History of Defense, Pt. 1

“Offense wins games, but defense wins championships…” This is probably one of the most used sayings in the game, and you probably grew tired of hearing your elementary coach say this over and over. The importance of having a good defense is undeniable, but how has it changed over the years? Let’s take a look!

If we want to better understand defense, we first have to go all the way back to a little gym in Springfield in the 1890s. The original rules did not allow moving with the ball and had these stipulations: “No shouldering, holding, pushing, tripping, or striking in any way the person of an opponent shall be allowed; the first infringement of this rule by any player shall count as a foul, the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made, or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game, no substitute allowed.” In the earliest game of basketball, teams played 9v9 with 3 backs, 3 centers, and 3 forwards. Because of this, teams would simply match up with one another, and this created the earliest form of man-to-man defense.

Sometime in the mid-1890s (between 1893-1896 depending on who you ask), the first game of 5v5 basketball was believed to have been played. However, it is important to note that on the women’s side 6v6 basketball was still continued to be played for years to come. This transition to the more modern form of basketball that we know today, greatly affected the way we play defense. This leads us to our next development of the game: zone defense.

The first zone defenses began to appear in the early 1910s. In West Virginia, Coach Cam Henderson was searching for a better way to play defense on slippery court surfaces. His solution to this problem was to develop a zone defense. He initially developed a 3-2 zone, but found some flaws with this system. Most notably was the lack of rebounding, with only 2 players down low. Henderson was a coach that prioritized pushing the ball in transition, and with limited rebounding, it made it hard to start the fast break. To combat this problem, he moved his top defender down – this then created the 2-3 zone.

The 2-3 is the most common zone we see today, and many teams have adapted to develop their own version of it. The most commonly known 2-3 is Coach Jim Boeheim’s version that he ran while the coach of Syracuse. This defense brought wings higher up, as well as traps in the short corner. Other teams have popularized “tandem” play with their top 2 guards. Zone defense has had its controversies over the years, and many believe that it can ruin aspects of the game. 1 prime example of this belief can be observed with the NBA banning teams from playing zone until the 2001-2002 season. One other notable zone defense is the 1-3-1, which is thought to have been invented in the mid-1900s by coaching pioneer and legend Red Sarachek. Regardless of what you think about zone defense, it is a huge part of the game and as players and coaches we need to understand how to play in different systems as well as attack zone defenses offensively.

With all that talk about half court defense, we can’t forget about the full-court press! This is one of the most exciting parts of the game. Coach John McLendon was one of the first to develop this style of play – stay tuned for part 2!

Links to Sources: https://springfield.edu/about/birthplace-of-basketball ; https://web.archive.org/web/20110925170016/http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/big10-hoops-history.html ; https://herdzone.com/honors/marshall-athletics-hall-of-fame/cam-henderson/95 ; https://www.basketballnetwork.net/old-school/phil-jackson-explains-why-the-zone-defense-was-once-banned-in-the-nba