Basketball Plays 1-3-1 Zone Attack

Consider using this action as an entry into what you use to attack a 1-3-1 zone.

Submitted by Coach John Kimble
CoachJohnKimble.com

Retired high school and college coach

Follow him on Twitter @CoachJohnKimble

This Play is taken from the DVD “The Ultimate Library of Zone Offenses—Vol. 1: The LINES SET and the CORNERS Continuity Offense” and the book “The Basketball Coaches Complete Guide to Zone Offenses” published by COACHES CHOICE

Diagrams created with FastDraw

“BIG” (Thumbs Down) ENTRY (To the Right)

01 could dribble to either side with that side’s post player (04) posting up and the weakside’ post player (05) ‘diving’ to the rim. The ballside ‘corner’ (02) spots up in the deep corner & the weakside perimeter player (03) steps up to the high ‘elbow area.’

01 ‘freeze dribbles’ at X2’s outside shoulder, pulling X1 with him. To defend the “BIG” entry, X4 must decide on helping out on 04’s ‘duck-in’ cut or to cover 02 in the ‘deep corner.’ X5 must decide on whether to cover 04 down low or 05 diving to the rim. X3 must decide on cutting with 05 on his dive or stepping with 03 to the 3 pt. line. 01 reads either X3 or X4 & passes to the open teammate. All 4 other offensive players are possible options for the pass, depending on how the defense plays.

Another option if the ball goes to O2 in the corner, he can look to O4 on the second cut.

“BIG” (Thumbs Down) ENTRY (To the Left)

This third diagram illustrates the same “BIG” play, but with 01 instead dribbling to the left side (or the high stack side) of the court. “BIG” dictates the new weakside ‘Big’ (04) is the player that makes the ‘lob cut’ to the rim, while the ‘SMALL’ player (02) is the player that now steps out to the high elbow area behind the arc for a possible 3 pt. shot. On the ballside, 05 ducks in while 03 flare-cuts to the ballside deep corner. 01 must read the defense & pass the ball accordingly. X2 must diagonally drop down to cover 04. 04 should have great ‘position’ advantages as well as height & strength advantages as a ‘Big’ over more than likely a perimeter defender in X2. If X2 somehow prevents 04 from getting the ball, 01 still could pass the ball to 02 out on top for a 3 pt. shot. 01 reads either X3 or X4 & passes to the open teammate. All 4 other offensive players are possible options for the pass, depending on how the defense plays.

Another option if the ball goes to O3 in the corner, he can look to O5 on the second cut.

 

About the Author

Coach Kimble was the Head Basketball Coaching position at Deland-Weldon (IL) High School for five years (91-43) that included 2 Regional Championships, 2 Regional Runner-Ups and 1 Sectional Tournament Runner-up. He then moved to Dunlap (IL) High School (90-45) with 2 Regional Runners-up, 1 Regional, 1 Sectional and 1 Super-Sectional Championship and a final 2nd Place Finish in the Illinois Class A State Tournament. He was an Assistant Basketball Coach at Central Florida Community College in Ocala, FL for 1 year before becoming Offensive Coordinator and then Associate Head Coach for 3 additional years He then was the Head Basketball Coach at Crestview (FL) High School for 10 years, averaging over 16 wins per season.

He has had articles published in the following publications such as: The Basketball Bulletin of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the Scholastic Coach and Athletic Journal, Winning Hoops, Basketball Sense, and American Basketball Quarterly. He has also written and has had five books published along with over 25 different DVDs by Coaches Choice and Fever River Sports Production.