Will we improve against the zone?

[Palatine]

We did get better over the course of the year. However, in the championship game, we were blowing out Kentucky until they went into a zone. That changed the game completely.

I think the zone probably remains our Achilles Heal. We lose three very good three point shooters in DD, Giffey and Bazz. Our best bet this year will probably be Boatshow with the dribble, drive and pull up.

It should be interesting in the early going to see how many teams zone us and how we counter.

 

[Gurleyman]

We did get better over the course of the year. However, in the championship game, we were blowing out Kentucky until they went into a zone. That changed the game completely. I think the zone probably remains our Achilles Heal. We lose three very good three point shooters in DD, Giffey and Bazz. Our best bet this year will probably be Boatshow with the dribble, drive and pull up. It should be interesting in the early going to see how many teams zone us and how we counter.

The zone had far less to do with it than the fact that Boat and DD were on the bench with 2 fouls. That's what changed the game (both second fouls were touch fouls too) - didn't matter what defense they played, we were left with Bazz on an island on offense. When they tried zone in the second half, we got a layup from DD - just as we did three times against Florida against their zone.

Could be a problem next year though - depends on how reliable Purvis, Hamilton and Omar are from the arc.

 

[aceboon]

We did get better over the course of the year. However, in the championship game, we were blowing out Kentucky until they went into a zone. That changed the game completely.

I think the zone probably remains our Achilles Heal. We lose three very good three point shooters in DD, Giffey and Bazz. Our best bet this year will probably be Boatshow with the dribble, drive and pull up.

It should be interesting in the early going to see how many teams zone us and how we counter.

it changed the game completely because 2 of our better players to attack it were on the bench. Florida went 1-3-1 and 2-3 and they got ate up in both halves of the Final 4 game.

 

[Excalibur]

We really only struggled against the zone this year when the opponent's backcourt had a significant size advantage that closed off the passing lanes.

 

[OkaForPrez]

]

Could be a problem next year though - depends on how reliable Purvis, Hamilton and Omar are from the arc.

Julius Hodge ‏@Follow24Hodge Jun 11
On the real: Rodney Purvis improvement since his freshman year? WHOAAAA!! His skill level, ball handling, jump shooting off the drib? yikes!

 

[Waquoit]

That changed the game completely.

Like they way they went from never leading to never leading?

 

[Kitaman]

Why the thread? We don't play cuse anymore and still won a Championship.

 

[caw]

This reminds me of the fallacy of how poorly UConn played on offense in 2011s NC game. Same issue. Can't play well when 2-3 or more of your best offensive options are planted on the bench because of cheap fouls. When at full strength UConn played fine offensively both years.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I don't know about vs. zone defenses specifically, but I expect our shooting to take a big step backwards next year. Hopefully we have sufficient slashing and interior scoring to make up for it.

 

[J-dog]

The only time I will ever worry about the Zone is the day the Cuse stops featuring it…

Long live the Cuse/Boeheim Zone.

 

[8893]

The only zone that concerns me is the Louisville zone, which remains our Kryptonite. And now that they are gone, that doesn't concern me either.

 

[champs99and04]

"UConn struggles against the zone" is one of those narratives that was true at one time, but then continued to gain traction even when it wasn't. As far as I can tell, there was one game this season where they looked clueless against the zone - mostly because it was the first time they'd seen it - and then after that they were fine. Louisville doesn't count. They don't play a conventional 2-3 zone, and even if they did, they're Louisville - we just can't beat them for some reason. Aside from Louisville, the two defenses that gave us far and away the most trouble this season were Cincinnati and SMU - teams we played a combined five times - and they both played strictly man-to-man. As others have alluded to, Kentucky getting back into the national title game had less to do with the switch to the zone and more to do with Boatright and Daniels going to the bench. We would have struggled with any defense with those two on the bench.

People forget, there was a time this season where UConn was sub-100 in offensive efficiency. There were times when you wanted to gauge your eyes out watching it, and the majority of those occurrences were against man-to-man defenses. The problems with this recent UConn team - even then they've all been forgotten at this point, and rightfully so - were not zone-induced.

 

[Palatine]

Stanford going zone also caused us problems. It flat stopped our offense.

I watched this scenario play out in many times. Out troubles against zone were real and should be addressed. To deny there is a problem isn't a good way to a weakness.

 

[maineuconnfan]

we won the championship...who cares

 

[intlzncster]

We didn't really have a problem with the zone. We had a problem with Louisville. Outside of a bad half against Stanford, I don't recall any zone killing us appreciably.

 

[Gurleyman]

We didn't really have a problem with the zone. We had a problem with Louisville. Outside of a bad half against Stanford, I don't recall any zone killing us appreciably.

Even if we had zone issues at times - it'll be a new year, new personnel, new strengths, new ways to attack it, so last year's lessons aren't even all that useful. The same lob to DD might not get us the same results. It may very well be Boat, Purvis and Hamilton driving and shooting the gaps for midrange shots or kicking out for threes that's more effective (or Facey crashing the boards) and we'll have to develop and fine tune that as the season goes. I like the thought in theory of Hamilton shooting over the top of late-arriving guards at the top of a zone, but we'll see in practice if he can make those often enough.

