So we’ve completely distanced ourself from the zone?

[Cuse_NYC]

I can’t remember us playing it at all thus far. Why not try? Not like we look like a shut down m2m team.

 

[Dcuse]

And it begins.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

And it begins.

You don’t see a reason to play it? Our guards don’t stay in front of d2 guards and our bigs can’t cover guys in the post.

 

[wiCuse]

C'mon guys, Red is saving it for Binghamton.

 

[Dcuse]

You don’t see a reason to play it? Our guards don’t stay in front of d2 guards and our bigs can’t cover guys in the post.

No,no,no,no.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

No,no,no,no.

Reason being?

 

[CbusCuse]

I'm sure Red has it as a change of pace, switch up defense as most teams do. I mean we actually have the length out there for it now up top and have athletic bigs, so it would be kind of strange to never play it. But certainly hope its not used all that much. We need to be primarily M2M moving forward.

 

[tbonezone]

good teams need to be able switch up and play both. the old excuse of " we don't have the players " was BS. translation for "i'm too old and lazy to coach M2M anymore ".

 

[Dcuse]

Reason being?

It might be fine to throw it in as a quick changeup. But you're not seriously suggesting we go back to a zone defense as a base...are you?

 

[Cuse_NYC]

It might be fine to throw it in as a quick changeup. But you're not seriously suggesting we go back to a zone defense as a base...are you?

I never said that. Just to mix it up. The man ain’t exactly looking like a world beater.

 

[Nicknack]

I never said that. Just to mix it up. The man ain’t exactly looking like a world beater.

I'm with you. Why not have another look that you could throw at a team when things aren't working.

 

[ManleyRocks]

You have 12 guys that can play….I would run a high pressure pressing defense from end line to end line….with no one playing more than 25 minutes. Given that some of the guys are interchangeable at a variety of positions, you have at least 4 centers, 4 forwards, 5 guards. Run the other team absolutely ragged. Speed the game way up on offense so the other team can’t settle into their defense…attack the basket. Most teams by 12 minutes left in the second half will be sucking wind. Lots of athletes on this team and a lot of height. No need to play like Colgate or Princeton! Be relentless on both sides of the court. Create mayhem.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

You have 12 guys that can play….I would run a high pressure pressing defense from end line to end line….with no one playing more than 25 minutes. Given that some of the guys are interchangeable at a variety of positions, you have at least 4 centers, 4 forwards, 5 guards. Run the other team absolutely ragged. Speed the game way up on offense so the other team can’t settle into their defense…attack the basket. Most teams by 12 minutes left in the second half will be sucking wind. Lots of athletes on this team and a lot of height. No need to play like Colgate or Princeton! Be relentless on both sides of the court. Create mayhem.

Red (over his first 2 yrs) presses less than Boeheim did. And our m2m clearly isn’t great

 

[CuseFan]

I sure expect that we have more than just man to man defense. Red has to have match up zones, 2-3s, triangle & 2, whatever. Even to just mix it up. Has to. Just has to.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

I sure expect that we have more than just man to man defense. Red has to have match up zones, 2-3s, triangle & 2, whatever. Even to just mix it up. Has to. Just has to.

Lol have you seen any sign of him being capable of implementing these?

 

[NineOneSeven]

You have 12 guys that can play….I would run a high pressure pressing defense from end line to end line….with no one playing more than 25 minutes. Given that some of the guys are interchangeable at a variety of positions, you have at least 4 centers, 4 forwards, 5 guards. Run the other team absolutely ragged. Speed the game way up on offense so the other team can’t settle into their defense…attack the basket. Most teams by 12 minutes left in the second half will be sucking wind. Lots of athletes on this team and a lot of height. No need to play like Colgate or Princeton! Be relentless on both sides of the court. Create mayhem.

We need Donnie Freeman playing 34+ mpg.

 

[Ottoman]

At the risk of being negative, I could get behind any change to our current defense. It has been BAD for 2 years, and I don't see much improvement. And if I'm being honest, the 2-3 defense was at least interesting to watch.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

I can’t remember us playing it at all thus far. Why not try? Not like we look like a shut down m2m team.

We've come full circle.

Played nothing but zone for over 25 years and there were endless threads about how we should be playing M2M - especially towards the end.

Now we play nothing but M2M and the zone threads are starting.

The Wheel of TIme.

 

[Cuse_NYC]

We've come full circle.

Played nothing but zone for over 25 years and there were endless threads about how we should be playing M2M - especially towards the end.

Now we play nothing but M2M and the zone threads are starting.

The Wheel of TIme.

We can be predominantly man, but this team may thrive with a little zone. It will help our guards who don’t seem to be great defenders. Feel it will def help with rim protection, as the back line can cover an area and help out, rather than just their guy.

 

[HoustonCuse]

We've come full circle.

Played nothing but zone for over 25 years and there were endless threads about how we should be playing M2M - especially towards the end.

Now we play nothing but M2M and the zone threads are starting.

The Wheel of TIme.

It simply proves what a lot of people said: you can play any defense if you do it well. Our garbage M2M is a joke, does that mean a garbage zone would be better? Nope. When JB had the personnel and the fire his zone was one of the best defenses in CBB, you could probably give the All America team to Red and his defense would be ranked 175 regardless if it was man, zone, amoeba, whatever.

 

[Archbold44]

We need Donnie Freeman playing 34+ mpg.

When he was on his game, Boeheim played the best players the most. Why play inferior players? 1984 Georgetown played 10 guys. Still…Ewing 32 mpg, Ralph Dalton 8 mpg. Even Thompson was not dumb enough to go 25/15. And I bet some of those Dalton minutes were foul trouble for Ewing.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

We can be predominantly man, but this team may thrive with a little zone. It will help our guards who don’t seem to be great defenders. Feel it will def help with rim protection, as the back line can cover an area and help out, rather than just their guy.

Not saying you are right or wrong. Just making an observation.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

When he was on his game, Boeheim played the best players the most.

LOL...And we've come full circle on this one too.

 

[Archbold44]

LOL...And we've come full circle on this one too.

My point is that even the coaches that go 10 deep are not stupid enough to play their best players 25 MPG. If you have a high level player, it would be wise to give them 32+ MPG... use subs at other positions.

 

[Orangezoo]

I’d love to know if there are analytics out there that show the impact of forcing the longest amount of time for an opponent to get past half court and the defensive efficiency associated with that.

The zone was masterful when JB was at his best with long talented athletes and then when the game was best suited to deploy it. The things it did like pressure the offense into bad shots or turnovers diluted over time because of so many players being capable of hitting the 3.

Now with the shorter shot clock it would seem analytics should tell a story that confirms forcing the opponent to use up 5 to 8 seconds to beat pressure and then have a much more condensed possession in the half court to beat a zone should still be a very successful strategy creating much of the same issues as the old zone but modified to account for the current game more.

Now whether that’s a 2-3 , 3-2 or some other hybrid, amoeba etc is where coaching chops come in.