DIAGRAM 3: 2-3 match-up zone vs. 1-3-1 offense. I have noticed two particular traps that are pretty unique to Louisville; one of which the SF does a variation of a "Run and Jump" trap but cuts into a likely passing lane for a steal. Coach Pecora takes a lot of the techniques that Louisville and Syracuse use to create a hybrid 2-3 Match-up Zone defensive system that is different than any other zone in basketball today. Description. Why does Pitino say that defense is the problem this year? Pitino said the Cardinals used both a matchup zone and a switching man-to-man defense. I know UofL is way ahead in the points for/against by teaching and executing this move. by Coach Scott Peterman. This team will get better this season and since it doesn’t seem that great shooters are just going to fall from the sky to save us, it’s going to start on the defensive end. This match-up zone is the ultimate match-up zone defense because it deals with every scenario when it comes to a ball screen and all the different pick and rolls. Attacking it is 80% mental. It wasn’t until later in the second half that the Cardinals began favoring a different kind of full-court press—trapping in the corners. He’s already racking up commitments from recruits who will presumably fit his aggressive style of defense. I don’t know what the right answer to that is, only that it may not have changed anything but adding one more loss to the column, happening early in the season. Here are 8 top sets to help beat it. Early this season, Chane was offender #1 for allowing open threes by opposing teams for not picking up the right man during this switch. Seeing the proper execution and how effective it is valuable to understanding and changing the behavior of new players on defense. It’s altogether just a pleasant physical, sensual and mental experience. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Our "80" match-up press may be setup in a 1-Up, 2-Up, 3-Up, or 4-Up alignment depending on how the offense is positioned in their press-breaker. This came after a lot of other teams started adopting his version, most notably the early 90's Arkansas teams under Nolan Richardson. Why can't Pitino just dumb his system down a little bit? The inbounder is unguarded while the defenders front the ballhandlers. There are a lot of decisions to make individually and a mistake will absolutely do one of two things: 1. Pitino moving Kuric to the PF spot is often credited as being the difference maker in that game offensively, but it also had a big impact on the defensive end as well. To put it bluntly, Buckles wasn’t good at the center spot in this defense. Don Kelbick's match-up zone is governed by a set of rules and leaves interpretation of those rules to the players. It's a zone defense that acts a lot like a good man-to-man defense. The Match-Up Zone betterthanalayup.com Part I 4 Snapshot Here’s a quick overview of Gene Sullivan’s match-up zone. So, a quick review of those questions, also a TLDR; version of the above: Simply, Rick Pitino’s system is a defense driven system in which a full-court match up press is utilized in conjunction with an unique match-up zone defense designed to confuse the opposing team’s offense via switching, control tempo and disrupt flow via steals and deflections. An influx of talented, lightning-quick guards like Tahlik Chavez and Ryan Myers fit exactly the type of aggressive defenders Pitino loves to sic on opposing ballhandlers. This match-up zone defense will help develop your player’s communication, stop great scorers, great scoring teams, employ man defense principles, and be difficult to scout. Lack of accountability on transition defense Advantages of 1-1-3 Can hide a guy in foul trouble Rest periods on defense Teams practice man offense much more than they practice zone especially 1-1-3 zone Destroys Pick n’ Rolls o UCONN averaged 50 pick … With that said, he’s one of the all-time great coaches during halftime. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. It’s a new day in New Rochelle, NY. I have watched more than 100 hours of footage on the Temple Match-up Zone Defense. You will understand how to “match-up” and cause confusion for the offense with a defense that conforms to their formations. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes or so when Louisville’s pressure started to overwhelm the Shockers. Who cares about bravery, or whatever? Similar concept to ball denial, but in this scheme, allowing the catch isn’t the worst thing that can happen. He’s often said to not be an X’s and O’s coach, but that is definitely not true on defense. Coaches would try to execute traditional zone press breaks and would turn the ball over because Pitino's press didn't react the same way a normal zone-press would. We also have an adjustment called " Staggered ". Although Tim Cluess built Iona basketball up to become a perennial contender in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Rick Pitino is here to take the program to the next level. 