Perhaps to John Calipari's chagrin, Kentucky has been repeatedly credited with playing zone defense well this season. Of course, the UK coach is a devotee of man-to-man defense, a basketball article of faith he reinforced on his weekly radio show Monday night.
During the semester break _ which he suggested would include "three-a-days" (practices almost literally morning, noon and night) _ Kentucky must concentrate on improving its rebounding and man-to-man defense, he said.
"If you can't do those things, you're basically trying to trick somebody," he said. "And if they're a real good team, you're not going to trick 'em."
After the game Saturday, Monmouth became the latest opponent to cite zone defense as key to a Kentucky basketball victory this season.
"I felt like they were going to play man the whole game ...," Monmouth's leading scorer, Micah Seaborn, said. "And it was an adjustment for us. I didn't feel we were composed enough."
Sitting next to Seaborn in the postgame news conference, teammate Deion Hammond said of the UK zone, "I think it rattled us a little."
Earlier this season, Fort Wayne Coach Jon Coffman said he and his team were unprepared for UK's switch to a zone. "They changed the tempo of the game with that," he said. "That was kind of where the game changed."
As Calipari explained it, foul trouble caused UK to resort to a 2-3 zone against Monmouth. "Bigs" Nick Richards and Tai Wynyard picked up two fouls while playing only four and six minutes, respectively, in the first half. With Sacha Killeya-Jones sidelined by a sprained ankle, Kentucky switched from man-to-man to zone to try to extend its dwindling resources.
Calipari acknowledged the zone's effectiveness. When radio show host Tom Leach noted the wingspans in a second-half alignment featuring 6-foot-6 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 6-7 PJ Washington on the top with 6-9 Wenyen Gabriel, 6-9 Kevin Knox and the 6-11 Richards on the back line, Calipari said, "That was a lot of arms."
Then he added of how Kentucky might use a zone going forward. "If foul trouble or you're really struggling to guard somebody, you can go to that ...," he said with a noticeable absence of enthusiasm.
And, of course, more talented opponents await Kentucky, maybe as soon as Saturday when UK plays Virginia Tech, which has a 9-1 record.
During a Nov. 30 appearance at the Lexington Rotary Club, Calipari gave two reasons for his antipathy about playing a zone defense.
One reason he cited was the over-riding foundation of his Kentucky program: the players' desire to play in the NBA. Calipari presented this rationale in the form of a rhetorical question.
"The reason I've always shied away from zone (is) when they leave me, are they ever going to play zone again?" he told the Rotarians. "They're not playing zone after they leave me."
The other reason involved a concept Calipari repeats like a coaching mantra: accountability. Man-to-man suggests an inescapable onus placed on the defender.
"I like people to be more responsible," he told the Rotarians. "So when you're in a zone, sometimes (the player will) say, 'Why, I thought he was there and I was trying to do this.'
"When it's man-to-man, that is your man. And I like to be able to point out, 'Your man has 20 points. Now, what are you going to tell me? Were you not guarding him?'"
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said Calipari had a "fair point" about zone defense being a less-than-ideal preparation for an NBA career. But, Bilas also said, "It didn't seem to hurt Carmelo Anthony."
Of course, Anthony has more or less enjoyed a long NBA career after leading Syracuse to a national championship. And Syracuse is the college program most identified with zone defense.
As for accountability, Bilas said that both man-to-man and zone defenses involve a coordinated approach.
"Every good man-to-man has zone principles," he said. "Every good zone has man principles. It's not as different as some people like to make it seem."
A trained eye like Calipari's can determine why a zone defense broke down and assign responsibility, Bilas said. "Look, John may feel more comfortable holding people accountable out of the man because he likes man better. But when they play zone, he knows exactly who screwed up."
When Kentucky experimented with zone a few seasons ago, Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said Calipari sought feedback from him. What Boeheim said he told Calipari sounds like a description of UK's approach this season.
"It's good to have in your pocket, this other weapon," Boeheim said of a zone defense. "But you have to understand, it's not going to be great if you don't work on it."
