Next game--surprise SMU with a tough zone

[scrappy2.0]

They have too many bigs to handle. If we play a box and 1 on Moore--it should keep Amida on the floor and force SMU to shoot from the outside--this is the exact formula how Cincy beat them.

If Duke can play zone--so can we.

 

[RipCity]

Box and 1 scares me unless TSam is the 1 for a good amount of time. If Boats legs tire too early, and his jumper is hindered by it, we're in trouble.

 

[itgoeslike]

UConn should use its athleticism and quickness to drive to the basket and get their bigs into foul trouble early. This should change the dynamic down low on both ends of the court and likely open up the perimeter. Need to grind this game out. Instead, if we miss our opening 3's and Brimah gets into foul trouble, it could be a long night.

 

[BoatShow]

Not a surprise now! Geez scrappy

 

[willie99]

great, we get to watch Larry Brown school us again

 

[gtcam]

great, we get to watch Larry Brown school us again

It has appeared that way to many
Like he schooled so many in his "storied" NBA career (24 seasons) with all those divisional (2) and NBA titles (1) in the time he spent there? That barely .500% (.511%) is HoF worthy.
I have nothing against Larry Brown. I am not saying he does not know the game but his performance levels are way overblown. Maybe he got into the HoF due to longevity and/or he is a genius but couldn't produce consistent championsip level play. I can think of many coaches who were in the league 10 plus years who produced at higher winning levels but were axed after one or two down years. I guess over the past 10 years it has been easier/satisfaction levels are higher and axing a coach is fashionable vs. 20 years ago.
SMU sure has UConn's number - its like a Louisville thing - UConn just doesn't match up with them at all.
BUT I have a feeling Sunday just might be UConn's day - AB has to stay in the game.

 

[scrappy2.0]

UConn should use its athleticism and quickness to drive to the basket and get their bigs into foul trouble early. This should change the dynamic down low on both ends of the court and likely open up the perimeter. Need to grind this game out. Instead, if we miss our opening 3's and Brimah gets into foul trouble, it could be a long night.

Absolutely. We need to get inside the 3 point line more and take more shots going at the basket. If we can use a zone and shut off the paint --force SMU into taking 3's while locking down Moore--we can turn the tables. In a man defense we will just get in foul trouble then exploited. I mean we can go man to man and pick up full court "at times" but throw something different this game---practice to stay in a zone where we clamp down on Moore as well really sag in and see if their guys can hit 10 or more 3's

 

[UconnDon]

It has appeared that way to many
Like he schooled so many in his "storied" NBA career (24 seasons) with all those divisional (2) and NBA titles (1) in the time he spent there? That barely .500% (.511%) is HoF worthy.
I have nothing against Larry Brown. I am not saying he does not know the game but his performance levels are way overblown. Maybe he got into the HoF due to longevity and/or he is a genius but couldn't produce consistent championsip level play. I can think of many coaches who were in the league 10 plus years who produced at higher winning levels but were axed after one or two down years. I guess over the past 10 years it has been easier/satisfaction levels are higher and axing a coach is fashionable vs. 20 years ago.
SMU sure has UConn's number - its like a Louisville thing - UConn just doesn't match up with them at all.
BUT I have a feeling Sunday just might be UConn's day - AB has to stay in the game.

Rather than UConn having its day on Sunday, can we withhold it until finals of UConn/SMU in conference championship, please. If we're dreaming about the NCAAs, let's really dream!

 

[champs99and04]

Not to be overly blunt, but duck* that. We've won four national championships playing man-to-man, and we've been one of the best in the country at doing it. It is the superior form of defense, which is why it is played by every team in the NBA in addition to virtually every team that has won a championship in the modern era. The zone is a loser's lament, it is a defense designed to hope that the other team loses instead of winning yourself. It's structurally flawed and prone to yielding match-up advantages to the opponent.

Maybe it is better to play a zone against SMU, I don't know. But playing for a temporary gain would be missing the forest through the trees. Sunday isn't about beating SMU, it's about laying the groundwork for the current players to win championships in the future, playing man-to-man. I never want to be one of those teams that shuffles back and fourth between defenses because I feel that makes it tougher to master one of them. In addition, it is a misnomer that zone teams exacerbate shooting deficiencies more so than man-to-man teams. This program has suffocated opponents in the past with their man-to-man defense, because they play it well. If this team played man-to-man defense half as well as last years team, they would be among the best defenses in the country. Don't dangle the zone crutch out for them to take and let them figure out how to play real defense on their own.

 

[scrappy2.0]

Not to be overly blunt, but duck* that. We've won four national championships playing man-to-man, and we've been one of the best in the country at doing it. It is the superior form of defense, which is why it is played by every team in the NBA in addition to virtually every team that has won a championship in the modern era. The zone is a loser's lament, it is a defense designed to hope that the other team loses instead of winning yourself. It's structurally flawed and prone to yielding match-up advantages to the opponent.

Maybe it is better to play a zone against SMU, I don't know. But playing for a temporary gain would be missing the forest through the trees. Sunday isn't about beating SMU, it's about laying the groundwork for the current players to win championships in the future, playing man-to-man. I never want to be one of those teams that shuffles back and fourth between defenses because I feel that makes it tougher to master one of them. In addition, it is a misnomer that zone teams exacerbate shooting deficiencies more so than man-to-man teams. This program has suffocated opponents in the past with their man-to-man defense, because they play it well. If this team played man-to-man defense half as well as last years team, they would be among the best defenses in the country. Don't dangle the zone crutch out for them to take and let them figure out how to play real defense on their own.

Duke plays man to man as well. This year they have gone to zones. Its pretty simple--its a strategic move against a team that has lost against it twice. Who cares about this macho ? I just want to give our guys the best chance to win. If we dont play zone for periods Amida will play 19 minutes.

 

[pnow15]

Unfortunately, we play a lousy zone. We switch to slow and get lost as hard as that is to believe. Open threes are abundant. Our zone looks like a Keystone cop fire drill. And SMU is not a one trick pony. All three of their starting front line can play.

 

[storrsroars]

SMU sure has UConn's number - its like a Louisville thing - UConn just doesn't match up with them at all.

Nic Moore is the new Peyton Siva.

 

[champs99and04]

Duke plays man to man as well. This year they have gone to zones. Its pretty simple--its a strategic move against a team that has lost against it twice. Who cares about this macho ? I just want to give our guys the best chance to win. If we dont play zone for periods Amida will play 19 minutes.

You're making my point for me. Duke plays zone because they suck at playing man. I watched the second half of the Virginia Tech game and it was an utter debacle from a defensive standpoint - their zone got torn up, their man got torn up, and VT basically did whatever they wanted. Zone defense has a lot of man-to-man principles and vice versa, so it isn't as if a team that struggles man-to-man is going to excel playing zone, much less one that they recently installed as a last ditch effort to win games. The difference between the two defenses is that teams who play man have a much higher ceiling, particularly against highly-skilled opponents. This core is hopefully going to be together for another year or two, so deviating from script now makes little sense and sends the wrong message.