The 1-1-3 and 3-2 Match-Up Zone Defenses

with Eric Flannery,
St. Edward's (OH) High School Head Boys Basketball Coach;
400 career wins; 2x Ohio Division I State Champions;
3x Cleveland Plain Dealer Coach of the Year and 2007 Associated Press Ohio Coach of the Year;
2013-14 USA Men's U17 Developmental National Team Assistant Coach (FIBA World Championship Gold Medal);
2010 USA Youth Olympic Games Team Head Coach; 2010 McDonald's All American Game Head Coach (West Team)

Having a lockdown defense is critical in today's game. Being able to stifle even the best offensive opponents can allow an average team to become a great team. In this video, Eric Flannery breaks down every rotation and concept to teach you the basics of a match-up zone defense. Whether you're searching for a different look to your defensive philosophy or just something that will confuse your best opponents, this zone defense has it all.

Using several defensive set-ups, Coach Flannery teaches the match-up zone as if you were in his practices. Starting with the whole picture, he demonstrates how the rotations within the zone will allow you to disguise your defense, making your opponents think you're using your man-to-man defense. From 5v5 rotations, you'll learn how to guard a driving team from the wing, a team that has lights-out shooters, or mobile post players with some range. He gives detailed breakdowns of wing coverage, corner coverage, skip passes, screening action, and how to take away drives.

Man-to-Man Principles

In this zone defense scheme, man-to-man principles still apply. Players always apply ball pressure while closing out and shifting into help defense on the weak side. Forcing the ball sideline is the key, and athletes will deny one pass away. This ball pressure and man-to-man principles allow your defense to disguise itself by looking like a man-to-man defense. The match-up zone shifts and moves, and gives you the ability to have players in position to help and get steals off rotations. If the pass from the corner is able to make a skip pass, the zone shifts back into its original position and you're back into your match-up zone.

To help your players grasp concepts and movements, Flannery demonstrates how to defend different offensive set-ups. From a 2-guard front, to a 3-2 look, to a 1-4 high set up, Flannery's easy to teach concepts help athletes see the pattern of slides and coverages. Installing this defense is simple and can be fun to do. If you're an aggressive team, you can utilize the zone coverages to trap the ball in the deep corner or at half court, creating steals and scoring opportunities for your team. The match-up zone works in your favor by cutting the floor in half and forcing the offense to choose a side through constant ball pressure.

1-1-3 Defense

Flannery uses on-court demonstration to show his 1-1-3 match-up zone, which is aggressive like a 1-3-1. Ball pressure is a must when playing zone, and in this zone the defender puts ball pressure on the person in their area when they have it. You'll see the basic principles for each position, predicated on ball pressure and player movement to defend the offense.

Coach Flannery does an excellent job demonstrating his defensive philosophy for the match-up zone. If you're looking for a defense to stifle your toughest opponent, give this one a try!

"Our program is based around making the game simple, and this match-up zone defense was a great change of pace and aggressive look that we were looking for!" - Customer Review

76 minutes. 2017.