with Muffet McGraw,
University of Notre Dame Head Women's Coach;
2x NCAA National Champions (2018, 2001);
2018 AP Coach of the Year (4X recipient);
2017 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame;
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2011);
2017 John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award;
3x Naismith College Coach of the Year;
3x USBWA Coach of the Year;
3x WBCA Coach of the Year
Legendary Notre Dame women's coach Muffet McGraw has twice guided the Fighting Irish to the pinnacle of college basketball. A two-time NCAA Tournament champion, McGraw knows what it takes to lead her program to success.
In this video, Coach McGraw discusses and demonstrates how her program utilizes a 2-3 zone defense. She breaks down the zone and shows several drills to help teach your players the required movements and responsibilities. Additionally, you'll receive tips for late-game situations that will help your team be prepared to get a late game bucket, or run some time off the clock if you're up a few points.
2-3 Zone Basics
Beginning with basic alignment and movements, McGraw guides you through zone responsibilities. She talks about each player's movement and how they should guard their area of the floor. As the ball moves around the perimeter, Coach McGraw demonstrates how your wing players can step up and take away the easy reversal shot until the top of the zone can bump them down to help any baseline runners or low post players.
Traps & Handling Screens
To take your zone to the next level, you can trap several different areas of the court from your base alignment. Trapping the post is effective if you're going against an elite post player. Using the top part of the zone, you can force the post to kick out and limit their ability to turn and get to the rim. Additionally, trapping the short corner will take away a baseline runner and open shooter. By trapping short corner, you can force your opponent to keep the ball on the perimeter.
Teams often like to use screens to create advantages against a zone defense. McGraw outlines how she prefers to defend various screening actions. Against a screen set at the bottom of the zone, you'll learn how your players can rotate and fight around the screen.
Drills & Q&A
Coach McGraw demonstrates how she breaks down and teaches zone movements. With the top part of the zone, she uses four offensive players so the defense knows how quickly they need to move and fly around to get to each spot. In the bottom part of the zone, she has two players work on sprinting from block to wing and back to the block again, working on a bump action.
Rounding out this video, McGraw provides you with a few late game situations prompted by a Q&A session with coaches attending the clinic presentation. If you need a bucket late in a game, she gives you a sideline out-of-bounds set for a quick 3-point shot. If you need to stall and take some time off the clock, she gives a late game set that will run down time and give you an easy look at the basket.
Coach McGraw has plenty of insight and knowledge to share. This video features great instruction on the 2-3 zone and extends beyond that to cover addition topics as well. Add this one to your coaching library today!
79 minutes. 2020.