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Basic Defense Principles of Youth Basketball: Zone and Man

The basic defense principles are imperative for every child who participates in basketball to begin to learn early. However,in the youth basketball world, it is often heard that one should only teach the M2M defense. But unless you are in a league that disallows Zones, it would be prudent to have the Zone available or to use it as your main defense.

Personally I am a M2M supporter, but in youth basketball you are often left with little time to teach these ONLY these basic defense principles effectively, and still compete. I prefer to, and know well, that is possible to teach good, sound, M2M principles out of the Zone.

The basic defense principles of basketball, whether out of a Zone or Man-to-Man, are in essence the same. It is merely the way in which they are implemented as a collective team in which they differ. The sole objective of both styles of defense is to limit the other team to as little points as possible. And to use what is best suited for the team.

In both types of defense the player, when guarding the ball, should always stay between the player they are guarding and the basket.

Courtesy of flickr.com by German S

If in a Zone, help is essentially moving over to fill a gap while guarding anyone who might be in that area. This is the Zone version of help.

If in a Man-to-Man guarding away from ball, defender should drop off enough to help. He/she should do this in such a way that allows them to stay between the player they are responsible for, and the ball; yet still be able to see both. We will look at both styles of defense; their philosophy's, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

ZONE DEFENSE

It would be wrong not to mention the fact that any Zone Defense, regardless of type, will always work best when run in a match-up style. This will deter defenders from becoming complacent, only guarding empty space(only guarding an area), compelling them to instead guard any open player around them, and adjust accordingly, even if that means they must move out of their spot from time to time. This will help in prohibiting the offense from overloading one side of a Zone.

The whole purpose of a Zone defense is to guard against another team scoring with as little movement and adjustment as possible by placing defenders in predetermined positions on the court.

The idea is that it is easier for a player to guard a specific area on the court, and be able to help better, rather than having to keep up with an offensive person all over the court. It is also believed that it will conserve energy, somewhat even the playing field against a team that is athletically superior by clogging the lane, and increase rebound potential.

Strengths

Less movement.

If executed properly it is difficult to get open drives to basket.

Always have several players in good rebound position.,

Better for teams who lack size or depth.

Takes less time to teach.

Weaknesses

Can promote laziness.

Not easy to defend against a team that will overload one side.

Will in most cases leave a gap open somewhere at any given time.

Players have tendency to guard dead space instead of guarding an offensive player.

And the number one achilles heel of the Zone is that it can be horribly weak against a team that is patient, passes a lot, and uses a lot of movement in their offense.

MAN-TO-MAN

Man to Man defense is by far the best, most effective, and reliable defense which there is. But it does have several issues that will ultimately dictate whether it will be right for your team.

It is just not possible to always run a Man-to-Man with every team, no matter what level it is at.

The overall purpose of a Man-to-Man is to make play difficult for offensive players, limiting a teams scoring ability by placing a defender upon each of and opponents players, wherever they may be on the court.

The idea is that by doing this, if a team is going to beat you, they will have to have talented, and athletic players who can score under extreme pressure, beating you one on one, rather than as a total team effort. If executed correctly, this can cause individual players to fail, as well as break down the whole teams offense, because they rely so much upon their teammates.

If you are facing a good shooting team, it can take away their ability to get good looks at the basket, forcing them to drive or go inside.

There are mainly two types of Man Defense

One is the straight up man, where the defender plays between the offensive player with ball and the goal, and helps off if they are away from ball. The other is the Denial, where all defendersaway from ball stay put on their man, playing tight, and denying them the ball altogether.

Strengths

Promotes aggressiveness.

Teaches valuable fundamentals.

Is very hard to play against if executed correctly, and players know how to help and recover.

Takes away the ability of offense to move as effectively.

Can take away many set options from an offense, causing them to have to play a style of offense they aren't used to.

Weaknesses

Should not be ran all the time if your youth league is highly competitive, unless you are certain you players can do it.

Should not be ran with a team that lacks too much in size, unless your kids are just super aggressive.

Should not be ran too much if you lack depth on the bench.

Should not be ran if your team lacks speed or agility.

Is very weak against a team who knows how to, and will use a lot of picks on offense.

Mostly vulnerable against a team that is much more athletic and talented.

SBI!