I was thinking when watching PU-PSU that I didn't think the Boilermakers had the players to break PSU's pressure. I think Illinois' ball screens will create mismatches or open looks.
Week of 12/2 Games & News Thread
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nor a lock down defense when needed... yet.
sacraig
- The desert
The D performed well against Arkansas, but one game does not a trend make.
Penn State is a different animal at home and thankfully the Illini avoid that this year
We are the #2 effective field goal % defense in the country right now.
www.teamrankings.com
NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Opponent Effective Field Goal % | TeamRankings.com
NCAA Basketball opponent effective field goal %, by team.
www.teamrankings.com
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Brad discussed working with Kylan on driving to get fouled in the NW pregame press video. Think Brad has the same concerns.
By this argument, one should never double team, yet it is done all the time. It is a percentage game. Are you better at doubling than they are at handling the double? It is a lot easier to start the offense with a hockey assiset by passing out of a double coming down low than passing out of a high trap.
An example of where they did the high trap well was the Loyola Chicago game. We had no answer for it. Since then I have seen the offense die horribly, and turnovers abound pretty much every time an opponent runs a well coached high trap against us. I'd like to put some armor on that Achilles heel. Drill the team in handling it.
I have always felt that the ability to put the ball in the basket was paramount to success at the college level. Of course, defensive athleticism has much to do with the rate of success of your opponent, but ultimately, the team that hits a higher % of their shots, and defends somewhat competently, wins.
That said, there has never been a team, nor will there ever be, that can count on consistent high percentages from the arc. Success encompasses the ability to score at all levels. Defenses can take away your scoring strengths...so you must be able to adjust to other ways to score efficiently and consistently,
Most successful coaches today embrace the 3 pt. shot, and BU certainly does....along with size and a desire to defend. The Illini roster is certainly filled with guys who shoot between 35-45% from the arc...or have that ability. Unfortunately, as we all know and has been a proven fact throughout history, that mark can be erased on a cold night in Minnesota or Michigan or New Jersey....and especially by a sky high hyped up team in the NCAA tournament. It is the blessing of the big upset....as we see every March.
But the Illini roster is made up of 10 talented kids that can all score in different manners. Having 5 on the floor that can score at all levels with consistency is a huge advantage. As much as anyone, I really like the makeup of this roster. Getting them all to play confidently and aggressively is an obvious challenge. Watching them work through the season to reach that level of performance that can win when those longer shots are hitting dead center on the heal of the rim is not always something that can be overcome....but will ultimately determine their success. I look forward to witnessing that process and what this group can achieve....and hope the night(s) when they can't throw it in the ocean does not happen in March or April.
Not true. We torched Arkansas in the last game when they tried the high trap. See LaTulip break it down starting at the 3 minute mark.
The difference is that despite all of Kofi's strengths, playmaking from the short roll wasn't one of them, but Tomi can make teams pay for doubling the ball by popping for 3 or catching the ball around the FT line and attacking the rim or kicking to the open shooter
That was something I was hoping they'd practice during the buy games but was let down. They'd often drive the ball into the paint and then stop for a defender rather than run into them.
Thanks for the concrete reference. I think we are talking about two different things. I listened to the podcast section and then went and rewatched the first 10m of the game. I did not see a single instance of the doubling that I'm talking about. I saw several attempts to double the ball handler as they drove down the lane. This gave easy kick outs and open looks. The play I'm talking about is where the defense goes across the top of the screen, staying on the ball handler, and the defender on the far side of the screen stays with the ball handler. They let the pick go free while blocking an easy pass to them. If either of the defenders are plus defenders, they can put serious pressure on the ball handler to not turn it over. The ball handler often needs to pass back toward mid court while already outside the 3pt line. Sometimes teams will try to deny that pass too. Other times they let the pass go back, keeping the other 3 defender on the other 3 players.
IL used to use a related defensive scheme with Egwu. He'd do some serious hedging, sometimes for 10' before going to recover.
sacraig
- The desert
Not sure that I have confidence in drawing fouls as our strategy, either, given our free throw shooting history.
Didn’t this guy have an assistant named Dover… first name Ben?
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
TSJ and Marcus lived at the foul line. I am puzzled by Will Riley 67% FT. He has such a sweet jumpshot.Not sure that I have confidence in drawing fouls as our strategy, either, given our free throw shooting history.
Humrichous and Boswell at 62% is even worse. Humrichous shot 76% last year at Evansville. Boswell shot 80% each year at AZ.
KJ is automatic at 90%.
Morez 50% is to be expected - I hope he can improve.
I'm interested now. Could you post some video of the specific traps/doubles you're referring to? There aren't really a myriad of ways to trap a ball ballhandler, so saying you're talking about something different than what is shown in the video that fuggles posted is intriguing to me.
If this is truly our kryptonite in the BU era, why haven't D1 coaching staffs picked up on this enough to apply it?
I'm just skeptical when us message board folks think we see things that coaches with 30-40 yrs experience doing it professionally aren't able to comprehend or process themselves.
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OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Back to the games currently going on, I forgot how the viewing angle at IU's Skojdt Hall (yes, that was intentional) might be the worst primary TV viewing angle with the possible exception of Gallagher-Iba Arena at Oklahoma State.
WV vs GT.. might watch this until we play
Anyone watching Georgetown/West Virginia? Has Sencire guarded Epps at all?
Don’t know but Sencire shot still broke and Epps still chucks.
Assuming the Maryland Eastern Shore & Little Rock games had a lot to do with thatWe are the #2 effective field goal % defense in the country right now.
NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Opponent Effective Field Goal % | TeamRankings.com
NCAA Basketball opponent effective field goal %, by team.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I'm actually more surprised that between Tucker and Darian DeVries, Darian (the dad and coach) looks like he's the DeVries in better game shape.
27:30
They aren't the best examples. They do show the pattern. The first is mid court. The second is near a sideline and so can move toward a trap.
I'm not claiming any expertise. These moves may have inherent flaws. We seem to struggle recovering from them in general.
harris just blew a tired on a tired on a wide open lay up.. We have seen that before wit him. Wide open fast break lay up and its like he can't jump all of a sudden... something is right there...
Yes. Sencire just smoked a contested layup
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