Simplified Half Court Zone Trap System

Overview:
There are many times as a coach when you want to change the tempo of the game
using a trapping zone. You may be down late in a game, you may be ahead and want to
stretch your lead, or you may just be a coach that likes to play a pressure, uptempo
basketball. If you play the same trapping zone however, many teams are going to figure
your defense out eventually and a good team will beat you with it. So a logical option is
running a variety of different zone trap looks during the course of a game. I think
trapping out of a few different looks isn’t a bad idea, but often you waste valuable
practice time teaching them the different slides for each look.
I think I have possibly devised a way to get around the lengthy teaching sessions.
The positions covered when the ball is in a given spot for each odd front zone (1-3-1 and
1-2-2) are similar as are the spots in relation to ball position for each even front zone
(2-2-1 and 2-3). I’ve tried to make where the positions go similar so the players just have
to know that no matter what a given player goes to a spot when the ball is in a certain
position. In the following handout, I’m going to lay out my ideas for running this system.
The beauty of it is that you can have 4 different zone looks (1-3-1, 1-2-2, 2-2-1, and 2-3)
but only teach two different sets of rules. Even the rules for the different front zones are
fairly similar and should be easy to pick up if you choose to run both fronts. The slides
are the same, as I mentioned, but hopefully by disguising the defense with a couple of
different zone fronts, you can keep the wolves at bay for a while.
In this kind of system, I think it would be best to trap the ball on EVERY pass for
the most part. Trapping as much as you can and forcing the action is what you want to
accomplish with this kind of scheme. If you DON’T want to trap in certain places
however, then don’t! Tweak what I have to fit YOUR philosophy! That’s the beauty of
basketball, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
One of the BIGGEST things to teach your players is how to move on AIR TIME.
This is important for any defense but if you don’t do it, it will kill you in a trapping zone.
As the pass is being thrown, your players should already be moving to their next position.
When the receiver catches the ball, your players should already be there.
Is this a new idea? Is this going to “revolutionize basketball”? NO, of course not!
All this material is stuff I have borrowed from a bunch of different coaches – coaches
who are much smarter than I am. I’ve just attempted to integrate it into a little more
seamless system. With that same idea, I think you should look at what I have here and
tweak it to fit yourself as a coach and your ideas. See a better way of doing something
than what I have down? Well then do it! I’m not going to sit here and say this is the end
all be all, it’s just an idea I came up with and made a handout for.
Power Triangle:
In my humble opinion, teaching the power triangle is what makes this system
work. Players must be taught immediately that they have to get into a power triangle
formation when they are not trapping to keep the defense from getting gashed for easy
baskets by good passing teams. We want to force turnovers on the pass obviously, but not
at the price of allowing penetrating passes that are going to hurt us. Instead of denying
every time, instead you play cat and mouse and gamble when they aren’t expecting it. We
may allow a few non-penetrating passes in order to lull the opponent into throwing one
we can take. The player on the block should be fronting the post and should not let the
ball in there. The player on the elbow should be zoning the high post area keeping the
ball out of the high post. The player at the elbow can and should from time to time
gamble and try to pick off a pass out of the trap, but not every time. His first objective
however is to prevent the ball from going into the high post because we all know that
against a trapping zone, the ball going into the high post is one of the worst things that
can happen. The job of the player in the lane is to prevent lob passes into the lane and
guard against any type of flash cuts. His head should be on a swivel looking for cutters.
He is also in charge of defending long skip passes that might be made.
One problem with the Power Triangle is going to come into play against good
passing and shooting teams that are going to skip the ball over your head to shooters on
the backside of the zone. There is no easy fix to this when you are playing any zone
without giving up the lane. The only thing I can tell you with regards to this is really
stress to players moving on AIR TIME as I mentioned above. As the backside wing sees
the pass is being made, he MUST turn and sprint to the receiver of the ball and stop a
shot or a drive long enough for his teammates to get into position defensively. Personally,
I would over commit to take away penetrating drives and passes because skips take time
and I hope I could get my gives to anticipate and run hard enough to get to their positions
right as the receiver catches the ball. It’s something that you have to drill into you.
Another problem you might encounter with this is getting a smaller player
defending a bigger player in the post. This is why I like to front this post in this defense. I
am never a fan of a complete front of the post because you are susceptible to high-low
action, but I think here you have to because of the potential height differences. The
member of the triangle in the lane is responsible for lob passes. It is also the reason I
stress the ball NOT going into the high post.
Odd Front Zone Trap (1-3-1 and 1-2-2 Looks):
In our odd front zones, there are three different positions – guard, wing (2), and
post (2). Players don’t have to know them all, but it helps if each player is familiar with at
least two. In the odd front zone, there are two trapping areas on each side.
The first is the wing trap area – no matter if we are in a 1-3-1 or 1-2-2 the
traps and player’s responsibilities remain the same. The wing trap area runs from
the laneline extended to the first hash mark extended. Anytime the ball is in the
wing trap area, the guard and the wing on that side make the trap. The backside
wing fills the lane spot, the backside post fills the elbow and the ball side post fills
the block to complete the power triangle.
The second place to trap is the corner. When the ball is in the corner trap
area, the ball side post and ball side wing trap the ball. The weak side post covers
the block, the guard covers the high post, and the backside wing covers the lane.

