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Message: [QUOTE="maxw, post: 4961087, member: 13214"] I can read articles like these all day long! :) From an article in The Athletic: It’s probably not necessary, because [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/connecticut-huskies-college-basketball/']UConn[/URL]’s choreographed sets leave opponents’ heads spinning already. Defending UConn is like trying to multitask inside a classroom full of screaming children. An example from Saturday’s semifinal against [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/alabama-crimson-tide-college-basketball/']Alabama[/URL]: The play starts when UConn’s best shooter, [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/cam-spencer-7aGjDympTtpik78L/']Cam Spencer[/URL], catches the ball and passes to the wing, then gets a chin screen set for him by [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/donovan-clingan-YNswMDuRYddaMhk0/']Donovan Clingan[/URL] and heads toward the basket. He then loops around and sets a back screen for [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/alex-karaban-a8Om17D1ndvXz161/']Alex Karaban[/URL]. This is where the confusion for Alabama’s defense begins. Alabama’s [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/aaron-estrada-mxOwstOXeQLPQtYQ/']Aaron Estrada[/URL] and [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/rylan-griffen-z4k7WHKIzjp8aeUO/']Rylan Griffen[/URL] almost switch. [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/grant-nelson-47A7lfLn9qgLJCzq/']Grant Nelson[/URL], defending Clingan, is standing in the middle of the lane, sagging off Clingan and attempting to play the role of air traffic controller. His head is turning right and left, keeping an eye on what’s happening behind him. With the two Alabama guards confused on the switch, Spencer turns to his right and sets the first of two stagger screens meant for [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/player/tristen-newton-ROlCDW9sG2Cz3Blf/']Tristen Newton[/URL]. Newton rejects the screen and cuts to the basket. This actually gives Griffen the chance to get back in position, but then comes another screen from Clingan. And Griffen is toast. Spencer curls and gets a free-throw line jumper. Ideally, Nelson would provide help, but he was stuck in his control center in the paint and scared to fully abandon Clingan rolling to the rim. It takes three or four viewings to figure out exactly what’s happening. Now imagine trying to defend all of that in real-time. “I’ve been studying the top offenses in the country in-depth for the past five years, and UConn’s combination of off-ball screening and ball movement within their sets and the number of sets that they run makes it the [B]most complex offense [/B]that I’ve seen in that time,” says Jordan Sperber, a former video coordinator at [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/new-mexico-state-aggies-college-basketball/']New Mexico State[/URL] who has become the X’s-and-O’s czar of college basketball, documenting it all in his weekly Hoops Vision newsletter. Sperber made a UConn offense video last month titled “[B]Why This Offense is Basketball Poetry[/B].” “[B]Their halfcourt offense is picturesque[/B],” [URL='https://theathletic.com/college-basketball/team/xavier-musketeers-college-basketball/']Xavier[/URL] coach Sean Miller says. Last week, Philadelphia 76ers wing Nicolas Batum tweeted that he’s unfamiliar with watching college basketball, but “[B]the way UConn is playing is the way basketball should be taught and played. Especially at that age[/B].” Bob Hurley Sr., the father of Dan and a coaching legend himself, says all of his coaching buddies back east rave to him [B]how fun this team is to watch.[/B] [URL unfurl="true"]https://theathletic.com/5397989/2024/04/08/uconn-offense-final-four-hurley/[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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