The Outlet: Zone Defense in AAU
The Outlet is a column that touches on different topics regarding the state of prep basketball in Oklahoma.
Why is there so much zone in AAU basketball?
Zone is the easiest defense to teach and almost 99% of kids have played in a 2-3 or 3-2 zone. Unfortunately, a lot of these programs don’t have sufficient practice time going into tournament play.
There is also a lack of depth coaching wise. Some programs have a stock pile of coaches with experience at teaching the in and outs of solid man-to-man defense.
Unfortunately, there are programs out there that are thrown together from one weekend to the next which destroys chemistry which is key when playing man defense.
Why does playing zone ALL the time hurt the players?
Evaluation at the next level.
You may win a ton of games but you are also potentially hiding a stellar one-on-one defender on the wing of a 2-3.
College plays zone as well and many like Syracuse play it as their base defense but most play man to man due to the types of shooters that are at that level.
If a kid can defend, he will automatically catch the coaches eye which is the entire goal of AAU in the first place. Winning is a big deal but at the end of the day no one remembers what your record is, they remember how many kids got their school paid for to play ball.
What are the positives of zone defense?
More kids are coming to the college level ready to play against zones because they have faced every conceivable zone a million times already.
Kids now understand the importance of movement and hitting the high post through coaching and personal experience.
College coaches don’t have to spend days teaching freshmen how to attack a zone anymore.
The zone is so dominant in AAU that they know how to attack it from then on.