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Message: [QUOTE="cuse522, post: 2079873, member: 1149"] I graduated in '08, so I saw a couple years of teams that were not very good in the zone but had some talented man-to-man defenders. It drove us nuts that they never used man. Once I saw a bigger sample of 'Cuse hoops (I grew up out of state so wasn't a lifelong fan), I started to love the 2-3 for its impact in the tournament and for how ferocious it is with the right players who know how to play it. With that said, I love the idea of a) being willing to get out of the zone when your team is not suited to play it and b) being willing to throw a curveball a few possessions a game to keep opponents on their toes. Like, the teams in 06-07 and 07-08 could have been tourney teams IMO playing man-to-man for stretches. I wonder if this year's team could have won a couple more games, especially earlier in the year, playing some man. When it's not against us, I enjoy watching Louisville play defense because they are aggressive, mix it up, will press a lot, etc... Also, more and more top programs are taking fifth-year one and dones, but they are obviously a liability in the zone and limit our pool of talent. I also wonder if, to some degree, playing the zone is one of the reasons players don't seem to stay when they're in between as a potential mid-late first round pick. Sure, it's cold, and that may make some want to leave... But I wonder how often our talented players leave early because their family/friends/advisers are saying "Why waste another year playing in a zone learning stuff that you'll never use in the NBA?" It can also limit our ability to get the most out of talented freshman... So I'd love to see us go something like 75/25 over the course of the season. [/QUOTE]

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