Thing is, when you look at Florida, they killed us on D early with aggressive man to man (trapping Bazz). We got back in it with transition threes, settled down a bit, and in the second half when they tried their zone, we turned it into a layup drill. Kentucky tried zone a couple times in the second half and we got a wide open 3 for Giff in the corner and a DD layup. End of zone. By the end of the year when it mattered (and when we had our personnel) we ate zones up.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

What I've noticed is that zone defenses cause us the most problems when we lack a seasoned high vision PG. When we have had passers like MW, AJP, and Bazz, we generally do pretty well to very well against zones. It will be a test for Boat to see how well he can do at making clean entry passes. Boat has struggled to be able to get the ball to the open man at the free throw line. Boat played with such focus and intensity in the tourney--the change was incredible--that I have some real optimism about how Boat will do all around. I hope that Purvis can sharpen his passing skills in the cupcake part of the season and be a multidimensional threat. It should be a fun year, with some real ups and downs.

 

[intlzncster]

What I've noticed is that zone defenses cause us the most problems when we lack a seasoned high vision PG. When we have had passers like MW, AJP, and Bazz, we generally do pretty well to very well against zones. It will be a test for Boat to see how well he can do at making clean entry passes. Boat has struggled to be able to get the ball to the open man at the free throw line. Boat played with such focus and intensity in the tourney--the change was incredible--that I have some real optimism about how Boat will do all around. I hope that Purvis can sharpen his passing skills in the cupcake part of the season and be a multidimensional threat. It should be a fun year, with some real ups and downs.

And Kemba!

 

[AZHuskiePop]

We're going to be better this year in fact since one national championship seems to be insufficient. We 're going for the CCNY double championship next year.

 

[CTBasketball]

Good thread topic. Need some X's and O's discussion.

I think if we stick Facey, Hamilton, or whoever can prove to hit the FT line jumper in the middle of the zone, that opens things up a ton. The 09' team broke the zone terrifically with Adrien and Robinson sinking shots in the middle or dumping it down to Thabeet. We have better shooters than that team, and Boat/Purvis should be able to light it up on kick-outs. Brimah or Nolan should be able to finish better at the rim as well.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Hamilton should be a better shooter than Giffey this year.... Now before I get killed for saying that, Giffey was a spot up shooter who only took good jump shots. Which is why his shooting percentage was so high. If it wasn't a good shot he wasn't going to take it most likely. Daniel Hamilton should come in with a lot more confidence to shoot the ball whenever he gets any kind of open look and be better at hitting contested 3s so you really have to D him and not just account for him. Which would make him a better shooter. I don't want to sleep on Faceys shooting skills either. What I like about both Facey and Hamilton compared to Giffey and Daniels is that they both actually jump to shoot. So they can get more shots off comfortably without as much space.

In my bold opinion both guys will be upgrades on the offensive end and Facey will be an upgrade on the boards. It's the defensive end where our seniors will probably be truly missed this year. Hopefully these guys are ready to step in and step up.

 

[Excalibur]

Stanford going zone also caused us problems. It flat stopped our offense. I watched this scenario play out in many times. Out troubles against zone were real and should be addressed. To deny there is a problem isn't a good way to a weakness.

Like I said, we struggled against the zone whew the opponent had a significant size advantage in the backcourt. Stanford had that.

 

[J-dog]

During the tournament it never seemed to matter what defense the other team threw
at us…

Every one of our opponents came into the game thinking they would impose their will on UCONN but it never worked. We forced every opponent to make adjustments to our play & ultimately they couldn't keep up. I don't think any one of us saw that coming & that made it even sweeter!

 

[intlzncster]

Like I said, we struggled against the zone whew the opponent had a significant size advantage in the backcourt. Stanford had that.

You mean like Florida and Kentucky? Because, as Gurley said, we shredded those zones.

2nd half Stanford we shat our pants. Louisville = Kryptonite. The zone outside of that wasn't too much of a factor at the end.

 

[Inyatkin]

What I like about both Facey and Hamilton compared to Giffey and Daniels is that they both actually jump to shoot. ... In my bold opinion both guys will be upgrades on the offensive end

It might be a long year if you go into it with those expectations.

 

[Deleted at users request]

It might be a long year if you go into it with those expectations.

I think you forget how they were playing before the tournament which is really what I'm comparing it too. DeAndre was great during the tournament but very inconsistent before it. Giffey was more hesitant before the tournament too. They stepped up big time when the bright lights came on though.

 

[Inyatkin]

I think you forget how they were playing before the tournament which is really what I'm comparing it too. DeAndre was great during the tournament but very inconsistent before it. Giffey was more hesitant before the tournament too. They stepped up big time when the bright lights came on though.

All I'm saying is people constantly put too much stock in unknown players, and in this case you're predicting two guys who have done nothing at this level will be an upgrade over two multi-year contributors who had proven plenty even before they won a national championship.

 

[Deleted at users request]

What would a message board be without predictions though? All I know is athletically and size wise Facey and Hamilton will fit in their positions a lot better. DeAndre's biggest problems his freshman and sophomore year is he was a 3 with no handle so he was forced to play 4 because of that and the lack of depth. Giffey was a guy who had confidence issues throughout his career until the tournament but played hard and was a glue guy who hit open 3s, played great defense, and rebounded well.

Hamilton's confidence combined with his shooting ability should make him a better shooter than Giffey coming in. He won't replace him in the areas of defense and rebounding though off the bat because he still has to get stronger and get a feel for the college game. His decision making and control will not be anywhere near as good either.

We saw Facey was a pretty good rebounder last year with a motor. Throughout DDs career his flaw was his consistency because of his motor. Facey will be a bigger and longer 4 who can get up off the floor a lot better. It's not hard to assume he will be a better rebounder. If he improved on his strength a lot over this summer and learns fast enough I wouldn't be surprised if he is better on the defensive end too. He probably isn't going to be as good of a 3 point shooter but at the same time he isn't going to rely as heavily as DD did on the shot anyways. He could be more like Payne from MSU with his 3 point shot and selection.