is how we handle screens on both ends of the floor.
On offense, we do not use screens appropriately. It seems as though we make a gesture towards setting a screen, but the ballhandler never rubs it close, which allows the defender to avoid the switch.
On defense, we almost always switch, or worse try to double team in the open floor, which leads to a nice pass and an open three or a layup. We have to learn how to avoid the switch, which very well might mean just playing a lot more zone, with guards up top.
I’d so love to see Gafford stay home in the bottom of the lane, to help erase all the layups we are seeing.
Maybe Coach A needs to look at bringing in an Assistant coach who can coach Defense and has a proven record to show that. Defense and rebounding has been a weakness since year 1.
Free throw shooting has gotten worse also. Is that fatigue related or practice related or both.??
I have been watching the Hogs play since the Dean Tolson and Martin Terry days (Martin Terry was one of the best shooters i have ever seen), but have to say this trapping defense we keep using is not yielding the turnovers it used to, but is yielding easy points for the other team (Those matador layups are killing me). This seems to be a hot topic now. Something has to change on defense and free throw shooting or we are looking to end up at something like 6-12 or 7-11…and NIT bound.
Yep the same as last year. Here is one of my posts from last year and it is sickening to see the similarities,
2017
"Vandy is a patient passing offense that likes to swing the ball around the perimeter until they find a good shot. They usually find someone open on the back side. Our trapping man and man were used in the first 2 games against Vandy. The game in BWA was painful to watch as our Man left us out of position with a wide open Vandy shooter. We got down 25-4 with our man and never could recover. We didn’t have Trey playing at this level then, we didn’t have the level of performance we have now back then either, and the match up zone we use is better than our Man. Man needs to be used to speed up the game to get into their legs in their 3rd game in 3 days…but sparingly used to change up rhythm. We can’t start in man and let them get a 25-4 lead in their home town.
Our trapping Man defense allows dribble penetration; especially when MK is covering a guard at the 3 pt line. Our trapping man and man are not good while also allowing easy outside shots like what you would normally expect from a zone. A team with multiple outside shooters will kill our man defense with “Man Busters” instead of Zone busters.
Trapping man or man has left us out of position or out manned in half court. Mike adjusted by using more a matchup zone that led to us winning 7 of the last 8 games. Kingsley and Thompson are good together in the zone which has led to our best offense and defense during this 8 game stretch. Moses Kingsley is better in the zone because he is close to the basket instead of covering a guard on perimeter. Moses will not try to switch back when he gets stuck on a guard. Odd. Our defensive rebounding is better when we are in Zone too because our bigs are under the basket. OM killed us last night by getting over 20 offensive rebounds.
The full court press is not as effective against a 3 point shooting team because if they break it they have someone camp out on 3 pt line instead of finishing at the rim. It is tough to see one of our guys under the basket while a shooter is all alone behind the 3 pt line with an un contested shot."
Y’all are really killing me. Fire MA. Hire a “defensive coordinator.” I thank my lucky stars every day that you “I want what I want and I want it now and fire somebody today because I don’t have it” are nowhere near the levers of power. It’s bad enough that you got enough influence to get a good football coach and a very good AD fired. But evidently that didn’t satisfy the blood lust. More scalps now!
HeySwine, I guess some posters are getting under your skin. I have never really called for the outright firing of either Belemia or Anderson, but I did and still do have concerns. I got to sit through the Belk Bowl and all the home games this year. The one shining spot was our trip to Oxford this year. However, the powers to be made that change with the AD and football coach and I feel it was the correct decision.
This senior laden basketball team currently is playing horribly. Can Anderson turn it around…certainly. However, if he doesn’t. What then? That’s why many posters have concerns. Many of the posters point out the consistent flaws that we see with Anderson style of play. I have done it myself. Right now, I have seen enough of this team to know that teams with good guards will beat us a majority of the time. Will we make the dance, I think so. But only time will tell. If we don’t then it’s on the coach and we have a new AD to make the evaluation of Anderson’s future…not us posters.
Mike is too stubborn like CBB was and it nearly took a revolt last year for him to change schemes. I am sick off multiple years of this stubborn adherence to a style that is a shell of what it was in the 90’s because of rule changes. This style would be ok if they would allow us to handcheck like we did in the 90’s. In Mikes’ 7th year, we have 6 SR’s with 2 of them being highly regarded scoring threats to go along with a stud Freshman Center, yet we are falling apart in early January…just like last year.
One thing I feel certain of is that Mike isn’t going to get fired unless something happens with a blonde on Harley. We fired Long and Bielema so the expense of firing and hiring leaves us to force some changes in Mike’s staff and put some pressure on Mike. I want him to have pressure to change and I’m not sold on Watkins and Cleveland.
This the same style that nearly beat the national champion UNC last year? Give me a break. When I hear people talk about styles don’t work, it just lets me know they don’t know anything about basketball. Bob Huggins has been running the same “style” for 30+ years and he currently has a top 5 ranked team, and the style is VERY similar to the one we run, they actually are more aggressive and press more than we do. Louisville also ran a similar style under Rick Pitino at Louisville before he got caught up in that scandal and he just won a national championship recently playing a full court press style of play. So, you’re theory of that style doesn’t work anymore seems to have some flaws in it. I agree with Swine some of you guys are just never happy it’s always something.
the difference is that both Pitino’s & Huggins’ teams are strong fundamental teams who can defend & score in the half court & close games always come down to half court execution
So, let’s rephrase it then.
If you are going to run that style, you better have the horses to pull the cart.
So if you think that style can be successful, something else must be happening.
Either we don’t have players talented enough or savvy enough to run that style, or the coaching is not preparing them adequately to play that way.
Sometimes you have to adapt style to do what you are capable doing. But we just keep trying to cram a square peg in a round hole.
He has the second most SEC wins the last 3 seasons, only behind Calapari. And been to the tournament last 2 of 3 years, and looks like it’s going to be 3 of 4 years after this year. So apparently it is working.
I know I know, pesky facts always ruin everything.