Chapter 10 - Concealed Defense

There is nothing more embarrassing to a basketball coach than to spend an entire game attacking a man-for-man defense—then learn the opponents used a zone. Those coaches who have been in the game for any length of time will probably recall just such an affair. The object of concealing the defense is to confuse the opponents so they will attack with the least appropriate offense. There are those who may think this should never happen. Possibly it shouldn't, but it has happened and it will happen even more in the future. The trends in modern basketball defense are revolutionary. The days when you can scout an opponent and prepare for one defense are over. During the heat of a contest and the bedlam of noise created in some gymnasiums, the players are often the least reliable people to determine the opponent's defense.

If the concealment works for only two or three minutes during some crucial stage of the game, it may well be enough to turn the tide. Close games have been turned into a rout in this manner.

One game was observed where the score was tied 29-29 at the half. The home team had used a man-for-man defense the entire first half. The second half they used a 2-1-2 zone with pressing tactics at mid-court and verbal signals to give the illusion of man-for-man play. The opponents were confused, hesitant, and quite frustrated for about five minutes. That five minutes served its purpose. The final score was 78-50.

If you use concealing tactics and they are successful, don't let your opponent know what you used when the game is over. There is a great temptation for the coach to exhibit his sagacity. The boys are tempted to tease the opponents a bit about their inability to recognize your defense. Do a good job of conditioning your players so this won't happen. Of course, you want to be genial and visit with your opponent after the game. If you do any talking about tactics of the game just played, talk in general terms—don't give specific information. Throw up a smoke screen. If possible, confuse them even more because you will play them again that year or another year. If you concealed your defense successfully, encourage them to think they attacked your defense in the correct manner.

Here is one of the simpler ways to conceal a defense. Tell your players in the dressing room that any verbal defensive changes you make from the bench are to be ignored. At the first time out when the gymnasium is fairly quiet, yell "zone" or "man-for-man" in a loud voice. Of course, this would indicate a different defense from the one you are using. One of the opponents will be a real smart boy (if they don't have at least one smart boy, it won't work), and he will scurry around warning his teammates of your defensive change of plans. Their team will then come down the floor prepared to attack the defense you have called. If your boys do a good job of making the defense you are actually using look like the one you have called, the opposition will be confused for at least two or three offensive plays. Those two or three plays might make the difference.

Concealed defenses can become much more elaborate and complex. They have to become more complex in order to be effective over a sustained period of time. They take good planning and hard work. Scouting information is absolutely necessary.

One such plan is the change from one defense to another by floor position of the ball. For instance, if an opponent uses a single post offense, use a zone defense every time a pass is made to one of their forwards. Otherwise— remain in a man-to-man. This means you will be in a man-to-man defense when the ball goes to the pivot or middle area. It means you will be in man-to-man from mid-court and until a pass goes to one of the corner positions.

Fig. 138

This defense will work best when you can be rather certain that the offense is one that concentrates on forward play. Let's take a look at such an offense.
 
Notice the continuity offered by this simple weave created by a simultaneous interchange of the guards and forwards. The receiving forward is attempting to drive off the double screen created by the pivot and the passing guard.

Your cue to change to zone defense would be receipt of the ball by the forward (See Fig. 142).

Fig. 139

When this happens, the defensive forward should backpedal to cover the roll-out guard. The defensive guard would play his man through to the free throw line extended and step in front of the driving forward. The defensive post man will play on the inside of the offensive post man. The weak side defensive forward should drop off to take the goal and the weak side guard will drop into the middle of the free throw line.

The first big danger is a pass to the roll-out guard.

Fig. 140

Another one is a pass to the middle, although this particular offense doesn't often generate a pass to the middle from a side floor position. From this point on, the players will move in 2-1-2 zone slides. If a pass should be made to the pivot man, the defense will remain man-to-man for that entire play.

The shuffle offense has become very popular in recent years throughout the country. Patterns and tactics seem to run in cycles. A new offense or new defense appears and immediately becomes popular. After a while, the defense catches up with it and the pattern fades into obscurity to reappear twenty years later as a novel, new idea. In this case, the defense is catching up with the Drake Shuffle, one of the finest basketball patterns ever created.

Here is one way the defense has been stopping this particular pattern. A 1-3-1 zone is actually used but concealed until the first cutter goes through to the base line. Basic options of the shuffle are shown in Figs. 143, 144.

Fig. 141

Notice that 3X plays his man all the way through to the base line just as though the defense were man-for-man. If 2X, 4X, 5X and IX keep their same positions, the defensive alignment is virtually a 1-3-1 zone. From this position, they need to take 1-3-1 slides. To use this particular defense successfully, either guard must be able to play the base line in the 1-3-1 zone. In this particular 1-3-1 zone, the base line man will cover both corners of the floor and the entire base line. When the ball is passed to number 1, the low post man, the defensive guard will trail through and take the base line and the other four men will drop off to take 1-3-1 zone slide.

Fig. 142

The shuffle is much too versatile to defense with no more planning than this. The ball can be thrown in to the number 4 man. It can be thrown in to the number 5 man. If you wanted to be really complicated, you could let a pass to either of these men indicate a 2-1-2 zone. The simplest and possibly most effective procedure would be to use man-to-man at all times except when the ball goes to number 1.

Most shuffle teams will use a combination shuffle and static 1-3-1 formation to attack the zone when they recognize it. They will run the first cutter through and have the number 5 man step out on the weak side. The number 4 man will come into the pivot, and, while number 3 roams the base line, they move the ball around. The 1-3-1 defense would work well against this 1-3-1 attack (Fig. 145).

If this zone attack is used, your defense is already the best possible one. If this attack is not used, the chances are that you have forced them into something new. In either event, your concealed defense has served a worthwhile purpose (See Fig. 146).

