Exploring basketball's best ideas, strategies, and coaches around the world

Happy Final Four weekend! Thanks to all of you who came to visit us at the NABC Convention 🙏 🔥

ICYMI: Our 1st Quarter Review of 2024! Get caught up on all the breakdowns and newsletters you may have missed while you were coaching.

This Week at a Glance:

🔒 SG Plus Content: Multiple Defenses - 1-3-1 Half Court Trap to 2-3 Zone​

🎤 Slappin' Glass Podcast: Carly Clarke {TMU/Canadian NT}

🥇Best of the Week: Defending Spain PNR & Low Post PNR​

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Let's dive in...

Multiple Defenses

In this edition of the newsletter, we're delving into a "multiple defenses strategy" that caught our eye late in the season, showcased by Coach Jerod Haase and Stanford MBB. This interesting defensive approach sees Stanford initiating the possession with a 1-3-1 Half-Court Trap, then transitioning into a 2-3 Zone on a skip out pass, and ultimately matching up Man-to-Man on a high post catch, creating a challenging puzzle for an offense to figure out.

We've always valued a defense capable of adopting multiple coverages within a single possession, effectively dictating the terms of engagement and keeping the offense off balance. Today's coverage is no different. By effectively layering in a 1-3-1 Zone Trap before transitioning into their 2-3 Zone, Stanford creates opportunities for a "Free Trap" on the ball. This strategic maneuver can not only disrupt the offense but also aids their transformation back into the 2-3 Zone.

Free Traps - Starting in the 1-3-1

One of the benefits of applying early pressure and running traps at the ball is that offenses are often reluctant to attack out of the early trap with a quick shot. Opting instead to break the trap and organize the possession, providing the defense with an opportunity to take a risk on the ball with a lower chance of repercussion. This is a concept we have looked at before when trapping off the 5-Man in the backcourt {🔒} and discussed with Coach Tobin Anderson in our "Crunch Time" {🔒} film room session of his historic upset win over Purdue in last year's NCAA Tournament.

Embracing the offenses reluctance to punish early possession traps, Coach Haase has his defense begin the possession with a 1-3-1 Z Trap, funnelling ball handlers into the corners and attacking the ball with the top and wing defenders immediately after crossing half court.

Zooming In: As demonstrated in the clip above, Stanford successfully executes two traps on the ball, with the offense primarily focused on breaking the traps and regaining control of their possession.

This is a calculated gamble, banking on the likelihood that the offense will be hesitant to attack off the skip pass out of the trap.

Zooming In: The corner skip pass frequently will force the low defender to execute a lengthy closeout, but offenses can be unwilling to exploit this vulnerability early in a possession. Above, UCLA takes a somewhat contested "long two", a shot I'm sure Stanford will live with.

This calculated defensive approach at the beginning of the possession leverages the offense's reluctance to counterattack. Not only in pressuring the ball, but in buying time for their defense to seamlessly transition into a 2-3 Zone.

Weakside Bump Outs - Shifting to a 2-3

Once the ball has been skipped out of the trap, this serves as the trigger for the defense to initiate their transformation into a 2-3 Zone. As depicted in the GIF above, the low forward in the 1-3-1 will follow the skip pass out of the trap to assume the strong side forward position in the 2-3 Zone. Meanwhile, the center will sprint back under the rim, and the top forward in the 1-3-1 will drop back weak side to bump the guard in the help side out.

Today's complete newsletter and breakdown offer a comprehensive exploration of Coach Haase's tactics in transforming the 1-3-1 into a 2-3 defense, alongside insights into their approach to concluding possessions in man-to-man defense. By becoming an SG Plus Member, you'll discover how this innovative zone strategy keeps opponents off balance and passive, while ensuring a seamless defensive structure during transitions between various coverages.

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Slappin Glass Podcast

We had the privilege of sitting down this week with the Head Coach of Toronto Metropolitan University WBB, along with Assistant for the Canadian NT, Carly Clarke! In this highly thoughtful conversation Coach Clarke details her thoughts on defensive clarity, decision making in "gray areas", and discusses zoning BLOB's and building a competitive mindset during the always fun "Start, Sub, or Sit?!"

Listen to the entire conversation here...

Together with Hudl

We're proud to partner with one of the best tech companies in the world of sports, Hudl! Every play, every stat, every breakdown. On their own, they’re essential. But all together, they’re undeniable. Hudl recently introduced their newest product, Hudl Instat – a new advanced data platform that integrates with Sportscode and every Hudl product you rely on to create an all-in-one data powerhouse. Hudl Instat’s advanced tagging and next-level stat reports help you develop your team – and its global film library helps you find the missing piece to get the most out of every second of film. Visit ​hudl.com/slappinglass​ to learn more.

Tactical

📺 Defending the Spain PNR - Drop Defense Strategies​

"Blowing up the stack screen and/or shooting under the stack screen when defending the Spain PNR in a Drop coverage."

✚ Pair With: The defensive technique of "Locking the Pivot" on post ups or penetrations.

🔒 SG Plus Content: Defending the Spanish PNR with the "Hedge & X-Out."

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📺 Low Post PNR - Posting Guards​

"Invert your offense by using the post as a spot to facilitate a ballscreen. Maximizing the spacing on the weakside to remove nail help."

✚ Pair With: The Italian NT using their PG as the "Post Trigger Man."

🔒 SG Plus Content: Our breakdown on the "Bully Drive."

Interesting Reads

📚 Smart Words from Smart People​

“The greatest trick the devil ever played was making you believe that the pessimists are the good guys.” – Packy McCormick

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📚 On the Value of Hard Focus​

"When assessing your progress on producing things of real value (the best path to building a rewarding and well-rewarded life), consider your own capacity for hard focus. Most important accomplishments boil down to this single, often overlooked ability."

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📚 How Two College Students Helped DJ Burns Cash In on a Final Four Run​

"Deals stemming from the NCAA tournament are not only more abundant for overnight sensations but also more lucrative. 'A player might have 10,000 followers, but a brand will overpay to be part of that person’s moment—especially through March Madness,” Green says."

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Quote of the Week

Thank you for reading and have a great week coaching,

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Dan and Pat

info@slappinglass.com

We're proud to partner with the leading Sports Travel company in the basketball world, Beyond Sports! Follow the link above to learn more about why more than 600 universities have trusted Beyond Sports for their team's foreign trips. Let them know Slappin' Glass sent you!

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