SU's defense has been downright offensive -- to opponents

[Scott Pitoniak]

We hear often about an athlete being in the zone, a locked-in mental state where everything is in perfect harmony and the athlete is on a roll.

Well, the Syracuse University basketball team clearly has been in a zone of late – a 2-3 zone that has been more difficult for opponents to solve than a Rubik’s Cube; a 2-3 zone that has carried the Orange men to a fifth Final Four.

It’s funny, but a zone defense has long been looked upon with disdain. It’s been called a lazy man’s defense, something you play to compensate for inferior athletes who supposedly aren’t talented enough to play the more manly man-to-man.

But there is little lazy or unathletic about Jim Boeheim’s suffocating, discombobulating zone. If you don’t believe me, just ask the players and coaches from Montana, Cal, Indiana or Marquette – SU’s four vanquished NCAA Tournament opponents. Or check out the stat sheet. The numbers don’t lie. They are mind-boggling.

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