An Introduction to Basketball’s 2-3 Zone Defense

2-3 Zone Defense
Image: breakthroughbasketball.com

Mike Fehrenbacher spent nearly 14 years as chief executive officer of MidWest Funding Bancorp, a mortgage banker, broker, and title enterprise. Since 2012 he has worked as an independent mortgage wholesale lending contractor in Batavia, Illinois. Outside of work, Mike Fehrenbacher enjoys staying active by playing basketball.

In the sport of basketball, teams can embrace a number of defensive schemes, including various zone defenses. Zone defenses are often valued by slower, less athletic teams with defenders more adept at guarding an area of the court than an individual player. The 2-3 zone is one of the most popular zone defenses in use today.

Under the 2-3 zone, a team’s two largest players split up the interior of the court, preventing opponents from making easy drives to the basket and setting up opportune rebounding scenarios. The team’s three best perimeter defenders, meanwhile, are stationed at the top of the key and on the wing. A relatively balanced defense, the 2-3 zone can be rendered ineffective by a team of skilled passers and shooters, as the two or three perimeter defenders can struggle to cover four or even five shooters.

Teams with exceptionally long or otherwise athletically gifted athletes may be able to overcome this deficiency. Rather than using the 2-3 zone to make up for a lack of speed or strength, the zone can be used to trap opponents, generating steals and other turnovers. Other common zone defenses include the 1-3-1 and the point zone defense.

Michael Fehrenbacher: College of St. Francis – Finance Program

 

St Francis
Image: stfrancis.edu

Before beginning his professional career, Mike Fehrenbacher received an associate degree from Palomar College in San Marcos, California, while serving in the United States Marine Corps. Mike Fehrenbacher also attended the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, earning a bachelor of arts degree in finance.

The finance program at the College of St. Francis prepares students to pursue a variety of careers, such as becoming a commercial banker or budget analyst. The curriculum covers financial concepts from basic principles through advanced capital finance. Students learn how companies obtain assets and financial resources to produce revenue. They study financial markets and investments, and they create and analyze data models to solve real-world problems in financial management.

Projects by finance students at the College of St. Francis include: calculating retirement income for investors; capital budgeting; participating in a “Jeopardy” competition related to corporate finance; and developing models for bond valuation, stock pricing, and interest rate forecasting.