Getting Defensive........with the Zone?

[VAMike23]

Zone defense is not something UCONN uses often, sticking instead to our great M2M almost all of the time, but the next few weeks might find circumstances shifting a bit.

Yesterday I read a quote by Geno about his plan for the new/modified starting lineup in the absence of KML. He said it will likely be "situational," depending on matchups game to game. So right there we see that Geno, perforce, is going away from the tried and true (set staring lineup) and acknowledging the need to improvise in certain respects for the time being. Perfectly sensible and not surprising given the injuries and bench situation. Quite the monkey wrench that's been handed to the team this week.

My thought then was, as long as we're having to be a little more situational about things, "Why not zone a little more?" In the past, the zone has been one of those situational things in and of itself.

To Exploit Matchups: I think use of the zone will crop up a little more now, particularly against teams like UMD that don't shoot as well from the perimeter---especially considering that Geno is now quite comfortable having both Geno and Kiah on the floor at the same time, and even the three bigs (Stewie as the 3rd big) together on the floor all at once. Right there you have an EXTREMELY intimidating front line (the best 3-woman back line ever for UCONN?) that is also mobile. Not one of these ladies is slow of foot. Meaning you can use the zone and still close on shooters in the gaps and along the baseline.

To Limit Fouls There have been rare occasions when Geno went to the zone because of fouls to key post players, keeping them on the floor rather than heading to the bench when he couldn't afford to lose their offense. So there's another reason we might see zone a bit more going forward. In most situations (not every situation), it's easier for the offensive player to drive and create contact when the defender is riding her as she makes her way into the lane, or off of screens and switches. The challenge--especially with the tighter rules--is to keep a bit of space so as not to foul when the player makes a sudden burst but stay close enough to stop the play. With a zone the situation is flipped: the space is already there to begin with. Now you're trying to close that space quickly enough to stop a successful shot or assist. I think our bigs can do that. In fact, I think they could potentially employ a zone better than almost any WCBB front line that's ever stepped on the floor.

Fun to Watch now and then Finally, though UCONN's defense under Geno will likely always be a great, helping M2M, I just enjoy watching us play the zone sometimes, especially when Kiah is in the game with Stef. I love watching those two patrol the paint. Throw Stewie and her 7'1" wingspan (has Kiah's every been measured? If not, it should be...) and the zone could be a really formidable weapon for us for key stretches. Not as a bread and butter, but as a viable option. Having players with both agility and wingspan is everything with the zone. Passing lanes to the inside are also cut down, *if* you have defenders with wingspan.

I think we could see Geno's use of the zone climb from "hardly ever" to maybe 25% of the time against certain teams, possibly more if it's really working well. Again, matchup dependent.....Maryland seems a good candidate.

 

[jsloanjr]

Very true, MD struggles from the outside and they try to force the ball in the paint and that will paly into the huge front court of KSS............Friday night will be fast break city.....Get your Popcorn and beverages ready by 545......Next break might not be until 7........

 

[UcMiami]

I noticed quite a bit of zone being run in the second half against Stanford and I think it is a solid reaction to reduce fouls as well. A lot of the silly/bad fouls are when players are being driven past or fighting around screens.

 

[VAMike23]

I noticed quite a bit of zone being run in the second half against Stanford and I think it is a solid reaction to reduce fouls as well. A lot of the silly/bad fouls are when players are being driven past or fighting around screens.

I was watching for it but I think they were really helping off their man(woman) a lot, because then I would see our players going with their player across the floor ....even though it started off looking much like a zone.

 

[pppggg]

Don't forget that Stewie is also an effective shot blocker. 6'3", 6'3" and 6'5 pretty much shuts down easy points inside and cuts down driving the lane. Where I see the problem is who plays the baseline when one of them is out of the game for a break, because of foul trouble or god help us, another injury.

 

[HGN]

I like the thought VAMike............UConn doesn't play zone very much , but they don't have to having such great M2M defenders. Plus, we don't run into many situations like we have before us for the next 4-6 weeks either. In certain situations it will not surprise me to see Geno go to a zone to see how the other team handles the change.

When you don't have the athletes ; don't have the size ; or don't have the depth ; a zone can be a little bit of an equalizer.

We just might see it a few times over the next month and a half.

 

[huskeynut]

I would not be surprised to see Geno employ a zone defense - most likely a 2 - 3 or maybe a 1 - 2 - 2 with Stewie out top as the chaser.

I think we start off man to man but switch up during the game and alternate. If MD's guards do not recognize the change, Bria, MoJef, BB and Saniya could be off the the races with errant passes.

 

[chrissaran]

I don't see Stewie playing out front unless Stef and Kiah are both in the game. Maryland is an excellent rebounding team. Stef can't do it on her own. Kiah has to be in there for Stewie to play out front in the zone.