The following diagrams will illustrate the looks and the slides of odd zones.
1-2-2 Zone Trap
Set Up
This is the basic setup for the 1-2-2 zone trap. The Guard is at the top, there are two
Wings on the sides, and two Posts on the blocks. The way I like to run it, the wings stay
in slightly and invite the pass, dribble into the trap area and also protect the middle.
 Wing Trap
When the ball is one the wing the guard and ballside wing (wing 1 in diagram) trap the
ball. The ball side post (post 1) takes the block. The backside wing (wing 2) drops into
the lane and the backside post (post 2) covers the high post – this slide may be confusing
at first, but will make sense in the context of the defense when you look at the 1-3-1
defense. If the ball were to be passed to the other side, the same slide would take place
but the players would be different. The post on the opposite side that the ball is on should
always KNOW he’s the “backside post” and has to cover the high post. It should be very
simple for players to remember – that when they are a given person (ball side or back
side) they need to get to a given spot. This is the same as with any other zone.

Corner Trap
When the ball goes from the wing to the corner or ball is in the corner, we look like this:
The guard takes the high post but can step out and steal a pass back to the wing – the high
post defender also has the role of taking away any cuts that might be made from the wing.
The ballside wing and ball side post trap the corner. The weak side post takes the block
and the backside wing takes the lane. I like this drop because it’s harder for a post to seal
if we slide from the elbow.
1-3-1 Zone Trap
Set Up
Again this is a basic 1-3-1 zone trap set up. The guard is again on top, the wings are again
somewhere between elbow and wing, the “weak side post” is on the FT line, and the “ball
side post” is by the rim – the posts stay the same no matter what side the ball is on. The
situation with the posts is why I designed the 1-2-2 slides like I did. In both the 1-2-2 and
1-3-1 the “weak side post” will cover the elbow when the ball is at the wing and the block
when the ball is in the corner. All your posts have to know is if they are the “weak side
post” in an odd zone they cover those places regardless of whether it’s a 1-3-1 or 1-2-2 –
that is where the seamlessness of it comes in. In the 1-3-1 the post in the middle is always
the weak side post and covers the elbow on the and the post in the lane is always the ball
side post. Just a hint your more athletic post should be the ball side post.

Wing Trap
When the ball is on the wing the guard and ballside wing (wing 1) trap the ball. The weak
side post (middle man) covers the high post. The ballside wing (low man) covers the
block, and the backside wing (wing 2) covers the lane. These are the exact same positions
that players are in when the ball is on the wing in the 1-2-2 – that is why it’s easy.
 Corner Trap
Again, the positions when the ball is in the corner are the EXACT SAME as when the
ball is in the corner in the 1-2-2. When the ball is in the corner, the ball side post (low
man) and ball side wing (wing 1) trap the corner. The weak side post (middle man) takes
the block, the guard takes the high post (again, can look to gamble at times), and the back
side wing takes the lane.

Even Front Zone Looks (2-3 and 2-2-1):

In our even front zones we still have the same three positions. But this time there
are 2 guards, 2 wings, and only 1 post. There are also changes in trapping areas. With a
two guard front, we trap the top, the wing, and the corner. It’s basically the same areas
with the exception of the addition of the trap on the top.

At the top, both guards trap the ball. The wings take away the elbows as well
as play the wings if the ball goes to them. Your wings can gamble on passes form
time to time, depending on their athleticism and your feel for their skills/judgment.
The post then guards the rim.
 At the wing, a guard and wing on the ballside trap the ball. The post guards
the block. The backside guard takes the high post and the backside wing takes the
lane (forming the power triangle again).
At the corner the post and ball side wing trap the corner. The ballside guard
takes the high post and the weak side guard takes the low post. The backside wing
takes the lane. Again, I like the cover for the low post coming from the high post
when the ball goes to the corner because it’s hard for a post to seal the player
coming from the top, if the next slide comes from behind (as with many zones). I’ve
found that having the slide come from the high post can result in steals if your
players are moving on “air time”, they can step in front of passes that players try to
quickly throw from the corner to the low post.

