Great Coaching

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Really? It was discussed and 10 seconds later not one player on the court was screaming for a shot.....pointing to the shot clock.....jumping up and down.....asking each other why a shot wasn't taken sooner? Watch it again.
Yes, Wojo can't be on the court, but I find it hard to believe if it was absolutely discussed immediately before the inbound, that all five players forgot the situation.

It happens fairly often in the college game.  Kids lose track, make an extra pass, face good D and don't get a shot off.

I give Wojo the benefit to of the doubt. Agree to disagree.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I have read this post and your other posts where you called this defense "great". The scheme is horrid. It builds from the outside in instead of the inside out. Fourth worst statistically defensively horrid game of the year. MU lost the other three. Markus saved us tonight.  Wojo gets kudos for throwing junk defenses out there to throw off Cartwright. Worst in the BE by far. Don't bother posting your response. Wojo earned his stripes tonight with his situationals, despite his base defense.

There has been exactly one post where I called anything about our defense great. And that was talking specifically about the Xavier game where we held a top 5 offense to under their season averages on FG%, 3P%, and eFG%. Even then I later admitted I should have added "for us" after the great.

We are a horrid defensive team. I think the majority of that is because we have two horrid on ball defenders starting at guard. Howard is to defense what Derrick Wilson was to offense. His presence on that side of the court makes his teammates worse. I don't see a defensive scheme that can hide both Howard and Rowsey without compromising the uptempo offense that is our bread and butter.

We have the same diagnosis, just think its different underlying causes. I place the blame on the player's lack of on ball defense and Wojo's inability to develop that or recruit that in his players.

[PGsHeroes32]

There has been exactly one post where I called anything about our defense great. And that was talking specifically about the Xavier game where we held a top 5 offense to under their season averages on FG%, 3P%, and eFG%. Even then I later admitted I should have added "for us" after the great.

We are a horrid defensive team. I think the majority of that is because we have two horrid on ball defenders starting at guard. Howard is to defense what Derrick Wilson was to offense. His presence on that side of the court makes his teammates worse. I don't see a defensive scheme that can hide both Howard and Rowsey without compromising the uptempo offense that is our bread and butter.

We have the same diagnosis, just think its different underlying causes. I place the blame on the player's lack of on ball defense and Wojo's inability to develop that or recruit that in his players.

Agreed and it's another reason why the next couple years we will be really good.

Markus inability to defend will be able to be hidden a bit more as we keep adding loads of size around him especially more at guard.

As important as Rowsey is to this years roster. It will be nice not having to have him and Howard on the court together for 30+ min

[We R Final Four]

It happens fairly often in the college game.  Kids lose track, make an extra pass, face good D and don't get a shot off.

I give Wojo the benefit to of the doubt. Agree to disagree.

Sounds good. Great win tonight.

[Dr. Blackheart]

There has been exactly one post where I called anything about our defense great. And that was talking specifically about the Xavier game where we held a top 5 offense to under their season averages on FG%, 3P%, and eFG%. Even then I later admitted I should have added "for us" after the great.

We are a horrid defensive team. I think the majority of that is because we have two horrid on ball defenders starting at guard. Howard is to defense what Derrick Wilson was to offense. His presence on that side of the court makes his teammates worse. I don't see a defensive scheme that can hide both Howard and Rowsey without compromising the uptempo offense that is our bread and butter.

We have the same diagnosis, just think its different underlying causes. I place the blame on the player's lack of on ball defense and Wojo's inability to develop that or recruit that in his players.

Maybe I am blurring your posts and the love fest here for your post...plus, the Paint Touches blog posts on this. My response may be an overreaction to the defensive philosophy.  My problem with these posts are they blur the reality of how bad this defensive scheme is...not that it doesn't reflect the personnel but because, with this offense, with just a mediocre defense, MU could be Top 10.  Worst MU defense in my lifetime.

I believe Wojo can construct a mediocre scheme better than this crap. 

Signed,
Six more wins!

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Really?  Our defensive scheme (or whatever that was) was shredded which is why we had foul trouble in the first place.  Driving lanes everywhere and wide open guys under the basket all game.  Heroic effort by Howard was why we won, not coaching brilliance.

I agree.  If this title was "recruiting brilliance" I'd be all in. 

[tower912]

It was a great win, an all-time great performance from Markus.    Defensively, this team is going to struggle.    Two tiny guards, two skinny freshmen, 9 players......       One day, there will be a balanced, experienced roster.    Then, finally, we will know how good Wojo's defensive philosophy is.   For now, keep shooting. 

