There's also a possible psychological toll on the star, who may force shots, commit mistakes (like bad passes), or take frustration fouls.
There's value in preparing the team and skilled player to face alternatives, especially box and 1. If we don't have an 'exceptional' player, especially in a developmental program, worrying about this is just a distraction.
As an aside, many of the better teams we face in middle school play 2-3 zone almost exclusively, whether falling back after pressing or defending the half court. The difference is that the better teams extend defenses and trap the first pass or trap the ball over half court, trying to force bad decisions. The bad teams tend to play sagging vanilla 2-3 zone.
We need something in our arsenal that our players understand and execute. If we had young players who could make corner 3s, spreading out the defense with paired corner shooter would be simple. I haven't seen many 12-13 year-olds who consistently do...although maybe that will change.
Staggered screens create options and punish the defender.
Screening weak side defenders stresses the middle of the box.
The high ball screen creates mismatches and sometimes 2 on 1s against the low defender (here x5) .
Fran Fraschilla shares a continuity offense off staggered screens.
The above decoy action from FastModel.com reminds me of Tom Izzo's "X" against the 2-3 zone (below)...
Lagniappe: "the King is dead. Long live the King."
Ready to write off the King? Not so fast. Youtube video examines LeBron's defense.
