Foes find it's easy to zone out vs. Temple

Sporting News, The, Jan 8, 1996 by Mike DeCourcy

John Chaney can be an entertaining guy, so long as you are not on the business end of one of his infamous stares or postgame harangues. But he does not think of himself as an entertainer. He is purely a coach.

When his Temple team steps onto the floor it is not concerned with running, dunking pretty or dazzling spectators. "Those are things kids like to do," Chaney says. He prefers to win.

Hence, you will find him eternally devoted to the matchup zone, a scheme that forces a slow pace and instant bewilderment upon unprepared opponents. Not long ago, this approach made Chaney kind of a relic among college coaches, however successful be was, as so many others turned to the press-and-run attack. Now, he's an innovator.

The 2-3 zone, in a variety of forms, is the hottest defense in the game. In the space of 10 days, Temple and Syracuse employed markedly different versions of that defense in defeating the three top-rated teams in the country: Kansas, Villanova and Arizona. In the space of a week, Syracuse foiled two previously unbeaten teams, Arizona and Illinois. When Memphis finally stopped Temple's poll-busting run, the Tigers did it by turning their own zone on the Owls.

Those entering games against teams that play zone have found themselves in the same position as football teams trying to prepare to defend the wishbone offense: Nothing is familiar. Every situation is unexplored territory since it's something rarely seen.

"The thing that carries us is our defense -- and the mystique other teams have about our defense," Chaney says. "If you're in a conference where they just run up and down and shoot and gun ... a lot of leagues just play man-to-man. They don't play zone. It's not something teams are accustomed to."

Chaney's matchup defense is especially effective because of three factors: Some teams equate shooting quickly with their preferred, up-tempo style; more players think of themselves as capable 3-point shooters; and top teams often lack maturity because many players leave school early for the pros.

The Temple defense exposes and exploits all those human frailties. There are open shots against the Owls, but they dictate when and where those become available. "They want the wrong guy to take the shot at the wrong place," says Memphis Coach Larry Finch. "They know they're going to get the rebound."

Opponents desperate to force the action against Temple are inclined to launch the first open 3-pointer they find, which can be the most damaging mistake against the matchup defense. Villanova and Kansas shot a combined 61-3-pointers against the Owls; they made 13. Jayhawks guard Jerod Haase was 6 of 20.

Syracuse plays its zone differently but invites the same brand of inaccuracy. Arizona shot 5 of 24 on 3-pointers; Illinois perimeter players Kiwane Ganis, Richard Keene and Jerry Hester combined on a 5-of-28 abomination.

Whereas Temple rarely bas abandoned its base defense through Chaney's 14 seasons, Syracuse has tended toward the zone in those years when Coach Jim Boeheim has more size than speed. He dusted it off in the early 1990s, when his guards were 6-foot-5 Mike Hopkins and 6-4 Adrian Autry; now, he's got 6-2 Lazarus Sims at the point and 6-5 Marius Janulis and 6-7 Todd Burgan alternating at shooting guard.

Temple looks to deny familiar and comfortable spots to opposing shooters, but Syracuse is more interested in covering areas of the court and forcing hurried, inaccurate shots. On offense, the Orangemen still want to ran the break.

Whether the success these two have had with their defenses will cause a trend, or a contagion, is difficult to determine. There is an ego factor at work; coaches often see zone defense as an excuse for not being able to play man-to-man. Hey, what intramural or recleague player hasn't set up in a zone strictly for the purpose of avoiding exertion?

Zones depress scoring because they force opponents to search longer for open shots. This is not the way basketball is to be played in the 90-mph, 90-points-per-game '90s.

Out of place in a running game before transferring from Virginia Commonwealth, Temple's Marc Jackson believes, "It says more about a team that can win in a controlled tempo." Chaney, though, knows some coaches are pressured to "get caught up with entertaining" and that others recruit against him by selling the running game.

"Kids want to run. They don't want to be harnessed," Chaney says. "That's the way some people recruit kids. I don't choose to. Think of it as a clock; some teams play the second hand, some play the minute hand. We play the hour hand."

Monster of the MAC

Think big-time coaches aren't smart? At least they were smart enough to avoid scheduling Miami (O.) . The Redskins danced through their first seven games by an average margin of 19 points and suggested they may be the best mid-major team since Lionel Simmons, Randy Woods and Doug Overton led La Salle to a 29-1 regular-season record in 1989-90.

Already fortunate to have Mid-American Conference Player of the Year candidate Devin Davis averaging 19.3 points and 10.6 rebounds, the Redskins are getting major contributions from two freshmen, Damon Frierson and Wally Szczerbiak. With the pressure defense Coach Herb Sendek learned while an assistant to Rick Pitino at Providence and Kentucky, Miami is forcing opponents into 20 turnovers a game.