How good will the defense be on this year's team?

[Dogbreath2U]

PF: I would expect that Shonn will be a big upgrade defensively right from the start.
Facey?
Enoch?

Point guards? Can Sterling defend? Jalen? Not much talk about their defense. This is a bit of a concern for me.

Shooting Guards: Will Rodney become the defender he could be?
Omar?
Cassell?

Small Forward: Hamilton? Was not great last year, but seems like he could become really good with his amazing quickness.

Center: Here's hoping Amida can better hold his ground. Shotblocking should be pretty decent

Nolan could provide significant contribution in many situations with positional defense.
Enoch: ?

 

[jibsey]

Defense is KO's cornerstone, and I'm certain is the point of emphasis in practice because we flat out have some offensive performers this year. Miller is the key but we had a lockdown guard in Boat., so Rodney and Gibbs have to do it. Don't see Omar and Cassell as defenders. Can Adams defend? I don't know, he is a superior athlete so he should be able to get it. Hamilton let people blow by a lot last year, but he was a freshman. If we don't dominate glass this year I will be very disappointed. Until we get eyeballs on this team defensively there is no sense making predictions. So I guess we are doomed.

 

[mauconnfan]

I think the defense improves dramatically with Shonn Miller alone. We were awful on that end from that position last year, basically lost much of the time which in turn usually dominoes the rest of the defense. This alone could improve AB's foul prone situation.

I think Gibbs is solid and steady, Jalen kind of an unknown but if he buys in plenty of long and fast to be great there. Rodney is a solid defender would like for him to stay with it for the full shot clock at times as he wanders and also would like a couple more rebounds from him a game as he likes to leak out. But if we rebound better from the interior we will want him to leak out so a fine line there.

DHam also can be a better defender as I think part of his problem was along the lines of habit - going back to being one of the smarter players on the court so always thinking of what he can do off the ball to make a play or anticipate what the opponent will do. If he concentrates on his guy for most of the time and rebounds the way he did last year we will be in nice shape there too.

AB can block shots and actually may block more if the 4 around him play better D. But he also needs to know when and when not to. And besides the obvious fouling issues, he will need to be stronger and not end up underneath the basket so much so he is in position to rebound the basketball. Most of his defensive issues come from bad positioning and not being where he is supposed to, hopefully game situations of last year and film sessions are helping him get to where he needs to be.

They will be a better defensive team this year just how much no one knows!

 

[intlzncster]

I'm intrigued to see Gibb's D this year. That's the big knock on him as it stands, but there's a couple of conflating factors to consider. At SH, he was asked to be not just the focal point, but actually the entire offense most of the time.

Practice wise, I imagine very very little focus was put on his defensive work, as the other side of the ball was far more important for SH as a whole. He'll actually get some time/space to work on the defensive end now, so that should definitely help him.

In game, he won't have the entire O riding on his shoulders, so he'll be able to commit more time, energy, and mental space to defending. No idea, but he might surprise this year.

 

[champs99and04]

Would be a disappointment if they weren't a top ten defense, IMO.