Miami’s Defensive Strategy | The Boneyard

Miami’s Defensive Strategy

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The BE coaches employed this thing of goading AJAX into hoisting 3’s and it has been followed into the tourney. Now Hurley has “figured this out” with Sanogo’s positioning further from the rim and having AJAX and other players cut to the basket giving Sanogo crazy assist numbers. My question is will Miami do this or do they play straight up man to man with little help on him? I still think AJAX has to shoot and make some 3‘s when he’s that wide open and hope he doesn’t go cold. Since Hurley has done this you would think that other coaches would change when they see it’s not working.
 
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The BE coaches employed this thing of goading AJAX into hoisting 3’s and it has been followed into the tourney. Now Hurley has “figured this out” with Sanogo’s positioning further from the rim and having AJAX and other players cut to the basket giving Sanogo crazy assist numbers. My question is will Miami do this or do they play straight up man to man with little help on him? I still think AJAX has to shoot and make some 3‘s when he’s that wide open and hope he doesn’t go cold. Since Hurley has done this you would think that other coaches would change when they see it’s not working.
They need to try to pressure the guards and not let them get the ball to Sanogo. That seems to be the way to disrupt this version of the offense. It’s way easier said than done though and Miami is not a good defensive team.

Laranaga also can’t afford to be aggressive in denying Sanogo down low because foul trouble for Omier would be a disaster for them.
 

Dove

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The BE coaches employed this thing of goading AJAX into hoisting 3’s and it has been followed into the tourney. Now Hurley has “figured this out” with Sanogo’s positioning further from the rim and having AJAX and other players cut to the basket giving Sanogo crazy assist numbers. My question is will Miami do this or do they play straight up man to man with little help on him? I still think AJAX has to shoot and make some 3‘s when he’s that wide open and hope he doesn’t go cold. Since Hurley has done this you would think that other coaches would change when they see it’s not working.
No way Andre goes cold. One, he is not looking for shots from the arc. Two, if he misses a couple treys, he will stop taking those shots. No way we endure seeing him clanking 5 of them again.
 
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I see them putting Pack on Newton and play him tight, Wong on Hawk to start and switch with Poplar or Miller as well.

They basically play a 4 guard line up. Now who do put Karaban on Miller? I fear AK might see early foul trouble.
 

nelsonmuntz

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Baiting AJax into shooting wide open 3's is a mediocre strategy. It also has the problem with giving him a running start at penetration where he can do some real damage.

If I was Larranaga I would play some kind of 3/4 court trap out of the gate, but not every possession. Make the UConn guards work and burn clock to get the ball up, but don't force an adjustment. The risk is that UConn turns the pressure into a fastbreak, but if it is not full pressure, he may get UConn to burn 10-12 seconds before they start running their offense. Make the shot clock your friend. I don't know why any mediocre defensive team like Miami would even think of playing UConn straight up in man or a 2-3 zone. Larranaga has to use something exotic.
 

UConnSwag11

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No way Andre goes cold. One, he is not looking for shots from the arc. Two, if he misses a couple treys, he will stop taking those shots. No way we endure seeing him clanking 5 of them again.
This. I don’t think he or the coaching staff will allow him to shoot more that maybe 2. He’s doing so well driving to the lane and if there’s nothing there, keeping the dribble alive.
 
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This. I don’t think he or the coaching staff will allow him to shoot more that maybe 2. He’s doing so well driving to the lane and if there’s nothing there, keeping the dribble alive.
He shot at leat 4 or 5 against Gonzaga he worries me but just a little.
 
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Diarra might get some run in this game. He a really get in a guys shorts and make him uncomfortable. That could be valuable as we try to wear them down.
Thinking boat here. Nice.
 
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Baiting AJax into shooting wide open 3's is a mediocre strategy. It also has the problem with giving him a running start at penetration where he can do some real damage.

