A zone defense can be exactly what a team needs to neutralize their opponent. Changing from a man-to-man defense to a zone means players focus on guarding a specific area of the court rather than a specific player.

The goal of a zone defense is to disrupt the offense and force them out of their game plan. Some teams may play a zone defense the entire game while others may implement it for a single possession to cause chaos on the defensive end.

With a 1-2-2 Zone Defense, every player has a responsibility to cover an area on the perimeter. This makes the 1-2-2 Zone a great go-to defensive strategy to use against a team who excels at scoring from the perimeter.

In this article, we’re going to focus on the 1-2-2 Zone Defense and its strengths and weaknesses, who might use this zone, and go into more detail about positions and rotations. When you’re done reading, you should have a better understanding of the 1-2-2 Zone Defense and if it’s a right fit for your team.

• Defends Shooters. The 1-2-2 Zone Defense sets you up to defend great outside-shooting teams. Because this defense requires every player to cover an area of the perimeter, it allows quick close-outs and contests every look on the outside. If your defense can minimize outside scoring then your opponent is forced to find another way to score points.
• Ball Pressure. Every defender in the 1-2-2 has to defend their area on the perimeter with strong ball pressure to make it difficult for the offense. With ball pressure on the perimeter, the offense will not be able to get the offense started or keep it going very easily.
• Transition Offense. The 1-2-2 alignment of one player at the top and two on the wings means as soon as your team comes up with a turnover, your players are already in a position to run the floor and get easy transition points.
• Can neutralize the offense. A zone defense can and will force the offense out of their game plan and set plays. It can cause an offense to get in a hurry and rush shots or make poor choices that lead to steals and turnovers for the defense.

• No High Post Passes. The main way to bust a 1-2-2 Zone is by passing the ball to the high post area. If the offense gets the ball to the high post, they will have multiple options to pick your defense apart such as attacking to score or kicking out to a perimeter shooter in the corner.
• Post Player Guarding Perimeter. The 1-2-2 alignment and rotations mean your post players will be responsible for guarding an area on the perimeter. This could cause problems for your defense if you have a slower post player and the offense chooses to expose this particular defender.
• Block Out and Rebound. With all zones, rebounding can be an issue because players aren’t direct on who to box out when the shot goes up. In order to be successful, you need all your players to find someone to put a body on and crash the boards.

A 1-2-2 Zone Defense is suitable for a quick, athletic team. If your team has quick, athletic players, they will flourish in this defense because every player will be able to cover their area on the perimeter.

For this zone to work its best, every defender has to close out and guard the perimeter, and defenders who lack speed may not be able to recover quick enough leaving the offense with an open scoring opportunity.

Before your implement this zone defense to your game plan make sure you can put five players on the floor who can get out and defend the outside.

With a 1-2-2 Zone Defense, every player has a responsibility to cover an area on the perimeter. This makes the 1-2-2 Zone a great go-to defensive strategy to use against a team who excels at scoring from the perimeter.

Ideally, the 1-2-2 Zone Defense is used against teams with strong guards and shooters but weak on the inside. This zone allows your team to close out quickly and contest every shot from the perimeter.

A 1-2-2 Zone Defense starts with one player at the top around the top of the key, two players on the wings around the elbow area, and two players just above the low blocks.

These players can vary depending on your line-up on the floor, but typically, the one top defender is your point guard, the wing defenders at the elbows are your guards, and the two post defenders above the low blocks are your post players.

• The top Defender is responsible for getting the offense to pick a side of the court and guarding the high post when the ball is anywhere else on the court.
• Wing Defenders are responsible for defending the high post while the ball is at the top of the key but once the ball is passed to their wing, the wing defender guards the basketball. When the ball is passed to their corner, the wing defender can either trap, deny a reverse pass, or sag into the lane to discourage an inside pass.
• Post Defenders are responsible for protecting the paint and guarding the block when the ball is at the top of the key and on the wing. When the pass is made to the corner, the post defender goes out to defend the corner. The post defenders will be fronting any post offense when the ball is on their side, but they will defend from behind if they are on weak-side defense.

