SWC75
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The 1964 Sports Illustrated College Basketball Preview, (12/7/64: the SU Vault doesn't have this article to link to, unfortunately), has an article entitled "Zone Defenses Set the Style":
"Once deplored by better coaches as the easy way out of teaching sound defense in basketball, the zone is now all the rage on every level of the sport. One good reason is that today's supershooters and intricate offenses have been beating man-to-man defenses regularly. Coach Joe Mullaney of Providence, who assisted in preparing this article, also points out that the new zone patterns are far more sophisticated than those of a few years ago...His experience proves that only a team of superior ball handlers can consistently penetrate a well-played zone. Four of the most popular of these defenses are analyzed on the following pages."
The first one is the 1-2-2 zone, which places a single defender at the top of the key and the other four along the two sides of the lane. The diagram shows the defense shifting in the direction of the ball with the guys on the right side, (the ball is on the left), moving into the paint while the guys on the left side move out to cover the two offensive players on that side. "This zone is used most often to offset a height disadvantage and against a team that has a strong pivotman but weak outside shooting. it is specifically designed to jam the foul lane, cutting off penetration to the basket and creating congestion in the most dangerous scoring area while providing excellent blocking and rebounding position."
The second one is the 1-3-1 zone, which "is likely to be used when the opposing teams are fairly equal in size. it offers good opportunities for double-teaming and ball stealing and can exploit a poor ball-handling team, shitting off the passing lanes while still maintaining good rebounding position. The 1-3-1 is ideal, too for a team that likes to fast-break." The diagram shows three players in a line from under the basket out to the top of the key while their remaining two teammates are out on the wings, parallel to the middle man in that line. When the ball is to one side, (the right side in the diagram, shown from a perspective behind the basket), the three middle men swtich to the right side of the lane and the wing guy on the other side moves into the paint.
The third on is the combination, "perhaps the most puzzling defense to recognize- both for fans and the coaches- is the one that Mullaney has popularized at Providence and variations of which are being used at other schools. Most opposing coaches call it a zone and attack it with the zone offense. That suits Mullaney fine. the less movement there is against his combination, the better he likes it. Mullaney insists that it's "a man-to-man defense with zone principles". The Providence defense always assumes the alignment of the offense it faces...The ball is played man to man but - and here is where the zone characteristics apply - every defensive player is always turned toward the ball and the front men never go with their opposing players when those players penetrate. Instead they trade them off to the deep men. Theoretically the combination will nullify a height disadvantage and give up only a tough shot under extreme pressure." The diagram shows essentially a 1-31 with the guy under the basket moved to the left of the lane, because they are are facing a 1-3-1 offense. Again the ball is thrown to the right side and everyone except one guy moves to the right, the remaining man guarding the basket.
The final defense is the zone press, which UCLA had used to go 30-0 and win the national championship the previous spring and which Syracuse would use to score almost 100 points a game the next year. "This is a gambling defense that has become increasingly popular. There are many variations of it and it is played either half-court or full-court, depending on the circumstances and the effect desired. The press can be extremely effective as an emergency measure when a team is behind, as a change of pace to control the tempo of the game or to harass a weak ball-handling opponent. It is taxing, however and can only be employed by well-conditioned, aggressive players. The front men must be quick enough to execute a good double-team maneuver and the deep men, who are charged with looking for the interception, have to anticipate the direction of the first pass and then react fast enough to pick it off. ." The diagram shows a "T" shaped formation with three players in a line from the center jump circle to the opposing basket and the two other guys in the corners. "But woe to the pressing team that permits the offense to elude its first double team. Chances are it will be scored upon before it can regroup." Which is why Jim Boeheim is loathe to use it.
The 2-3 zone is not described, although it's uses sound similar to the 1-3-1. Despite the man-for-man being pummeled by those "intricate offenses, it has not exactly disappeared from the college basketball scene. Joe Mullaney's Providence team had a heck of a season: 24-1 and ranked #4 in the country- until they ran into the magazine's cover boy in the finals of the Eastern Regional:
Dollar Bill rang up 41 points on Joe's "combination" defense and Princeton rolled, 109-69. Back to the drawing board.
