Defense for this year?

[denverMU]

With a team made-up of predominately (5 guards and 5 forwards) quick, mid-height, athletic players and no real strong presence in the middle will Buzz play any zone defense or any press any this year?

[pillardean]

With a team made-up of predominately (5 guards and 5 forwards) quick, mid-height, athletic players and no real strong presence in the middle will Buzz play any zone defense or any press any this year?

I was thinking the same thing.

I think the base D will still be man to man, but I wouldn't doubt it if Buzz threw some zone in periodically throughout the game-say an extended 1-3-1 after makes for a few minutes during the game.  I think, I could be mistaken, last year they threw a 1-3-1 zone at the Rodents and that kind of solidified the victory (I think that was the game). 

[GGGG]

I was thinking the same thing.

I think the base D will still be man to man, but I wouldn't doubt it if Buzz threw some zone in periodically throughout the game-say an extended 1-3-1 after makes for a few minutes during the game.  I think, I could be mistaken, last year they threw a 1-3-1 zone at the Rodents and that kind of solidified the victory (I think that was the game). 

Yes...that was an absolutely brilliant move.  MU hadn't played 1-3-1 all year until that point.

But please no press.  Pressing by and large is a bad defense that doesn't work well against good teams.

[LON]

Yes...that was an absolutely brilliant move.  MU hadn't played 1-3-1 all year until that point.

But please no press.  Pressing by and large is a bad defense that doesn't work well against good teams.

The only press I really like is picking up the ball at 3/4 court to keep the opposition from walking the ball up the court.  With DJ playing it had potential of causing TOs, but I'm not sure if this would be a good strategy with Mo Acker.

[GGGG]

The only press I really like is picking up the ball at 3/4 court to keep the opposition from walking the ball up the court.  With DJ playing it had potential of causing TOs, but I'm not sure if this would be a good strategy with Mo Acker.

Yeah, but that's not really a press.  That's just ball pressure.

[tower912]

What are we accused of this year?    4 guards, 5 forwards, 2 bigs, BTW.  A whole lot is going to depend on what kind of defenders we have.    Are DB and DJO good on-ball defenders?   Can Jeronne guard the post?    Can he move his feet fast enough to defend a 3 on the perimeter?     How is JF's knee and movement?    Is he back to being a poor man's Shaun Marion and can he play m2m?    Butler showed he can guard the 5 in spurts last year.    Do EWill's high school shot blocking skills translate to D1 hoops?   Can he guard on the perimeter?      Like everything else on this team, far too many unknowns.    The best I can predict is a work in progress.

[downtown85]

What are we accused of this year?    4 guards, 5 forwards, 2 bigs, BTW.  A whole lot is going to depend on what kind of defenders we have.    Are DB and DJO good on-ball defenders?   Can Jeronne guard the post?    Can he move his feet fast enough to defend a 3 on the perimeter?     How is JF's knee and movement?    Is he back to being a poor man's Shaun Marion and can he play m2m?    Butler showed he can guard the 5 in spurts last year.    Do EWill's high school shot blocking skills translate to D1 hoops?   Can he guard on the perimeter?      Like everything else on this team, far too many unknowns.    The best I can predict is a work in progress.

if the answers to all of the above is "yes" then I like our chances.   

Seriously, Buzz's defensive philosophy is very different than our pervious coach's.  Just look at the opponents FG% (higher under Buzz, lower under Crean) and our FT attempt differential (higher under Buzz, lower under Crean.  Buzz's approach is to defend without fouling whether it is m2m or zone.  Although Buzz had a veteran group of players at the start of the season last year, he had to start from scratch in terms of teaching his defensive approach.  If you look at this year's group of players, they are not all rookies.  The JC transfers are sophomores or juniors.  By all reports, Maymon has bought in and is teachable.   EW is still a defensive question mark but it seems that we may have a pretty solid unit. 

[ErickJD08]

Yes...that was an absolutely brilliant move.  MU hadn't played 1-3-1 all year until that point.

But please no press.  Pressing by and large is a bad defense that doesn't work well against good teams.

I get the point but the press is ineffective against good guards/ball handlers.  It does work against weaker guard teams.  I could be wrong but I think Louisville plays a ton of press and they are not too shabby.

[GGGG]

I get the point but the press is ineffective against good guards/ball handlers.  It does work against weaker guard teams.  I could be wrong but I think Louisville plays a ton of press and they are not too shabby.

I think we are saying the same thing.  IMO, "weaker guard teams" means that you are not a "good team."  Louisville tends to use the press as a change of pace more than anything.