• Basketball at the Top of the Key. It’s the Top Defender’s responsibility to pick up the ball as the offense gets close the the three-point line. As the Top Defender is pressuring the ball, the Wing Defenders are pinching into the middle to guard the high post area, and the Post Defenders have a foot inside as well; fronting any offense in the low post area, but able to close out to the corner if a pass is made there.

We want the offense to make a pass to the wing and when they do the Wing Defenders must be ready to close out quickly on the pass of the basketball to make sure the offense doesn’t get an open shot or passing angle.

• Basketball on the Wing. When the basketball is passed to the wing, the Wing Defender on the ball side closes out quickly to prevent the open shot or pass. As the Wing goes out, the Top Defender drops to the high post into a deny position.

The weak-side Wing Defender drops down a couple of steps with one foot in the key and one foot out. This allows them to help inside if a pass is made or recovered on a skip pass to their side of the court.

The ball-side Post Defender is fronting on the low post ready to defend the corner if a pass is made there. While the weak-side Post Defender is in the middle of the lane ready to help if a lob pass is thrown over the other post play but also ready to recover if a skip pass is made to their side of the court.

• Basketball in the Corner. When the basketball is passed to the corner, the Post Defender ball-side closes out to prevent the open shot, pass, or baseline drive. If the offense is going to drive, you want them to go middle because that’s where our help defense is ready and waiting.

The Top Defender is continuing to deny any passes to the high post. The weak-side Post Defender slides across to defend the ball-side low block from behind. The weak-side Wing Defender drops down and plays the middle still ready to help inside or recover on a skip pass.

It’s the ball-side Wing Defender that has options:

• Sag off and prevent inside pass - this option keeps the ball out of the middle but it does allow a pass back out to the wing
• Deny the wing - this option doesn’t let the ball back to the wing but it does create gaps for a pass inside
• Trap the corner - we are going to talk about this more but this forces the offense to make a good decision of getting the ball out of the corner

• Basketball in the High Post. This area is the weakest spot in the 1-2-2 Zone Defense which makes it the most important for your team to know how to defend.

When the basketball gets passed to the high post one of the Post Defenders must come up and guard the ball while the other Post Defender slides to the middle of the lane. The Top Defender can try to swipe at the basketball (without fouling) in attempts to get the high post and make a pass out to the top.

The Wing Defenders stick to the offensive players on the wings to discourage any passes for open shots.

• Basketball in the Low Post. Since the low post is being fronted it’s going to be hard for the offense to get a pass inside on a post-up. If they do get the ball inside then it most likely will come from the corner since that’s the only time the post will not be fronted.

When this pass is made, the main defense is going to come from the weak-side Post Defender. The ball-side Post Defender should swipe (without fouling) at the ball trying to make the post pass the ball back out, but also be ready for a pass to the corner.

The weak-side Wing Defender drops down and covers the paint while being ready to recover on a skip pass, the ball-side Wing Defender denies the pass back out to the wing, and the Top Defender is denying a pass to the high post area.

Defending skip passes in the 1-2-2 Zones is a team effort. Every player must know the right rotations on where to go when the skip pass occurs. If everyone knows what to do, moves on the flight of the pass, and closes out quickly then skip passes may not be able to hurt your defense.

• Wing to Corner Skip Pass. If the basketball is skipped from the wing to the opposite corner, the weak-side Wing Defender must close out on the offensive player. The Wing Defender will only hold this position for a few seconds as the Post Defender will come and bump them off. After the bump, every player should be back in their normal positions for when the basketball is in the corner.

Things to focus on:

• Wing Defender is the first close-out defender because they should be on the help side ready for any skip pass.
• Wing Defender close-out on the high side of the defender. In the normal rotation, you want the corner offensive player to drive middle, but in this instance, you’re closing out the high side so they don’t make a quick reversal pass.
• Post Defender has to sprint from defending the opposite post to bumping off the Wing Defender.
• If the Post Defender doesn’t sprint then your defense is vulnerable because your defense is a step behind the ball and in the wrong positions.

