Defensive structure informs our ability to change offensive logic and function. We don’t need a myriad of zone and combination defenses to alter offensive play.
I’m coaching to introduce winning concepts...contain penetration, deny the middle, close out under control, force hard 2’s, contest shots, show your hands to limit fouling.
Know what you do. Playing multiple versions of one defense has advantages over playing many defenses.
Man-to-man defense operates in numerous flavors from full court pressure, halfcourt full denial, sagging contain, and options for trapping, switching, and ‘run and jump’. We teach a preferred defense of aggressive ball pressure and ball side denial with zone-like help on the help/weak side.
We may ‘show’ zone defense, lining up in a 2-3 zone and adjusting to man-to-man. We have played a junk defense once, facing an eighth grade team averaging 63 points per game with an elite point guard. On that day we played pressure/denial on her, had a rover to double on her but otherwise work ballside elbow and played a triangle underneath. We held them to 43 points but still lost.
How do you signal your defense? As a player, we played with two digits, the first the defense and the second the extent. 83 was 2-2-1 three quarter court, falling back into 81 man. 52 would be 1-3-1 half court. 14 was man full with run-and-jump switching. But coaches use team names, colors, and football yardage (99 = full court, 75 three quarter, etc.). Some teams use hand signals, e.g. two fists up for full court. You can use blends and call one as deception and use hand signals as actual. But you don’t want to outsmart yourselves.
I teach players to trap to force mistakes and to avoid reach ins. “Put them in the box” and avoid fouling.
Solid teams generate and survive pressure. Defense demands players function ‘tied on a string’ both physically and mentally. One player out of position sabotages the operation. Players with good defensive man principles can easily adjust to zone schemes in high school. But youth defense favors individual assignment principles first.