a zone defense guard an area of the court rather than an opponent. Zone defenses are named based on the number of zones, counted from the half court line to the baseline. Each zone is a circle about 10 to 15 feet across. Defenders start at the center of the circle and move outward in the direction of the ball. The closer the ball the further you move toward the outside of the zone. Don't leave your zone unless the ball or a defender gets behind you. Guard an opponent in your zone just like you would if you were in a man-to-man defense. Don't let opponents easily pass through your zone. Use your hands to feel behind you for an opponent who's sneaking up behind you. Talk to each other. Tell your teammates about opponents that they can't see. Tell them when you want to hand off responsibility for guarding an opponent to someone else.