Zone Press Variations for Winning Basketball

Zone Press Variations for Winning Basketball (2nd Edition) presents an overview of all types of the zone press: the full-court zone press, the three-quarter-court zone press, and the half-court zone press. Profusely illustrated, the book shows coaches how to align their personnel in each of the various zone presses. The book also presents a method for disguising your zone press so that it will confuse your opponent. The steps for regrouping your team to prevent a score if another team breaks your zone press are also explained thoroughly. Furthermore, throughout the book, the basic fundamentals of individual defense are reviewed and reinforced so that you can teach the zone press more effectively. Finally, the book features a substantial number of drills which have been diagrammed to facilitate your efforts to teach and install zone presses into your defensive scheme.

Cliff Ellis is the former head men s basketball coach at Auburn University, a position he held for ten seasons (1994-2004). Prior to his arrival at Auburn, Ellis had spent ten years at Clemson (1984-94) and nine seasons at the University of South Alabama (1975-84). He is the winningest coach in the history of those two programs, posting records of 177-128 (.580) at Clemson and 171-84 (.671) at South Alabama. When Ellis arrived at Auburn, the Tigers were coming off an 11-17 season in which they were 3-13 in the South Eastern Conference (SEC). In his first season, the team went 16-13 overall (7-9 SEC) and earned a berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), only its second post-season appearance in seven years. The Tigers men s squad made a second NIT appearance the following year after a 19-13 season. In Ellis ten years at the helm of the Auburn men s program, his teams were 186-125 (.598). In 29 seasons as a Division I head coach, Ellis teams had a record of 534-337 (.613). He began his coaching career at Niceville (FL) High School (54-7 in three seasons), then spent one year at Vanguard High in Ocala, Florida (20-5). He then coached three seasons at Cumberland College (J.C.) in Tennessee, compiling a record of 78-12, before becoming head coach at South Alabama. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1990 and SEC Coach of the Year in 1995, and has coached several NBA players, including Elden Campbell, Terry Catledge, Dale Davis, Horace Grant, and Sharone Wright. Widely respected as one of the nation s elite basketball coaches, Ellis is also an accomplished musician, author, and an ostrich farmer. He started in the recording business before coaching and has released several records. He has also written three well-received books. He and his wife, the former Carolyn Ratzlaff, have three children, Chryssa Rutland, Clay, and Anna Catherine.