UNC Zones Out Pirate Game Prep

Hampton unveils peculiar new defense. North Carolina retreats.

At the Smith Center on Friday night, Hampton stifled No. 19 North Carolina with something they called a "zone" defense.

Without any "laser" beams on hand, Hampton coach Steve Merfeld had to get inventive to shoot down UNC.

So, he employed his five soldiers into a 2-3 defensive formation with two smaller Pirates up top and three down low near the baseline. Each player was assigned a designated area of coverage and was responsible for shifting with the ball, helping, covering across, covering down and denying the ball.

The Pirates didn't trap out of the zone. They stayed fairly packed in and disciplined. And Merfeld's innovation baffled the Tar Heels.

"I strongly feel that it is my fault for not doing a better job of preparing our team for a zone defense, and I take full responsibility for that," UNC coach Matt Doherty said. "I put the guys in a bad position by not doing a better job of preparing them for a zone. We got exposed in that regard."

So much so that Merfeld said he had originally planned on switching up his defense in the second half but ultimately stuck with his zone, which helped build a 37-28 halftime advantage, for the duration.

Doherty, last year's Associated Press National Coach of the Year, got hands down outcoached by Merfeld, who began his sixth season as a collegiate head coach with the 77-69 upset at Smith Center to improve his mark to 65-50. Merfeld's relatively small Pirates locked down on Kris Lang in the middle, severely limiting his touches and keeping the Tar Heels' shots behind the 3-point semicircle.

North Carolina, one of the Goliaths of college basketball and a historically innovative program itself, wasn't ready for the zone defense?

"I didn't know how many touches I'd get tonight because I knew they were going to play zone," Lang said. "I'm not worried at all because we didn't have enough time to prepare for our zone offense. We know teams are going to zone us up, and we know we've got to knock down shots. We will do that. This team is young, and we are growing."

Wait. Not enough time to prepare a zone offense? Hampton had the same amount of preparation time. Would Duke have had similar problems with this zone you speak of? Please explain.

"Well, it seems basic," said Lang, looking down on reporters in the middle of the locker room. "But with the younger guys, the screening is important, and when you screen the timing of the screen is actually not as simple as it looks. It's all about timing, and it's all bunched up in there so it has to be done at the right time or no one is going to be open."

But Hampton started an equally experienced lineup and was without junior forward Cleveland Davis.

Sophomore Adam Boone, an aspiring doctor, started at point guard for the Tar Heels as he did this time last season. He probably knows how to run a zone offense. Another sophomore guard, Brian Morrison, was about the only Tar Heel who seemed the least bit interested in driving through the zone to occasionally disrupt it.

Highly recruited freshmen Jawad Williams, Jackie Manuel and Melvin Scott aren't exactly wet behind the ears. They undoubtedly faced zone defenses on their way to Chapel Hill.

Williams seemed to have some familiarity with the defense. He made some nice backdoor cuts when he caught defenders napping on the weak side baseline. One he finished with a double-clutch alley-oop jam on a Boone pass.

Scott, the current backup point man, didn't seem too confused in his 10 minutes, either. He called for the customary zone offense by patting the top of his head. One time he frustratingly called the play when he didn't even have the ball and his teammates were haphazardly passing on the perimeter.

"It was a lot like a matchup zone like we saw last year kind of like against Michigan State," Morrison said. "They did a good job of really packing it in and getting out quick to shooters. Our shots were open. I mean they weren't wide open, but still."

That's what a good zone defense is. Covering and flying to shooters. Keeping hands up and in the passing lanes. Yes, Hampton did a lot to keep the ball out of Lang's hands, but that's going to happen if he's the only inside presence and shots aren't falling.

But UNC, beware: Don't get too bogged down exclusively preparing for the zone now. Rumor has it some other coaches have something else on the hopper. They call it a "man" defense.

Mike Ogle can be reached at mogle@email.unc.edu.