2 passes to 1. x2 defends 1. x1 slides to high post. The on-ball defender closes-out and plays tight like in man-to-man. Although most zones eventually end up in a match up, the true match-up zone is unique in that it utilizes a series of defensive … Coach Marshall teaches the whole to part method when he implements this zone defense. The Match-up zone defense combines both person-to-person and zone coverage. In the first half of the 2013 Final Four, Pitino’s Louisville team denied the catch on the inbounds for much of the first half. This is (one of technical on-the-court reasons) why Providence lit us up from outside. The 2-1-2 zone defense is popular in basketball, particularly in youth basketball. on Jan 18, 2012, 8:00pm EST Perhaps instead of saying "defense is the problem", Coach Pitino should start saying that "defense is the solution. The D starts off in a 2-3 zone, but has certain triggers that cause it to switch to man-to-man. It has been a progress in work for the last three years and it was totally completed tonight. Because the match-up defense is not a straight zone defense, it becomes difficult to prepare for because not many coaches know the movements of the defensive players in the match-up defense. * When you are coming out of a time-out. Pitino will have to alter a few things here and there with the Gaels. or a big man has to come and help, the defender on the inbounder is right there to double. Today, there are press-breaks designed to make it specifically look like the dribbler is going to fall into this trap, but actually break the trap. SUBSCRIBE NOW $1 for 6 months. Length: 224 pages. Our half-court defense was getting beat in the match-up zone because of execution errors, not fundamental flaws in the scheme. Third, the match-up zone defense can be used to start the fast break. For whatever reason, man-to-man is considered the more courageous way of defending. It’s much more than that. Zone presses are easily beaten when your team knows they are coming and has practiced specific press-breaking movements. It takes repetition to master the system and I’m very proud by the growth of Chane and Gorgui this season on the defensive side of the ball. The on-ball defender closes out and plays tight to his opponent, using the same principles as a good man-to-man defense. The superior athletic ability of our freshmen compared to our competition covers a lot of their mistakes early on, but when it gets to the meat of the season and athletic ability is even or possibly at a disadvantage at times, only proper execution will suffice. The Louisville Cardinals played today and I had the chance to take some clips from the vaunted Rick Pitino pressure defense. This is why Pitino is saying that defense is the problem. Price doesn’t have the experience yet to run this defense. One of the best parts of a Pitino zone defense is that it can quickly turn into a trap on the baseline or a double just past halfcourt. It requires a quick athlete and good timing and if it fails, it usually ends up in an open 3-point shot or layup for the other team. It is the Temple Match-up Zone Defense eBook. If you don't understand the system or make slow or bad decisions, you will cause baskets for the other team. 2. This match-up zone is the ultimate match-up zone defense because it deals with every scenario when it comes to a ball screen and all the different pick and rolls. 1 passes to 3. x4 takes away shot (hands high!) Pitino is a master on defense. Match-up zone is a combination defense, combining elements of man-to-man defense (on ball), and zone defense (away from the ball). This post will not contain animated gifs of pressing defenses, nor a detailed history of basketball defenses. College of Charleston used the same play at least 5 times to get open looks from three, taking advantage of the bad switching by our SF and PF spots in this zone. With that said, expect Iona to be an attack-minded defense that looks to force turnovers wherever and whenever they can. Why does everyone say that freshman struggle with Pitino's "system"? The zone away from the ball resembles man-to-man "helpside" defense. Most recently, in the last 2-3 years, Pitino has developed a match-up zone defense in the half-court that many of you are familiar with. Second, the match-up zone defense is extremely difficult to attack. Ultimate Matchup Zone Playbook. Additionally, our deny presses are "81" (full-court deny) and "61" (3/4 court deny). These press-breaks take advantage of knowing how a defender will move in his zone based on the ball movement, then dribbling or moving the ball through the press knowing where the holes should be. You allow the ball-handler to beat his defender on the dribble and now you have an undefended player speed-dribbling toward the basket. LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After having not played since Feb 1. due to COVID protocols within the program, Louisville men's basketball is back in action. Light pressure in the backcourt from one of the guards slows down the offen… When the ball goes into a trap zone (corners, along baseline/sideline, etc.) Just like how it’s easier to rebound defensively in man-to-man D versus a zone D, so it goes with securing a blocked shot. What about Pitino's "System" is so complex? The defender works the ballhandler a little bit, but turnovers aren’t necessarily the goal. Repetition is key to mastering the defense and even missing a week can cause players to be rusty in their decision making, lowering the efficiency of our defense. Nobody else, other than a recent Pitino disciple that is now a head coach, does it in this unique way. First, assume a 2-3 defensive alignment. In fact, I’ve seen us blow a defensive set when everyone switched to man-to-man BUT Buckles, leading to a dunk for the other team. Louisville basketball has a chance to prove it can overcome a zone defense and get a resume-building win in Wednesday's road battle at Syracuse. We are going to run the offense that we want to run and act rather than react. Lastly, I just want to comment that even though there are legitimate gripes going around with how this season has progressed, I still think Coach Pitino is a great coach. It was all about denying the ball to enter your zone. This forces teams to have to utilize big men to inbound the ball—if they can get the ball in at all. A side effect of Pitino’s defensive genius is that not all players are a quick study. Each man has area responsibility and man responsibility. When we switched to other traditional half-court sets, teams beat us with skill because our team isn’t as