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Zone offense still bad.....and it’s late in the season

jgdPittfan

Scholarship
Nov 6, 2009
346
83
28
74
Poor ball reversal, holding ball too long...too much dribbling especially
X.....more teams will play 2/3 zone
knowing they haven’t figured it out yet......this is mostly on the coaches.
Yank X more often if he doesn’t get it......McGowan too
 
Poor ball reversal, holding ball too long...too much dribbling especially
X.....more teams will play 2/3 zone
knowing they haven’t figured it out yet......this is mostly on the coaches.
Yank X more often if he doesn’t get it......McGowan too
If you're going to pull Xavier and McGowens for not being effective enough against the zone, who are you going to play? We have the roster that we have.
 
Poor ball reversal, holding ball too long...too much dribbling especially
X.....more teams will play 2/3 zone
knowing they haven’t figured it out yet......this is mostly on the coaches.
Yank X more often if he doesn’t get it......McGowan too
Late in the season. Same talent.
 
Poor ball reversal, holding ball too long...too much dribbling especially
X.....more teams will play 2/3 zone
knowing they haven’t figured it out yet......this is mostly on the coaches.
Yank X more often if he doesn’t get it......McGowan too

Unfortunately I find this to be true. I've been posting about how we attack
zones all last year and this year. You mentioned poor ball reversal. This is
very true, but the way we set up, there can't be a ball reversal. A PG and a
wing on either side only allows perimeter passing both left and right. There
can't be any ball reversal unless the ball goes further, one more pass to
the side.That's what makes the zone move; you can counter this with
reversing it to the weakside. It's almost impossible to do this without a fourth player on the outside. The use of a cutter with this allows the reverasl to actually
work (this is basic 101). You can also use the post and a ball reversal.
Some teams have the high post come out to the top of the key and help
with the reversal. I apologize for sounding like a know it all on this, but
it's so frustrating to watch us not even look to do these things.

Now is Capel blind to this? I say no, but I feel he believes in a
few other approaches. He would rather swing it back and forth from
the pg to the two wings and look for a gap. If one occurs, the guard
dribbles into the gap trying to collapse the zone, and then make a
play...either a pass or a shot.
Capel also likes to set a high screen with the post and have the guard
dribble off it and make a play. He also likes to use an entry pass
to the high post for either a shot or a pass down low.
IMO these are good approaches, but not enough.
We don't overload a side. We don't use a cutter. We don't execute
a ball reversal. Last but not least....we do NOT move the ball
quickly enough to get the zone out of whack.
Again sorry for the rant, but it drives me nuts watching this.
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately I find this to be true. I've been posting about how we attack
zones all last year and this year. You mentioned poor ball reversal. This is
very true, but the way we set up, there can't be a ball reversal. A PG and a
wing on either side only allows perimeter passing both left and right. There
can't be any ball reversal unless the ball goes further, one more pass to
the side.That's what makes the zone move; you can counter this with
reversing it to the weakside. It's almost impossible to do this without a fourth player on the outside. The use of a cutter with this allows the reverasl to actually
work (this is basic 101). You can also use the post and a ball reversal.
Some teams have the high post come out to the top of the key and help
with the reversal. I apologize for sounding like a know it all on this, but
it's so frustrating to watch us not even look to do these things.

Now is Capel blind to this? I say no, but I feel he believes in a
few other approaches. He would rather swing it back and forth from
the pg to the two wings and look for a gap. If one occurs, the guard
dribbles into the gap trying to collapse the zone, and then make a
play...either a pass or a shot.
Capel also likes to set a high screen with the post and have the guard
dribble off it and make a play. He also likes to use an entry pass
to the high post for either a shot or a pass down low.
IMO these are good approaches, but not enough.
We don't overload a side. We don't use a cutter. We don't execute
a ball reversal. Last but not least....we do NOT move the ball
quickly enough to get the zone out of whack.
Again sorry for the rant, but it drives me nuts watching this.
I think that quick ball movement is the key that Pitt is missing. No matter what the strategy, the ball needs to move quickly to keep the defense off balance and in motion. Slow ball movement allows the defense to reset.
 
Unfortunately I find this to be true. I've been posting about how we attack
zones all last year and this year. You mentioned poor ball reversal. This is
very true, but the way we set up, there can't be a ball reversal. A PG and a
wing on either side only allows perimeter passing both left and right. There
can't be any ball reversal unless the ball goes further, one more pass to
the side.That's what makes the zone move; you can counter this with
reversing it to the weakside. It's almost impossible to do this without a fourth player on the outside. The use of a cutter with this allows the reverasl to actually
work (this is basic 101). You can also use the post and a ball reversal.
Some teams have the high post come out to the top of the key and help
with the reversal. I apologize for sounding like a know it all on this, but
it's so frustrating to watch us not even look to do these things.

Now is Capel blind to this? I say no, but I feel he believes in a
few other approaches. He would rather swing it back and forth from
the pg to the two wings and look for a gap. If one occurs, the guard
dribbles into the gap trying to collapse the zone, and then make a
play...either a pass or a shot.
Capel also likes to set a high screen with the post and have the guard
dribble off it and make a play. He also likes to use an entry pass
to the high post for either a shot or a pass down low.
IMO these are good approaches, but not enough.
We don't overload a side. We don't use a cutter. We don't execute
a ball reversal. Last but not least....we do NOT move the ball
quickly enough to get the zone out of whack.
Again sorry for the rant, but it drives me nuts watching this.
All good points. Let me add another option. Have your big screen the bottom of a zone for a baseline cutter, then open up for a direct post pass. Corner pass or post pass should be open. Just sayin...
 
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All good points. Let me add another option. Have your big screen the bottom of a zone for a baseline cutter, then open up for a direct post pass. Corner pass or post pass should be open. Just sayin...

Yup!
 
I think that quick ball movement is the key that Pitt is missing. No matter what the strategy, the ball needs to move quickly to keep the defense off balance and in motion. Slow ball movement allows the defense to reset.

The players have to move more because the ball moves its just going around the 3line and our guys were just standing around. If you don't move the D doesn't have to move and they just watch you throw the ball around the outside. They have to cut and flash more and that will cause the D to have move and find guys.
 
I'm sure the coaches are telling the players all these things to attack the zone. But it depends solely on the guys (X and McGowans) who handle the ball to run the sets. But they don't, when the ball gets in their hands, they want to penetrate first at all cost. Capel knows it, tells them, but he an bench them, because there are no real options. They both know it.
 
I think that quick ball movement is the key that Pitt is missing. No matter what the strategy, the ball needs to move quickly to keep the defense off balance and in motion. Slow ball movement allows the defense to reset.

Capel has mentioned the ball getting “stuck” in guys hands. X and Trey seem to be so focused on driving and making plays that they hold the ball and look for an opening rather than trying to move the ball quickly.
 
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