1-3=1 EXTENDED ZONE DEFENS E

I. INTRODUCTIO N

The Potsdam 1-3-1 half-court extended passing lane zone defense is unlik e
conventional zones we often see today . Rather than pack our zone inside and invite th e
perimeter shot, we like to play our "13" zone incorporating many of our-man to ma n
defensive techniques and principles . Just as in our man to man defense, we attempt t o
put great pressure on the basketball and overplay the passing lanes . We want to make
teams lob the basketball, when they make a pass, to give our players in the zone a n
opportunity to move while the ball is in the air . As we take you through our "13" zon e
defense, many of our principles will become apparent .
We use our pressure man to man defense approximately 75% of the time and ou r
"13" zone the remaining 25% . We attempt to frequently change these two defenses an d
use them in conjunction with our full court, 3/4 court, and 1/2 court presses . As in
almost all defenses, alertness, quickness, concentration, and team effort are important fo r
success . All players must quickly move on every pass, (not on the catch) and be in th e
proper new defensive position before the catch .

II. RESPONSIBILITIES BY EACH POSITION (see Diag. #1 )

We want our players to be active and aggressive in the "13" zone defense . They
all must have their hands up and be bouncing in the passing lanes when the ball is on th e
perimeter (unless pressuring the ball or denying ,the high or low post) . We tell the player s
to bounce and to be thinking TIP, not steal . If they can just get apiece of the ball on . a
pass, or make the offense lob a pass, then they have performed successfully . If the firs t
pass the opponent makes against our "13" zone is a lob pass, then the defense will be a t
an advantage . If the first pass against the zone is quick, crisp, and sharp, the players wil l
end up chasing the ball . All passes should be under pressure and the defense should no t
allow the offensive players to .complete easy, quick passes.

THE POINT POSITION : This man sets the tone as far as defensive pressure i s
concerned. Ideally, he would be the tallest guard on the floor ; a person who anticipate s
well; and one who possesses excellent quickness . His size and jumping ability will hel p
deter quick guard to guard ball reversal.
As the ball passes midcourt, the point guard mus t, read and recognize whether the
offense is attacking with one or two guard front against the defense . (see Diags . #2, #3,
#4, #5, and #6 )
THE WING POSITIONS : Ideally, your wings .should be tall and agile ; quick enough to
'guard smaller players on the perimeters as well- as being strong rebounders inside . It i s
vital that your wings constantly communicate with the point and baseline defensive
players, as their respective territories often overlap . The wings must also communicat e
with the defensive post, i .e., flash posts coming from the weakside . (see Diags. #7, #8 ,
#9,#10,#11,#l2,#13,and #14 )
THE BASELINE POSITION : This player should have excellent quickness
because he has so much area to cover (from corner to corner) . , We usually pla y
the smaller of our two guards here . You are probably questioning this strategy o f
placing our smallest player so close to the basket but further detail of hi s
responsibilities will explain why we do this . He must be very vocal and-a grea t
communicator as he can see everything that the offense is trying to do in front o f
him . (see Diags. #15, #16, #17, #18, and #19 )

THE POST POSITION: This defensive position is of the utmost importance . If

this player allows the ball inside, all four offensive players without the ball are on e
pass away from a good shot . We make the responsibilities for this player ver y
simple - DON'T ALLOW THE BALL INTO THE HIGH OR LOW POST AREAS !
(see Diags. #20, #21, #22, #23, and #24 )

III . VARIATIONS OF THE "13" OR 1-3-1 ZONE DEFENS E

We have several different looks or variation in our " 13" zone . They are:
13 Pressur e
13 Tra p
13 Dro p
13 Suicide
13 Scramble (1/2 court trap )

Except for the 112 court trap, all of the other variations of 13 are keyed off
play by the wing players . (see Diags . #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33 ,
and #34)

IV. DEFENDING. SPECIAL SITUATIONS IN 13 ZONE DEFENSE .

We have already covered defensive situations that could develop into a
concern if a team defense is not prepared to handle them . _

1.) defending the corner - elbow skip pass (if allowed, it willk1ogthe 13 zone )
2.) defending one and two guard fronts ; and .
3.) defending the high post area when it is vacan t
There are three other special situations a team should be ready to defen d
against . They include:

4.) defending a cutter . from the wing

5.) spreading the defense ; and
6.) screening the pos t
(Diags . #35, #36, #37, and #38 )

V. REBOUNDING RESPONSIBILITIES IN 13 .ZONE (Diags. #39 and #40)

 1
POSITION IN THE 13 ZONE DEFENS E

KEY B - Baselin e
W - Win g
P - Pos t
PT- Poin t

Pr

POINT POSITION Vs 1 GUARD FRONT .

