Winston Brown - Level 3 Tech

Andy Landers Zone Offense

Freeze Zone Offense

Defensive Responsibilities (Diagram1)

• Top defenders cover freethrow line
extended up to the center
• Baseline wing defenders, ft line extended
down, and into the lane.

Freeze (Diagram 2)
Positions –
1 – in the gap between the top two
defenders
2,3 – Free throw line extended
4,5 – Midpost area (in the gap between top
and bottom defenders).
• Designed to move/distort the defense
• Forces the zone to defend in ways that
they are not accustom.
• Opens gaps to attack
Goals –
1. Force the back defenders to guard up
2. Force the top defenders to guard down.

Primary entry – Diagram3

• Point guard needs to look to attack the
top gap and force one of those defenders
to collapse.
• If they don’t collapse, don’t settle for
being inside the gap GET THRU the gap

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 On the reversal – Diagram4
• When the point guard is reversing the
ball, she needs to think about how she
can freeze one of the top defenders.
o Forces backside guy to guard up.

Once the ball is reversed – Diagram5

• The weak side forward must watch to see
which strong side defender takes the ball.
o If top defender goes, then flash
highpost.
o If bottom defender goes, then cut
to the short corner

When one forward goes to the short corner,

the posting forward slides up the lane one
step and square to the backboard.
* Pass to one another forehead to forehead
against the zone

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 Breakdown Drill –
• Defense guards the post closest to the ball,
or guard to the post with the ball.
• Offensive posts imagine baseline or top
defenders checking the ball and react.
• Once they catch the ball, their partner must
react.
o Short corner cut – Step up
o High post flash – Step down
• Defender is supposed to be the middle of the
zone.

Low/High pass
• Anytime the short corner passes to the high
post, she cuts backdoor to the basket.
* High post can/should shot fake before they
pass back.
** When the ball goes inside, the permiter
players should go to the open spots (where they
ain’t).
*** On the short corner catch – weakside wing
goes baseline drift.

Skip Pass
• Anytime the ball is skipped, forwards seal
out.
o They should also look to exchange hi/
low

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 Wag Dribble Down -
• Top man guards the wing, drag dribble him
lower.
• Other perimeter players need to rotate and
create space and angles.
o Lane line extended (junction
extended)

Straight Seal Game –

• When the ball is reversed, seal the middle
and seal the outside.
o Seal out and in.
o Wings need to see weakside seal
(skip seal)

Straight Wag Game

• Adjust to who is guarding you on the wing.
o Top – Wag down and look to reverse
to the quick shot
o Bottom – Wag up and look for the
short corner fill.
Flash Game
• Just flashes and subcuts (shortcorner)

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4 Out Zone Offense - SHAKY
4 Out Zone offense – Space/Shaky
• Shakes things up (hence name)
• Works for all zone fronts
o Change of zone doesn’t matter
• Distorts and weakens zone
• Works well for trapping.

Positioning
• Overload needs to be on the two guys on
top.
o 4 vs. 2 – which draws up baseline
defenders.
• Post is at the midpost.

4 – Out Initial Entry

• Guard to wing pass and cut through.
• Weakside perimeter players fill quickly.
o create passing angles
o avoid being flat (no three in a row)
• On those reverse passes, look for the post
trying to establish and angle.
To avoid deflections – cut passed the line of the
defender to take away their gap (nothing to
shoot)

Shaky – Wag Up
• If the baseline defender takes the wing, then
we ‘wag’ him up.
• On the wag dribble, the cutter button hooks
to the strong side corner.
* Wings make it difficult for defenders to know
where you are.
* If corner gets the ball, midpost slide up to keep
good spacing.

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 Shaky – Double Cut
• After Guard to wing pass (and guard cut
through), the wing can pass to the filler and
then follow the guard through to the opposite
corner

* Anytime we’re running the shaky cut – check

when your underneath the post (could be wide
open).
• If they can’t get it to you, continue to the
corner.
Know who you want to guard you!
* Freezing the prevents the defense from
covering and recovering

* Try to get your two shooters on the same side

(because they will always be the cutters).
* Think about flare screen exchange for the top
to ‘reverse’ players.

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