Zone defense key to ASU's success

Article this morning on Arizona State and their active zone defense that has been a big success. This season, ASU allows 58.4 points per game, which ranks second in the Pac-10. It also holds opponents to 40.1 percent shooting, including a 32.2 clip from 3-point range.

"It took us a week or two to figure everything out," senior forward Jeff Pendergraph said. "After that it was like trying to get it in your head that it's not a zone. Play it like it's man to man. We're not just playing back, daring you to shoot. We're pressuring the ball, trying to get steals, and then everybody else has your back so you're not on an island."

From the coaches at Santa Clara:

"Ball pressure buys you time"

If you always have good pressure on the ball then that will allow your teammates extra time to get through screens and recover to their man. You never want a passer to be able to sit back and put a pass exactly where and when he wants it. Even if you get caught in a screen or get back cut, if your teammate is applying good ball pressure, that may be the extra second you need to recover to your man and not allow an open shot.

Wake Forest, Duke built on defense

Big game tonight in the ACC as #1 Duke is set to take on #6 Wake Forest. According to this article in the Charlotte Observer, both teams success can be traced back to their defenses, which are two different, successful styles:

“Two very, very different styles,” said Virginia Tech's Seth Greenberg, the only ACC coach who has faced both teams this season. “Both extremely effective.”

Wake Forest is the ACC's leader in field goal percentage defense (.368) and 3-point percentage defense (.284). Duke has held all five of its ACC opponents to fewer than 59 points, including a 44-point effort Saturday by Maryland that was the Terrapins' lowest output since 1985.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski likes to create havoc by pressuring the ball and denying passing lanes. Point guards have wilted under the pressure applied by sophomore Nolan Smith, a superb defender who's in his first season as a starter.

Opposing coaches say Duke is switching screens more than in the past, which disrupts offenses by preventing dribblers from getting into the lane. But Krzyzewski said Duke's principles are the same ones he has coached during his entire 29-season tenure with the Blue Devils.

The Deacons haven't been using their style nearly as long. Dino Gaudio, who's in his second season after taking over as head coach after Skip Prosser's death, has installed the “Pack Line Defense” made famous by former Wisconsin and Washington State coach Dick Bennett.

Gaudio said his players are much more comfortable with the defense in its second season than they were in 2007-08. The defense also fits Wake Forest's personnel.

It calls for intense man-to-man pressure on the ball with the remaining perimeter defenders available to help stop the dribbler because they're sagging off their men to an imaginary arc that's two feet inside the 3-point arc.

The idea is to keep the ball on the perimeter and force opponents to shoot over the likes of 6-foot-9 Al-Farouq Aminu and 6-9 James Johnson.

“They're so long, and they're so active in their gaps,” said Greenberg, whose team lost at Duke on Jan.4 but handed Wake Forest its only loss a week ago. “They close out and recover so quickly.”

Portland's Defense turning in wins

Portland is off to a 12-6 start thanks to an emphasis on the defensive end. Both players and coaches felt that it was important to stress defense during training camp. Here is an excerpt from an Oregonian article earlier this year.

McMillan said he asked his two stars [LaMarcus Aldridge & Brandon Roy] what needed to improve next season for the team to succeed, and he said both emphatically pointed to defense. Aldridge said a defensive light went on for him this summer, when he was part of a select team that practiced against the U.S. Olympic team.

In those workouts, Aldridge said, it quickly became apparent to him that stars such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were intent on playing defense, and how that commitment carried over to the rest of the team."

Said Aldridge: "After that, I knew that if those guys can put defense first - I mean, they are best in league - then in order for us to win, we have to be a better defensive team."

"Two areas in particular have been spotlighted: Help defense and containment, or preventing the ball handler from driving. To encourage help defense, the Blazers have been working on 'overloading' defenders to the side of the court where the ball is held.

If more players are on that side, then more players will be closer to the ball should the dribbler beat his man. In theory, this should limit the unimpeded layins that plagued the Blazers last season.

Overloading on defense was a strength of Boston last season during the Celtics' title run. Aldridge remembered in games against the Celtics that if a Blazers player got by his man, he was soon encountered by Paul Pierce, then Kevin Garnett, then Kendrick Perkins."

The Celtics team defense last season made a big impression on Aldridge:

"With Boston, it was like the whole team was guarding you," Aldridge said. "Whereas last year, I felt like we hung guys out to dry. A guy would drive against us, and I would be in the corner, Brandon would be at the top ... so we are trying to emphasize more team-defense this season."

"In conjunction with the overloading defense, the Blazers are working on "cheating", or anticipating that their teammate will need help defense. In theory, that will cut off many drives.

"Last year we were kind of scared to give up the jump shot, and they would go to the basket," Aldridge said. "Like LeBron when he went to the basket and won the game. If everyone would have cheated over, he would have had to pass it."

Also, the guards and wings have worked on pressuring the ball handler, but not getting beat, using the mantra "know your limits" when applying the pressure.

"It's pressure with containment," Roy said. "So you pressure the ball while being leery of a drive, thinking of a guy like Kobe or Wade. It's a mindset of 'pressure, pressure ... but don't get beat.' "

Says Aldridge: "We feel like if we put defense first, we can do anything.'