Wake Forest Wins By Outrebounding Opponents

Watched most of the second half last night between NC State and Wake Forest. After seeing their lead almost disappear, WF held off the Wolfpack by making some big plays and most importantly what I want to show is that rebounding matters. WF would've lost this game if they didn't outrebound NC State 40-25 including 12-6 on the offensive glass. Consider this, even with the big rebounding edge, the Wolfpack still had 4 more possessions than the WF. Imagine what would have happened if the rebounding was even? Here are some great rebounding highlights from the second half,






The Tap Back:

We all know about boxing out, rebounding position, sending 2 or 3 to the glass, etc... so I won't dwell on that. But I did just want to talk briefly about the tap back. Obviously, if your forwards can grab the ball outright, they should, then go up for the putback before the defense gets set.

But another technique worth considering is the tap back to your guards. A little risky if the defense has 1 or 2 guards on run outs, but if the defense sends 5 to rebound, this can be very effective. Because you only need to get a hand on the ball, it can increase your chances of gaining the possession, just send your best athletic leaper to the glass every time and as long as they get a hand on it and tap it backwards.

Here, the WF player is sandwiched in between 2 NC State players, as he has to reach with only 1 outstretched hand, he's better off just tapping it back to the backcourt where one of his guards can pick it up,


Summary:

I like what Coach Dino Gaudio has done at Wake Forest in just a couple of years as head coach. Wake Forest has become one of the best rebounding teams in the ACC and indeed in the country. By contrast, NC State is one of the worst rebounding teams in the ACC. Between the rest, I'd say Wake Forest and NC State are pretty equal. Rebounding makes a difference. If I inherited a team today, that didn't have that much skill (shooting, driving), and decent athleticism, I'd make sure we were a rebounding team. If your team rebounds better than your opponents, you will always have an advantage over them offensively and defensively no matter how much more talented they are.

If you like Coach Gaudio or Wake Forest, take a look at Dino Gaudio's DVD on Winning the War on the Boards. As always, please check out the X's and O's Basketball forum to talk hoops and exchange notes and ideas.