Versus a one guard front, we want our point to pick up th e

opponents point guard about 5' to 10' above the top of the circl e
and apply pressure just as if he were guarding the dribbler man t o
man. He should angle and force him to one side of the court ,
which will help set the rest of your defense . He cannot allo w
dribble penetration from the offensive point guard. (As you will
see, the baseline man could be left to guard two people if the poin t
allows the ball to remain in the center of the floor.)

After we have scouted a team, we look to make them ente r

'opposite of where they have a tendency to make their first pass
versus the zone. We direct our point to force and keep the ball on
P the floor opposite this tendency or their strength .
 POINT POSITION vs. 2 GUARD FRONT

When facing a two guard front, we want our defensive point man
to play in the passing, lane between their, two guards . We mus t
BOUNCE and force them to LOB passes.

POINT POSITION RELATIVE TO SIZ E

We want .the'point to bounce close enough to the guard with th e

ball to force him to lob a pass . The taller the defensive point is ,
the further he can be from the man with the ball ; the shorter he is ,
the closer he must be to pressure the offense into lobbing the pass .
Remember: THINK TIP AND BOUNCE

' -'A .l le- fo iw l' 6 +4

SPECIAL SITUATION #1 vs . '2 GUARD FRONT

Should the offense attempt to drop a man underneath the passin g

lane,' both the post and the oppositie wing . must yell "PROP! " to
the defensive point teammate . The defensive point will now dro p
to stop any possible penetrating pass to the other guard at th e
opposite elbow .
 6
SPECIAL SITUATION #2 vs . 2 GUARD FRONT
0 Once the ball comes into the wing area, the defensive point guar d
must not only be bouncing to influence a,lob pass but also be read y
to help defend any dribble penetration to the middle of the court .

rti ` WING POSITION IN 13 ZONE DEFENS E

w

1rr,
,
Most teams have a tendency to enter into the right side of the cour t
and get their shot from the right side . Since most shots rebound
from the right to the left, we want our bigger wing to be on the left
side (F)Of' lin).

WING POS11ION IN .RELATION TO POIN T

It is very important for the point to influence, o r
"angle" or " force" the ball to one side of the floo r
to establish a strong (ball) side wing and a help (o r
opposite) side wing . This allows the help side win g
to cover and protect near the goal . The point guar d
will retreat and bounce once the strong side wing s
picks up one step over the 3-point arc . The win g
picks up the dribbler when he gets past the foul lan e
extended ; and then keeps forcing him perimeter an d
under good defensive pressure .
 DEFENSIVE POSITION OF STRONG-SIDE WIN G

The strong-side wing sets up about one step over the 3-point arc .
This forces perimeter shooters out of their range, as most 3-poin t
attempts are taken just past the line . If the ball is on the right sid e
' of the court (facing in), we want our defensive wing to force th e
offensive player out on the perimeter (toward the sideline) .

CORRECT' FOOTWORK OF DEFENSIVE WING IN 13 .

ZONE

If the ball is on the Right side (facing in), we want him to have hi s
right foot up ; left foor back; right hand up to have excellent pres --
sure on the ball, and left hand down to discourage any bounce pas s
inside. The wing must bounce when man with the ball is outsid e
his shooting range (5-10 feet beyond the 3-point line) .

In range - pick up aggressivel y

and force to perimeter.

11
The wing will aggressively pick up the ball handler, forcin g
perimeter once he arrives just outside the 3-point arc .

Out of range - BOUNCE

(If out of shooting range)
 ITT
WEAKSIDE WING POSITION IN 13 ZONE

The weakside wing plays exactly in line between the ball and an y
offensive man on the weakside . He must be bouncing with both
hands up .

WEAKSIDE DEFENDING THE FLASH POS T

The weakside wing must constantly be talking to his defensive

teammates, especially in a situation should there be a flash post o r
a cutter. 'Should there be a cutter or flash, he would impede thei r
progress and pass him on to the high or low post player guardin g
that portion of the lane .