skilled at a traditional 2-3 zone. Would you have traded an early-season head scratcher loss to Ohio or College of Charleston for an unknown amount of improvement in Price? Gorgui is our leader and Chane is no longer a liability and becoming quite adept at executing. * You are playing against a high volume of post-up teams and penetration teams. He uses a very simplistic approach to stopping and keeping pressure on the ball, moving on the pass, and closing out - all with a five-man rebounding mentality. This is also why Pitino continues to say that Gorgui is our most important player and he wants 35+ minutes out of him. At UK, Rick Pitino started his career by instituting a 1-2-1-1 zone press and paired it with a high tempo offense relying heavily on the 3-point shot. Here are some favorable zone defense situations: * Man to Man Matchup problems * 2 non-shooters who are both small. DIAGRAM 5: 1-2-2 match-up zone vs. 2-1-2 offense. Two defensive men must constantly defend three offensive men. Card Chronicle, a Louisville Cardinals community, By Remote Cardinal When Gorgui isn’t in the game, we aren’t very good at communicating or timing the switch. DIAGRAM 2: 2-3 match-up zone vs. 1-2-2 offense (with assignments). Because most often, they do struggle on the intake of the defense. The goal was to keep pressure on the ball and match-up man-to-man on the inbounds, but then execute double-teams depending on two things: ball location and your man's location. He has continually, throughout his career, been the trend-setter through innovation and making adjustments and improvements to his defensive schemes. The 2018 NCAA basketball tournament has been one for the ages, giving college basketball fans monumental upsets and amazing come-from-behind victories. In other words, 22nd-ranked Louisville (6-1) may not rely so much on Pitino's patented 2-3 matchup zone, a scheme built on coordinated chaos that … Once the defense is set, Louisville passes off defenders between one another without missing a beat. With our offensive woes this season, we are a (with the exception of Russ) a completely defense-driven team. So here we go. ... Louisville’s defense played well. Louisville ate up Duke in the 2013 Elite Eight with exactly this type of pressure. Our defense loses its teeth when we don’t execute and becomes a basic 2-3, which we aren’t as skilled at as other teams. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. (Check the timing of this change with the first "defense is the problem" statement if you want your mind to be blown.) As seen in the breakdown of the 2-3 matchup zone, Pitino likes to use “token” pressure at times to slow the other team down. In most cases, they ran a 2-2-1 sideline matchup press. Like many rich guys who got rich because they are also smart guys, he’s got an ego. It’s much more than that. The Center communicates the switch and the players are … Light pressure in the backcourt from one of the guards slows down the offense just a bit. The match-up zone is a "hybrid" defense, which combines the tenacity and pressure of man-to-man, with the help and support of a zone. There are defensive sets that fake this trap only to force a different trapping scenario. Of the various things John Chaney has brought to the Temple basketball program, the x-factor has been his notorious matchup zone defense. The Center communicates the switch and the players are supposed to wait for the call to make the switch. Neither typically turn out very well as you might imagine. This is why ND’s burn offense hurt us so badly. Essentially it’s predicated on limiting transition points, forcing turnovers, neutralizing any sort of interior offense and daring teams to … A defender is put on the inbounder and he’s there to help double team and trap when necessary. If it’s a winning defense, use it! Third, guard the ball aggressively, contesting all … Pitino pioneered several other now "classic" traps into this match-up press and it is the basis of the press that Louisville (and many other teams) runs today. Louisville can also limit the damage the zone does by rebounding its own misses. The defense will take the shape of the offensive set. It’s tough to make any 100% perfect predictions in regards to the scheme and style Pitino is going to bring to Iona basketball. You must use both man to man and zone defensive principles. Watch hall Louisville sends the double team as soon as Duke’s Quinn Cook turns his back on the defense with a spin move. He talks about why you show run this match-up zone defense and it’s advantages. This instantly makes the traditional zone beating offensive scheme less effective and you typically have a big man trying to pass out of a double team to people that are being guarded man-to-man. But when the opportunity is there, they’ll “jump” the ballhandler with a double team and look for an easy steal. So even Gorgui is still learning and growing in this defense.). Teams who can’t get a quality shot against our match-up zone can often get a quality shot against our 2-3. 