Keno Davis: The Mix & Match-Up Zone Defense

with Keno Davis,Head Coach and Assistant General Manager of Flint United (The Basketball League):
Central Michigan Head Coach from 2012 to 2021;
2015 MAC Regular Season Champions;
2015 MAC Coach of the Year;
2015 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award;
Providence College Head Coach from 2008 to 2011;
Drake University Head Coach 2007 to 2008 (was Assistant Coach, 2003 to 2007);
2008 AP National Coach of the Year;
2008 Sporting News 'Coach of the Year;'
2008 Henry Iba Award;
Basketball Times 2008 'Coach of the Year';
2008 MVC 'Coach of the Year'

Keno Davis transfers his basketball mind onto the whiteboard and the hardwood to detail how his team runs a match-up zone with several different looks. If you want to teach a defense that is easy to implement yet difficult for other teams to prepare for and play against, this is a great video for you! You will learn how to build Davis' match-up zone defense and how to switch into different "junk defenses" seamlessly to keep your opponent guessing as to what you are actually running.

Building the Match-Up Zone

Davis begins each session on the whiteboard and explains the building blocks of the match-up zone through X's and O's before demonstrating those concepts with his team on the court. You'll learn the set up of the defense and see Davis explain why he puts his personnel into certain spots within the zone. While this defense may look like a 3-2 zone, it's more like a shifting 1-2-2 defense that helps your team protect the basket and be in good rebounding position on shots.

Next, Davis breaks down the rules for perimeter and post players that make driving into the paint difficult and force opponents to settle for tough outside shots. He covers rotations on passes and what to do when your opponent skips the ball or uses ball screens to try and beat the zone.

Adding "Junk D" Looks

Coach Davis also teaches the fundamentals of box-and-one and triangle-and-two junk defenses. He explains how his team can identify certain situations in which they will jump from a zone defense, to a man defense, and into a junk defense to slow down the opponent's best player. The best part is your players will eventually learn to do this without making any kind of vocal call!

With numerous breakdown segments that cover a variety of game situations, you will walk away from this video comfortable and confident about implementing Davis' system. He does a great job of making seemingly complex strategies easy-to-learn, and his segments on defending ball screens on the wings and middle are essential in today's ball screen dominant game. If your team is struggling to slow down opponents with traditional man or 2-3 defensive looks, this may be the defense you can finally turn to for answers!

60 minutes. 2018.