This is the same rotation if the skip pass occurs from corner to opposite corner.

• Corner to Wing Skip Pass. If the basketball is skipped from the corner to the opposite wing, the weak-side Wing Defender must close out on the ball. The only difference from the Wing to Corner skip pass is the Wing Defender will not be bumped off.

After the close-out by the Wing Defender, everyone should be back in the normal positions for when the basketball is on the wing.

If the skip pass from the corner goes closer to the top of the key area then the Top Defender will be the one to close out on the offensive player.

After the close-out by the Top Defender, everyone should be back in the normal positions for when the basketball is at the top of the key.

Things to focus on:

• A good point of reference is if the skip pass is below the free throw line then the Wing Defender will close out, but if it’s above the free throw line the Top Defender will close out.
• Communication is key when it comes to this type of skip pass. Even if the wing and top defenders know who should have the ball it’s still important to communicate with your teammate.

• Top to Corner Skip Pass. If the basketball is skipped from the top of the key to the corner, the ball-side Post Defender must close out on the ball. The Post Defender should be fronting any offensive players in the low block which should give them a clear route to close out on the corner.

Things to focus on:

• Post Defenders must fight for front position against any offensive players in the low block. The offense will be trying to pin the Post Defender to prevent them from being able to cover the corner. If the Post Defender fights to stay in front then it takes away this strategy from the offense.
• Post Defenders must sprint to the corner. The offense will put their shooters all around the perimeter including the corner. If the offense is smart then they’ll try to pin the Post Defender and pass to their shooter in the corner. The Post Defender defeats this strategy by not letting the offense pin them and sprinting to the corner to close out and contest the shot.

Trapping in your zone defense can be very effective in creating turnover opportunities for your defense.

Trapping doesn’t have to be a constant action within your defense, but it’s a great weapon to have to catch your opponent off guard. You will have to decide when and where you want your team to trap on defense which may depend on the your personnel on the court, the flow of the game, or your opponent.

For example, you may have five players on the court who excel at trapping and creating turnovers. To switch up the defensive attack, you decide to trap the corners after coming out of a time-out.

Now let’s talk about the trapping zones within the 1-2-2 Zone Defense.

• Trapping in the Corner. In the 1-2-2 Zone Defense, the corner is the best place to trap the ball. The reason it’s the best is because you have extra defenders with the baseline and sideline.

When the ball is passed from the wing to the corner, the ball-side Post Defender and ball-side Wing Defender both sprints to trap the basketball.

At the same time, the Top Defender sprints out to deny a pass back to the wing while the weak-side Post Defender half-fronts any offensive player on the ball-side low block. The weak-side Wing Defender is guarding the high post area but is also ready to deflect, intercept, or close out on a skip pass. 

Time to Use: as much as you want

• Trapping at the Top. This trap starts with the Top Defender directing the offense to a side and the ball-side Wing Defender sprints up to trap the ball handler.

At the same time, the ball-side Post Defender sprints out to deny a pass to the ball-side wing. The other two defenders are reading the offense and looking to intercept or deflect a pass to any of the other offensive players.

Time to Use: if you need a quick turnover opportunity, late-game situations, weak ball-handler

• Trapping on the Wing. This trap can be performed any time the basketball is on the wing, but for best outcomes perform after the ball has been reversed out of the corner.

As the ball is passed from the corner to the wing, the ball-side Wing Defender and Top Defender trap the ball.

At the same time, the ball-side Post Defender cuts off a pass back to the corner. The weak-side Post Defender is on the help side in the lane ready to intercept any skip passes and the weak-side Wing Defender is guarding the high post area but also ready to close out on a skip pass.

Time to Use: if you’re catching the offense off guard, late-game situations

Do you want to use the 1-2-2 Zone Defense as your press defense? You can extend your 1-2-2 zone into the full-court or three quarter court.

