Virginias "Great" Defense

[STEVEHOLT]

That team has a very good Team defense with their sell out hard hedges on all high screens
which is a bad match for us given our heavily screen oriented offense .

However , Virginia doesn't have any individual lock down defender like they had in
Brogdon. Just like last year , once we quit playing into their hands, dumped the screening and just let guys take their men off the dribble, they had no answer

 

[Jack Hall]

That team has a very good Team defense with their sell out hard hedges on all high screens
which is a bad match for us given our heavily screen oriented offense .

However , Virginia doesn't have any individual lock down defender like they had in
Brogdon. Just like last year , once we quit playing into their hands, dumped the screening and just let guys take their men off the dribble, they had no answer

I havent seen a better defense this year, but then again this is the year of games in the 80s and 90s...JB claimed it was the best defensive team in the country , for whatever thats worth

 

[CaptainJ]

Wasnt Brogdon the guy who sold Walt White the carwash?

While I'm at it, this is what the JB to Hop hand off might look like. "Who would have ever thought...", and "As is".

 

[Coach Orange]

I havent seen a better defense this year, but then again this is the year of games in the 80s and 90s...JB claimed it was the best defensive team in the country , for whatever thats worth

They are a solid defense, but we have two players that can create offense one-on-one. Some of the possessions were actually strong defensively for Virginia; our kids just made better offensive plays. Usually, great offense will beat great defense. Our kids deserve props for making plays and shots against solid defense today.

 

[Jack Hall]

They are a solid defense, but we have two players that can create offense one-on-one. Some of the possessions were actually strong defensively for Virginia; our kids just made better offensive plays. Usually, great offense will beat great defense. Our kids deserve props for making plays and shots against solid defense today.

Do you see a "great" defense in college ball this year? On a consistent basis? Villanova? Anyone else?

 

[elkeed]

That team has a very good Team defensewith their sell out hard hedges on all high screens
which is a bad match for us given our heavily screen oriented offense .

However , Virginia doesn't have any individual lock down defender like they had in
Brogdon. Just like last year , once we quit playing into their hands, dumped the screening and just let guys take their men off the dribble, they had no answer

That team has a very good Team defense with their sell out hard hedges on all high screens
which is a bad match for us given our heavily screen oriented offense .

However , Virginia doesn't have any individual lock down defender like they had in
Brogdon. Just like last year , once we quit playing into their hands, dumped the screening and just let guys take their men off the dribble, they had no answer

I seem to remember Malachi unlocked Brogden last year

 

[Coach Orange]

Do you see a "great" defense in college ball this year? On a consistent basis? Villanova? Anyone else?

Great defense? Hmm...that's a good and difficult question. I guess it depends on the definition of "great." I'm not sure teams have elite talent long enough in today's game to be "great." Really good? Virginia's defense is really good, but they couldn't handle two solid iso players at the same time today. Part of that is tied to their freshmen guards not being strong enough physically yet. Those two kids look like they will be players eventually, though.

Nova's d is pretty good, but not as good as Virginia's. South Carolina has a really good defense, but it isn't unbeatable. Gonzaga's defense looks good, but we'll see when they play teams on their level in the tournament how good it really is. Of course, L'Ville and Baylor (zone teams for all of the zone lovers, though Louisville obviously changes their defense up) are sound defenses that prove zones can work.

The current enforcement of the rules has helped offenses. There's less clutching and grabbing than there was even three years ago, along with less automatic charges being called. Scoring is up as a result.

 

[Dave85]

I thought UVA was very good getting two players to collapse on a player receiving the ball on the perimeter. Once we spread them out they were not able to collapse. Now what need is Battle driving to rim at lightning speed while White moves into position for a kick out and an open look. Today Battle was not looking to pass. I thought at the beginning of this season we would see lots of driving to the rim and kicking it out to White. They really need to design some kind of motion play.

 

[Jack Hall]

I thought UVA was very good getting two players to collapse on a player receiving the ball on the perimeter. Once we spread them out they were not able to collapse. Now what need is Battle driving to rim at lightning speed while White moves into position for a kick out and an open look. Today Battle was not looking to pass. I thought at the beginning of this season we would see lots of driving to the rim and kicking it out to White. They really need to design some kind of motion play.

