Addressing the zone we will see

[zappaa]

Iowa put a screeching halt to our offense after the hot start by switching to zone.
We struggle against the zone…period.
ND will use it while having two 6-10 guys protect the paint.
I remember Myles distributing the ball from the foul line last year with good passes, I remember the color man saying “that’s the way to play against the zone”
I don’t think Cliff is ready for that, but could Paul assume that roll as ball distributor from the spot where Myles used to set up?
Once Paul gets the ball it should be out of his hands quickly, he would not be attempting to break down the D and holding onto the ball with those two big guys down low.
It would be an inside out look with mid-range jump shots and open 3s resulting.
I could be completely wrong and we should attack the rim…lol
I just hate to see us get clogged up and turn the ball over

 

[RedChucken123]

I don’t see why Paul wasn’t in the middle in the first place versus Iowa. He’s done it before. Our guys just better be ready to knock down the threes.

 

[Miggins]

I have not watched any Notre Dame, but it seems by their statistics that they would play a lot of zone (do not foul much, lots of 3-pt shots).

I agree we have struggled against the zone. Have we had any games where we did well against the zone?

Getting shut down sticks more in the memory, so perhaps just not remembering success when we had it

 

[BigRnj]

Paul in the high post is how we started to have some success (after the early game shiit show) against zones earlier in the season. Attacking zones is like running a press break (a press is really a full court zone). With good ball movement and hitting open shots you can punish a zone and have the defense go back to man.

 

[RUJMM78]

The key to attacking a zone is having players at the top of the key that can make a jump shot and also pass to the corners for open 3 pointers.Dribbling the ball outside against a zone is bad basketball because the shot clock runs out forcing a desperation shot.

 

[Rufaninga]

It's about damn time our offense heats up.

I still want some attempts driving the lane to draw fouls & FTs

 

[Captain Hogleg]

We missed so many easy looks against the Iowa zone. The shots were there; we just didn’t knock them down.

 

[richthedentist]

Iowa put a screeching halt to our offense after the hot start by switching to zone.
We struggle against the zone…period.
ND will use it while having two 6-10 guys protect the paint.
I remember Myles distributing the ball from the foul line last year with good passes, I remember the color man saying “that’s the way to play against the zone”
I don’t think Cliff is ready for that, but could Paul assume that roll as ball distributor from the spot where Myles used to set up?
Once Paul gets the ball it should be out of his hands quickly, he would not be attempting to break down the D and holding onto the ball with those two big guys down low.
It would be an inside out look with mid-range jump shots and open 3s resulting.
I could be completely wrong and we should attack the rim…lol
I just hate to see us get clogged up and turn the ball over

Agreed have to put Paul there and maybe Ron but you can’t put Cliff he is a terrible passer maybe even put Dean there when he is in he is a much better passer than Cliff but no matter who you put there you have to knock down 3’s
On another note we HAVE to defend the 3!!!

 

[RUChoppin]

https://notredame.rivals.com/news/i...t-notre-dame-s-defense-taking-the-right-steps

"Notre Dame spent most of the final 10 minutes in a 2-3 zone defense. All told, the Irish played zone for 19 possessions and allowed scores seven times. Neither man nor zone has been consistently good for them, with the former ranking in the ninth percentile of efficiency nationally and the latter in the 27th percentile, per Synergy Sports. Changing between them, though, has given opponents some pause. Duke was the latest."

"Zone might be more frequent in Notre Dame’s next game, a Sunday evening home meeting with Miami (6 p.m. ET, ACCN). The Irish’s 73-59 Jan. 24 road win over the Hurricanes featured their highest zone usage rate this season. Notre Dame played it on 49 possessions and allowed points on just 13 of them. The strategy made sense against a team that entered the game shooting 27 percent on three-pointers.”

 

[RU to the Core]

We missed easy shots against Iowa’s zone. Lack of focus and lazy. We actually weren’t that terrible against it. Not great but not terrible. Gotta hit the mid range.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

There's a lot of hype about the zone defense and it's really about the team that plays the zone, not the zone itself.

When RU saw Syracuse play zone at the RAC last year, RU carved up the zone and won the game.....no one plays zone better than Syracuse.