2-3 Zone Trap

Set Up

We set up the 2-3 in a vanilla 2-3 look. We do what our guards (1 & 2) however to be a
little bit higher and set up outside the three point arc. We don’t, however, want them out
defending and trapping outside of the “volleyball line” or 28 feet from the rim. I feel that
when you get farther out than ½ way between the top of the key and half court you start
to spread yourself a little bit too far. The wings (3 & 4) are flanking the post (5) on the
sides of the lane. They should come up a little bit to cover a pass to the wings and we
want to be wide so it is harder to pin.

Top Trap
When the ball is being trapped at the top the two guards do the trapping – as usual we
don’t wan them hacking the ball handler, just pester him into a 5 second call or bad pass.
The guards have to be ready to run when the ball is passed out of the traps.
The wings come up and take away the elbow/middle pass. We want to force the
ball to a sideline/wing. Now, the wings can gamble from time to time and try to pick off a
pass. We can especially have our wings gamble if there is no one in the middle or high
post. If there is no one in the high post we can even send one or both wings (your choice)
out to deny passes to the offense’s wings. A lot of it will depend on your player’s IQ and
athletic ability, as well as the abilities of the opponent.
The post is in the middle of the floor guarding the basket. He should read the eyes
of the trapped player in case the player tries to throw a long pass to a corner or a pass
toward the rim to a player.
 Wing Trap
When the ball is on
the wing the ballside
wing (3) and ball side
guard (2) trap the ball.
The backside wing (4)
takes the lane in the
power triangle (as he
does in the odd front
zones). The post (5)
takes the block and
the backside guard (1)
takes the high post. The diagram is shown from moving out of the guard trap, would be
similar without 1st trap.

Corner Trap

When the ball is in the corner, the ballside wing (3) and the post (5) trap the corner. The
back side guard (1) slides down to guard the post. The ball side guard (2) guards the high
post and zones the wing if he can. The backside wing (4) stays in the lane on the backside
of the power triangle.

2-2-1 Zone Trap

Set Up
This set up is similar to the 2-3, and the slides are obviously identical. The guards (1 & 2)
play above the three point line. In this set up however, you CAN have your guards play a
little higher than the 2-3 because of the wings. Speaking of the wings (3, 4) they play
around the elbow area and can stretch out to the wings depending on your taste. They can
read the trap and look to make steals out of it if the opportunity presents itself and again
what you as a coach want to do. The post (5) guards the rim and doesn’t let any passes go
that way.

Top Trap
When the ball is being trapped at the top both the guards (1 & 2) trap the ball. The wings
zone the elbows/middle and can play the wings from time to time. The post (5) guards the
rim.

Wing Trap
When the ball is on the wing the ballside guard (2) and ballside wing (3) trap the ball.
The backside guard (1) takes the high post. The backside wing (4) takes the lane and the
post (5) takes the low block.

Corner Trap
When the ball is in the corner the post (5) and ballside wing (3) trap the ball in the corner.
The ball side guard (2) takes the high post and gambles on the wing from time to time.
The backside guard (1) takes the low post. The backside wing (4) takes the lane.

Conclusion:
As I said in the introduction, this is NOT anything groundbreaking or totally new.
It’s not going to set the world on fire or change the way basketball is played. This is just a
simplified way to do something. I think you can teach this simply to your players but will
be able to use it to confuse the opponent just enough to gain an advantage.
This is not a perfect system either – but I don’t believe that anything in basketball
is perfect! Some of the slides are going to be harder to accomplish on a skip pass – for
example if they threw the ball from the point to the corner in the 2-2-1 it is going to be a
long slide for the backside guard to get to the ball side block – but it CAN be done if it’s
taught. Again, I think if you teach players to move on AIR time and go HARD you can
overcome some short comings in zone traps in general.
I hope this information is helpful to you. I know I didn’t show slides for EACH
individual situation (ie pass from wing to corner AND pass from point to corner). But I
THINK my reading the descriptions you should be able to see the slides. I also think if
you teach it where if the ball is in position X you are here regardless of how it got to
position X things will work better. I would appreciate any feedback and advice on this, I
haven’t had a chance to implement this yet but love the idea of it. If you have ANY
questions, please feel free to e-mail me at either john.carrier@st.bemidjistate.edu (until
12/2009) or johncarrier42@gmail.com .