23 Zone - The Center

The Center is the anchor of the 23 Zone. In this post, we are going to take a look at the Responsibilities and Steal Opportunities for the Center in our 23 Zone.

The Center is the anchor of your 23 Zone defense. As they are positioned directly in front of the rim It becomes their main objective to make sure that any paint shot or drive goes through them. Putting a player with some length and shot-blocking ability in this position will maximize the defense's advantages. Having that kind of player in this position will allow your guards and wings to be even more aggressive on the perimeter. If your roster does not include a player that fits that description then getting someone willing to step in and stop the basketball, play physical defense, and rebound is the next best option.

The responsibilities of the Center are fairly simple compared to those of the other players. Each of these responsibilities centers around making sure that every drive and paint touch is guarded. Staying in the line with the basketball, contesting shots at the rim, and guarding perimeter drives are not going to create a ton of steal opportunities for the Center, but they are going to be critical in maximizing the defense's potential. Perhaps the most important thing the Center is responsible for is not a physical movement but his talking to other defenders who can't see the movement of the offense.

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Center Responsibilities -

The bulk of what the Center is responsible for is simply staying in line with the basketball and making sure that any penetration from the perimeter meets resistance at the rim. Aside from the diagrammed tasks below The Center must take on the main role of talking any cutters through the defense. As we said in the introduction, size helps but is not required to complete the tasks of this position.

Center Responsibilities -

Positioning:

Always keep yourself in between the Rim and the Basketball. Be constantly repositioning yourself in order to respond to any swing pass or drive from the perimeter.

Guarding the Ball:

If the ball is touched by the person in the middle of the defense it is your responsibility to guard it. You should be guarding that person unless he has the basketball - your priority to protecting the rim until he touches.

Perimeter Drives:

Any Perimeter Drives that are made need to be met by the Center. Perimeter defenders are being instructed to "peel off" the ball if they are cleanly beaten off the dribble, so it is the Center's responsibility to meet that drive and prevent the lay-up.

Deny the Post:

We do not want to allow straight line or lob entry passes into the post. The Center is 3/4 fronting the entry pass trying to make it as difficult as possible. The worst-case scenario is that we have pushed the post player off the block with a defender between him and the rim.

Center Steals, Entry Deflections -

As we mentioned above we do not want to allow straight line or lob entry passes into the post. For the most part, the guards take on the responsibility of taking away the middle man on offense. However, when the middle man (5) sinks lower in the paint the Center now has an opportunity to deflect or steal an entry pass. The Center would now 3/4 front the post player trying to make an entry pass as difficult as possible.

Middle Entry -

Ball is on Top:

When the ball is at the top of the key the Center is positioned directly in front of the rim. He is NOT hugging any player positioned at the free-throw line.

Guarding the Middle Man is the job of the Guards in that scenario.

Ball is on the Wing:

When the ball is on the wing the responsibility begins to shift. If the player stays at the free-throw line the Guards maintain their role.

If the player drops down to the post then the Center takes over. We can not allow a post entry pass from the Wing so the defense needs to immediately get into 3/4 front position. Often times this becomes a great steal or deflection opportunity.

Center Steals, On Ball Defense -

The vast majority of zone offenses place a priority on getting the basketball to a player positioned in the middle of the defense. That player is typically placed at or around the free-throw line. The majority of the time the task of preventing that pass falls on the Guards, but if a pass to that player is successful responsibility immediately shifts to the Center. Not allowing that player to be a playmaker with the ball in his hands is the goal in this scenario.

On Ball Defense -

Stance:

When the ball does get touched to the Middle Man (5) at the free-throw line it is the job of the Center to guard it.

The Center must arrive on the catch, have his feet wide, and crowd the offensive player's space. We want to deter any type of pass to the baseline player or any kind of aggressive drive to the rim.

Teaching Points -

Guarding Perimeter Drives -

The Guards have the difficult task of being asked to defend both perimeter swings and the dribble-drive. Because of this, it is inevitable that a perimeter drive will occur at some point in the possession. On the occasion that a dribble-drive is able to get into the paint, it now becomes our Center's responsibility to guard it. We are certainly not encouraging our defense to get beat off the dribble, but when it happens we want to have a plan for it.

Perimeter Drives -

Beaten Defender:

Outside of guarding the Middle Man the Center must also be prepared to step in and take on any perimeter drive that penetrates the defense.

Teaching Point #1 -

"Stay in Line with the Ball"

The Center should be constantly positioning himself to be in a direct line between the ball and the rim. This way they will always be in a position to meet the driver.

Teaching Point #2 -

"Square Up the Ball" -

Centers can not allow the basketball to be dribbled around them. Whether the center prepares to take a charge, block a shot, or simply guard the ball sort of depends on circumstance - but the bottom line is that the Center can not give up a layup in these scenarios.

Concluding Thoughts -

The elite 23 Zones are indeed going to have a true Rim Protector at the Center spot. A Center with good length and activity can alter shots at the rim and even deter drives to the basket altogether. However, I do think that your center can be effective without great length. Making yourself a "charge taker" on drives and a solid 1/1 defender on middle touches can make up for any height deficiencies. The rotations and responsibilities for the Center are fairly simple - and if they can be solid in those responsibilities length becomes less of a factor. Perhaps the most valuable way a Center can make up his lack of length is his talk - staying in constant communication with the guards and wings will only strengthen the defense's ability.

Take a Look at these 23 Zone Resources:

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