I actually did watch most of the UConn vs Pitt game earlier, what a terrific game, a terrific finish. But since I did a post about Coach Jim Calhoun yesterday, I thought I would switch it up a bit and go with Texas vs Texas A&M in the later game. After a great start, conference play has been pretty rough for A&M so far, they've been competitive, but just haven't put together a complete game. I thought they did that tonight against Texas and as a result pulled out a huge win.
One of the big things A&M did was that they went with a junk defense to take away the scoring threat of AJ Abrams. And it worked too, Abrams only finished with 7 points on 3-for-12 shooting including 1-for-7 from the 3-point line. The junk defense they went with was the diamond-and-1 defense. I took a few clips from the second half,
Diamond and One Junk Defense:
I've never used a diamond and 1 defense, when I've gone junk it's mostly box and 1. But I think the diamond has some unique advantages. In the box and 1, you are vulnerable to penetration of the gap from the top and the shot as well. Like the 1-1-3 vs the 2-3, the 1 man front up top allows you to put pressure on the ball up top easier, against penetration and the shot,
While the diamond and 1 did take away Abrams as a scoring threat, I thought Texas did a decent job (obviously not good enough though because they lost) exploiting the middle of the diamond. That is where the box is probably stronger, against the middle area.
Summary:
I usually don't like junk defenses. But I think if you are playing against a team that has that 1 dominant threat (I know, that is pretty much most Varsity teams), then it works well in stretches. Like anything though, teams adjust, especially late in the season so good teams have usually seen every kind of defense thrown at them. Still, I think it can be an effective change-up to use, something to keep in the repertoire.
I don't think there's any video out there teaching the diamond and one, but if you're interested in the junk stuff, you might want to look at Homer Drew's DVD on the Box and 1 defense. As always, don't forget to check out the the X's and O's of Basketball forum to get all your hoops fill.
This is actually about 2 weeks old but I've been a little slow going through some stuff lately and only came across it today. PTI's Kornheiser and Wilbon interviewing UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. Definitely one of the best coaches in the game, I'd like to sit and pick his brain for an afternoon.
A few things that Coach Calhoun mentioned that were especially poignant. First, talking about defending the PNR with a dominant shot blocker like Hasheem Thabeet, it gives you the advantage of always trapping the ball-screen or at least a hard hedge, and zoning up 3v4 on the backend.
Next was fouls. The first thing I look for when I get the stat sheet at halftime is turnovers, next is fouls. Fouls against is an important stat because it reveals who the aggressor is. Of course, you have to adjust based on the officiating, but if there is a big differential between your fouls and fouls against, it is significant beyond just the numbers. Another stat related is 3-pt FGA. The more 3-pointers your team attempts, the less fouls against you will have. So, unless you shoot the 3-pointer above 50%, watch the number of 3s you're taking in a half/game.
Lastly, I like at the end of the clip where Coach Calhoun was talking about FOCUS. I especially liked when he talked about his 2006 team and how that was a great team, filled with stud players, but lacked focus. As y'all Varsity coaches are headed towards playoffs, remember the f-o-c-u-s.
Anyways, some interesting stuff for sure, here is the video clip in case you missed it:
If you are a big Jim Calhoun fan like me, and you want an unprecedented look at his practices, then you definitely want to check out Jim Calhoun's brand new 3-pack DVD on UConn's All Access Practices. That's 360 minutes worth of video on an NCAA Div1 practice, doesn't get any better than that. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to discuss this and any of your favorite basketball topics.
West Virginia's Press Break Against Villanova
Posted by bruchu Labels: *NCAA, Fastbreak and Early OffenseAnother great basketball viewing day. I watched most of the NBA All-Star festivities on TNT today, call me a sucker but I still enjoy watching all those cheesy competitions, even the slam dunk competition, Nate Robinson is my hero.
Back to some seriousness though, I watched the first half of the Villanova vs West Virginia game last night and was really surprised when WVU had something like a 20 point lead heading into the half. WVU was the home team, but still, Villanova had been scoring in triple digits most of the week so I definitely thought they would be at least around 40 by half. When they got behind, they tried to trap and press WVU and the WVU lead actually increased. Take a look at a few sequences of their press break along with a ESPN breakdown,
Reverse That Ball:
Don't want to spend too much time explaining as I think the ESPN clip did a good job breaking it down. But I do want to emphasize the seemingly trivial, yet crucial concept of ball reversal. 
I don't like to scheme a specific press break, I prefer to teach basic rules and principles:
1. Always have a safety
2. Reverse the ball
3. Have your tallest and most capable forward in the middle
When possible, you do want to attack and score especially while the press is vulnerable after a ball reversal. But the priority is to get into halfcourt.
