Innovation Nation

James Naismith was the consummate American. 

Nope.  

He was actually Canadian.

But, he was certainly consummate.  And an innovator. Despite being Canadian, he came up with what is now called "basketball," earning himself a seat next to the likes of Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers.

Ever heard of Frank Lindley?
High school coach in Kansas?
Early 1900s?
No?!

Of course not. But, trust me when I say his seat wasn't too far from Naismith's at the great Innovation Nation.

Why? He was (perhaps) the inventor of the Zone Defense.

A quick visit to Hooptactics.com might teach us the different types of Zone Defense.

The mighty and time-honored 2-3 zone.  Winner of multiple NCAA championships.

What's that? You are facing a high school team with lots of outside shooters?  Never fear, Lindley's got your back. Want to lock them down with old reliable? The 3-2 zone. Winner of numerous high school state titles.

We all know these facts. These are old news. All of them have been well-known and well-used since the early 1900s.  

Chamberlain, Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Bird, Shaq, Kobe, Lebron... they know these sets forwards and backwards.

The time has passed though. Innovation Nation is dead. Nothing new here.

Right?

Wrong.
Three words: Small. Game. James.

Ever heard of him?

No?!

Better check your Wikipedia, son!

Oh, what's that? He doesn't exist?
Boy, are you blind?
Have you not been reading the KBA blog for the past 36 years?  Are you not from North Korea or Russia?!

While you were busy playing Doom on your PS2, Small Game James was carving himself up a seat at Innovation Nation, son!

Awakening the sleeping giant that is the Zone Defense of basketball, a 2014 spark of genius in Small Game's brain created the next wave in Zone Defense: TMZ.

Never before heard of.
Never before thought of.
Never before tried.

The Three Man Zone.

The Three-Who-What?

So innovative that The Googles still doesn't know...

That's all they know?
That's all The Googles knows?

Not Small Game James.  He knows.

So, go ahead and etch his name on that seat at Innovation Nation.

Register that URL (TMZ.com), son! Quick, before anyone else get it. You're gonna be rich!

It's time to pay homage to the great TMZ!*

*Note: While the author's claims of the three-man zone being innovative are true in the strict sense of the word, it does not reflect the fact that the only time in history that the three-man zone was deployed in the Spring of 2014 led to absolute disaster including, but not limited to: wide open jump shots; multiple alley-oops; open layups; extreme defensive fatigue; extreme defensive confusion; extreme confusion; extreme score disparity; extreme begging for aborting the three-man zone by the very inventor of the concept, Small Game James. The KBA Blog and staff stand behind the "innovative" aspects of the Three-Man Zone, but have no comments regarding the validity, effectiveness, nor the proverbial "etched" seat at the "Innovation Nation," the existence of which cannot be cannot be confirmed nor denied.