I don't think opposing coaches read the boneyard.

[phil sampieri]

Wasn't disagreeing with you, just wanted be clear and that you understood we agreed on the 5-8' range and that the problems I was addressing began when really laying off 8' plus or minus a yard. You can't give MoJet that much room to get up a head of steam and expect to contain her off the dribble.

I absolutely do not agree on 5-8 ft away. A jump shooter would destroy you. again, read any basketball book on how to- and it's arms length- the closer you are the easier it is for ball handler to get by with their first step, the further you are makes it more difficult to get by dedender no matter how quick the offense player is.

 

[Icebear]

I absolutely do not agree on 5-8 ft away. A jump shooter would destroy you. again, read any basketball book on how to- and it's arms length- the closer you are the easier it is for ball handler to get by with their first step, the further you are makes it more difficult to get by dedender no matter how quick the offense player is.

DD's OP said, "Early in the season, many posters said that if Jefferson didn't make a decent percentage of her three point shots, teams would just back off and play 5 on 4 defense leaving her open."

The OP discussion was, specifically, related to laying off of MoJet for help D because of her "lack" of jumper or more specifically a reliable 3pt shot (see her shooting %). A jump shooter was the opposite of what was being discussed. I agree with you that the standard guarding position is arm's length to 3' and that 5-8' is too much lay off for a good jump shooter but that was not the discussion I was addressing.

The discussion started with the idea of letting MoJet shoot and laying off for help D which to me is 8+ feet if it is really going to provide real help D. My comments were limited to why that is not a good idea with MoJet whether one considers her a 3 point threat or not. At 8+ feet you are just giving her too much room to build up speed and take one off the dribble.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I absolutely do not agree on 5-8 ft away. A jump shooter would destroy you. again, read any basketball book on how to- and it's arms length- the closer you are the easier it is for ball handler to get by with their first step, the further you are makes it more difficult to get by dedender no matter how quick the offense player is.

Sorry Phil, that's a one-size-fits-all oversimplification both about players and situations. Sure if you are a slow-step defender that can be blown around easily that's a reason to play off more and maybe hope that the ball handler doesn't bury too many 3s on you, but a Kelly Faris or another good defender can make all sorts of adjustments up close to feel out a ball-handler's motion on a play and force them outward. Plus, every play can see a variety of distances for the defender as they exercise their dance of feints and set-ups. UConn is always practicing a flexible defensive weave and flow to adjust and throw off the opponents.

But like in football with an open field runner on a last single defender, a big gap allows the ball carrier to go straight at the defender and make a feint and blow-past or lead him one way and cut back the other way once the defender has committed to moving that way. A defender wants to cut down the distance gradually with a balanced approach that allows him to move either way and not get faked out of his shoes. In BB it is similar, and you need just enough distance to be able to react appropriately to the offensive player's moves. A MoJeff on an Odyssey Sims is neither going to play so close that a butt-shove can send her reeling nor so far off that OS will give a feint and then drive her bigger frame past to get in for a likely foul call. MoJeff will play off just enough to herd OS into a UConn defender and a chance for a wrap-around steal.

But again for every pair of players, the nature of both teams' offense and defense, and the situation of the play, there will be many different factors going into a defender's best position throughout the possession.

 

[Geno-ista]

MoJeff's 3-pt shooting isn't really much of an issue since she only takes about 2 a game, and guards do have to occasionally jack one up to keep the defenses honest. Bria's perimeter shooting is more of an issue since she's upped the jacks to 4.5 a game after averaging exactly 4 a game last year at 29.7%. At this point I think you gotta say that's not her strong suit, and I'm kind of hoping she doesn't suddenly go 4-6 in a game because it might steer her in the wrong direction. However, if she suddenly starts burying them in practice, give it a try in a game and see if suddenly you've found the touch. All things being equal, she needs to make a big leap to 37% on 3-pt attempts to equal the team average of 56.0% on 2-pt attempts, but 3s are also used to extend the defense so they can be cut some slack.

UTenn has a situation with their two starting guards where one is a good 3-pt shooter (Massengale at 40%) and one is not (Simmons naturally at 30%). But it is Simmons who is jacking more 3s, though as the shooting guard I guess that's to be expected. The two Vol guards shoot more than 10 threes a game while the Uconn pair average a little under 7 a game, which at least is a bit comforting. And though the teams average about the same on offense, UConn gives up 14 less points, and though UTenn shoots the 3s a little better, UConn's margin over opponent's 3s is higher.

which is a real positive since I believe we have played a much more difficult schedule to date!