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Message: [QUOTE="aceboon, post: 5050694, member: 406"] included in the defensive outlook as well [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/college-basketballs-sharpest-defensive-masterminds-t-j-otzelberger-steve-pikiell-top-the-charts/[/URL] [HEADING=1]Dan Hurley, UConn[/HEADING] [B]Top strength[/B]: Win the shot chart We got a glimpse into Dan Hurley's philosophy defensively even in 2010-11 when he took his first collegiate head coaching gig at [URL='https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/WAGNER/wagner-seahawks/']Wagner[/URL]. The Seahawks weren't very good, finishing 13-17, but they closed with the best block percentage in NEC play and allowed just 27% of opponents' field goal attempts to come from 3-point range. That was also the best in the league and one of the top marks nationally. Wipe out the rim and limit 3-point attempts? Seems like a sound strategy. Hurley has risen to the top of the sport using a lot of those same ideas. UConn has won back-to-back National Championships with some of the best rim defense in college basketball and a refusal to give up many looks from 3-point range. In the national championship game against [URL='https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/PURDUE/purdue-boilermakers/']Purdue[/URL], UConn yielded only seven 3-point attempts. Calling it a clinic feels like an understatement, but that had been the plan for long stretches all year. UConn had a two-month stretch from Dec. 15 against [URL='https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/GONZAG/gonzaga-bulldogs/']Gonzaga[/URL] to Feb. 17 against [URL='https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/teams/MARQET/marquette-golden-eagles/']Marquette[/URL] where it allowed just 77 combined treys in 16 games. Opponents made just five or fewer 3-pointers in 10 of those 16 games. UConn has recruited to keep those themes alive. UConn's roster-construction game plan of building a center platoon gives the defense a chance to have an elite rim protector on the floor for all 40 minutes. UConn wins the shot-chart game, but it also has loads of positional size at every single level and plays with the grit and tenacity that all good defenses feature. Hurley's blend of new-school approaches with an old-school mentality is sharp. [/QUOTE]

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