Castle’s D

[jibsey]

Castle along with Clingan is prone to be in foul trouble because of the aggressive tight D he is playing. There is no way around that but I am concerned about him being taken off the floor if the refs calls go against him. So far Clingan has not had a problem and I am happy about that.

 

[August_West]

Castle along with Clingan is prone to be in foul trouble because of the aggressive tight D he is playing. There is no way around that but I am concerned about him being taken off the floor if the refs calls go against him. So far Clingan has not had a problem and I am happy about that.

Diarra isn't chopped liver on the defensive end. It is very unique we have a stopper as a backup to a stopper. Hass is a dawg. Foul trouble is much more of a concern at the 5 spot. Johnson gives us some unique stuff with the hedging ability but he isn't a great post defender and that is being generous.

 

[Kenny11]

You mean Boat, correct? That was SEC POY Scottie Wilbeken (sp?) and Boatright had him picking the ball up in the backcourt like the 3rd graders I coach when the other team can press.

Hahah yes. Boat

 

[KembaRunner]

Diarra isn't chopped liver on the defensive end. It is very unique we have a stopper as a backup to a stopper. Hass is a dawg. Foul trouble is much more of a concern at the 5 spot. Johnson gives us some unique stuff with the hedging ability but he isn't a great post defender and that is being generous.

Diarra is a beast!

 

[jibsey]

Diarra isn't chopped liver on the defensive end. It is very unique we have a stopper as a backup to a stopper. Hass is a dawg. Foul trouble is much more of a concern at the 5 spot. Johnson gives us some unique stuff with the hedging ability but he isn't a great post defender and that is being generous.

Yes! Diarra is so easy to forget about, almost an afterthought until he comes in steals the ball ( amazingly quick hands) , finishes, or nails a critical 3. As great as he was last year his game has improved this year.

 

[Kembacity]

Diarra isn't chopped liver on the defensive end. It is very unique we have a stopper as a backup to a stopper. Hass is a dawg. Foul trouble is much more of a concern at the 5 spot. Johnson gives us some unique stuff with the hedging ability but he isn't a great post defender and that is being generous.

Seriously, I know SD Sts focus is more Ledee than guards but I don’t think our insane guard defenders get enough talk. The fact that diarra comes in off the bench like a monster and focuses full energy to disrupting you on defense after castle has already often terrified you is how we dominate. No breaks, we just keep coming and the looks are different so you can’t get comfortable

 

[PAHusky]

Yes! Diarra is so easy to forget about, almost an afterthought until he comes in steals the ball ( amazingly quick hands) , finishes, or nails a critical 3. As great as he was last year his game has improved this year.

Diarra isn't just good at d, he's an annoyance, which is a great yang to Castle's yin. He's constantly poking and harassing etc. Kind of guy you hate to watch play against UConn.

The fun thing with this team is that there are so many of those "you hate to play against" kind of guys. I remember running into dudes like Karaban on other teams who always made the right play etc. and you'd just shake your head and wish they were on your side. Now there are three or four of them in the lineup. Crazy

 

[August_West]

Seriously, I know SD Sts focus is more Ledee than guards but I don’t think our insane guard defenders get enough talk. The fact that diarra comes in off the bench like a monster and focuses full energy to disrupting you on defense after castle has already often terrified you is how we dominate. No breaks, we just keep coming and the looks are different so you can’t get comfortable

Yes, I really like our whole defensive approach on the guard front.
And it is not like other guys don't present their own problems to the opponent. Spencer isn't a great one on one defender in isolation, he can be had, but he is fantastic within team defense principles and has great instinct and great hands thus ends up being very disruptive. He sees plays while they're still developing.
Newton because of his size presents a challenge for smaller guards and Tristen is actually even a plus defender at times where he wants to be. And he wants to be right now.

 

[jibsey]

Technically we went 2-22 from 3 because a walk on hit that late 3. That’s 9%. Last 2 years I don’t remember a game like that. Unlikely SD can do that to us.

 

[DRBackup]

I don't think Diarra is far behind. He's just not 6'6" like Castle. The didn't skip a beat when Diarra was on Bouie

 

[DRBackup]

Technically we went 2-22 from 3 because a walk on hit that late 3. That’s 9%. Last 2 years I don’t remember a game like that. Unlikely SD can do that to us.

And that's a helluva testament to the offense overall that they could win a tournament game against a quality opponent by double digits despite hitting just 9% from three.