Agreed, i think we need to get a little better at inside out passing if we want to pull off a huge win on the road...

 

[Jack Hall]

Great defense? Hmm...that's a good and difficult question. I guess it depends on the definition of "great." I'm not sure teams have elite talent long enough in today's game to be "great." Really good? Virginia's defense is really good, but they couldn't handle two solid iso players at the same time today. Part of that is tied to their freshmen guards not being strong enough physically yet. Those two kids look like they will be players eventually, though.

Nova's d is pretty good, but not as good as Virginia's. South Carolina has a really good defense, but it isn't unbeatable. Gonzaga's defense looks good, but we'll see when they play teams on their level in the tournament how good it really is. Of course, L'Ville and Baylor (zone teams for all of the zone lovers, though Louisville obviously changes their defense up) are sound defenses that prove zones can work.

The current enforcement of the rules has helped offenses. There's less clutching and grabbing than there was even three years ago, along with less automatic charges being called. Scoring is up as a result.

I was thinking maybe SC until they gave up 75 to Georgia today.lol

 

[Coach Orange]

I was thinking maybe SC until they gave up 75 to Georgia today.lol

lol Every team has those games. Never as good as your best game or as bad as your worst, right? They're still a good defense, just like Virginia is still a solid defense despite our ridiculous shooting percentage in the second half.

 

[SUinSC]

I havent seen a better defense this year, but then again this is the year of games in the 80s and 90s...JB claimed it was the best defensive team in the country , for whatever thats worth

UVA has the best perimeter defense I've seen and probably what he was referring to because we were lost during the last 10 mins of the 1st half putting up bad long-range shots with under 5 sec on shotclock, but once we started driving, that changed the game. During his presser, JB gave credit to Gerry/Hop on the halftime decision for that move

 

[007]

Gotta disagree here. Bennett is an exceptional coach and, despite their games against us, Virginia plays exceptional defense. They are fundamentally sound in every facet of team defense. As a former coach, they are impressive to watch. Right down to rebounding. When a shot goes up, their bigs immediately get in position to box out, make contact, and move people away from the rim. It happened to Robby all night.

I would bet that if you polled the HCs in the ACC, Bennett would be at the top of the list as toughest to play against. It's easy to see how much JB respects him, even though he has his number lately.

 

[sugrad68]

Gotta disagree here. Bennett is an exceptional coach and, despite their games against us, Virginia plays exceptional defense. They are fundamentally sound in every facet of team defense. As a former coach, they are impressive to watch. Right down to rebounding. When a shot goes up, their bigs immediately get in position to box out, make contact, and move people away from the rim. It happened to Robby all night.

I would bet that if you polled the HCs in the ACC, Bennett would be at the top of the list as toughest to play against. It's easy to see how much JB respects him, even though he has his number lately.

I don't think many coaches like to play against Pitino either.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Question, especially for those who sat nearer to the north end of the dome in the first half. I sit next to the students on the opposite end. From my vantage point it appeared that in the first half a UVA player tripped an SU player and was called for the foul. I can't recall which SU player it was but I remember turning asking "did I just see a Grayson Allen type trip?" People around me were asking why it wasn't intentional. Was it just incidental? Tough to see from where I was to judge it. Thanks.

 

[samspann1]

Question, especially for those who sat nearer to the north end of the dome in the first half. I sit next to the students on the opposite end. From my vantage point it appeared that in the first half a UVA player tripped an SU player and was called for the foul. I can't recall which SU player it was but I remember turning asking "did I just see a Grayson Allen type trip?" People around me were asking why it wasn't intentional. Was it just incidental? Tough to see from where I was to judge it. Thanks.

It was Jerome. I agree that the play looked very Grayson-esque.

Pretty sure that it was also the first foul called against UVa, more than 9:00 in.

