The high-hedge defense | The Boneyard

The high-hedge defense

MTBingNinja

MTBingNinja

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Not nearly as much high-hedge on defense this year an I’m happy about that. I know it’s worked overall in the past though. Was always worried about an opposing coach game planning around.
 
The high hedge sure didn't look great when we high hedged early in the first half again ISU and they scored on 3 or 4 consecutive pick and roles to start the game. It stopped when DC subbed in and then we went on a run. When Adama came back I think ISU went away from the high screen or maybe we actually made an adjustment to have him back off a bit.
 
MTBingNinja said:
Not nearly as much high-hedge on defense this year an I’m happy about that. I know it’s worked overall in the past though. Was always worried about an opposing coach game planning around.
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It’s game plan-dependent and has actually been used quite a bit again this year. It was used a ton with Sanogo against Alabama and was insanely effective.

It’s not as noticeable because a) Sanogo has been much better at it this year and b) it doesn’t suit Clingan’s skill set so they’re not asking him to do it
 
It destroyed Alabama though.

Like everything else going our way so far this year, Hurley is on a great coaching run. He is using the hard hedge at right times and adjusting out at right times. His sub patterns are great and he is more restrained from the over the top sideline antics. I can be hard on him sometimes, but on the flipside I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed and glad he's ours. Even if we had taken a loss or two already, I would think that he is still pushing all the right buttons right now. He deserves a ton of praise from a a ton of angles. He really assembled a squad where all the pieces fit. That's really hard to do.
 
August_West said:
It destroyed Alabama though.

Like everything else going our way so far this year, Hurley is on a great coaching run. He is using the hard hedge at right times and adjusting out at right times. His sub patterns are great and he is more restrained from the over the top sideline antics. I can be hard on him sometimes, but on the flipside I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed and glad he's ours. Even if we had taken a loss or two already, I would think that he is still pushing all the right buttons right now. He deserves a ton of praise from a a ton of angles. He really assembled a squad where all the pieces fit. That's really hard to do.
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Agree on all of it. He's still young enough to be improving, just like our players. I respect leading by example.

I wouldn't mind another ejection in a big game to build Kimani's resume a bit more though. Maybe Creighton this time. ;)
 
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I think he realized Clingan and Sanogo aren't as quick as Whaley was and shouldn't risk stupid fouls so far away from the basket. They're both more valuable around the rim than by the half-court
 
UConnSwag11 said:
I think he realized Clingan and Sanogo aren't as quick as Whaley was and shouldn't risk stupid fouls so far away from the basket. They're both more valuable around the rim than by the half-court
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Well especially Clingan. Sanogo is still hedging. Clingan isn't really asked to do it at all. I think it explains some of our effectiveness with Clingan. It really requires a secondary rim protector, and with Johnson out, we don't have one.
 
Charting the PKI replays and so was watching for this specifically. Think these were the times Iowa St. scored in PnR in the first half. All in drop.
  • Early on, Sanogo in drop gets thrown over for alley-oop. Bit of no man's land.
  • 12:32 - Clingan in drop steps up to ball but he+Diarra aren't able to prevent pass to roll man, bounce pass dunk.
  • 11:33 - Clingan and Jackson in drop. They contain ball handler, Karaban cheats into paint to cover the roll man, his man sneaks behind for alley-oop. Jackson contested the pass but Clingan has his hands down a bit and Karaban never looks at his man and actually takes a couple steps out of the paint while his man is moving into it. Mostly on Karaban. He was in right position initially but lost track of his man.
  • 05:17 - Sanogo and Calcaterra in drop, keeps dropping never steps to ball. Calcaterra a little slow getting back to man. Sanogo never helps. They get a layup.
 
My two issues with this defensive tactic are A) the High Hedge needs to be perfectly executed by all 5 players on defense, or it can be a disaster, and B) I am not a big fan of chasing players around 5 feet above the 3 point line in half court defense unless you are running a trap.
 
Virginia's high hedge was pretty effective closing out the game against Michigan - not just a Hurley thing.
 
August_West said:
It destroyed Alabama though.

Like everything else going our way so far this year, Hurley is on a great coaching run. He is using the hard hedge at right times and adjusting out at right times. His sub patterns are great and he is more restrained from the over the top sideline antics. I can be hard on him sometimes, but on the flipside I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed and glad he's ours. Even if we had taken a loss or two already, I would think that he is still pushing all the right buttons right now. He deserves a ton of praise from a a ton of angles. He really assembled a squad where all the pieces fit. That's really hard to do.
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UConn basketball Head Coaches were both excellent in November.
 
