Henry's Defense

[DaCoach]

By now all BE teams have a game profile on Marquette. Therefore it comes an no surprise we see a repetition of the following.
1. As a team we stink from the 3 point line. 27% vs BE
2. As a result our results against zones are poor. Opponents pack the inside and it prevents our drivers from gaining clean lanes. It also means fewer offensive RB.
3. Cheatham is not an alternative at PG. He leads the team in TO. Henry also has a 2:1 TO to assist ratio.
4. As a team, despite the twin towers, we've been outbounded by 6.3/game.
5. HE is terrible defending outside the paint. He gets beat off the dribble and then is in no position to rebound.

We're young but I'd like to see an improvement in these areas. So far, that's only been a goal, not an achievement.

[tower912]

Henry is learning to guard the perimeter.   He never had to in HS and now he finds himself guarding 6'8 guys who are much quicker than he is.   He doesn't have quick feet and his technique is still poor.  He isn't physically strong enough to guard the Big East widebodies when he is defending the post, but at least his technique is better.     
Going back a few years, one of the failings of the Oxtule experiment was that neither Gardner nor Otule could guard the perimeter.   This year, our two best players are Luke and Henry, they have different games offensively so they don't get in each other's way like Oxtule did, but neither can guard quicker forwards on the perimeter.   

From a rebounding perspective, after Luke and Henry, every single player MU has is smaller and skinnier than the player they are guarding.   And they all have guard backgrounds, meaning it isn't an instinct for them to go in and grind for rebounds. 

[CTWarrior]

When Henry was guarding the bigs they went right at him and had success.  When they switched him to a perimeter guy, they went right at him and had success.  We need to play more zone in the rematch.

[brewcity77]

When Henry was guarding the bigs they went right at him and had success.  When they switched him to a perimeter guy, they went right at him and had success.  We need to play more zone in the rematch.

Watching Farr work on him in the post when Luke came out was painful. The kid has tons of talent, but his defense needs a lot of work. Doesn't stand strong defensively in the post, not quite quick enough to keep up with guards on the perimeter.

[mu_hilltopper]

If you had to NBA draft a guy based on one game .. would you pick Farr or HE on yesterday's game?

[brewcity77]

If you had to NBA draft a guy based on one game .. would you pick Farr or HE on yesterday's game?

Good question. Farr was a beast, but he was also overwhelming a far less physical defender. Doesn't have a ton of lift, showed no ability to score outside the paint, and couldn't create his own shot. Henry wasn't great yesterday by any stretch, but still managed 20/7 and was more efficient from the field than Farr was.

Based on yesterday alone, I'd say Farr looked more ready to step in and get minutes right away, but still doesn't have the potential Henry does. Don't forget, Farr is a 23-year-old senior and Henry just turned 19. So if I'm a NBA guy, I still take Henry. Still has the edge in size, room to grow physically, and a far more diverse game. Farr may have been the better player on the day, but I'd chalk that up to 3 more years in a college system and being 4 years older.

[Dawson Rental]

If you had to NBA draft a guy based on one game .. would you pick Farr or HE on yesterday's game?

Could I take into account the fact that one has 3.5 years of Division I experience vs 1/2 years Division I experience?

[avid1010]

If you had to NBA draft a guy based on one game .. would you pick Farr or HE on yesterday's game?

HE because he has a slight chance of becoming a dirk nowitski type player...as where what you see now is likely what you will get from farr.  looking at farr's stats...he did squat for 3 years at xavier and finally in his senior year he's nearly a 10/10 guy.  hopefully wojo is able to recruit and develop a farr type player so we have experienced big men that are serviceable in their junior/senior years.  will be interesting to see heldts development as i think a recruit of his standing in high school is ver realistic on a regular basis. 

[Dawson Rental]

Henry is learning to guard the perimeter.   He never had to in HS and now he finds himself guarding 6'8 guys who are much quicker than he is.   He doesn't have quick feet and his technique is still poor.  He isn't physically strong enough to guard the Big East widebodies when he is defending the post, but at least his technique is better.     
Going back a few years, one of the failings of the Oxtule experiment was that neither Gardner nor Otule could guard the perimeter.   This year, our two best players are Luke and Henry, they have different games offensively so they don't get in each other's way like Oxtule did, but neither can guard quicker forwards on the perimeter.   

From a rebounding perspective, after Luke and Henry, every single player MU has is smaller and skinnier than the player they are guarding.   And they all have guard backgrounds, meaning it isn't an instinct for them to go in and grind for rebounds.

The question I still have is, on the perimeter, is Henry getting out quicked physically or is it his lack of experience showing?  Hopefully its the later and HE can defend better out there as he gets more accustomed to Division I perimeter play.

[tower912]

A little of both.   You can compensate for lack of pure foot speed if you understand positioning and the tendencies of the opponent, as well as solid fundamentals.