When Wright State guard Kim Demmings got injured in the Raiders’ season opener, WSU had to change the way it plays. Not only did the players have to adapt, so did head coach Mike Bradbury.
Looking for a way to improve defensively, Bradbury implemented a zone defense for the first time in his career. The results have paid major dividends.
The Raiders held Oakland, a squad that normally shoots 38 percent and scores 68.7 points a game, to just 60 points and 29.7 percent from the field in WSU’s 95-60 win Wednesday evening in the first round of the Horizon League Championships.
The Raiders transitioned from a man-to-man defense at the start of Wednesday’s game, going to a mostly 2-3 zone for the final 30 minutes of the contest.
“We changed, after the first game back in November, we changed a lot of what we did offensively, and then once we got into he first week of conference play, we had to change a lot what we did defensively,” Bradbury said. “Our kids are tremendous. I have never been so proud of the team than this group.”
With games looming against Cleveland State and potentially Green Bay this weekend, Bradbury said that his team is better suited to play zone defense.
“When Kim went out, we lost 25 points a game,” Bradbury said. “We had to figure out a way to get our better offensive players where we can play them in a game, and to do that, the zone made more sense.”
Not only did Bradbury have to make the transition into a new style of defense, so did his veteran players. It is a change that Bradbury’s five seniors has embraced.
“You play hard no matter what defense you’re in,” WSU senior Abby Jump said. “We’ve gotten better and that allows for our intensity to go up. And we know where we’re supposed to be.”
Despite never using zone, Bradbury said that two of his assistant coaches, Katrina Merriweather and Keith Freeman, were able to help implement the new defense.
“The biggest learning curve was teaching me,” Bradbury said. “The only reason we had (a zone) is when other teams play it, we can practice offense against it. Keith and Trina are really good at the zone so they helped teach me so we could teach them.”
The zone has allowed players like Jump and center Richelle van der Keijl to play extended minutes. Both played big roles in Wednesday’s win. Jump scored 10 points and van der Keijl had nine points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
