There's a really (really, really) good coach in Canada named Dave Smart who had a GREAT system for taking away a team's ability to pass. They just relentlessly force teams to their weak hand instead of baseline/middle like a regular man-to-man vs a packline. I did something similar as a coach, but maybe not with the focus he had. We always forced to the weak hand first, and practiced recovering and forcing baseline when the opponent drove. I friggen hate packline even though it works. Every coach should watch his teams.
Dude has a 591-48 record in what is equivalent to about a low D1 level. Most players can't pass with both hands (and very most passes are not made with two hands), so he coaches his teams to take away the strong passing hand. I suspect our team is doing something similar--it's one of the reasons we have such intense ball pressure. This means we give up the drive a lot, but cover the 3 and smother the other teams ability to pass to shooters/cutters.
I would venture to guess having a more mature, higher-IQ team is a factor too. Taking away a team's ability to pass the ball well has a lot to do with having a really good scout, and taking them out of their primary options on offense.
Something interesting about us, compared to a team like Marquette with Kolek, is just how many guys we have who can pass the rock. Newton and Andre are obviously great passers. But after them, we have 5 guys averaging 1-2 assists per game. Most teams DO NOT have those kinds of numbers. Karaban is someone I expect to make a big jump in his assist numbers because he CAN pass with both hands.