Here's a great look at Villanova Men’s Basketball Coach Coach Jay Wright explaining their rules for the 1-2-2 Pressure Defense

To learn more about using the 1-2-2 in the three quarter or full court check out Coach Wright’s dvd here and browse through our entire collection at HoopsKing.com.

One way to prepare your zone defense is to know what the offense wants to do to beat your zone. Here are a few plays that will exploit possible holes in your 1-2-2 defense.

Play 1 - Offensive Strategy: Pinning Low Post Defender

• In Frame 1 you see: 2 passes to 3 in the corner which forces 5 to sprint out to cover the corner. When this happens 5 sets a cross screen for 4 and seals the middle of the lane.
• In Frame 2 you see: 3 ball fakes and immediately hits 4 for the layup. 3 could also look to pass to 5 who has the weak-side Post Defender sealed.

What did the defense do wrong?

Weak-Side Post Defender has to fight through that seal to make sure they can be on the ball-side low block defending behind. If they're in front of the low block, the pass is not able to be made into the paint.

Play 2 - Offensive Strategy: Pinning Low Post Defender

In Frame 1 you see: a pick and pop with the 4 which means 4 comes to set the screen for 1 who comes off the screen to pass right back to 4.

In Frame 2 you see: 4 engages two defenders (Top Defender and Wing Defender) and kicks out to the 2 in the corner. With the pass to the corner, the Post Defender has to come out to guard 2.

In Frame 3 you see: 5 started in the short corner but on the pass moved into the paint to gain position against the weak-side Post Defender.

What did the defense do wrong? Weak-Side Post Defender has to fight through that seal to make sure they can be on the ball-side low block defending behind. If they're in front of the low block, the pass is not able to be made into the paint.

Play 3 - Offensive Strategy: Shot in the Corner

• In Frame 1 you see: 1 pass to 2 and clear out to the opposite wing. As that happens, 4 steps up behind the Top Defender.
• In Frame 2 you see: 4 sets a ball screen for 2 who comes off the screen and passes to 1. As that happens, 5 has worked for position to get in front of the Post Defender and has them sealed. 1 quickly passes to 3 in the corner for an open shot.

What did the defense do wrong?

Post Defender has to fight through that seal to make sure they can be fronting the offense and be ready to sprint out to the corner. If they're in front on the low block, they're able to close out to either prevent or contest this shot opportunity.

• Ball Pressure With Hands Up. By applying ball pressure and keeping your hands up on defense you’ll be making it harder for the offense to read the court and make decisions.
• Move on the Pass. Every player must move on the flight of the ball and not on the catch. If you move on the flight then you’ll be in a defensive position when the offensive player catches the ball. On the other hand, if you move on the catch then your defense is most likely a step behind and the offense will have an easier time creating a scoring opportunity.
• NO Inside Passes. One way to bust a zone defense is to get the ball inside. If teams are able to effectively make passes inside the zone then the whole floor opens up. The success of your zone defense relies on your team’s ability to not allow the ball inside.
• Rebound Missed Shots. As with all zones, rebounding is key. Every player must find a body to block out and go after the rebound. In any zone, you do not want to give your opponent second chances to score.
• Always Front in the Post. The quickest way to beat this zone is for the offense to get in front of the Post Defender. If they're able to get in front and seal off defenders then it exploits the whole defense. Your Post Defender will not be able to guard the corner and the offense will have an opportunity to pass the ball inside. If your defense gets stuck behind the post player then it’s most likely an open corner shot or post-up for the offense.

This 1-2-2 Zone Defense Guide should cover everything you need to know about this defense, but there's always room to grow. To learn more start browsing through our vast selection of Coaching DVDs right now. Here are some of our favorites!

1-2-2 & 1-1-2-1 Three Quarter Court Pressure Defense with Coach Jay Wright

1-2-2 Match Up Zone & 1-2-1-1 Full Court Press with Coach Joanne P. McCallie

1-2-2 Containment Press Defense with Coach Robert Gonzalez

Building The 1-2-2 Three Quarter Court Defense with Coach Michael Buonaguro

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