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Message: [QUOTE="Townie72, post: 2878979, member: 780"] The annoying part about this, Kingtidge, is that you already know this. But I'm going to regurgitate the obvious yet again just in case there is someone that has been on another planet for the last ten years. What Boeheim has done is to modify the SU zone so that is now something that is related to the zones of the past, but that is different enough so that it probably deserves a different name. Some have tried with "a zone, with Man-to-Man principles" or "an aggressive, not passive zone" or an "amoeba zone".. And it has evolved from a defensive strategy to a Team Strategy. Recruiting longer players to play the zone is was an extension of it. So rather than just defending a part of the floor, the zone is now clogging up the passing lanes while extending amoeba-like out to challenge shooters at the 3 pt. line and beyond. And by committing to the 2-3 zone 100%, and getting players to thoroughly understand it, he can make subtle in-game adjustments that would be much more difficult if the zone were just one of the defenses SU played. (Sometimes it's a 2-3 zone and sometimes it's something else) How many times have you heard the pre-game analysis include, "It's impossible for opposing coaches to simulate the SU zone in practice because the teams can't duplicate the length and the athleticism of the SU players". We all watch enough college basketball to see other teams using zones at times. But these zones to me look a lot like the one I learned in high school. Do you really think Coach K. needs help installing a regular zone defense? What he needed was help installing the Syracuse-Boeheim variant of the zone. No defense is perfect. The SU zone has inherent weaknesses that some teams exploit if they have the right kind of skills and players. (e.g., Pitt over the years). And the more other teams and coaches see it, the less confused by it. In the NCAA's, where teams might have never played against it, its a real SU advantage. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?