"Once deplored by better coaches as the easy way out of teaching sound defense in basketball, the zone is now all the rage on every level of the sport. One good reason is that today's supershooters and intricate offenses have been beating man-to-man defenses regularly. Coach Joe Mullaney of Providence, who assisted in preparing this article, also points out that the new zone patterns are far more sophisticated than those of a few years ago...His experience proves that only a team of superior ball handlers can consistently penetrate a well-played zone. Four of the most popular of these defenses are analyzed on the following pages."
The first one is the 1-2-2 zone, which places a single defender at the top of the key and the other four along the two sides of the lane. The diagram shows the defense shifting in the direction of the ball with the guys on the right side, (the ball is on the left), moving into the paint while the guys on the left side move out to cover the two offensive players on that side. "This zone is used most often to offset a height disadvantage and against a team that has a strong pivotman but weak outside shooting. it is specifically designed to jam the foul lane, cutting off penetration to the basket and creating congestion in the most dangerous scoring area while providing excellent blocking and rebounding position."
The second one is the 1-3-1 zone, which "is likely to be used when the opposing teams are fairly equal in size. it offers good opportunities for double-teaming and ball stealing and can exploit a poor ball-handling team, shitting off the passing lanes while still maintaining good rebounding position. The 1-3-1 is ideal, too for a team that likes to fast-break." The diagram shows three players in a line from under the basket out to the top of the key while their remaining two teammates are out on the wings, parallel to the middle man in that line. When the ball is to one side, (the right side in the diagram, shown from a perspective behind the basket), the three middle men swtich to the right side of the lane and the wing guy on the other side moves into the paint.
The third on is the combination, "perhaps the most puzzling defense to recognize- both for fans and the coaches- is the one that Mullaney has popularized at Providence and variations of which are being used at other schools. Most opposing coaches call it a zone and attack it with the zone offense. That suits Mullaney fine. the less movement there is against his combination, the better he likes it. Mullaney insists that it's "a man-to-man defense with zone principles". The Providence defense always assumes the alignment of the offense it faces...The ball is played man to man but - and here is where the zone characteristics apply - every defensive player is always turned toward the ball and the front men never go with their opposing players when those players penetrate. Instead they trade them off to the deep men. Theoretically the combination will nullify a height disadvantage and give up only a tough shot under extreme pressure." The diagram shows essentially a 1-31 with the guy under the basket moved to the left of the lane, because they are are facing a 1-3-1 offense. Again the ball is thrown to the right side and everyone except one guy moves to the right, the remaining man guarding the basket.
The final defense is the zone press, which UCLA had used to go 30-0 and win the national championship the previous spring and which Syracuse would use to score almost 100 points a game the next year. "This is a gambling defense that has become increasingly popular. There are many variations of it and it is played either half-court or full-court, depending on the circumstances and the effect desired. The press can be extremely effective as an emergency measure when a team is behind, as a change of pace to control the tempo of the game or to harass a weak ball-handling opponent. It is taxing, however and can only be employed by well-conditioned, aggressive players. The front men must be quick enough to execute a good double-team maneuver and the deep men, who are charged with looking for the interception, have to anticipate the direction of the first pass and then react fast enough to pick it off. ." The diagram shows a "T" shaped formation with three players in a line from the center jump circle to the opposing basket and the two other guys in the corners. "But woe to the pressing team that permits the offense to elude its first double team. Chances are it will be scored upon before it can regroup." Which is why Jim Boeheim is loathe to use it.
The 2-3 zone is not described, although it's uses sound similar to the 1-3-1. Despite the man-for-man being pummeled by those "intricate offenses, it has not exactly disappeared from the college basketball scene. Joe Mullaney's Providence team had a heck of a season: 24-1 and ranked #4 in the country- until they ran into the magazine's cover boy in the finals of the Eastern Regional:
Dollar Bill rang up 41 points on Joe's "combination" defense and Princeton rolled, 109-69. Back to the drawing board.
