Man or Zone??

[superd2312]

Do you prefer to play man or zone and why??

[razorback5]

Zone. Forces the other team to make shots. That's what I do with my sixth grade team. Sixth graders haven't quite developed a pure shot so going with a zone works well for my team. However, we can't score so were 1-4.

[STUNNA]

athletic team-man
not so athletic-zone

[motivate]

"Zone is all that has worked in the past and its all that will work now"(barber shop boys Hoosiers)
If you have quick players man defense
If you have two or three weaker player zone can hide weakness a little

[Burto]

It Depends on what kind of talent the team has. I like man most of the time. I may go zone about 10 times during a game. This is if i see my players getting tired. Zone takes less energy than man. I like the 1-1-3 trap some it speeds the other team up and makes them make mistakes.

[CatsnBears]

Good zone is a thing of beauty, but it isn't easy to stay with it.  If you're not committed to it, it unravels on you.

[neafbfan]

Man or zone? Depends. I may not play Team A as much man as I would Team B and vice versa.

All zones eventually become m2m. Most zones, if not all are symmetrical in that one side looks just like the other. Ex. 2-1-2 or3-2. A good offense will manipulate either side with good crisp passing.

If the opposition is very athletic,go zone and make them shoot outside. If they are poor ball handlers, go man,press or traps.

But I agree with the earlier post, man takes a lot of energy so conditioning is important here. Zone is great to rest or if team is in foul trouble. If your team has good recovery speed if beat off the dribble, press and trap, if not zone.

[CoachJ]

It Depends on what kind of talent the team has. I like man most of the time. I may go zone about 10 times during a game. This is if i see my players getting tired. Zone takes less energy than man. I like the 1-1-3 trap some it speeds the other team up and makes them make mistakes.

I disagree.  You don't have to have much talent to play man-to-man defense.  M2M is all about hustle and being smart enough to put yourself in a better position than the offensive player.  Take Bruce Bowen and Raja Bell for instance.  Neither is a top 100 player in the NBA, yet they are two of the best m2m defenders in the world.  Defense is about 85% hustle, this is my philosophy.  The talent you have will dictate whether or not the other team plays zone or man.  I like to go zone on baseline out of bounds plays and stay with it for a couple of possessions afterwards.  Most of my presses are of the zone variety.  Playing man or zone just depends on what your philosophy is and whichever defense gives you the best chance to be successful. 

[Burto]

Strength, and not gambling are some main factors to good man defense. Stay in position. teach the kids how to help and recover. You can be a talented defensive player and a average offensive player. in college you might not be able to shoot very good but if you rebound play tough defense and set screens you will get all the playing time you want. Its not even close to being about offense.

[OC]

MAN to MAN.  Teach the kids the proper way (shell drill them to death) to play man.  Teach them the rotations, help and recover, type of ball pressure, talking, switch or not to switch, double team the post or not, hedge of double the ball screen.  Take all this and develop the philosophy you want and then TEACH it!!!  Defenders can be made, if they are willing to listen, communicate and hustle.  Teaching man2man is tough, that is why some just go zone.  Others are afraid of foul trouble and even others feel that a weak link can get you killed in man.  I feel that you can put your best player on a weak offensive player if you are scared of foul trouble, the weak link can be covered with good communication and help.  To me true basketball, championship basketball teams, will almost always have their base rooted in man2man.  I like to run a little half court trap out of a 1-3-1 and I also like to run a true match-up, both zones.  I also believe that zones if used in conjunction with your man2man (if your players treat the zone like they do their man, and don't use it to rest) can be lethal against some more athletic teams.