My troubling thought

[August_West]

Where’s the defense?

Coach built this team to win low scoring games. 55-53, 65-60 etc. That’s what our hopes and hat were hung on going in. We lost our singular offensive talent ( bouk), but we thought that we were elite defensively and could make up for the offensive hit.

We are decent rim protectors, better than average, but I don’t think anyone foresaw how woeful we are one on one guarding. It’s not any single player. We have a team full of players, all of them, who can’t guard their positions in ISO. It’s our biggest but most unspoken issue. And it is a killer. We came out finally running great stuff at beginning of 2nd half today getting good looks for Sanogo and Cole and scoring points and after 4 minutes of that we actually lost slight ground because we can’t get a stop. And it’s not just nova. Pretty much every loss ( notably seton hall, but creighton too) are from exploited isos .

I hate it. And I’m afraid we don’t have an answer at the flip of a switch, and opposing coaches watching tape will only compound the exploitation.


Easy to point at our woeful offense. It’s bad, but our D stops are not on point.

And blah blah blah come in and say “ we are 12th in Merlin the math magicians defensive efficiency”

My answer to that is “ not when it counts”

Just like we have some wonderful offensive stats, but again not when they count.

There are key possessions every game that determine wins and losses. We miss a ton on both ends. The dagger shots don’t drop and the key stops don’t happen.

 

[JMick]

Where’s the defense?

Coach built this team to win low scoring games. 55-53, 65-60 etc. That’s what our hopes and hat were hung on going in. We lost our singular offensive talent ( bouk), but we thought that we were elite defensively and could make up for the offensive hit.

We are decent rim protectors, better than average, but I don’t think anyone foresaw how woeful we are one on one guarding. It’s not any single player. We have a team full of players, all of them, who can’t guard their positions in ISO. It’s our biggest but most unspoken issue. And it is a killer. We came out finally running great stuff at beginning of 2nd half today getting good looks for Sanogo and Cole and scoring points and after 4 minutes of that we actually lost slight ground because we can’t get a stop. And it’s not just nova. Pretty much every loss ( notably seton hall, but creighton too) are from exploited isos .

I hate it. And I’m afraid we don’t have an answer at the flip of a switch, and opposing coaches watching tape will only compound the exploitation.


Easy to point at our woeful offense. It’s bad, but our D stops are not on point.

And blah blah blah come in and say “ we are 12th in Merlin the math magicians defensive efficiency”

My answer to that is “ not when it counts”

Just like we have some wonderful offensive stats, but again not when they count.

There are key possessions every game that determine wins and losses. We miss a ton on both ends. The dagger shots don’t drop and the key stops don’t happen.

This team doesn't do anything when it counts and it's the biggest problem. And it comes from the top. Team plays too tight and gets in their own heads. It results in poor decisions.

 

[Giddyup5]

I agree. I was expecting elite top 10 defense with the athletic ability of Jackson, Martin, Adama, Akok, Whaley.

We have been terrible lately. And defensive rebounding counts as defense and we struggle with that too.

 

[Conndog]

This lack of isolation defense happens near the basket. If the players aren't skilled enough to defend well enough by themselves, then someone needs to help them. Choose your poison, a team like Villanova always has good shooters and they find the open person for the 3 point shot. Still, and especially if the shot clock is winding down, doubling up down low may be the best bet, and it's good to pay attention to their best shooters still so at least they won't be the ones killing us.

 

[UncleSpliff]

Ajax is dreadful on defense. Whaley has regressed bigtime from last year. Cole is 5-11. Martin is halfway decent and Sanogo’s defense is way behind his offensive abilities at this point.

 

[Marat]

I agree. I was expecting elite top 10 defense with the athletic ability of Jackson, Martin, Adama, Akok, Whaley.

We have been terrible lately. And defensive rebounding counts as defense and we struggle with that too.

Even with the inability to stop the penetrator, this team has been very solid on defense. As you said recently they have been terrible. I don't know if it's because they have been focusing too much on improving the offense in practice after shooting so poorly recently. Seeing Whaley jump for every pump fake and then fouling is happening way too often for the defensive player of year. I don't get it. I mean others are doing it too much as well, but why IW.

