While Phoenix Is On The Subject Of Zone Defenses...

May 25, 2010

It is official, the ASU zone defense that Herb Sendek instituted in his initial season (2006-07) is no longer a gimmick but one that has worked over time.

It has been part of a major feature in the New York Times, with a lead quote from a Sun Devil player, not the Syracuse head coach who is known as best of the zone teachers.

It has worked against some top NBA draft picks.

It has worked against ranked teams, starting as early as December of 2007.

It has worked against great college big men, as ASU held Arizona's Jordan Hill to just 30-of-72 (.417) from the floor in his final five games against Arizona State, all of them Sun Devil victories.

It has worked on the road, as ASU at 10-8 is the only team with a winning Pac-10 road record over the past two seasons.

It sometimes leaves very good teams and very good players confused.

Take a look at the charts below and note that in the past two years, ASU is giving up just 59.6 points per game in 68 games, which ranks seventh in the nation over that span.

In the past three seasons, ASU is giving up 60.4 points in 102 games, eighth in the nation,

In his four-year tenure, Coach Sendek's squads rank 11th in the nation as ASU opponents have averaged 60.7 points per game.

ASU's defense rose seems to get better each year. Seven of ASU's 23 opponents (Washington, Washington State, San Diego State, UCSB, Delaware State, Western Illinois and UCLA) all had or matched season-lows against the Sun Devils in 2009-10.

San Diego State, which finished 25-9 and was the 2010 MWC Tournament champion, averaged 70.3 ppg. but had just 52 on Dec. 19 and after the game admitted it just "threw us for a loop."

Two of the better returning players in the nation had struggles last year. Jimmer Fredette of BYU, who had 49 at Arizona and averaged 22.1 points, was 1-of-13 from the field against ASU and missed all his three-point attempts on Dec. 8 in Provo. WSU's Klay Thompson averaged 19.6 points on the year (third in Pac-10) but was 3-of-11 from the floor and posted nine points on Jan. 10 and was 6-of-20 from the floor and 2-of-10 from the three-point stripe on Feb. 4 against ASU.

Here is a look at the nation's best defenses, based on points per game, the past two, three and four seasons.

NATION'S BEST DEFENSES, PAST TWO SEASONS (2008-10)
1. Princeton 55.1
2. Wisconsin 57.9
3. Butler 58.7
4. Old Dominion 58.9
5. Wright St. 59.2
6. UNI 59.2
7. Arizona State 59.6
8. Bethune-Cookman 59.7
9. Temple 60.1
10. Northeastern 60.2

NATION'S BEST DEFENSES, PAST THREE SEASONS (2007-10)
1. Wisconsin 56.7
2. Stephen F. Austin 57.4
3. Princeton 58.2
4. Butler 58.6
5. Wright St. 59.6
6. UNI 59.6
7. Bethune-Cookman 60.3
8. Arizona State 60.4
9. Washington State 60.6
10. Old Dominion 60.7

NATION'S BEST DEFENSES, PAST FOUR SEASONS (2006-10)
1. Princeton 56.9
2. Wisconsin 57.0
3. Butler 58.2
4. Stephen F. Austin 58.6
5. Air Force 59.6
6. Miami (OH) 60.0
7. Wright St. 60.2
8. Washington State 60.3
9. UNI 60.3
10. Illinois 60.6
11. Arizona State 60.7