Coach ,

This is usually the time of the year when you start figuring out what will be on your zone offense menu.

Zone Defense is becoming more and more prevalent at every level of basketball. Therefore, it’s time to create a zone offensive menu that fits your team.

Coach Robert Jones is entering his 15th year at Norfolk State overall and his 8th as head coach. He was the 2019 MEAC Coach of the Year, 2019 NABC District 15 Coach of the Year and the 2019 Skip Prosser National Coach of the Year.

In 2019, his Norfolk State Spartans pulled off the biggest upset in NIT point spread history. A 16 point underdog to #1 seed Alabama, the NSU Spartans pulled off an 80-79 upset.

Coach Jones is known as a guru when it comes to Zone Offense. He stresses that Ball and Body Movement are the most important things to break the zone defense.

He wants to make sure you get the defense moving in order to easily get the zone out of position and even collapse.

Here are 3 Zone Offensive sets from Coach Jones’ Menu:

#1 - Pitt

Pitt is a quick hitter zone set that will put the defense in a pickle. The set consists of a slot-to-slot pass followed by a hard cut to the ball side corner.

This sets up a quick overload. 

Then the perimeter player on the weak side will flash to the ball-side elbow. On the catch, the big who is on the block will duck in (click image for video):

Pitt

#2 - Flash

Flash starts with a 3 out 2 in alignment. The play starts with a pass to the wing.

On the pass to the wing, the ball-side low man sets a cross screen for the other big to come over.

If not open, the ball handler is going to drive the middle. 

The other two players on the perimeter will come to the ball. However, the player farthest from the basketball will Flash middle (click image for video):

Flash

#3 - Cyclone

Cyclone is a zone set from BLOB. The set consists of a flare screen, but the player who sets the screen will slip middle.

Then there is a back screen on the weak side of the zone to set up a player for an alley-oop.

This set is very hard to defend because it happens very quickly and puts the zone defenders in a pickle (click image for video):

Cyclone

Creating a Zone Offensive Menu will help you be prepared for this upcoming season.

Based on off-season clinics, the 2-3 Zone Defense is a defense that you will see this season. 

Coach Jones’ Zone Offensive Playbook will get you prepared to shred the zone.

Thank you to Coach Jones for an excellent clinic on Zone Offense.

Never get out-coached,

-- The Coaches Clinic Community of Coaches Helping Coaches