[WarriorFan]

I agree, Ed Cooley coached a hell of a game.   Did an amazing job with limited resources.  In my opinion, the best X and O coach in the big east.

Oh, this post was about Wojo?   He's getting better...

[tower912]

I agree, Ed Cooley coached a hell of a game.   Did an amazing job with limited resources.  In my opinion, the best X and O coach in the big east.

Oh, this post was about Wojo?   He's getting better...

.....did an amazing job with limited resources......    Wojo has 9 guys ever night.    How many points can realistically be expected from Heldt, Froling, John, Elliot, Cain, and Anim combined on any given night?

[brewcity77]

I get that the defense is a problem, but strictly from a man management standpoint last night was excellent from Wojo. You won't win often with a 28-17 foul disparity on the road when you have three players to zero fouling out.

No one can deny Markus' heroics, but just as important was us still having 5 guys on the court in overtime.

[tower912]

Maybe wojo should have just followed Vogue's idea and let them play until they fouled out. 

[BallBoy]

Really? It was discussed and 10 seconds later not one player on the court was screaming for a shot.....pointing to the shot clock.....jumping up and down.....asking each other why a shot wasn't taken sooner? Watch it again.
Yes, Wojo can't be on the court, but I find it hard to believe if it was absolutely discussed immediately before the inbound, that all five players forgot the situation.

So as Wojo was talking to the team not a single assistant or player mentioned "Coach, there is only 10 seconds on the shot clock. Maybe we should have play for that" or right after they did, Wojo said "no let's go with a 24 second play" .   To me the more likely scenario is a lack of execution.

[GGGG]

I think its funny that the only complaint I ever consistently see on here about the defense is the bigs hedging on screens....yet I rarely see us give up a bucket because of it. It is a tried and true defensive strategy used by many coaches. I think us fans just have a harder time diagnosing defensive problems than offensive ones.

I don't think there is any scheme that would magically turn this into a good defensive team. Howard and Rowsey are pis poor on ball defensive players. That is why our defense is so poor. They cannot contain anyone on the perimeter and it puts our other players into tough positions, hence the constant foul trouble. But what they bring on offense outweighs what they take away on defense. As long as they are our stars, we will be a poor defensive team, no matter the scheme. A pack line or a zone might make us marginally better, but it would slow down the tempo and hurt our offense. Only way we win is if we run, gun, and outscore the other guy.

Yep. People complained about Buzz hedging screens too and that team was much better defensively. This is a personnel problem more than anything.

[jsglow]

One of the keys at the end was that we still had guys in natural positions.  Theo - #5, Sammy - #4, Cain - #3, Markus - #2, Rowsey - #1.

Really needed to avoid double OT.

[GGGG]

I have read this post and your other posts where you called this defense "great". The scheme is horrid. It builds from the outside in instead of the inside out. Fourth worst statistically defensively horrid game of the year. MU lost the other three. Markus saved us tonight.  Wojo gets kudos for throwing junk defenses out there to throw off Cartwright. Worst in the BE by far. Don't bother posting your response. Wojo earned his stripes tonight with his situationals, despite his base defense.

You keep saying "built from the outside in."  You think a pack line defense would be better?  I think teams would shoot right over it. And I think it would slow the pace down too much which would impact the offense.

[GGGG]

I agree, Ed Cooley coached a hell of a game.   Did an amazing job with limited resources.  In my opinion, the best X and O coach in the big east.

Oh, this post was about Wojo?   He's getting better...

Yet Cooley's players didn't execute down the stretch and completely blew that game. People here would be screaming about Wojo had that happened to MU.

So instead we are debating his "inexcusable" coaching when they had a shot clock violation. 

[PGsHeroes32]

I agree, Ed Cooley coached a hell of a game.   Did an amazing job with limited resources.  In my opinion, the best X and O coach in the big east.

Oh, this post was about Wojo?   He's getting better...

I think Cooley is great

But head to Providence boards and it's Cooley who they think struggled and Wojo "beats him 9 of 10 times in OT scenarios".

[MUfan12]

You keep saying "built from the outside in."  You think a pack line defense would be better?  I think teams would shoot right over it. And I think it would slow the pace down too much which would impact the offense.

