I'm expecting some heat from this post, BUT...

[bnoro]

Wild thought now that it seems like the entire roster might be turning over for next year. We know now that Red cannot coach man defense. The guy that we supposedly brought in for that purpose (Englestad) can't coach man defense. We have a clean slate to recruit, with some really athletic wings coming in.

*Whispers* does Red say screw it and build next year's team as a 2-3 zone defensive team?

Personally, I wouldn't be completely against it after watching Kansas almost zone Arkansas to death on Thursday...

 

[OrangeTarheel]

Is there really no coach available that we could hire to teach man defense? Is that not something we can do?

 

[Sdot]

If JJ and Donnie do come back which is likely those are 2 starters that did not play good defense. The 2-3 would definitely help them play defense.

 

[wiseman3]

I wouldnt mind it. At least we'd have an identity, which we had none of this year

 

[Toga]

Bring in Gary Payton. The Glove is currently the HC at something called the College of Alameda.

 

[NineOneSeven]

LIFE IS A CIRCLE

 

[phil77]

Wild thought now that it seems like the entire roster might be turning over for next year. We know now that Red cannot coach man defense. The guy that we supposedly brought in for that purpose (Englestad) can't coach man defense. We have a clean slate to recruit, with some really athletic wings coming in.

*Whispers* does Red say screw it and build next year's team as a 2-3 zone defensive team?

Personally, I wouldn't be completely against it after watching Kansas almost zone Arkansas to death on Thursday...

I think running some version of defense like Will Wade does. I find that style very enjoyable. Always changing different zones, man, traps, etc just different stuff all the time down the court but that takes very very good coach but we don't have that right now.

So I would settle for simple things like being able to identify shooters and then not go under screens leaving those players wide open for 3's. You know just basic concepts. That would be a start.

 

[Ghost]

We need some kind of defense that involves ALWAYS opting to go under the screen - no matter the situation.
We've already established a solid foundation with that.

 

[miamicuse]

Do we need string beans with 7 foot wing spans to cover the corner 3?

 

[JustPherU]

Do we need string beans with 7 foot wing spans to cover the corner 3?

I saw wide open threes after wide open threes the entire tournament so far.Really haven’t seen much zone being played but teams that play man give up as many open threes as zone teams do.JB was right when he used to say all the time how teams that play man give up threes but nobody talks about it.

 

[OptimusOtto]

Would love to see Red actually employ some of the concepts he talked about when he first got the job. Go to certain looks depending on the matchup. And if the team isn’t good defensively there are tricks such as a loose press to slow the opponent down. Not this half assed pull out the 2-3 on baseline out of bounds possessions.

 

[OrangeFoo]

What gives anyone confidence he can coach zone any better than m2m? What made the JB zone so effective was the rotations, the help D, the traps usually on the baseline and JB’s ability to morph the zone as needed. In a lot of ways a good zone requires more coaching and strategy than a m2m defense. I’m skeptical a coach who apparently has one m2m defense strategy which is “stay in front of your guy” can teach a good zone. I think we would give new meaning to the term “tavern league zone”

 

[Newhouser]

It doesn't have to be just one D. Run some 1-2-2 full court stuff. 1-3-1 whatever. Switch stuff up. May suck at them all but at least may steal some possessions.

I hope red is watching offenses in the tourney. BYU and Drake and a host of other schools run sets we have never run.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Does it matter?

No matter what D gets run, we need better athletes, size and aggression. Playing passive D and creating no turnovers won’t work.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Red struggles to coach basic defensive fundamentals. There’s zero chance he, or anyone on his current staff, can coach advanced defensive schemes.

I’m still anxiously waiting to see if there’s any staff turnover. I know he needs them for portal recruiting. But after that is complete there needs to be at least one change.

 

[Hopkins16]

Bring in Gary Payton. The Glove is currently the HC at something called the College of Alameda.

His personality is too strong and would overwhelm Red.

 

[MELOKEITH]

I've always thought, especially with shorter shot clock times, that it would be advantageous to switch from man to zone more often, like every couple of possessions to keep the offense off balance and burning a few seconds identifying what set they need to be in. Couple that with token full court pressure (even just by one person) after made baskets to burn a few more seconds off the shot clock as well and you give them a lot less time to work with.

 

[OttosShoes]

I like this idea. Maybe he wasn't coaching for his job this year but he will be next. Stuff wasn't working, time to make big changes.

There was also that 1-2-1-1 press we ran a bit early on in the season. I thought it showed a lot of promise but not sure we had the endurance for it. Maybe we get some guys in who can just jet across the floor all game. Y'kno, like Red always used to do. Play that often and collapse it into a 2-3.

 

[Toga]

It doesn't have to be just one D. Run some 1-2-2 full court stuff. 1-3-1 whatever. Switch stuff up. May suck at them all but at least may steal some possessions.

I hope red is watching offenses in the tourney. BYU and Drake and a host of other schools run sets we have never run.

The 1-3-1 drains 6-7 seconds off a shortened play clock. IDK why more teams don't do it.

 

[atlanticuse]

I like zone. How easy is it for kids to learn zone today?
I think - maybe - that the sit year helped our transfers, and we saw freshmen not play that much.
sure, 2003 we had Melo and GMac, but we also had other older guys.
And our good transfers had a year to learn.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Wild thought now that it seems like the entire roster might be turning over for next year. We know now that Red cannot coach man defense. The guy that we supposedly brought in for that purpose (Englestad) can't coach man defense. We have a clean slate to recruit, with some really athletic wings coming in.

*Whispers* does Red say screw it and build next year's team as a 2-3 zone defensive team?

Personally, I wouldn't be completely against it after watching Kansas almost zone Arkansas to death on Thursday...

They probably know how to teach an adequate man defense. It’s just that they don’t demand the sustained effort that is required. The details, the footwork, the communication and mental concentration all require 100% effort every possession. Red doesn’t know how to be a tough cop. It might just be that simple.

Practicing man defense against SU iso ball may not be helping matters either.

 

[kirbivore]

What gives anyone confidence he can coach zone any better than m2m? What made the JB zone so effective was the rotations, the help D, the traps usually on the baseline and JB’s ability to morph the zone as needed. In a lot of ways a good zone requires more coaching and strategy than a m2m defense. I’m skeptical a coach who apparently has one m2m defense strategy which is “stay in front of your guy” can teach a good zone. I think we would give new meaning to the term “tavern league zone”

Also opposing shooters in the pre Steph Curry generation that weren't as good.

 

[cusefan88]

If they keep Donnie, he and Sadiq have athleticism that can be used in 3/4 court pressure, zone etc. Not the craziest thought considering how bad M2M was.

 

[capeorange]

It doesn't have to be just one D. Run some 1-2-2 full court stuff. 1-3-1 whatever. Switch stuff up. May suck at them all but at least may steal some possessions.

I hope red is watching offenses in the tourney. BYU and Drake and a host of other schools run sets we have never run.

Based on what we saw so far, it doesn't appear that he is a student of the game. He was a good player but that doesn't necessarily make him a good teacher.

 

[Scooch]

Our problem was never zone, per se.

The problem was that (a) we played it badly and (b) we played it exclusively (aside from a desperation press that we also played poorly).