Confessions of a System Newbie, Entry #4

One of my biggest concerns in transitioning to THE SYSTEM has been the implementation of a full-court defense. Defense was not our strongest suit last year as we were largely passive, sticking mostly to a very, very conservative quarter-court 3-2 zone. We had few steals and created little opportunity with our defense.

I remember discussing THE SYSTEM with a coach from another school who shall remain nameless. He was very familiar with THE SYSTEM and criticized it because he believes too much in the importance of defense. I felt perplexed by this comment and still do. In my perspective, THE SYSTEM is driven by defense. The spastic, frenetic chaos of full-court defense is what creates the pace and opportunity that is necessary for SYSTEM success.

I’ve spent many hours researching various presses and half-court sets in preparation for this summer’s transition to THE SYSTEM. But, I believe it may be for little use at this point. I’ve come to quickly learn that less is more in THE SYSTEM at this stage in our progression. Teaching full-court defense has never been a strength of mine, but Coach Holmes and Coach McCanna swiftly and effectively alleviated my instructional fears in a mini-clinic at our school last month.

Coach Holmes was queried by one of our players as to the nature of THE SYSTEM defense as he was introducing the early concepts to our team.

“Is it zone or man-to-man?” she asked.

Coach Holmes cleverly replied, “Yes.”

That bit of humor taught me a lot. My hours of defensive research were erased with the introduction of one word. Chaos.

Coach Holmes went on to explain that chaos is the biggest defensive asset that can be had. Simply put, chaos is good for THE SYSTEM. And, I can teach chaos. Very well. We don’t implement a full court defense to slow the game down; we do it to speed the game up. In emphasizing high risk and high reward gambles with our defensive pressure, we don’t have to worry about getting beat on defense. Getting beat is strangely good for us. It keeps the opposition running up and down the court. And yes, it still feels funny saying that.

Not to say that we don’t work on various defensive concepts. We work quite a bit on defensive positioning, trapping and rotating. We work on chasing and back-taps. We want our girls to recognize opportunities that may lead to the opposition turning over the ball. We stress the importance of trapping “tall and wide” and want the girls to invite lob passes for the purpose of interception. Most important, however, is that we want the ball always moving to the basket to maintain pace.

We have a full and half-court defensive set, but they are mostly for positioning purposes. We want to always trap with the two closest people to the ball. I am also working on some minor modifications, but the simple, primary concepts remain fully intact.

None of these concepts are new. None of them are eye-popping revelations. A difficult part in all of it has been getting the girls to play hard all of the time and to maximize effort with each shift. Getting them to abandon conservatism on defense. To commit on traps without hesitation. To recognize and act on an opportunity to gamble. To anticipate the behavior and options of the opposition.

The sincerely hardest part of it is listening to some groans from the fans when we give up a few layups in the process. It has been tempting to abandon the press, more out of the uninformed perception it creates with the fans than anything else. However, I have to fight it…which has become easier and easier.

I know, however, that some ugly times will meet up with us in game situations when our shots are off and things just aren’t clicking. Then again, that would happen regardless of whether or not we use THE SYSTEM. It’s all a process. We still have a very long way to go, but the seeds are planted. I’m sure that I’m missing something, but it’ll come along the way.

The Lady Scots have a tournament this weekend in Palm Springs. We'll be short a couple of starters which will create an opportunity for some others to step in and step up. I can't wait. But more important, the girls can't wait.

- Zack Delmont, Head Coach of the Rim of the World Fighting Lady Scots of Lake Arrowhead, California