Zone Offense w/ Kirby Schepp
Episode 99: Teach them how to play ... with a few concepts
Teaching our players how to attack a zone is an emphasis heading into this next season.
With our league losing several great athletes, who were also great players, I envision several teams incorporating more zone defense. While I wouldn’t say we’ve been terrible against zones, it can be a struggle for us to find the same rhythm we have against man defenses.
Reflection has provided me with a couple of ways I can do better.
Do a better job educating players on the concepts for attacking a zone.
Devote more time for our players to practice those concepts against different types of zones.
Who better to ask about accomplishing these two goals than Kirby Schepp? If you don’t know, Schepp is the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Manitoba. And if you didn’t know, Schepp’s “Don’t Teach Them Plays, Teach Them How To Play” clinic for Basketball Manitoba has more than 1 million views on YouTube.
This is an interview I’ve been hoping to do for a couple of years now. Our schedules finally aligned this week, and I really enjoyed our hour-long discussion. Schepp’s understanding of the game is without question. His ability to break that knowledge down into teachable activities for players is in inspiring.
“Being a teacher definitely made me a better coach. It helps to cement your values as an educator and see the players as learners rather than just athletes,” said the former high school teacher and coach 🔗.
Above is a 4-minute clip from the podcast where Schepp explains how he introduces zone offense through 4 concepts. These are the foundation for the rest of the zone offense concepts and ATO’s the Bisons install throughout the season. The concepts include …
Find the Gaps. Stand where you are halfway between 2 defenders. Make a triangle with those defenders.
Space the defense vertically & horizontally.
Seek an inside touch (short corner, high post, etc.). On touch look for inside partner or pass opposite from where the ball came.
Drive the zone.
An important point by Schepp is that after introducing each concept, players get 5-6 possessions to practice before introducing the next concept. After applying the fourth concept, he said the offensive attack can be pretty effective against any type of zone.
There is a lot more in this episode about zone offense, including creativity with where you place players and some basic concepts for baseline inbound plays. We touch on several other topics and Schepp shares some stories from his career that you will find value in.
I hope you enjoy this episode, and thank you for listening!
Bonus 🎥: A nice ATO
The game video in the clip above was from November 2023 game Manitoba played against McMaster. While watching, I found this nice After-Timeout play run by McMasters that I want to share with you.