Defending Flash High

The weakside wing must yell, "FLASH HIGH!" or "FLAS H

LOW!" to his teammates so they can react in time to deny bal l
penetration,into the high or low post areas .
 CORRECT BASELINE POSITION IN 13 ZONE

If the defensive point guard and strongside wing have done their
job of influencing the ball to one side of the floor, this allows th e
baseline player to establish his position on the ballside low block .

16
INCORRECT POSITION IN 13 ZONE

If the ball is allowed to be kept in the middle of the court, th e

baseline player is . in a weak defensive position and could end u p
guarding two larger players near the basket . You can now start t o
see how all five players must communicate and play as a unit i n
order to be successful.

Even if the baseline player ends up guarding a player on the lo w

block much taller and larger than himself, if all of his teammate s
have done their jobs, he should not be in difficulty .
(see Diagram #17, next page)
 INTERACTION OF ALL PLAYERS IN 13 ZONE

PT - bouncing in between guards, forcing lob pass on an y

reversal
defending any post player, ready to defend forward fro m
opposite sid e
B- fronting low post, communicating with all teammate s
Wi - strongside wing applying great pressure on ball forcing
perimeter
W2 - weakside wing, ready to give help on any low post lob ,
ready to impede flash pos t
The baseline player stays on the low block defending the low pos t
and does not leave until the ball is either passed or dribbled into
the corner. The players shift as follows:
18
DEFENSIVE SHIFT IN 13 ZONE .

baseline player follows ball to corner and pressures the ball ,

forcing perimeter

P- post drops gwyto front low post area

PT - point fronts the high post area

Wi - ballside wing bounces to stop any sharp or quick pass back

out or to the opposite elbow . He must position himself to
Shift in 13 Zone force a LOB pass out of corner .

weakside wing bounces between ball and the offensive ma n

behind him . You can now see that on a shot taken from th e
,corner, our baseline man will box out the shooter .

New Positions
 20
DEFENDING THE HIGH POS T

ti) If the ball is above 15', the defensive post must defend an y
offensive player in the high post area . He must front the post wit h
a hand and a foot in the passing lane .

SPECIAL SITUATION IN DEFENDING HIGH POS T

If there is nQ offensive player in the high post area when the ball is
above 15', we direct our defensive post to take two steps back an d
towards the middle of the lane and erect a flash post into the high
post area
WWI
f'r

. DEFENDING TEE LOW POST WITH BALL ON WIN G

ta P If the ball *is below 15', the defensive post has th e
responsibility of guarding the low post or low bloc k
area . If the ball is on the wing, he must front th e
offensive low post an arm up on the top or high side .
When the ball is passed from above ,the 15' line t o
the corner, the defensive post man must quickly dro p
and defend the ball side low block area . The poin t
0 man would then defend (and deny) the ball side hig h
post area . .
 CROSSING IN FRONT OF LOW POST

If the ball is in the corner, or is passed or , dribbled to the corner, th e

defensive post crosses over in front of the low post player and 3/ 4
fronts him on the low or baseline side . Once again, he must hav e
an arm and foot in the passing lane .

DEFENDING THE LOW POST

The defensive post man must work very hard to box out after a
shot as he will sometimes be fronting the offensive post as the shot
is taken from the outside .

.DEFENDING THE PASS FROM THE CORNER BACK OUT TO THE .

BALL SIDE GUARD OR . WIN G

1) The ball side wing quickly goes out and tries t o

force the ball to stay on the same side of the floor .
2) The point goes out to bounce between the guards A S
3) The post comes up to defend the high past are a
(as the ball is now outside of 15' )
4) The baseline drops in to defend any pass to th e
low block are a
5) The help side wing bounces in front of anyone o n
the opposite low block
 "13 PRESSURE" WING POSITIO N

We play this most of the time . When the ball is in the corner, w e
want our wings to bounce, think tip, and, force them to lob ball ou t
of the corner. WE CANNOT ALLOW A BULLET PASS FRO M
THE CORNER TO THE OPPOSITE ELBOW . Obviously, th e
taller the wing is, the further he can bounce away from the ball an d
still apply pressure to force the lob .

WI - Shorter Win g
W2 - Taller Wing

26
"13 PRESSURE" POINT POSITIO N

The point man defends (fronts) the ballside elbow (high post area) .
If there is no offensive player in the high post or elbow area, the
point should anticipate a flash post or a skip pass to the opposit e
elbow.
D

"13 PRESSURE" POINT POSITION WITH VACANT HIGH

a POST

One other point to remember is that the opposite wing, besides '
calling out flash posts and impeding theix progress, must be read y
to help out on possible lobs from the corner to the low post .
 "13 TRAP "

If the offense starts completing bullet or sharp passes out of th e

corner, we tell our ballside wing to move'closer for more pressure
on the ball . If they are still able to make these types of passes, w e
will go into 13 TRAP, where our wing and baseline players wil l
set a hard trap whenever the ball is in the corner WITHOU T
FOULING.