 

[Palatine]

Even if our defenders were elite -- and they are not -- the defense is completely predictable. Opposing offenses know our rotations as well as we do. That gives opponents comfort. They are never under stress. They know what to do.

 

[connVA]

If Hurley is indeed the defensive master he claims to be, he needs to focus on correcting his team’s recent defensive incompetence during games instead of acting like a petulant child with the refs. The refs are not the reason Daniels made Sanogo look like a rec player on defense today, Danny Boy.

 

[jdb50]

We let teams iso us close to the basket and no one doubles. Today was a clinic by Nova on that. Our crappy defense is one reason we have lost double digit leads multiple times this season in the blink of an eye.

 

[Spaceman213J]

Today wasn't about indiviudal defensive skills. It was about team IQ, will and trust.
It was really embarassing the way they played defensively. Everyone knows the scouting report for Gillepsie and the guy got like 10 open 3 pt attempts. They missed so many rotations or left the basket unguarded. Jackson and Polley especially looked like they needed a map to find their defensive assignment.
I'd ban Jackson from shooting his lane '10 foot floater'. I still love his upside, but when he doesn't value the ball and can't stick a man on defense, Hurley needs to sit him for long stretches. Maybe, it'll motivate him to take better care of the ball and know where he is suppose to be on defense.

Today's game made me really long for the days of JC. I still like Hurley as a coach, but he has to send a message to players when they make a bad decision. An example of what I'm talking about is with Martin. He was great early on. But one possession in the 2nd half he took aan early 19 foot contested jump shot. JC would have called a timeout and personally led him to the bench. If Hurley would do that with any of the players at any time, it I think it would start limiting bad possessions and poor decisions.
Anybody remember when JC yanked a young Caron Butler in the first 30 seconds of a game?

 

[uconnfan68]

Where’s the defense?

Coach built this team to win low scoring games. 55-53, 65-60 etc. That’s what our hopes and hat were hung on going in. We lost our singular offensive talent ( bouk), but we thought that we were elite defensively and could make up for the offensive hit.

We are decent rim protectors, better than average, but I don’t think anyone foresaw how woeful we are one on one guarding. It’s not any single player. We have a team full of players, all of them, who can’t guard their positions in ISO. It’s our biggest but most unspoken issue. And it is a killer. We came out finally running great stuff at beginning of 2nd half today getting good looks for Sanogo and Cole and scoring points and after 4 minutes of that we actually lost slight ground because we can’t get a stop. And it’s not just nova. Pretty much every loss ( notably seton hall, but creighton too) are from exploited isos .

I hate it. And I’m afraid we don’t have an answer at the flip of a switch, and opposing coaches watching tape will only compound the exploitation.


Easy to point at our woeful offense. It’s bad, but our D stops are not on point.

And blah blah blah come in and say “ we are 12th in Merlin the math magicians defensive efficiency”

My answer to that is “ not when it counts”

Just like we have some wonderful offensive stats, but again not when they count.

There are key possessions every game that determine wins and losses. We miss a ton on both ends. The dagger shots don’t drop and the key stops don’t happen.

Most are a step too slow, and some have a tendency to bite on fakes (AJ). AJ should have completely taken Gillespie out of the game. He’s taller, longer reach, jumps much higher, and then he lets the guy get into his chest under the basket. Why can’t he stay 2’ away and just block his shot, every time?

I was shocked that we went to a zone, even for a just a minute, but really happy we did something different for a change. Been yelling at the tv for a few years now… need to get some players/shooters back on our team. They’re out there, why can’t we find them? Kemba, Bazz, and Boat spoiled me.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Even if our defenders were elite -- and they are not -- the defense is completely predictable. Opposing offenses know our rotations as well as we do. That gives opponents comfort. They are never under stress. They know what to do.

And whos fault is that?

 

[polycom]

I told you we were an awful defense team and you gave me a hard time and now you write this post at least give me credit smh. Next time trust my basketball opinion

 

[giddyup]

We let teams iso us close to the basket and no one doubles. Today was a clinic by Nova on that. Our crappy defense is one reason we have lost double digit leads multiple times this season in the blink of an eye.

