Post by birdman on Feb 11, 2016 22:12:53 GMT -5
Hi everyone, I have been reading this board for some time now and with a lot of urging from my friend PembrokeFriar, I finally decided to join. I look forward to discussing our Friars with all of you and hope that you find my comments to be valuable and insightful. My first post will be a bit long, as I have a lot of stored up thoughts, but I assure you future ones will be shorter.
1. I thought our offense against Marquette was better than it has been lately even though our shooting percentage wasn't great. Too often we have been running a basic Dunn-Bentil pick and roll from the top of the key with the other 3 guys simply spotting up around it. This has led to a variety of issues. First of all, because we often have Kyron and Junior in the game, their defenders sagged so far off of them that they could easily wall off the lane. Secondly, because the help defenders were already in the paint, teams could double Dunn knowing Bentil would roll right into the help. Lastly, we never ran anything prior to the ball screen, so the defense could easily slide into position and get set up properly before we got into our set.
2. There are of course ways to combat this defense. For starters, you can run some action prior to the ball screen to get the defense moving so that when the screen is ultimately set, the defense is scrambling. Secondly, you can screen the screener where someone sets a screen for Bentil and then he comes to screen Dunn. This causes Bentil's defender to play catch up, and it gives Dunn a better chance at turning the corner. We can also run some off ball screens while the ball screen is being set. This is largely a decoy, but it causes the help defense to shift and not focus entirely on the ball screen. Lastly, and most obviously, we don't have to run a ball screen at all. We had Dunn off the ball much more frequently last night, and that helped get the guys moving. Our offense had gotten far too stagnant, so anything that encourages ball and player movement is a welcome change.
3. Defensively, our ball screen defense has been poor for several games now. We almost exclusively have the screener's man (often Bentil or Bullock) drop back and try to corral the ball handler while the defender fights to recover. The problem is we haven't been able to slow down the ball handler and it has led to a litany of problems. Ben's ankle injury is much more evident on defense, as his lateral quickness is noticeably slower. When it has been Rodney in that spot, he has gotten burned far too often.
4. This conservative approach to the screen and roll is common in the pros, but I don't like it as much in the college game. The idea behind it is to limit the ball handler's options and keep him out of the paint. I prefer a more aggressive approach where we either hedge hard and occasionally trap the ball handler and force him to make a play under duress without being able to turn the corner. NBA guards are much more experienced in the pick and roll than college players, and you don't want to play them too aggressively as it leaves guys open. However, college players are generally not as adept at handling this pressure and will turn it over more often. We really got burned badly in the DePaul game on ball screens, and we finally mixed up our coverage late in the game and had some success with it. Yes this aggressive approach could lead to more foul trouble if we really ratchet up the pressure and also the occasional easy bucket, but we get burned so badly playing it safe that we really have nothing to lose.
5. Our rebounding has really been an issue, and it is largely due to our defense. When we give up penetration and our defense is forced to rotate, it leaves the offense free to crash the glass without anyone boxing them out. It again doesn't help that our best rebounder is playing on a bum wheel, but if we can tighten up our defense and keep guys out of the paint, our rebounding will take care of itself.
6. We never seem to know what we are getting from game to game outside of Dunn and Bentil. Junior and Lindsey played decently last night, but Kyron, Zeke and Bullock all had poor outings. All of these guys have had their moments and bring different skills to the table, but we really need more consistency from this group. It's hard to put together a rotation when you have no clue what you are getting from your role players.
Given everything I said above, this is what I would like to see going forward:
A. Start Zeke or Lindsey over Kyron. Having Kyron and Junior play together just kills our spacing no matter what we do on offense. Kyron can then come in for Junior, let Dunn slide off the ball and infuse us with some energy.
B. Play Lindsey more minutes, especially at the 4. Yes, he can be super frustrating, but he defends and rebounds better than Bullock. Rodney had a strong game against Georgetown last time, so hopefully he can do that again on Saturday. But he will get exposed when we play Xavier and Seton Hall and he should see less time in those games. Our big run at the end of Xavier game came with Bullock on the bench and while I know we were also in desperation mode, I don't think it was a coincidence.
C. Change up our screen and roll defense to be more aggressive. We have significantly improved our 3 point defense from the start of the season, but it has often come at the expense of letting guys beat us off the dribble. Let's do a better job of keeping guys out of the paint and if we give up a few more three point attempts, especially to Xavier and Seton Hall, I can live with that.
D. Don't get stagnant on offense. Get that ball moving, screen, cut and mix up our sets so that we aren't so reliant on a basic pick and roll. Try and get Dunn and Bentil the ball in different spots on the floor, and be sure to run some action that doesn't involve us just standing around watching Dunn do his thing.
Despite our recent skid, I am optimistic we can turn it around. Let's get the big guy healthy, beat Georgetown and give our players and home crowd something to feel good about for a change. It may take just win for us to regain our confidence and get back on track, let's do it Saturday. Go Friars!