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In the Bama game watching Adama on the high hedge was super impressive due to his stamina and motor…in the ISU game they hit those ally oops that took it away early.

Its effective we just cant use it every game
 
The high hedge prevents the ball handler from getting an open pass to the big in PnR. But Clingan is so tall he can hold his ground between the opposing players and still be in position to defend the shot or pass. And our perimeter D has been able to recover to their man quickly in these situations. Lots to like
 
WhereistheDove? said:
It’s not as noticeable because a) Sanogo has been much better at it this year and b) it doesn’t suit Clingan’s skill set so they’re not asking him to do it
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This is the answer and a comment that I made in another thread.

And all our the charted failed pnr defense above where from drop coverage not hedge.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
My two issues with this defensive tactic are A) the High Hedge needs to be perfectly executed by all 5 players on defense,
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I don't think that's a disqualifier for this crew
 
BrassBonanza said:
The high hedge sure didn't look great when we high hedged early in the first half again ISU and they scored on 3 or 4 consecutive pick and roles to start the game. It stopped when DC subbed in and then we went on a run. When Adama came back I think ISU went away from the high screen or maybe we actually made an adjustment to have him back off a bit.
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It depends a little bit on who's hedging, and who's the on-the-ball defender. Also on whether the opponent has a plan on what to do against it and can execute that plan. I saw Marquette consistently use the high hedge against Baylor, and it worked pretty darn well. Marquette's guys hedged hard, disrupting the path of the dribbler, and recovered quickly. Against ISU after half time Sanogo was better about being aggressive with the hedge and not just showing, and still recovered well to his guy.
 
The one thing I'll say, even if we don't have a shot blocker at the 4 like Samson Johnson, when Karaban has been there's he's shown great awareness and has done well stepping into the paint and contesting shots
 
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BrassBonanza said:
The high hedge sure didn't look great when we high hedged early in the first half again ISU and they scored on 3 or 4 consecutive pick and roles to start the game. It stopped when DC subbed in and then we went on a run. When Adama came back I think ISU went away from the high screen or maybe we actually made an adjustment to have him back off a bit.
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We didn’t high hedge there.
 
I am not a fan of the high hedge 5 feet past the 3 point line,. The high edge worked against alabama though. It seems that Dan Hurley may be evolving as I’ve not seen DC so as much of this. @Doctor Hoop makes a good point in that it depends who is hedging.
 
The high hedge is effective if it is NOT used every time down the court. And when the big man attacks and retreats quickly. We should only use it to disrupt or throw off the timing of the offense not our primary defense. Sanogo has improved at it over last year to be sure.
 
navery12 said:
The one thing I'll say, even if we don't have a shot blocker at the 4 like Samson Johnson, when Karaban has been there's he's shown great awareness and has done well stepping into the paint and contesting shots
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Yup. If you're going to high hedge on a few times on pick and roll possessions, you have to have a a 4 with great defensive awareness. A shotblocker is best, but if you have a high IQ guy like Karaban to body up, that's a solid option too. Our rotations down low have been much better this year IMO.
 
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Excalibur said:
Then you don’t know what a high hedge is. We got beat in drop coverage because the ball handler wasn’t disrupted enough and had an open view to lob it to the screener crashing to the rim.
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This is why I don't like the high hedge. Why are we using the center to defend a guard 25 feet from the basket? Why hedge at all? Just drop down, let the defensive guard go underneath the screen and bump the roller? If the ball-handler, who is moving east west in that situation, wants to pivot 90 degrees and launch a 25 foot pull up with his own screener right in his face, he can have the shot.

I used to be a big man-to-man defense proponent, but I have become more of a fan of zones in my middle age. Where a matchup zone ends, and a man-to-man with lots of switches begins, is a pretty gray area anyway. I saw a girls AAU team a few years ago that was playing "man" defense, but it looked a lot like a 4-1 matchup zone. The center would switch off if her player popped out to screen so she was always close to the rim. The guards could switch on every screen on the perimeter. The defenders were in the gaps up top, so the other team couldn't drive and kick out, and a pick and roll would result in a pass into traffic right at the defensive center. The only weakness was it was susceptible to a high/low attack on the center, but no one does that anymore.

Rather than figure out which 1990's defense works best against a modern, analytics offense, I would propose a modern, analytics defense.
 
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