I don't know if a full pack line would work, but I do think they extend the defense unnecessarily, which certainly does not play to strengths. Neither of the guards is quick enough to stay in front of anyone when they pick up 30 feet from the hoop.

[WarriorFan]

Yet Cooley's players didn't execute down the stretch and completely blew that game. People here would be screaming about Wojo had that happened to MU.

So instead we are debating his "inexcusable" coaching when they had a shot clock violation. 

[Litehouse]

I don't want to get too deep on Wojo's overall coaching, but I think it's a stretch to call juggling the roster due to foul trouble as "brilliant coaching".  Wojo did it well last night, but that should be a given for any coach at this level.

[GGGG]

Sultan/Tower- if you read my earlier posts you know I'm a huge Wojo supporter.  I thought Providence out-game planned us and got a lot of easy buckets early as a result.  Wojo made some adjustments in 2nd half.  Mostly though, we out played their excellent game plan.

I think Cooley is a great coach and we are lucky to have him in the big east.

Oh I think Cooley is a very good coach.  I just think fans focus on the negative, expect coaches to make the right call at all times, and then expect players to perfectly execute.

This whole shot clock debate is a perfect example.  Did Wojo inform his players of the shot clock?  Maybe he did.  Maybe he overlooked it.

But regardless, it was one play.  To call that "inexcusable" is simply bizarre to me.  If it was a chronic problem, then yeah.  But it wasn't - and it isn't.  It happens.

Same with Cooley.  His team flat out didn't execute down the stretch.  It happens.  But he is obviously a very good coach given the body of his work.

[skianth16]

Sultan/Tower- if you read my earlier posts you know I'm a huge Wojo supporter.  I thought Providence out-game planned us and got a lot of easy buckets early as a result.  Wojo made some adjustments in 2nd half.  Mostly though, we out played their excellent game plan.

I think Cooley is a great coach and we are lucky to have him in the big east.

Wojo did seem to make some adjustments that worked in the second half - the number of easy buckets for PC dropped off quite a bit. Kudos to him for that. At the end of the day, though, we don't win this game even if Markus score 35. Think about that. It's kind of tough to say this was a well coached game when we needed a 50 point performance to squeak out an OT win against a team playing without its leading scorer and rebounder.

Wojo deserves some credit for personnel management, but the players, especially Rowsey, deserve just as much for adjusting their games when playing in foul trouble.

[mu03eng]

I have read this post and your other posts where you called this defense "great". The scheme is horrid. It builds from the outside in instead of the inside out. Fourth worst statistically defensively horrid game of the year. MU lost the other three. Markus saved us tonight.  Wojo gets kudos for throwing junk defenses out there to throw off Cartwright. Worst in the BE by far. Don't bother posting your response. Wojo earned his stripes tonight with his situationals, despite his base defense.

It builds from the outside in because that is where college teams are going. Like it or not, it's better to die by twos than by threes. I think there are tweaks that can be made: don't hedge as hard/far and bring the weakside help closer to the lane to help with the big recovery....however with Rowsey's major defensive liabilities and Howard's significant liabilities I just don't think you can tweak enough to solve everything.

Once Elliot came in to make Cartwright, we definitely started to slow them down, but it also means the offense slows down a little bit so it's a delicate balance.

[vogue65]

Wojo deserves some credit for personnel management, but the players, especially Rowsey, deserve just as much for adjusting their games when playing in foul trouble.
[/quote]

Agreed, and they didn't do it sitting on the bench.   

Agreed, double overtime would have been a disaster, but you can't play for that or even overtime with this team.  Out shoot the mothers and get more rebounds and don't let V slow us down. 

jsglow, great point.
And TAMU has it A++.

[Pakuni]

It builds from the outside in because that is where college teams are going. Like it or not, it's better to die by twos than by threes. I think there are tweaks that can be made: don't hedge as hard/far and bring the weakside help closer to the lane to help with the big recovery....however with Rowsey's major defensive liabilities and Howard's significant liabilities I just don't think you can tweak enough to solve everything.

Once Elliot came in to make Cartwright, we definitely started to slow them down, but it also means the offense slows down a little bit so it's a delicate balance.

This is exactly correct. Scheming to cover up for one undersized, bad defender would be difficult. Two is pretty much impossible.
The defensive shortcomings of Howard and Rowsey is the price you pay for (necessarily) having them on the court together. At the end of the day, Marquette is better that way.

If someone could point out a great defensive team with two sub-6 foot guards who are poor on-ball defenders, I'd love to see it.