SI: College basketball's top coaches sound off on the season ahead

[BrooksTaylorFan]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...p&sct=hp_wr_a3

Here is a good article by SI on Groce and Illinois. They even give Ibby some love.

[Foo G]

Originally Posted by BrooksTaylorFan

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...p&sct=hp_wr_a3

Here is a good article by SI on Groce and Illinois. They even give Ibby some love.

[Botb9]

Think you mean Egwu.

[BrooksTaylorFan]

Originally Posted by Botb9

Think you mean Egwu.

Whoops. I was reading some comments on Ibby right before I found this article so he was still on my mind. I meant Egwu. My bad.

[BrooksTaylorFan]

Originally Posted by Foo G

Good catch. Glad you actually read the article. :laugh:

[cjcastan]

I like the fact John Groce is mentioned as a top coach.

Considering Purnell has never won an NCAA game, dunno how he got into that label lol.

[FredrickFremont]

Is our offense really gonna be "frantic"? As in, similar to the last 7 seconds of the shot clock the last few seasons?

I may have gone with a different adjective.

[FinalFour88]

I wouldn't say he gives Egwu "some love" as the above poster says. He just mentions that Egwu needs to step up.

[BrooksTaylorFan]

Originally Posted by FinalFour88

I wouldn't say he gives Egwu "some love" as the above poster says. He just mentions that Egwu needs to step up.

Any mention in the national media is love.

I wonder which of Depaul's three Big East wins made Parker impressed enough to keep them in his Top 10? :laugh:

[Lab Rat]

Originally Posted by BrooksTaylorFan

Any mention in the national media is love.

I wonder which of Depaul's three Big East wins made Parker impressed enough to keep them in his Top 10? :laugh:

I believe you meant to say three quality wins. Now that's impressive. (Dave Letterman's Top 10?)

[Lab Rat]

Frantic, Up Tempo, Run, Gun, please, please and oh please oh please yes!!!

[Lab Rat]

If we play fast or as Nolan Richardson said forty minutes of hell, then we can't heave up Hail Marys or throw up prayers at 34 seconds on the shot clock. I am for it if we don't have to trade our immortal soul to win (please note, reference Coach Calipari here).

[BrooksTaylorFan]

Originally Posted by Lab Rat

If we play fast or as Nolan Richardson said forty minutes of hell, then we can't heave up Hail Marys or throw up prayers at 34 seconds on the shot clock. I am for it if we don't have to trade our immortal soul to win (please note, reference Coach Calipari here).

Under Weber, we never seemed to get the easy fast break points. Pushing the tempo will definitely help in that regards. I don't think we will ever run a forty minutes of hell type offense, but speeding up the tempo will definitely make us more attractive to potential recruits.

[jhayton]

Honestly, under Weber it seemed like he was afraid to let them take the fast break. We all know that BW stressed defensive play and I think that led him to want to slow it down and give our defense a chance to setup as opposed to running the fast break and allowing a few more transition points.

It would be a huge mistake if we tried to play 40 minutes of hell with this roster, but there is no doubt that pushing the tempo gets recruits excited to come play. It generally means more PT for more players.

Gone are the days of DJ play 36 minutes a game and I think DJ and others will benefit from pushing the tempo.

[Foo G]

The 40 minutes of hell used by Nolan Richardson was a scheme centered primarily around defense, not offense.
Offensive freedom was basically a reward for the hard work on the defensive end.
It worked well for them for only a few seasons, when their roster personnel was just right.

Teams like Kentucky and North Carolina entice teams to play fast and loose on offense, capitalizing on sloppy play by opponents while they take care of the ball and make good decisions in transition.
It's closer to an NBA style, which is what is appealing to recruits.

Until we have multiple backcourt players that can dribble, pass, and make good decisions with the ball, we won't be able to push tempo for extended periods of time against most teams.

[laocoon]

Originally Posted by Foo G

The 40 minutes of hell used by Nolan Richardson was a scheme centered primarily around defense, not offense.
Offensive freedom was basically a reward for the hard work on the defensive end.

Good point. All four of this past season's Final Four teams were in Ken Pomeroy's top 10 defensive rating. The final four also featured three of the best shot blockers (Davis, Withey and Dieng), Ohio State's forwards, and two of the best perimeter defenders (Craft and Kidd-Gilchrist). Who is going to do that here? Obviously this is a one-dimensional and simplistic analysis, but it's worth noting that if Groce is going to pull off a high-octane offensive system, the guys better be able to play defense at that pace as well. This brings us back to Richardson. What team was able to stop Arkansas? Pitino's high-powered '95 or '96 Kentucky team. That's because a pressing team's weakness is often another pressing team.