These Three Offensive Sets Will Help You Beat Any Zone Defense

• By Grant Young

To effectively overcome a basketball zone defense, having well-designed offensive sets is essential. 

Teams that can deploy sharp, effective offensive strategies can exploit the vulnerabilities within a zone, generating high-quality shots and maximizing scoring opportunities. 

However, discovering these effective sets during games is often a risky endeavor, leading to wasted possessions when time is at a premium. In close matchups, this can mean the difference between victory and defeat. 

To mitigate this issue, teams must invest substantial practice time to prepare and refine their offensive tactics against zone defenses, using drills that mirror game conditions. With diligent preparation, players gain confidence and proficiency, allowing them to execute these plays seamlessly when it counts. 

By establishing a robust set of offensive options tailored to attack zone defenses, teams enhance their scoring efficiency and elevate their chances of victory. Ultimately, the focus should be on mastering these strategies in practice, ensuring that in-game execution will lead to success rather than experimentation.

But coaches would prefer not to waste all their valuable practice zone trying out various zone offensive sets against their second-team defense, hoping that success there will translate into the game. They’d rather employ a few offensive sets that have proven to create baskets, and themselves the stress of wondering whether they will work come game time. 

This is why we’ve taken three battle-tested zone offense sets from high-level basketball coaches and included them for your use in your next practice or game. 

Robert Jones - ‘Flash’ Zone Offense Set

Robert Jones is in his 12th season leading the Norfolk State men’s basketball program in 2024-25, and his 18th year overall with the Spartans. Over the course of his decorated career, Jones has racked up over 200 wins, secured two MEAC Tournament titles, and received three MEAC Coach of the Year awards.

Coach Jones led Norfolk State to its first non-conference postseason championship in the program’s Division I history in 2024, defeating Purdue Fort-Wayne 75-67 in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) title game. Christian Ings earned MVP honors for the event, helping the Spartans erase an 18-point deficit in the championship showdown.

In his ‘Offensive Zone Sets’ course, Coach Jones details his Flash offensive set, which focuses on movement and interior passing in order to attack the high post and elbows. 

The set starts with three guards along the wing with two big men in the post. The ball handler passes to either wing, which prompts the big on that side of the ball to get a back screen for the other big, who’ll set up for a midrange or corner shot along the baseline. 

If that pass isn’t available, the guard is going to dribble to the top of the key. Once this happens, the other guard on the wing is going to flash to the free throw line. If that pass isn’t there, the ball handler will pass to the initial player with the ball (who moved to the opposite wing) and then will flash to the hoop. The wing who cut to the free throw line will pop to the top of the key, and the player who flashed to the corner goes to the free throw line. 

Rob Lanier - 41 Set Play

Rob Lanier was named the 26th head men’s basketball coach at Rice on March 24, 2024. Coach Lanier brings more than 30 years of experience as a collegiate coach, including nine seasons as a head coach at Sienna, Georgia State, and SMU.  His teams have made 12 NCAA Tournaments and earned 20 total postseason bids. 

This past season at SMU, he led the Mustangs to a 20-13 record, including an 11-7 in the American Athletic Conference and the second seed in the AAC Championship.

In his ‘Zone Offense’ course, Coach Lanier explains a zone offensive set called 41, which starts one big at the wing, one in the post, two guards in the corners, and the ball handler at the top of the key. 

The ball handler conducts a dribble handoff with that big at the wing, who will then pass it back to them. The big in the post will set a ball screen. Depending on how the zone defense responds to this, the guard will either penetrate or throw it back to the big man on the wing, who should be open for a shot if the dribble drive isn’t available. 

If the dribble drive is available but the defensive big (assuming this is a 2-3 zone defense) steps up to contest, the big who set the screen should flash to the opposite block for a lob or bounce pass. The opposite side wing should also become available in this scenario. 

Steve Pikiell - Gap Double Cut

Steve Pikiell enters his 9th season as head coach of the Scarlet Knights in 2024-25. Under Pikiell’s leadership, the team returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2021, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1991. 

The Scarlet Knights returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2022, marking the first time RU has made the big dance in consecutive seasons since 1976. In 2022, Coach Pikiell surpassed Tom Young with the most ranked wins in school history (15).

Coach Pikiell’s ‘Steve Pikiell - Attacking Zones’ conveys one offensive gap he calls the Gap Double Cut, which begins with a wing player or big man at the top of the key.

Once the ball is swung to the wing and into the post, that player at the top of the key will cut into the lane, which opens up an angle for an alley oop or easy layup because the zone defense’s focus will be on the ball.