In terms of who should "flash middle".....it comes down to just getting back into the reps against it. RU has 4 players who can cut into the middle and catch a pass, hit a mid range or reverse the ball, for a shooter.

Caleb, Paul, RHJ and Geo are all able to maneuver....I would also add Hyatt and Reiber are able to play high-post and make plays or screen against the zone to get shots.

If you play zone defense, you are also weaker to get rebounds and Notre Dame is going to have issues keeping RU off the glass, especially Cliff. If you move the ball and make a lob to Cliff, the dunks will be there or ND will get into foul trouble.

The issue is how crisp and prepared is RU on the defensive end, ND is very much like Iowa, with capable shooters from 3 and it is a similar game plan. Iowa, Wisconsin and other teams we have seen, are very similar to what RU has seen in style.

The depth on either side has not been reliable, so whomever gets good defense and rebounding from their bench, will win the game.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Iowa put a screeching halt to our offense after the hot start by switching to zone.
We struggle against the zone…period.
ND will use it while having two 6-10 guys protect the paint.
I remember Myles distributing the ball from the foul line last year with good passes, I remember the color man saying “that’s the way to play against the zone”
I don’t think Cliff is ready for that, but could Paul assume that roll as ball distributor from the spot where Myles used to set up?
Once Paul gets the ball it should be out of his hands quickly, he would not be attempting to break down the D and holding onto the ball with those two big guys down low.
It would be an inside out look with mid-range jump shots and open 3s resulting.
I could be completely wrong and we should attack the rim…lol
I just hate to see us get clogged up and turn the ball over

We definitely need to move the ball zap but still need to get it inside and hit the boards. At some point though you just need to make shots. We will have plenty of good looks. Play relaxed and make some shots. We can do it if we play with confidence

 

[mugrat86]

Iowa put a screeching halt to our offense after the hot start by switching to zone.
We struggle against the zone…period.
ND will use it while having two 6-10 guys protect the paint.
I remember Myles distributing the ball from the foul line last year with good passes, I remember the color man saying “that’s the way to play against the zone”
I don’t think Cliff is ready for that, but could Paul assume that roll as ball distributor from the spot where Myles used to set up?
Once Paul gets the ball it should be out of his hands quickly, he would not be attempting to break down the D and holding onto the ball with those two big guys down low.
It would be an inside out look with mid-range jump shots and open 3s resulting.
I could be completely wrong and we should attack the rim…lol
I just hate to see us get clogged up and turn the ball over

We had great looks at basket but just missed them. Hyatt had a couple, Caleb too

 

[Mr_Twister]

We will deal with a free throw disparity, again, ala Iowa.

 

[rob kight]

The key to attacking a zone is having players at the top of the key that can make a jump shot and also pass to the corners for open 3 pointers.Dribbling the ball outside against a zone is bad basketball because the shot clock runs out forcing a desperation shot.

Sounds like us we led the league in desperation shots!

 

[RUPete]

We missed so many easy looks against the Iowa zone. The shots were there; we just didn’t knock them down.

All over the place too- not just from three. Had some easy shots mid-range in the soft spot of the zone and we kept alligator arming them.

 

[RUBlackout]

100% you put PM at the top of the key in a zone...he is your best passer and can actually drive to the hole from there as well. Only other option is RHJ as that gives you another threat.

NO ONE ELSE SHOULD BE GETTING THE BALL AT THE KEY AGAINST A ZONE

Do it and we break that zone relatively easy as people like Geo and RHJ would thrive on the outside in a catch and shoot. Also, you have Cliff playing 1:1 in that scenario and no different than a PnR with him and PM for lobs over the defender

 

[Miggins]

There's a lot of hype about the zone defense and it's really about the team that plays the zone, not the zone itself.

When RU saw Syracuse play zone at the RAC last year, RU carved up the zone and won the game.....no one plays zone better than Syracuse.

In terms of who should "flash middle".....it comes down to just getting back into the reps against it. RU has 4 players who can cut into the middle and catch a pass, hit a mid range or reverse the ball, for a shooter.

Caleb, Paul, RHJ and Geo are all able to maneuver....I would also add Hyatt and Reiber are able to play high-post and make plays or screen against the zone to get shots.

If you play zone defense, you are also weaker to get rebounds and Notre Dame is going to have issues keeping RU off the glass, especially Cliff. If you move the ball and make a lob to Cliff, the dunks will be there or ND will get into foul trouble.