In preparation against teams that use alot of pressure. I like doing walkthroughs the day before. Just so that the players get an idea what they will see and how our press break will work. But I do like the generic press break because it will work against any pressure (even M2M) and doesn't require the players to remember any complicated schemes.
Summary:
Bob Higgins has WVU playing some solid ball right now. You can't tell me that WVU isn't a tournament team, the way they've played recently. They had a hot start, cooled off a little, but look like they're hitting their stride just in time. As for Villanova, I think they'll be fine, 6 games left before the Big East tournament and they already beat Syracuse earlier last week.
If you like West Virgina like I do (spent some months in Morgantown in a previous life) or Bob Huggins, then check out Bob Huggins' 2-Pack DVD on Man Defense and Intense Practice Drills. As always, be sure to check out the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to discuss this and more of your favorite basketball topics.
Well that was weird, another college game where some mental errors at the end of the fourth quarter cost the team the game. This time, it was UCLA against Arizona State who pulled off the upset. A lot of talk in the news about West Coast bias and to some extent I agree, the PAC-10 is decent by probably a little overrated based on what I've seen.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. The situation is: 35 seconds to go, ASU up by 2 and inbounding from the sideline in their backcourt. UCLA is in full court pressure. Watch what happens in the next minute or so of play,
Now, as you can hear Len Elmore of ESPN say, it was just zeal. I agree and disagree somewhat. Obviously that was not what UCLA's Aboya wanted to do. But you definitely don't expect it from a Senior, at that stage in the game. To give up 2 free throws, and the ball back, probably sealed the win for ASU.
To add insult to injury, UCLA lets ASU's Glasser to catch the ball, avoid all the defenders who don't really try hard enough to foul him, and he dribbles all the way down to find a teammate for the alley-oop. Just not very cerebral.
Summary:
I've watched a few UCLA games this past season and they're just not as tough as they used to be in past years. They have a lot of individual talent, but they don't play as well as a unit. Case and point, ASU's half-court zone game UCLA problems all game, just wasn't patient enough. They played decent defense, but not the kind of really hard-nosed style we've been used to the past few years. A lot of more double-teaming to compensate.
I think ASU is kind of a Jekyll and Hyde team. I've seen them play really well, and sometimes they rely on Harden way too much. Their zone is a double-edged sword. Against teams that have an average half-court offense it works reasonably well, but against well-organized, well-prepared teams, not so well.
For a great video on building winning teams and players, take a look at Coach Morgan Wooten's DVD on coaching to win. Coach Wooten is probably the most successful high school basketball coach ever at DeMatha Catholic before retiring. Head over to the X's and O's of Basketball Forum to discuss all of your hoops.
I don't think the UNC vs. Duke rivalry will ever get tired. I think as coaches all across the world there are those games between the 2 rival teams/schools and it almost doesn't matter whether you win the championship at the end of the season, you better win the rivalry game. I love the atmosphere, basketball is so much more intimate than football, because of the indoor court, the noise gets amplified.
Well, in case you didn't catch the 2009 version of the best rivalry in basketball, it was another barnburner. In the end, Ty Lawson took control and shredded the Duke defense over and over. It was like watching the same play over and over. While Lawson and Coach Roy Williams certainly get most of the credit for capitalizing, I felt Duke failed to adjust to the penetration. Here are three sequences from the decisive second half,
Against Overly Aggressive Defense:
I like Duke's defense. It's an aggressive up the line/on the line M2M defense. But like all defenses, there are ways to break it. Against pressure, you have to attack the basket. Either with backdoor basket cuts, or in this case, through dribble penetration. When you have a player like Lawson who has a great first step, and a defense that plays 1 arm length away ball pressure, you attack it. Duke's Nolan Smith is too close, then gambles on the steal and gets burned on the crossover,
In this case, there is a ball-screen set for Lawson. He uses it and Duke's David MacClure attempts to hard switch but because of his forward momentum and lack of lateral quickness, Lawson beats him with a crossover and easily down the lane for a layup,
Here, another ball screen but Lawson doesn't use it. Gerald Henderson gets caught hedging on the wrong side, and Paulus is playing to close and is too slow to keep up with Lawson who heads straight for the rim,
Summary:
I was surprised that Coach Mike Krzyzewski did not make a defensive adjustment, very surprised. An easy adjustment that I thought would have made a big difference if they chose to go underneath and soft switch and stay in the paint against Lawson. I know that Lawson has been shooting the 3-pointer very well all year, but I think that switching up would have forced UNC to re-adapt. Maybe Lawson would still go on to hit a bunch of 3s but maybe not. With the way Duke's defense was playing, there was no way they were going to stop Lawson.