(No High Post)

29
"13 TRAP "

You can also use this tactic as a surprise element if the offense ha s
a poor passer or short player with the ball in the corner . ALL
RESPONSIBILITIES ARE THE EXACT SAME, EXCEPT FO R
THE WING,who now goes all the way to the corner to trap . When
we seta trap, we still think of just tipping and getting a piece of th e
ball - pot trying to steal the ball out of the double team .
 30
SHIFT OF DEFENSE IN 13 TRA P

If the ball is passed out to the same side wing from the corner, ou r
0 point must stop any penetration as the ballside wing regains goo d
defensive position on the ball . The wing must quickly again pus h
the ball out beyond the 3-point area and force perimeter .

31
"13 DROP"
DP g®
t*J
If the offense is still successfully completing the corner - elbo w
skip pass, even with our corner trap, we will then go into' our 1 3
DROP. The point and the wing now each have differen t
responsibilities when the ball is in the corner. The wing now
"drops" to defend the high post area.on the ballside . The point
now plays at the opposite elbow to stop the skip pass .

SHIFT OF DEFENSE IN 13 DRO P

There isn't as much pressure on the ball in the corner and we allow
the ball to be passed out to the same side wing . However, we hav e
now stopped the corner - elbow skip pass and the wing can quickly
apply pressure when the ball is,passed from the corner to th e
wing .
 "13 SUICIDE"

This defense is something we will run once or twice after a time-

out as a surprise elememt . It is very much the same as our 13 tra p
- the wing and baseline players trap the ball in the corner our pos t
denies the ball into the low post area . Ourpoi;4g;however, no w
denies the pass back into the same side wing and our opnQsi.ta.wing
comes all the way over to deny the ballside high post .

34
SHIFT OF DEFENSE IN "13 SUICIDE "

It is imperative to set a good trap in the corner and have the other 3
players deny the three possible outlets . If a good trap is set, th e
man with the ball in the corner should not be able to throw a cross-
court pass with any sharpness .
 SPECIAL SITUATION "DEFENDING THE WING CUTTE R
IN 13 ZONE "

The wing stays with the cutter until the post drops and can defen d
the low block. The wing ' then returns to bounce (in 13 pressure) ,
trap (in 13 trap), or defend the ball side elbow (13 drop) . The
weakside wing must be in position to help on the ballside low pos t
until the , post can defend, the low .

SPECIAL SITUATION

DO NOT allow the defensive wings to set up any higher than on e

step over the 3-point arc . This allows him to cover the weaksid e
low block Quickly on ball reversal . If the wing sets up IQQ high, he
has too much ground to cover from beyond the 3-point arc to th e
basket. The point must n&t bounce between the guards anyhighe r
than the j of the free throw circle . If he goes higher, the guard
with the ball can penetrate easily Q_r the opposite offensive guard
can sneak in behind the defensive point man .

Defensive point stays back

 SPECIAL SITUATION "SCREENING THE POST"

As the ball is passed from the wing to the corner, an offensive lo w

post may try to screen the defensive post as he moves to defen d
the ballside low block . The defensive post must fight over the L%
of the screen . The baseline player should not leave the low bloc k
unguarded until the defensive post has it covered .

38
SPECIAL SITUATION " SCREENING THE POST "

The wing must be quick to pressure the ball in the comer t o

prevent an easy pass into the high post . The point moves to cove r
the high post. The baseline player can jab and retreat at the ball i n
the corner until the post can cover the low block . Once the lo w
post has the low block covered, the baseline player can pressur e
the ball in the corner.

n
 "BOXING OUT ON SHOT FROM THE WING "

- Baseline boxes ballside low post

- Wing boxes shoote r

- Post boxes middl e

- Point must box opposite elbow

- Opposite wing boxes opposite low bloc k

40
"BOXING OUT ON SHOT FROM CORNER "
4
- Baseline boxes shooter

- Post boxes low post (he must work especially hard for position i f
he is in a frontal postition )
fa
- Opposite wing boxes opposite wing or pos t

- Point boxes opposite elbow

- Ballside wing boxes middle

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