This version of Syracuse basketball zone has potential to be 'juggernaut'

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[GooseMutt]

The Orange blender. Come into the zone and get crushed!

 

[Col. Bleep]

The Orange blender. Come into the zone and get crushed!

It's already known as "The Squeeze" or "The Squid" with those long tentacles reaching out to put on the squeeze.

About half way through the article Danny Schayes cites what's probably THE most important point: zone experience.
No starters have to learn (or get a refresher in) the zone the way the frontcourt had to do last season.
They come in ready to cause trouble.

 

[moqui]

No starters have to learn (or get a refresher in) the zone the way the frontcourt had to do last season.
They come in ready to cause trouble.

plus the backup center is in his second season
and the sixth man is also a year in the program as a redshirt
and buddy has been with it his entire life

 

[OrangeYaGladi]

I've probably read articles like this a dozen of times, but it never gets old.

 

[Townie72]

One of the comments on this talked about the players "buying in".

That the the returning players understand "what to do" is very important.

But as important is this idea of "buying in" to it at a higher level because they have seen what happens to very good offenses when they play the zone with full commitment and energy.

Simply put, they may have become true believers. And since they know that the defense works they know that only their effort and attention to detail are the variable that needs to be added.

Now, this may be too much to wish for, but last year's tourney run may have even swayed the opinion of those on here who believe that the zone is sometimes or even frequently the problem, not the solution. And that JB only continues to play it because of innate stubborness.

Of course, maybe I'm being too optimistic. At a minimum, the "run" based primarily on the efectiveness of the defense, will probably restrain them until at least February after a loss.

 

[pearl31]

I believe the best incarnation so far of JB's 2-3 was the '11-12 team with Fab anchoring it, with the '12-13 f4 team close behind... I further believe there's a strong chance this year's version will be better than either of those.

 

[moqui]

there is one big, noticeable difference in the defense between last year and the great "shut it down" years from 2010 to the onset of probation.

those earlier teams used the defense to wreak havoc, creating live ball turnovers & turning them into fast breaks which fueled the offense. according to the data at kenpom, each year of that stretch, the defense created turnovers on over 13% of opponents possessions and was ranked in the top 10 nationally in to% each year.

last year's team created turnovers on a bit over 10% of each possession - very good, and good for 27th nationally, but quite different from those other teams. there is no data to support this, but my impression is that last year's turnovers included significantly fewer live ball turnovers - a lot of shot clock violations and bad passes that went out of bounds. the defense last year was a grinding defense that wore down opponents' minds. i'm guessing that a lot of that had to do with the lack of depth; the defense was a little more passive than previously as the defenders were not able to be quite as active due to the amount of minutes they were playing.

i'm hoping the added depth this year will allow us to see a return to the weaponized defenses of the first half of the decade and, with it, an increase in the lethal transition offense that it brought with it.

 

[Cusefan0307]

No doubt we slowed the game down on purpose last year. JB has said as much. We had to. It was our only chance.

 

[DonLightfoot]

Very good read.

 

[OttoinGrotto]