Youth Zone Defense play
Youth Zone: High Post, Deny First, Then React
- Court
- Half court
- Length
- 11 steps
About this play
For ages 12 and up, after the man-to-man series. The high post is the one catch a 2-3 cannot concede, because a player there faces the basket with both blocks below him and both wings open: it is the only spot that beats the zone through the middle instead of around it. This play shows the whole sequence: the offense swings the ball to a wing, a post flashes to the high post, the nail guard fronts and denies, the ball goes back out, the entry gets in anyway, and the zone reacts: X5 steps up and plays the ball, the forwards pinch to the blocks to kill the high-low, the guards squeeze from behind, and the pass-out goes to a wing the zone is already sliding to. Why deny first: the zone's advantage is that it never has to react if the guard at the nail does his job. Why react that way: X5 is the only one who can play the ball without opening something worse, and the lob to the block is the pass the forwards must take away. Common youth mistakes: both guards chasing the ball and leaving the nail, and the forwards staying wide on the catch so the high-low is a layup. The pinch on the high post catch comes from Radius Athletics' 2-3 zone breakdown, and Coach's Clipboard's 2-3 zone page covers the pass into the high post; give them a look if you want the rest.
