I've Got Just One Question

[4everwarriors]

Is UCONN incapable of playing a zone defense or is Calhoun just plain braindead?

[miltownsports]

thats what i was thinking.  Where are his scouts and gameplanning?

[Big Papi]

Our zone on the other hand seemed to confuse the heck out of UConn.

[Pakuni]

Obviously brain dead.
Never mind all those large banner things hanging from the rafters in Storrs and those big rings on his fingers. The man clearly doesn't understand the game.

[MUCHI814]

That's quite a statement when you say a coach with the 4th most wins all-time doesn't understand the game.

[TJ]

Obviously brain dead.
Never mind all those large banner things hanging from the rafters in Storrs and those big rings on his fingers. The man clearly doesn't understand the game.

It's a valid question.  MU has been stifled by the zone in their previous two losses and looked very bad against the zone other times.  Their best wins have all come against teams that run primarily man defense.  So, why didn't Calhoun try to take advantage of this apparent weakness?

There was some hyperbole to the post, but it is still a valid question.

[TJ]

That's quite a statement when you say a coach with the 4th most wins all-time doesn't understand the game.

That's not what he said.  He used hyperbole to ask the question why UConn didn't choose to play more defense when Marquette has shown themselves to have an apparent weakness against that particular defense.

[MUCHI814]

Haha I agree with the question and the overall point, buy saying "The man clearly doesn't understand the game." about a guy of Calhoun's caliber is pretty nuts.

[Pakuni]

It's a valid question.  MU has been stifled by the zone in their previous two losses and looked very bad against the zone other times.  Their best wins have all come against teams that run primarily man defense.  So, why didn't Calhoun try to take advantage of this apparent weakness?

There was some hyperbole to the post, but it is still a valid question.

It may be valid to question why UConn didn't play more zone or question Calhoun's wisdom in not doing so. It's silly and dumb to imply the guy doesn't know how to coach.

[Pakuni]

Haha I agree with the question and the overall point, buy saying "The man clearly doesn't understand the game." about a guy of Calhoun's caliber is pretty nuts.

It's called sarcasm.

[MUCHI814]

I'm sorry if I didn't pick up on the sarcasm, haha I've some people post some pretty dumb stuff here before.

[MU gimp ONE]

maybe he knows he team isn't capable of playing a zone.  he said in a pregame interview that he is going to treat this like any other game.  if a team doesn't normally play zone, ala Syracuse, it's probably not in their best intrest to try playing it.  a really bad zone team gets exposed a lot throughout a game.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Is UCONN incapable of playing a zone defense or is Calhoun just plain braindead?

Jim Calhoun, Bob Knight, Coach K....none of them played zone.


At the end of the day, the man to man is the best defense out there which is why those great coaches go almost exclusively with it.  Tough to just "throw" it in for a game.

[SoCalwarrior]

Especially UCONN.  Calhoun said it himself.  This year's team is the youngest, quickest, most athletic and least experienced team he has ever had.  Those factors are better suited for man to man.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Especially UCONN.  Calhoun said it himself.  This year's team is the youngest, quickest, most athletic and least experienced team he has ever had.  Those factors are better suited for man to man.

I think by the end of the season we are going to be happy we played UCONN in early January rather than early March.

[TallTitan34]

Jim Calhoun, Bob Knight, Coach K....none of them played zone.

Chicos is right.  I'm pretty sure these guys didn't get to the HOF being brain dead.

[ecompt]

Maybe Calhoun feels his team is SO young that he feels they have to master the man-to-man before throwing zones into the mix. Whatever, I was very glad he stuck with it. I thought he'd switch at halftime.

[Final Four or Bust]

Jim Calhoun, Bob Knight, Coach K....none of them played zone.

Chicos is right.  I'm pretty sure these guys didn't get to the HOF being brain dead.

Maybe not, but to play man vs. us when we have proven to be dominated by a zone is at least a little bit foolish.  Then again, we haven't pressed virtually all season when many of us think our talent fits that mold the best.  I guess some things are unanswerable.

[77fan88warrior]

I think it is very strange that Knight,K and Calhoun haven't played zone against us. Teams need to be able to play more than just one defense. It is even more amazing that Calhoun didn't. I'm sure we haven't seen our last zone for the year.

[NavinRJohnson]

You can't play a zone defense if you don't have a zone defense. Its not something you can just whip up and exect to be succesful. They are a very young team and they play man to man. Would an ineffective zone really have been a better alternative? Of course not.

[dwaderoy2004]

we're a pretty young team too, and yet we were able to switch from a man to man to an extremely effective zone last night.  to suggest calhoun doesn't, or can't, teach a zone is laughable.  he has his reasons, stubbornness possibly being one of them.  he failed to switch up defenses last year to attempt to control novak either.  hard to argue with calhoun's results however...

[NavinRJohnson]

we're a pretty young team too, and yet we were able to switch from a man to man to an extremely effective zone last night.  to suggest calhoun doesn't, or can't, teach a zone is laughable. 

What are you talking about? We have always had both zone and man to man. MU players work on zone defense from the day they arrive on campus. UConn just doesn't play zone. History would seem to indicate its been a pretty sound approach for him. The suggestion that they play zone would more or less require them to put in a zone package just for Marquette. We switch from mtm to zone because we can do both effectively.