The issue is how crisp and prepared is RU on the defensive end, ND is very much like Iowa, with capable shooters from 3 and it is a similar game plan. Iowa, Wisconsin and other teams we have seen, are very similar to what RU has seen in style.

The depth on either side has not been reliable, so whomever gets good defense and rebounding from their bench, will win the game.

Think ND is like Iowa in that they have good 3 point shooters. However really different in two key areas. Tempo, ND is very slow (like Rutgers), Iowa very fast. Second is offensive rebounding, ND is horrible, Iowa very good. ND is much better than Iowa in defensive rebounding.

Probably a total over simplification, but ND will play to get in a 3 point shooting contest with you. They do not push the pace, do not give up or get many second chance points. A "I will shoot better than you" strategy

 

[ScarletWalk11]

Iowa's zone was more of a matchup zone. It didn't look to me like a straight 2-3 or 1-3-1. When Paul would go in to the top of the key, there was always someone on him so that wasn't as effective. It wasn't until we ran more man to man type offense that we starting getting good looks but even then we missed a lot.

 

[rob kight]

We need to stop dribbling away the clock and have sharp and quick passing.

 

[mjjoyce51]

I've been advocating that Reiber really can't play with Cliff against B1G competition. There is almost always 4 athletic wings on the floor at all times and he'd be a big defensive liability. However, I definitely think he needs to get some time with Cliff this game. He's a better shooter than Hyatt and Mag and is a better defensive matchup against Laszewski who is really just a stretch PF.

 

[RUsojo]

Wouldn’t we just run our normal zone offense?

 

[Loyal_2RU]

Iowa put a screeching halt to our offense after the hot start by switching to zone.
We struggle against the zone…period.
ND will use it while having two 6-10 guys protect the paint.
I remember Myles distributing the ball from the foul line last year with good passes, I remember the color man saying “that’s the way to play against the zone”
I don’t think Cliff is ready for that, but could Paul assume that roll as ball distributor from the spot where Myles used to set up?
Once Paul gets the ball it should be out of his hands quickly, he would not be attempting to break down the D and holding onto the ball with those two big guys down low.
It would be an inside out look with mid-range jump shots and open 3s resulting.
I could be completely wrong and we should attack the rim…lol
I just hate to see us get clogged up and turn the ball over

Paul or Caleb.
Long and able to pass or hit the elbow shot.

 

[Randal7]

Against the zone we really really really need oskar to be threat. We need it so bad cannot be over stated

 

[toby83]

catch and knock one down from corner. next time catch and drive from the corner opens everything up!

easier said than done

 

[Scangg]

Against the zone we really really really need oskar to be threat. We need it so bad cannot be over stated

Fans are demanding Oskar now lol. He is the best 3 point shooter statistically, but I doubt we see Oskar, Jones, or Agee as they are out of the rotation completely.

 

[trotter]

Against the zone we really really really need oskar to be threat. We need it so bad cannot be over stated

Huh. If he plays 10 seconds we are in trouble

 

[Yeah Baby]

Iowa didn’t play a normal zone against us.

 

[Randal7]

Huh. If he plays 10 seconds we are in trouble

If Oskar can't come in and hit a 3 wide open against a zone defense then you have to ask the question: "what are we doin with him?"

 

[Randal7]

Fans are demanding Oskar now lol. He is the best 3 point shooter statistically, but I doubt we see Oskar, Jones, or Agee as they are out of the rotation completely.

I am simply stating we could really really really USE him. I agree ya can't trust him at all but it would be so so big if he could actually hit a shot

 

[RUChoppin]

Iowa didn’t play a normal zone against us.

In the ND/UVA game, they ran a bit of a 1-3-1 look, where the guy at the top and the guy in the middle would frequently switch with each other. Saw a little 2-3 vs. Duke, I think.

It doesn't look like their base defense at all - and their man defense didn't look very stout in the post, tbh. Definitely have a couple of guys with good lateral foot speed at the top.

 

[Scangg]

I am simply stating we could really really really USE him. I agree ya can't trust him at all but it would be so so big if he could actually hit a shot

He's shooting 45.5% from 3 this year so he can actually hit a shot. That's not why he isn't playing