Forum › Forum › Lehigh Sports › Lehigh Men’s Basketball › Zone?
This topic contains 4 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by LUHoops00 12 years, 11 months ago.
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March 12, 2012 at 6:54 pm #5393
I think when you play a team with a decided height advantage upfront, you automatically think of a zone defense. Packing in a 2-3 to limit the bigs touches on the low block. We know Reed almost never plays any zone. Of the games I saw in person or TV, I think I only saw it once this season, for a very short stretch in the St. Peter’s game. Do you think we will see any zone against Duke?
It is a tough question. Pros wise it can protect your big men from foul trouble, and since we have a short bench, even shorter with big guys, it would seem logical. You could also perhaps limit the Plumlees impact on the game. On the con side, Lehigh has very little familiarity with it. Also, Duke likes to shoot the 3, and a zone may make us vulnerable on the perimeter if Rivers and Curry get hot. Also, a more subtle issue for Lehigh is pace of play. Obviously, a zone defense limits possessions, and makes it more of a halfcourt style game. Since Lehigh wants to play in the 70’s or 80’s, maybe they don’t want to slow the game down with zone. Conversely, if you went full court 1-3-1 zone press, maybe you could increase the tempo of the game.
It is going to be an interesting call for the coaching staff. My guess is Reed plays his man to man and lives/dies with the matchups. I would like to protect Gabe from foul trouble, as if he sees limited time, we are cooked. I love our matchups in the backcourt, but it is going to be tough for Lehigh to hang on the inside and the glass.
March 12, 2012 at 10:39 pm #5397I hope they stay with M2M, thinking this is not the time to experiment. The team seems to be feed off the excitement generated by “in-your-face” defense and the opportunities it creates on the offensive end. Let’s not call off the wolves, but instead stay the course. The numbers over the last 8 games (all wins) would seem to support that position.
Defensive FG%: 178/444 = .401
Defensive 3FG%: 50/148 = .338
Steals: 60/8 = 7.5/game
Forced Turnovers: 108 = 13.5/gameMarch 13, 2012 at 12:02 am #5398See, I think to upset a team like Duke, you need to gameplan a bit out of the box. Maybe mix in something Duke hasn’t seen on the tape. Maybe throw a bit of zone in, particularly if you have early foul trouble up front. This game will go a long way in seeing the progress Reed has made as a coach. If he could somehow outwit Coach K, you know he has arrived.
March 13, 2012 at 12:04 am #5399How about a triangle and 2, going man on Curry and Rivers? Now that would impress me.
March 13, 2012 at 11:44 am #5408I will go on record here that I would be shocked, absolutely shocked, if we went zone for many reasons. 1 – limited experience doing it. We’ve gone zone so so little this year, you would hate to lose not doing what you do best. 2. If this was a frontcourt oriented offense with limited shooters, I’d agree, pack it in, but Duke shooters(curry dawkins rivers) have deep range and can kill zone. 3. Reed hasn’t struck me in the past as a guy who likes to change, he sticks with his guys and schemes. 4. I think you stick m2m and make plumlees win game, not that they can’t but rather lose to them then open jumpers from duke shooters. Remember the stat I had other night, somethibg like 750 of 1800 fg attempts were 3. Its pick your poison and I say m2m.
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