I’m really surprised and so pleased to see us playing the kind of man to man, high pressure, switching defense that we’ve shown so far. It was certainly hard to have faith that Coach Autry and his staff had the ability to install and execute this 180 degree turnaround in defensive style from the Boeheim days. The first couple of cracks at it were so poor that it really didn’t seem fathomable. The zone had certainly gone stale and a need for change was something probably 90% of us wanted. What it changed to initially was so disheartening that some were asking for the zone back.
Excited to be seeing modern defensive basketball, and to also see the sharing of the ball on offense so far is beyond encouraging. Great job by Red and his staff, credit for working hard to recreate a defensive culture. I was skeptical it would happen under this regime. So glad to be wrong so far. Hope that it can continue when JJ returns as he was a part of the prior squads who struggled. If he’s not cutting it, will be on the coaches to have the guts to demand it or consequences of a reduced role.
Go Cuse!