- Joined
- Aug 31, 2014
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- 28
We have never been a team that has run precision half-court offenses. I half-jokingly always say that if someone ever kept such a stat that UConn would lead the nation every year in "dribbles per possession". However, last year the 3-point shooting of Giffey, Daniels, Napier and Boatright stretched out defenses and we were always a 3-4 shot "shooting streak" away from either putting a game away or getting us out of a deficit.
So what options do we have to overcome our offensive woes? Here are just 2 options, with reasons why it may not be such an easy hole to climb out of:
*** Full-court pressure/half-court traps defensively: 20 years ago, teams like Yale would get pressured into submission by most top 20-30 teams. But nowadays it seems even low d1 teams have enough skilled ball handlers/passers to beat pressure. Loads of 4's can now handle, but how many 4's can pressure them full-court defensively?
*** Inside scoring: not many teams have strong offensive post players and we're not an exception. The Facey/Nolan spot is an offensive hole; combined, they average less than 6 points per game and Brimah is improving, but still inconsistent.
*** Better half-court sets: Boatright, while he has had an outstanding year, isn't a true PG. So teams surround him when he penetrates and without a knock down shooter, we don't score. Maybe some more half-court sets to free up Hamilton off of curls, or even to get the ball to Nolan or Facey coming off of screens (as opposed to just dumping it into them on the block and expecting them to score).
Season's still young, but we've hit 70 points just once in 6 games. Defense may win championships, but man is bad offense tough to watch. Just ask the football fans.
So what options do we have to overcome our offensive woes? Here are just 2 options, with reasons why it may not be such an easy hole to climb out of:
*** Full-court pressure/half-court traps defensively: 20 years ago, teams like Yale would get pressured into submission by most top 20-30 teams. But nowadays it seems even low d1 teams have enough skilled ball handlers/passers to beat pressure. Loads of 4's can now handle, but how many 4's can pressure them full-court defensively?
*** Inside scoring: not many teams have strong offensive post players and we're not an exception. The Facey/Nolan spot is an offensive hole; combined, they average less than 6 points per game and Brimah is improving, but still inconsistent.
*** Better half-court sets: Boatright, while he has had an outstanding year, isn't a true PG. So teams surround him when he penetrates and without a knock down shooter, we don't score. Maybe some more half-court sets to free up Hamilton off of curls, or even to get the ball to Nolan or Facey coming off of screens (as opposed to just dumping it into them on the block and expecting them to score).
Season's still young, but we've hit 70 points just once in 6 games. Defense may win championships, but man is bad offense tough to watch. Just ask the football fans.