If you are a big Roy Williams fan like I am, then check out Roy Williams' DVD on Tar Heel Offense and Transition Drills. Talk early offense at the X's and O's Basketball Forum with other great coaches from around the world.
What a wild finish tonight on ESPN between the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats in SEC conference play. On the one hand, it was just great basketball, but on the other hand, also some poor judgment and execution. It is easy to look back in hindsight, but as I've said again, it's the only way we learn. As humans, we have memory, it is the hope that history will not repeat itself.
The situation is that the score is tied 65-65, 11 seconds to go, 7 seconds left on the shot clock, Kentucky ball to be inbounded at halfcourt. Here are the last few sequences (with a few bits taken out to save the length),
Foul Before the Shot or Not at All:
So Meeks of Kentucky hits a huge 3-pointer to go ahead by 3. 4 seconds left in the game, Florida elects not to take a timeout (I would have, but that's neither here nor there). Calathes dribbles all the way down and with .6 seconds left on the clock, he takes a 3-pointer... but is fouled!!! Three free throws to tie the game coming. You can just see Billy Gillispie's face. He's thinking, "Why the foul!!! just .6 seconds left in the game... Just let him shoot it from there."
For me as a coach, it goes back to that old adage, foul him at halfcourt before he takes a shot and make him shoot 2 free throws instead, ball game. I know, a lot of coaches out there disagree, but if you're going to foul, definitely foul before the shot or not at all is my main point.
Free Throws Win Ball Games:
How many times have you heard that old adage, and every single season, it's come up with me personally with my teams and just watching games on TV. The usual reliable Calathes, who you can hear the ESPN broadcaster say had just made nine free throws in a row in the game, couldn't make the ones that counted most.
It's like what coach John Calipari said last year when reporters were asking him about the Memphis Tigers' free-throw problems, and he always replied, "We'll make them when it counts." Well, it is one thing to say it and another for your team to do it. Free throws win ball games, there really isn't anything else, that pretty much sums it up.
Summary:
It was really unfortunate for Florida because they had played quite well, especially on the road, and especially since the whole Billy Donovan - Kentucky thing a couple of years ago. It was especially unfortunate for Nick Calathes, who had a career game, 33 points. If there is any solace both teams can come away with is that it's still February, with plenty of basketball left to play in the season.
If you like Billy Gillispie and Kentucky, then check out Billy Gillispie's DVD on his In Your Face Defensive Drills. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.
From yesterday, the epic Kobe vs Lebron battle, the Lakers against the Cavaliers in Cleveland. I was disappointed by the Cavs, I thought they would play with more emotion but it turned out the Lakers were the hungrier team. Kobe made some unbelievable plays, and he apparently had the flu to boot. And despite all that, the Cavs were just a few plays from tying and winning the game.
I thought the Lakers did a decent job defending Lebron. I think they could've been even better, but given Lebron's 5-for-20, 16 point statline, it was a good enough to win. The whole key with Lebron is to force him to give the ball up or smother him with numbers. The Cavs have the depth to hurt you if you do that, but relatively speaking, that is the best option. Here were 2 sequences that I though really showed what the Lakers were trying to do, to overload the strong-side,
Create a Numbers Advantage:
Just some pictures. In a straight up situation, you overload on the strong-side wherever Lebron has the ball, and the other players zone up behind. It's just a numbers game. It's like in football, when you play against a tough runner, you load up the box with 8 players. Yes you sacrifice some in your pass coverage, but you've got to do something to stop the freight train coming at you,
Hedge and Contain:
Usually when you hedge a ball screen, the hedger has to recover as quickly as possible to his original check to prevent a pass to a basket cut or a pop out jumper. Against Lebron, the Lakers hedge, then they stay and contain. They basically take their chances with Ilgauskas or Varejao, in this case Ilgauskas is wide open,
Summary:
The Lakers look like a team on a mission right now. They definitely will miss Andrew Bynum but I think the team they have now is good enough to win it all, in fact I felt that way last year too. They had a bad finals, but if they can keep their focus, nothing is stopping them. As for Lebron, he's the most formidable player in the NBA right now. I don't know if there is a scheme or player in the world that can really shut him down. With an upgraded supporting cast, this could be the matchup we see in June.
It's coming down to playoff time for those of you Varsity coaches. For more a new video on some high-intensity practice drills, check out Jamie Dixon's DVD on Competitive Practice Drills. Coach Dixon is the head coach at University of Pittsburgh. Don't forget to check out the X's and O's Basketball Forum to talk hoops with other coaches.
