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The zone offense has become increasingly effective in modern basketball. 

However, the clear benefits it provides are only available to coaches and teams who know how to successfully execute the zone offense into their offensive strategy. We’ve taken three vital zone offense positioning ideas from coaches who know the zone offense like the back of their hand. 

Scott Morrison - Preferred Zone Attacks

Scott Morrison - Preferred Zone Attacks

Scott Morrison is an assistant coach with the Utah Jazz.  

Before joining Utah’s coaching staff, Morrison joined the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach after spending the three previous seasons as part of the organization as the head coach of the team’s NBA G-League affiliate, Maine Red Claws.

Coach Morrison’s ‘Zone Offense’ clinic illustrates that a zone offense should be spaced out (especially with a player in each corner) with your dunker filled. This is essentially where a zone offense becomes dependent on the dribble drive. 

Another option is to focus on executing ball screens and pick and roll players early in on the shot clock.

Coach Morrison noted that these concepts are effective on a zone offense because they encourage more threats, more often, in a possession.

Robert Starkey - Screens Off Ball

Robert Starkey - Screens Off Ball

Coach Bob Starkey returned to the LSU Tigers in April 2022 to serve as the associate head coach on Coach Kim Mulkey’s staff. Starkey came to LSU after one year of coaching at Auburn. 

His ‘Things To Do When Your Zone Offense Isn’t Working’ clinic discusses why setting off ball screens is vital in a successful zone offense.  

He stresses, “Where you place all the players on each pass, cut, and movement is big.” For example, if you’re going to have the point guard pass it into the post and then set an off-ball screen to a wing player on the strong side, it’s crucial to have another player available on the opposite wing. 

This is because the zone defense does a good job of stopping the threat of the off-ball screen or the player on the zone’s outer edge collapses down, the post player won’t be trapped. 

Todd Simon - Corner / Short Corner

Todd Simon - Corner / Short Corner

Todd Simon is the head coach of Bowling Green’s men’s basketball program. In his first season with the Falcons, Coach Simon tallied 20 wins for just the 10th time in the program's MAC era. 

Coach Simon’s ‘Zone Offense’ clinic discusses one trick to beating a zone offense: Having a wing on the opposite side of where the ball is located to make a back cut across to the other corner. 

Not only will this be difficult for a zone defense to track, but having a player on one corner and another on that same side’s post is nearly indefensible for one player in a zone; especially if the ball is quickly passed into the post. 

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