Fig. 143

Fig. 144

One other possibility is to shift back to man-for-man as soon as the number 5 man fails to interchange with number 2, indicating they recognize the defense. This could be too complicated and do more harm than good. Do not attempt anything that is not fully understood by the players. They must have full confidence in everything you try.

Here is another way to conceal the 2-1-2 zone against a particular type of offense. In concealing a defense it is necessary to select one that blends well with the particular offense you are to face. The 2-1-2 will naturally blend well with most single post systems. The combination two man-for-man and three zone defense would also blend well in defending against this particular offense. Here is the offense we will defend against with the concealed 2-1-2. (See Fig. 147). Notice that the initial setup for the offense puts a man in each 2-1-2 zone position.

The offense is basically a forward weave with the three front men cutting in and out of the pivot area. Against this pattern, man-for-man, a switch would occur between 2X and 4X, 5X and 3X, each time the cuts occur (Figs. 148, 149).

Your concealed 2-1-2 would work best after you use the man-to-man for at least 10 minutes. Give the offense plenty of time to fully recognize that you are using a switching man-for-man defense. The half-time would be a good time to change to a concealed 2-1-2 zone. To do this, your defensive guards should push the offensive guards a little harder as they bring the ball into play to create a man-for-man illusion. Numbers 2X and 4X are going to play their normal 2-1-2 zone positions when the ball goes to a wing or a corner.  However, as this interchange between 4 and 2 occurs, they should call "switch" in a loud voice and play the switch just as though they were in a man-for-man (Fig. 150).

Fig. 145

Number 5X should take one step with his man when he sees him move to screen for number 3. He is actually going to play his normal 2-1-2 zone positions, but he will help the concealment if he calls "switch" and moves slightly ahead of number 3's cut to take his wing position slide. It is vital for number 3X to protect the goal when the ball is at a wing or corner on the opposite side of the floor. Fig. 151, 152 are the slides of all members with this offense having completed half its cycle.

Fig. 146

Fig. 147

When the ball goes back to the weak side, number 4 is going to cut off number 3; numbers 1 and 2 are going to exchange positions. Number IX will cover the pass out to number 1 and number 3X will cover number 5 as he receives (See Figures 153, 154, 155).

Fig. 148

Fig. 149

Fig. 150

Fig. 151

Fig. 152

Fig. 153

Another switch should be faked as the ball goes to the wing position and the front man cuts to the corner. Number 5X will call "switch" yet play his normal 2-1-2 zone positions in the middle. The weak side corner man will move to protect the basket, yet call "switch" loudly in the exchange between numbers 1 and 2.

If you will go back and look at each of these positions, the defense appears to be a man-for-man in each case with a good deal of sag on the point man. This particular pattern is very popular on the West coast. It was devised by Coach Pete Newell, one of the most astute basketball minds of all time. The offense has other options that would have to be defined and prepared for. For instance, here is one of their methods to check the defense.

Fig. 156
You will note that there is a simultaneous exchange between players on the weak side and the strong side. The weak side men would have to fake a switch in this case along with the strong side men. Of course, the ball can go to the pivot man, and in this case you would zone. For that matter, you will be in a 2-1-2 zone at all times, but make every effort to conceal it.

One very simple way of concealing a zone defense looks like this. Set up and play a 2-3 zone defense against a single post offense.

Fig. 154

Use the 2-3 long enough for the offense to recognize the defense and initiate some sort of attack, then change your defense to a 2-1-2 zone with the front two men pressing from mid-court on back to the normal guard positions. By moving the middle man on the 2-3 higher to the 2-1-2 zone and by having the two front men harass the ball handlers, the man-for-man picture is accented.

Fig. 155

Then each man in the zone should play near the nearest offensive man to further the man-for-man idea in their minds. It is vital for each man to take proper zone slides when the ball moves. It is especially important for those people responsible for protecting the middle to be alert, for some free lance single post teams will sometimes have more than one man in the pivot area.

Concealed defenses have been used at various times in the past. They have already caused many pattern or set teams moments of concern. The basic problem for the offensive teams lies in the fact that they often use completely different formations to attack a zone from that used to attack a man-for-man. The time has just about arrived when the offense cannot get away with this.

Let's assume the offense attacks a zone with a 1-3-1 static formation.  This same team attacks a man-for-man with a single post two-out, two-in formation that looks like the 2-1-2 zone.

Fig.  156

Fig. 159, above, shows the zone attack formation. Fig. 160, next page, shows the man-for-man attack formation. If you are thoroughly familiar with this team and its system, you could virtually eliminate their normal offensive systems.

Set up a man-for-man and switch to the 1-3-1 zone as soon as the opponent has run one play. When they recognize, your defense and start their attack of the zone with their 1-3-1 point formation, switch back to the man-for-man. In other words, go to a man-for-man every time their offense has a one-man front. Go to the zone every time their offense has a two-man front. In this way you are "defending" their zone attack with a man-for-man and their man-for-man attack with a zone defense.  There is little they can do about it, either. They have one alternative. They can drop both their formations and take up something they have not practiced, thus giving you the advantage.

When you scout a team and start to prepare your defense, this is one of the things you should look for. Do they use a formation that looks very similar in attacking both zones and man-for-man defense? If not, you have a good deal of leeway in preparing your defenses. If their formations are alike or look alike, the problem of concealing defenses becomes a greater one.

Fig. 157

Teaching Hints

1. The team with one zone and one man-for-man defense can use concealment.

2. Teach well what you plan to use.

3. Get detailed scouting information on the opponent you plan to "defense" with concealed defense.

4. Let your second unit try to "defense" your first unit with concealed defenses during practice to show the value of deception.

5. Let opponents know that you conceal your defense, but don't let them know how.

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