THE TENNESSEE 'QUICKSAND' DEFENSE

Mervin Hyman

December 05, 1966

Coach Ray Mears never fails to throw tough defensive alignments at his rivals, regardless of the talent available to him. He used this one last year on Vanderbilt's All-America center, Clyde Lee, and it forced Lee outside, held him to only eight shots at the basket and one field goal. The "quicksand" is actually, a 1-3-1 half-court trap defense that starts from the conventional setup (below left), with the best defensive rebounder (5) at the top of the foul circle. This defender always plays in front of the opponents' big man. As the ball goes to the side (center). the wingman (3) and point man (1) double-team the receiver. This pressure on the ball, plus No. 5's fronting position, makes it impossible for anything but a lob pass to reach the big man. If it does reach him, he will be double-teamed immediately, No. 4 joining No. 5. If the ball does not go in, No. 4 and No. 2 hold to their assignments of guarding the right side and the foul lane. When the ball goes deep into the corner (right) and the big man sinks into a low post. No. 5 moves with him, and No. 2 is the rear guard. To maintain pressure on the ball, No. 4 hustles over to join No. 3. The offensive team's chances of escaping the trap or getting off a short, accurate pass are diminished in proportion to the speed of the defenders. The quicksand, like most zone variations, is vulnerable to good outside shooting, but some risk is unavoidable in this kind of defense. And if the defenders are alert, they will force lob passes even to outside men, and these are the most susceptible to interception.