Extended defenses create lots of open space, and Hurley has no clue how to handle teams prepared to exploit that. Today’s opening gambit was too extend the D further into a press. Wright knew exactly what Hurley would do. He let our guys wear themselves out, got front court iso(s) and challenged our bigs and got them in trouble. The game script set 10 minutes in.

 

[djct1999]

Where’s the defense?

Coach built this team to win low scoring games. 55-53, 65-60 etc. That’s what our hopes and hat were hung on going in. We lost our singular offensive talent ( bouk), but we thought that we were elite defensively and could make up for the offensive hit.

We are decent rim protectors, better than average, but I don’t think anyone foresaw how woeful we are one on one guarding. It’s not any single player. We have a team full of players, all of them, who can’t guard their positions in ISO. It’s our biggest but most unspoken issue. And it is a killer. We came out finally running great stuff at beginning of 2nd half today getting good looks for Sanogo and Cole and scoring points and after 4 minutes of that we actually lost slight ground because we can’t get a stop. And it’s not just nova. Pretty much every loss ( notably seton hall, but creighton too) are from exploited isos .

I hate it. And I’m afraid we don’t have an answer at the flip of a switch, and opposing coaches watching tape will only compound the exploitation.


Easy to point at our woeful offense. It’s bad, but our D stops are not on point.

And blah blah blah come in and say “ we are 12th in Merlin the math magicians defensive efficiency”

My answer to that is “ not when it counts”

Just like we have some wonderful offensive stats, but again not when they count.

There are key possessions every game that determine wins and losses. We miss a ton on both ends. The dagger shots don’t drop and the key stops don’t happen.

All true if your sample set was yesterday. Mostly false if you extend your analysis further.

 

[HuskyFich]

Most are a step too slow, and some have a tendency to bite on fakes (AJ). AJ should have completely taken Gillespie out of the game. He’s taller, longer reach, jumps much higher, and then he lets the guy get into his chest under the basket. Why can’t he stay 2’ away and just block his shot, every time?

I was shocked that we went to a zone, even for a just a minute, but really happy we did something different for a change. Been yelling at the tv for a few years now… need to get some players/shooters back on our team. They’re out there, why can’t we find them? Kemba, Bazz, and Boat spoiled me.

Dude, Gillespie is BE POY material. He should eat the lunch of a jumpy, sometimes erratic sophomore. And he did.

Did not love Dixon completely dominating inside all game, especially a few times against sanogo..but when our only bigs both have 2 fouls 4 minutes into the first half, he got in a groove that no one could stop.

We have had 2 good seasons in a row. We don't get elite guards just like that...we have amazing players coming in the next 2 seasons, and Karaban and Floyd are both lock down shooters that Hurley himself has said are "as advertised."

Boat Kemba and Bazz were recruited by the best college coach of all time.

Rome wasn't built.....yada yada yada

 

[Brochacho]

What troubles me is its February 6th and we've beaten 4 top 100 NET teams. Auburn in 2OT and generally played a good game, tried very hard to give it away. VCU in OT, who sucks, and down Baldwin who averages 11/3/5 and 3 steals. Beat Marquette without Morsell who is averaging 14/3/3 and is a plus defender. We worked St. John's all game and still folded down the stretch. Our next best win was vs the Bonnies and they were down Lofton who averages 14 a game. Sure our metrics look good because we beat the crap out of crap teams and can handle the lower level BE teams, but I'm worried we are going to learn this team is fool's gold next week. We'd be fortunate to go 5-4 heading into the BET.

I do hope I'm a loser idiot and UConn goes 9-0, though.

 

[Umami Zen]

Uncontested shots/layups based on missed assignments/rotations are happening too much. Would hope that would be fixed by now. Limited or no help defense too often as well.

Also found it interesting in the huddle that Jay's voice could be heard.. "If you can get an ISO with Cole or Martin-You know you should take them one-on-one. You'll either get your shot or a foul. Went on to say-Use your head when you see that matchup." BB IQ that I wish our team had more of.

