1-3-1 Zone

What it is

• Formation: One defender at top, three defenders in middle (left wing, center, right wing), one defender at baseline.

How it works

• Structure: Top defender guards perimeter above three-point line (guards high ball)
• Structure: Three middle defenders form a wall (paint defenders)
• Structure: Baseline defender guards low post
• Trapping Opportunities: Pinch trap: When ball is swung to wing, top defender and wing defender can trap handler (squeeze from two sides)
• Trapping Opportunities: Baseline trap: If handler attacks baseline, baseline defender and nearest wing defender trap

Reads and counters

• Point defender reads the first dribble; if it attacks the wing, spring the wing-and-top pinch trap from both sides.
• Baseline defender slides ball-side to wall the short corner, the zone's soft spot, then sprints to the opposite block on a skip.
• Wing defenders read skips early; on a cross-court swing, sprint to close out before the catch becomes a clean three.
• If a cutter flashes to the free-throw line, the middle defender bumps him and the back wing tags before any high-low opens.
• On penetration into a gap, the nearest two defenders converge to wall the ball while teammates rotate to cover vacated shooters.

Teaching cues

• Trap the wing, squeeze him
• Wall the short corner
• Beat the skip, sprint and close
• Bump the flash, don't let him catch clean
• Jump on the pass, not the catch

Bilingual terms

Learn before and after

These graph neighbors help place 1-3-1 Zone in the larger basketball map.

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