4. Why does dark chocolate covered fruit taste so damn good. Injuries really hurt our new players, even if the injury doesn’t happen to them. So, in recent games, starting with Notre Dame, we quit running the match-up zone when Gorgui was on the bench. Second, match the offensive alignment by rotating clockwise. The Cardinals are second in the ACC in rebounding margin at +6.1. However, as a guy who is daily trying to tame an ego, let me tell you that nobody is more embarrassed internally about the performance of this team than Pitino. Either Gorgui’s ability to stay on the floor 35+ mins a game and/or Price’s ability to absorb and adequately lead the defense in reserve is very likely the most important key to the rest of the season. Wing Passes To Top. Match up is a zone with man to man principles. His ability to adjust to what’s in front of him is perhaps his best quality as a coach. Clemson defense must own matchup advantages in red zone. As a result, expect Pitino to adapt his system to fit his player if need be, but if we know one thing about the Hall-of-Fame coach, he loves to turn up the pressure. Be sure to see the detailed animation and Coach Sar's 1-3-1 Match-up Zone. Actually, he has this season. Coaching the 1:2:2 Match-Up Zone provides a comprehensive overview of the core principles and fundamentals involved in the 1:2:2 match-up zone defense, which combines the basic elements of man-to-man defense on the ball with zone defense away from the ball. DIAGRAM 4: 1-3-1 match-up zone vs. 2-1-2 offense. If it’s a winning defense, use it! The "Cut and Double" is an absolute classic and Pitino pioneered it. x5 slides over to take away any passes to the post and help on baseline drive. The most important player in this match-up zone defense scheme is easily the Center. Your man is wide-open or 2. A match up zone is based on rules, which can differ from coach to coach. (Interesting Gorgui side note with respect to that recent Gorgui block +/- analysis…Gorgui is supposed to call for a switch to man-to-man when there is lane penetration that he’s going to help defend. Success is dependent on smart, knowledgable players and communication. 3. Young men are taught that the zone defense is gimmicky and is … In contrast with their inability to get stops late in the game against Louisville, this Blue Devil defense is much-improved now, with the Virginia matchup being a … The match-up press is definitely more complicated than a zone press in that you aren't just responsible for an area of the court, but you must know where your man is and where the ball is, and then act accordingly. This post is in response to a lot of fans on this site who have asked two or more of the following questions: First, a disclaimer. Now, what I'm about to go into is very likely me on my assent of Mount Stupid, but I'm going to go ahead and post anyway. 109. The likelihood of zone being played greatly diminishes as the quality of the players increases and vice versa. Also includes definitions, match-up hybrids, fundamentals and drills, adjustments and pressure from the match-ups, trapping, stunting, … A Match-up Zone can cause problems for offenses finding ways to score. ... Matchup: Louisville. It has not and will not benefit us to change our defensive style. At times, Pitino’s teams will apply this light pressure before dropping back into their 2-3 matchup zone. One of the ways he applies full-court pressure is by denying the catch on the inbounds. Because he noticed that against some of our more "quality" competition, and with Gorgui on the bench, we struggled with the timing and communication of switches in our half-court defense. Pitino’s system is complex in the respect that it requires repetition in practice to understand. For whatever reason, man-to-man is considered the more courageous way of defending. 5. It's risky, but Louisville has done well with it. ", Louisville-NC State preview: Cardinals look to bounce back with crucial road win, Lamar Jackson NFL Combine press conference, Louisville advances to first ACC final with 64-59 win over NC State, Louisville loses to Virginia in the most painful fashion imaginable, ACC women’s tournament open thread: Louisville vs. NC State, ACC championship game open thread: Louisville vs. NC State, ACC tournament semifinals open thread: Louisville vs. Syracuse, Louisville women to open ACC tournament against Wake Forest, Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes, Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes, Carlik Jones earns First Team All-ACC honors, Louisville-Virginia preview: Cards look to wrap regular season with huge win, Virginia foils Louisville yet again, 68-58. Over the years, Pitino's zone press was figured out with specific press-breaks designed for it. He knows he’s good. The most famous of these double teams is known as the "Cut and Double" where the ball defender forces his man to speed up the dribble and to the sideline. Matchup: Florida. The man is as important as the ball. After all, he’s not going to have the same type of talent he was able to recruit at Kentucky and Louisville. A complete coaching guide to the match-up zone shown from three major zone formations: The 1-3-1, the 2-1-2, and the 1-2-2 with detailed information on the coverage rule, cutter's rule and basic continuities for each of these three formations. I'll guarantee that move alone accounts for at least 100 steals in Pitino's Louisville tenure and for more than 10 dunks by T-will alone. It wasn't particularly unique to Pitino, but Pitino taught his players to go all-out for steals and pretty much not worry about it if you got beat. Some match up zones look more like a typical zone, where others look closer to a man to man defense. This press was very different than all the other zone full-court presses in that it was all about ball-pressure. This match-up zone is the ultimate match-up zone defense because it deals with every scenario when it comes to a ball screen and all the different pick and rolls. Price isn’t inept at leading the defense, just ignorant. The match-up press and match-up zone depend on players making timely correct decisions in response to the opposition. You see this move performed regularly by nearly every pressing team and coaches and fans alike hate their PG when they fall into this now classic trap. Aggressive, active, and adaptable. I think it’s the combination of the bitter elements of the chocolate and the sweetness of the fruit together all compounded behind the endorphin releasing smell and guilt-shedding excuse of eating healthy anti-oxidants.