 

[Icehawk]

What was that one rotation where the basket was so undefended Polley turned around and just stood there with a disgusted look as the ball went in entirely uncontested. I mean mistakes happen but that was no bueno.

 

[Giddyup5]

I’ve said this in other threads. But we have become too 1 dimensional on defense. It requires perfect execution. Clearly we don’t have the personnel for that and it is easy to scout for other coaches.

 

[JB75]

Most are a step too slow, and some have a tendency to bite on fakes (AJ). AJ should have completely taken Gillespie out of the game. He’s taller, longer reach, jumps much higher, and then he lets the guy get into his chest under the basket. Why can’t he stay 2’ away and just block his shot, every time?

I was shocked that we went to a zone, even for a just a minute, but really happy we did something different for a change. Been yelling at the tv for a few years now… need to get some players/shooters back on our team. They’re out there, why can’t we find them? Kemba, Bazz, and Boat spoiled me.

Like I said In another thread —why does it seem like every single team in the country has a shooter but us—- I don’t get it -weird

 

[Kolumbo]

Dude, Gillespie is BE POY material. He should eat the lunch of a jumpy, sometimes erratic sophomore. And he did.

Did not love Dixon completely dominating inside all game, especially a few times against sanogo..but when our only bigs both have 2 fouls 4 minutes into the first half, he got in a groove that no one could stop.

We have had 2 good seasons in a row. We don't get elite guards just like that...we have amazing players coming in the next 2 seasons, and Karaban and Floyd are both lock down shooters that Hurley himself has said are "as advertised."

Boat Kemba and Bazz were recruited by the best college coach of all time.

Rome wasn't built.....yada yada yada

This is key. I didn't see the game but when a player picks up two quick fouls, he loses the chance to get into a groove. Even if he sits out and the score remains close, he's iced on the bench instead of getting into the flow of the game. That is the bigger problem. Especially when we have such streaky players. I was thinking, keep both Whaley and Sanogo in the game with 2 fouls because they didn't have a chance of winning without a big game from at least 1 of those two anyway. They played 27 and 24 minutes and with 4 fouls each. They left valuable minutes on the bench.

 

[Chin Diesel]

If Hurley is indeed the defensive master he claims to be, he needs to focus on correcting his team’s recent defensive incompetence during games instead of acting like a petulant child with the refs. The refs are not the reason Daniels made Sanogo look like a rec player on defense today, Danny Boy.

And part of that was no pressure on the Nova player passing the ball in to the post. Daniels got good position and always received a great looking entry pass.

 

[navery12]

This is key. I didn't see the game but when a player picks up two quick fouls, he loses the chance to get into a groove. Even if he sits out and the score remains close, he's iced on the bench instead of getting into the flow of the game. That is the bigger problem. Especially when we have such streaky players. I was thinking, keep both Whaley and Sanogo in the game with 2 fouls because they didn't have a chance of winning without a big game from at least 1 of those two anyway. They played 27 and 24 minutes and with 4 fouls each. They left valuable minutes on the bench.

That was my initial thought too, but it didn't make a difference. They both played right around their season averages in minutes, and were put back in the game with 11 minutes left in the first half trailing 16-12. They were in the game playing in their normal roles when we got the doors blown off by Nova

 

[uconnfan68]

Dude, Gillespie is BE POY material. He should eat the lunch of a jumpy, sometimes erratic sophomore. And he did.

Did not love Dixon completely dominating inside all game, especially a few times against sanogo..but when our only bigs both have 2 fouls 4 minutes into the first half, he got in a groove that no one could stop.

We have had 2 good seasons in a row. We don't get elite guards just like that...we have amazing players coming in the next 2 seasons, and Karaban and Floyd are both lock down shooters that Hurley himself has said are "as advertised."

Boat Kemba and Bazz were recruited by the best college coach of all time.

Rome wasn't built.....yada yada yada

AJ has all the physical tools to dominate Gillespie. It’s his head that needs more experience. Hopefully by next game.