If I was Larranaga I would play some kind of 3/4 court trap out of the gate, but not every possession. Make the UConn guards work and burn clock to get the ball up, but don't force an adjustment. The risk is that UConn turns the pressure into a fastbreak, but if it is not full pressure, he may get UConn to burn 10-12 seconds before they start running their offense. Make the shot clock your friend. I don't know why any mediocre defensive team like Miami would even think of playing UConn straight up in man or a 2-3 zone. Larranaga has to use something exotic.
A slower game favors us as we can bang down low.as does a fast game. This may be the reveal of the anticipated double bigs.
 
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I can't be the only one who would pay good money to be a fly on the wall in the coaches' room this week. As good as Miami and Texas are I was heartened by the fact that we'd have a week of prep for either of them. These guys have been really good on the game plans thus far.
 

FfldCntyFan

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If they stop any two of Sanogo, Hawkins or Newton, they have a good chance of of winning. How? Given their penetrating 4 guard offense, take it to the basket and get a favorable whistle. BTW, as good as we looked against the Zags, offensively, Miami was much better against Texas. They shot 59% to our 40% and had basically a 2:1 advantage on the free throw line. Doomed may be an understatement, if our defense does not show up.
 

Dream Jobbed 2.0

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Sanogo has looking to pass more and it was effective but he didn’t shoot great last game. He forced it a little too much but it may have been fatigue/hunger/dehydration
 
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Andre makes 3’s every few games. He’s due. I perceive our biggest issue in this game as ball control. Don’t turn the ball over and rebound. If we take care of the ball they won’t have the opportunity to pull this game out. We do everything else too well.
 
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The players, Ajax and Hawk are quoted as saying Luke is a hoop genius. Then they just do what he tells them to. How much sleep for coaching staff this week?
 

caw

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I see them putting Pack on Newton and play him tight, Wong on Hawk to start and switch with Poplar or Miller as well.

They basically play a 4 guard line up. Now who do put Karaban on Miller? I fear AK might see early foul trouble.

That makes the most sense to me for them defensively.


I will say this, I think they are poor defensively partially by design. They are like Creighton in that they only really have five guys who scare you, their starters. The main difference is they don't have an eraser in the middle. They do go eight, but 6-8 aren't near the players 1-5 are (good, serviceable but not near the starters). They can't afford foul trouble. I think it's one of the reasons you have seen them go on late runs. They start playing harder defense as the game winds down, while still making tough shots. I am not saying they are world-beaters defensively but I do think they have a second gear they don't usually exert until the end of games.

Sanogo is going to have his hands full with Omier to start. He is a load. Not that he will back Sanogo down, but it will be hard for Sanogo to back him down also. Sanogo should be able to shoot over him but getting close shots might be hard. Depends on how the refs call things. I don't think they double the post at first and rely on Omier being strong enough and having a lower center of gravity to keep Sanogo a step or two outside of his kill zone.

Personally, if they can stay out of foul trouble and commit fully to defense I would put Pack on Newton and Poplar on Jackson and pressure both. I want to take away Jackson's passing sight lines as much as possible and make Newton pick up his dribble. Letting Jackson stand at the top of the key with no-one around waiting for a man to cut, or a screen to be set and a man to get open is a recipe for disaster for other teams unless your off the ball defense is top notch.

Wong is fast and athletic enough to stay on Hawkins around screens but I have yet to see him commit to defense for more than 10 minutes a game.
 

Waquoit

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Andre makes 3’s every few games.
I don't want him (or Adama) letting it fly from the elbows but wide open from the top of the arc is a good shot even for AJ.
 
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A slower game favors us as we can bang down low.as does a fast game. This may be the reveal of the anticipated double bigs.
The double bigs are only anticipated by a few on this board. We made it to the final 4 wiping out every team in our path. I think the verdict is in as to who was on the right side of this argument. Could it be helpful for a short stretch against certain teams or if we play a zone? Maybe sure, but I don't see a matchup against any of the teams left that would warrant us trying it.
 

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