Defense...

[A Clockwork Orange]

An old axiom in basketball is that "good defense doesn't take days off." I think you saw an example of that last night. This is a pretty solid defensive team, and they held their own against a perennially top-shelf defensive squad.

The on-ball pressure is excellent, as are the hedges by our bigs. Kiyan seemed overmatched defensively last night (may have been who he was matched up with most of the time; I'll be paying attention today against Kansas). The other players all played solid help defense and didn't give up many easy opportunities.

This almost feels like an old-school Jim Boeheim-coached team—uber-athletic, solid defensively, horribly out of position defensive rebounding, and poor free-throw shooting.

• Kyle is an undersized defensive monster. He hedges well and gets back to position quickly.
• Sadiq has the opportunity to be phenomenal defensively, but he's not quite there yet. Faked out too many times, and has his athleticism and aggressiveness used against him from time to time. If he can be more in control, he can dominate a game simply from the defensive side of the ball.
• Kingz is a solid perimeter defender. Moves his feet well and keeps his man in front of him.
• Betsey is a step slow on the defensive end, but it shows that he's putting in tremendous effort on that end of the floor. Needs to quicken those slides in man-to-man.
• George is a solid defender, but not spectacular. Smaller, faster points can abuse him. He'll need to use his length and size to his advantage and get in faster guards' shorts as soon as they get the ball. It's like bump-and-run coverage. Stop them at the outset, and you can contain the big play.
• I think Zephir might be a solid to above-average defender, but I haven't seen him play enough to have an opinion.
• Kiyan is the weak link, but his driving ability on the other end can somewhat offset it. He has the body size to be an effective defender, but he seems to take after his old man a little bit on the "ole" defense. He has quicker feet than Melo, which can help him if he commits to it and improves his defensive positioning a bit. As polished as he is on the offensive end, he's just as raw on the defensive end. If he doesn't pick it up defensively and his offensive contributions lag, he may lose some minutes as the season progresses.
• JJ is an enigma. I think it's all about effort with him. He played really well defensively last night, but last year, he was an all-or-nothing defender. He was a steal or a bucket. He needs to be more consistent on the defensive end, but last night was a step in the right direction.

Another old axiom is that good defense breeds more good defense. My hope is that the effort and positioning on defense are rubbing off on JJ. Good team defense makes good defenders better. It can also help hide some weaknesses (like free throw shooting...ugh). If this team wants to compete night in and night out, the defense will need to play like they did last night for a chance at a special season. If that effort lags, this team is a borderline NCAA team.

I have high hopes they will continue their defensive artistry. The game against Kansas today will tell us a lot about this team. They're not quite on Houston's level, but they are a dangerous team. If SU wants to make a splash, this is a game they need to win.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I thought George looked excellent on defense last night. Aggressive but also not giving up too many looks in the lane by over committing. He really pressures guys by going for steals but still has the quickness to not give them any space. Was concerned given his ratings for the last two years were a little shaky, especially as a freshman, but he looks like he is continuing to improve. He was hounding his matchups yesterday and never coasted on that end.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Kiyan has to cheat on guys strong hands and learn to force guys to where help is. They caught him twice last night beating him easily for baseline layups. He will learn to adjust. He’s a smart player and will see it on film. His length means he can play a half step more off his man until he figures it out. JJ was great last night. His block on the drive was impressive. He is only going to get better. You notice he’s been knocking down his first three pointer he takes in almost every game, but then doesn’t make another one.

 

[SUFan44]

The most encouraging thing about the start to the season is our play on the defensive end of the ball.

I had my reservations about how it would translate against top teams, but last night showed that it can be effective against anyone we play. And defense travels -- on the road, when you aren't shooting the ball well, it will keep you in games.

As of today, according to KenPom, we are #1 in the COUNTRY in effective field goal percentage defense at 37.0%. We are 23rd in the country in turnover percentage defense. And 49th overall in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Just to put that into perspective, last year we were 152nd in defensive efficiency and 275th in effective FG% defense. We have not had this good a defense since 2018-19 when we underachieved (IMO) and stunk at the end of the season (in no small part due to our point guard play).

Granted those numbers could normalize in the next week with the games against Kansas, Tennessee and whoever we play in the 3rd game in Vegas, but I am extremely encouraged by the effort, cohesion, and overall aptitude we are showing at that end of the floor.