 

[longtimefan]

I thought UVA was very good getting two players to collapse on a player receiving the ball on the perimeter. Once we spread them out they were not able to collapse. Now what need is Battle driving to rim at lightning speed while White moves into position for a kick out and an open look. Today Battle was not looking to pass. I thought at the beginning of this season we would see lots of driving to the rim and kicking it out to White. They really need to design some kind of motion play.

I like the way they're using White now. Early on, I think he was mostly just a spot-up shooter. Now, he's putting the ball on the floor and getting into the lane, and sometimes all the way to the rim. He's much more difficult to defend than he was before.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I guess my main point that got lost here is that against a team that hedges the screens as hard and honestly wrecklessly as UVA , screening plays right into their hands unless you have someone that is really good at slipping them and either finishing or dishing

 

[SoBeCuse]

I think they really miss Gill as well. He was a dynamite help defender, physical guy, and rebounder.

 

[MarketCuse]

It was Jerome. I agree that the play looked very Grayson-esque.

Pretty sure that it was also the first foul called against UVa, more than 9:00 in.

Yeah I made the same mention and it also made me think of the following:
Of all the types of intentional fouls the easiest ones to prove intent on are the ones that involve the legs and feet IMO. Often times the defender will look where he wants his foot or leg to be before putting it there as to minimize their own risk of injury. So why do they review all the elbows which are often quite subjective in proving intent while ignoring the obvious tripping.

No I'm not advocating reviewing all tripping fouls but I think they have more potential for causing serious injury than any hands and elbows. Except for a shove to the back while airborne, but that never needs review.

I personally think Grayson's antics have all been intentional and he should have suffered multiple 10 game suspensions by this point. He lacks self control to a malicious level IMO.

 

[bballbeadle]

Question, especially for those who sat nearer to the north end of the dome in the first half. I sit next to the students on the opposite end. From my vantage point it appeared that in the first half a UVA player tripped an SU player and was called for the foul. I can't recall which SU player it was but I remember turning asking "did I just see a Grayson Allen type trip?" People around me were asking why it wasn't intentional. Was it just incidental? Tough to see from where I was to judge it. Thanks.

Both from my vantage point and when I watched the game on the dvr, there seemed to be some intentionality. I thought in real time, we were making too big a deal of it, but when I watched it on tv I was surprised by how it looked like he deliberately stiffened the leg. However, it was more likely unintentional. I am afraid Grayson Allen has tainted fans' perceptions of contact.

I rather dread when he comes to the Dome.

 

[RF2044]

I think they really miss Gill as well. He was a dynamite help defender, physical guy, and rebounder.

Agreed, Gill and Toby were great finishers inside. The current group isn't -- huge difference in today's game.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Agreed, Gill and Toby were great finishers inside. The current group isn't -- huge difference in today's game.

Toby as well. Yep, that's other big I was thinking of. Thanks.

 

[MarketCuse]

lol Every team has those games. Never as good as your best game or as bad as your worst, right? They're still a good defense, just like Virginia is still a solid defense despite our ridiculous shooting percentage in the second half.

They are definitely a great defensive team, we just happen to have the right personnel to exploit their weakness this year. As JB said we relentlessly attacked two of their weakest defenders all second half with penetration. Those two players also happen to be UVA's best offensive players against the zone so they were going to be on the court as long as we kept up the pressure offensively.

Our offensive pressure got into their heads in the second half and it completely destroyed their composure at the opposite end of the floor. It was a fine piece of coaching today with great defensive effort.

 

[CaptainJ]

Both from my vantage point and when I watched the game on the dvr, there seemed to be some intentionality. I thought in real time, we were making too big a deal of it, but when I watched it on tv I was surprised by how it looked like he deliberately stiffened the leg. However, it was more likely unintentional. I am afraid Grayson Allen has tainted fans' perceptions of contact.

I rather dread when he comes to the Dome.

I don't know about Grayson, taints, stiffening, and contact. I think the hoopla about the HIV had more of effect on me.

Fact of the matter I think Grayson is going to be more of a draw than dread for the Dome, and a number of SU fans will be hoping for contact, with him on the receiving end. Time will tell!