Question about the 40 Minutes of Hell/Full-Court Press Strategy

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

I realize that I am surrounded by much more knowledgeable and experienced Hogs fans on this board, which is one of the reasons why I joined.  As I stated in previous posts, I have always been a fan of Nolan Richardson and his 40 Minutes of Hell, full-court press strategy, hence my username.  Having said that, I would REALLY APPRECIATE IT if some  knowledgeable Hogs fans could weigh in on this topic.

It seems to me that teams no longer employ the full-court "40 Minutes of Hell" style press that Nolan's teams did back in the early and mid 90's. IT ALSO SEEMS TO ME that even the teams that do employ the full-court press/40 Minutes of Hell style are NOT nearly as aggressive with it as Nolan was with the Hogs.  So, my question:

1-Am I correct that there really seems to be a dearth of college teams employing a "balls to the wall fullcourt press" like Nolan did back in the day?  If I am correct, why do you think this is the case?  Why has that style of play basically gone extinct?

2-On a follow-up point, what  would you guys say is the BIGGEST OBSTACLE to employing the 40 Minutes of Hell strategy?  Is it the fact that it is impossible to get that right players to EFFECTIVELY/SUCCESSFULLY play it?   OR is it the fact that rules of college basketball have CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY since Nolan's day, and that these rules changes have basically made a "40 Minutes of Hell" defensive style IMPOSSIBLE to effectively employ?  On this point, I have heard folks say that the NCAA outlawing "handchecking" made it impossible to play 40 Minutes of Hell like Nolan used to. Is this true? Are there other reasons why 40 MInutes of Hell never seems to be played anymore to the extent that Nolan used to play it?   

I would really appreciate honest and objective/serious responses from the knowledgeable X's and O's Hogs fans on the board who remember Nolan's teams.  Thanks.

[ErieHog]

Rules regarding the use of hands in defense are the primary culprit in the decline of pressing defense--  you can no longer guide your guy into doubles and traps like you used to be able to.

The additional timeouts and game stoppages have also done a great deal to kill that style.

[RaisinHog]

I think the hand check has hurt it more than anything .. the refs seem to put an emphasis on touch fouls 30 foot from the basket.. now I will see that is even more appearent in the SEC examples... We go to okie lite the reffs let them beat the hell out of us we come away shell shocked by the physacallity.. example 2 the entire NCAA tourny for the most part they have let the teams bang including us   in both games now as the games come down to the end they got ticky tacky on both accounts .. but it's different officiating than we see week in and week out in the SEC .. and finally example 3 would be West Virgina does it to some extent and is allowed too in the little 12

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

ErieHog, thank you for the serious response.  Two quick questions for you:

1-so basically, Nolan's teams employed A LOT of hand-checking to "steer/guide" opposing players into trapping areas on the floor? is that fair to say?

2-what exactly do you mean when you say that the increase in time stoppages and time-outs have also led to the demise of the 40 Minutes of Hell/Pressing philosophy?  IE, in what manner do you think that the time stoppages and time outs have made it more difficult for teams to press?   I appreciate your opinion.  Thanks.

[RaisinHog]

ErieHog, thank you for the serious response.  Two quick questions for you:

1-so basically, Nolan's teams employed A LOT of hand-checking to "steer/guide" opposing players into trapping areas on the floor? is that fair to say?

2-what exactly do you mean when you say that the increase in time stoppages and time-outs have also led to the demise of the 40 Minutes of Hell/Pressing philosophy?  IE, in what manner do you think that the time stoppages and time outs have made it more difficult for teams to press?   I appreciate your opinion.  Thanks.

In.response too 2 .. it gives the teams added breaks to catch there breath and get a drink.along with the turnovers .. the defense also.wore teams down so they would miss shots in the end ..

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

So basically, the  40's Minutes of Hell philosophy's "cumulative effect"  on the opponent's stamina/end-of-game performance  was significantly lessened due to the increase in time-outs and tv stoppages?  Is that basically what you are saying, Raisin?

[sasnakrafan]

There used to be radio timeouts 30 seconds and then tv timeouts 3 minutes. They took all the radios away and made them all uniform to 3.

Also I think with AAU ball being more prevalent now than 20 years ago, you have less big men having a post up game because they don't play defense in AAU but more run and gun. With that being said the 5 position is now more of an athletic 4.

Also you have players like Anthony Randolph on the game playing the 4/5 position with dribbling skills of a point guard altho he was a former point guard until he grew 6" in one summer.

It used to be the inbounds guy to your point guard was a PF or Center and of course to get out of the double team they'd pass to an available center or PF. Now that those 4/5 positons can handle the ball pretty well, they can dribble and pass out of a double team therefore enabling a fast break.

Hope this helps as well.

[RaisinHog]

So basically, the  40's Minutes of Hell philosophy's "cumulative effect"  on the opponent's stamina/end-of-game performance  was significantly lessened due to the increase in time-outs and tv stoppages?  Is that basically what you are saying, Raisin?

Yes sir !

[Sharky]

Things that work against the press:

Guard play has improved
It's easier to review tape and know how to prepare
The number of TV timeouts gives other teams more time to recover
Touch fouls slow the game
It requires depth of 8 good players and 2 decent players rather than 1 or 2 great players and 4 good players.
It requires teamwork
It's physically demanding

Benefits:

Hella fun to watch
Exposes teamwork weaknesses in other teams
Destroys teams with weak guard play
Easy to catch teams that don't prepare off guard
Can run tired teams into the ground

[Dr. Starcs]

In the 94 title game against Duke, we played wore them down with depth, but didn't press a lot in that game.

[BigoBoys]

The 5 second rule change was a killer

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

PrivatePyle, can you please expand on that?  In what way, exactly, do you think the 5 second rule change was a "killer" for the full-court press style of basketball?

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

There used to be radio timeouts 30 seconds and then tv timeouts 3 minutes. They took all the radios away and made them all uniform to 3.

Also I think with AAU ball being more prevalent now than 20 years ago, you have less big men having a post up game because they don't play defense in AAU but more run and gun. With that being said the 5 position is now more of an athletic 4.

Also you have players like Anthony Randolph on the game playing the 4/5 position with dribbling skills of a point guard altho he was a former point guard until he grew 6" in one summer.

It used to be the inbounds guy to your point guard was a PF or Center and of course to get out of the double team they'd pass to an available center or PF. Now that those 4/5 positons can handle the ball pretty well, they can dribble and pass out of a double team therefore enabling a fast break.

Hope this helps as well.

thanks for the thoughtful, detailed response, sasnakrafan.  Looking a little bit deeper, I can see that the game has just "moved away" from the 40 minutes of hell style of play on multiple levels for multiple reasons. 

[ErieHog]

ErieHog, thank you for the serious response.  Two quick questions for you:

1-so basically, Nolan's teams employed A LOT of hand-checking to "steer/guide" opposing players into trapping areas on the floor? is that fair to say?

2-what exactly do you mean when you say that the increase in time stoppages and time-outs have also led to the demise of the 40 Minutes of Hell/Pressing philosophy?  IE, in what manner do you think that the time stoppages and time outs have made it more difficult for teams to press?   I appreciate your opinion.  Thanks.

Absolutely;  go back on the old Nolan squads that pressed the most-- if you've met the players, you'll find something about them that's different than even your run of the mill college basketball players-- incredibly strong hands.    Shaking the hand of Robert Shepherd, or Ron Huery, or any of his defensive oriented guards is an exercise in taking your hand health into perilous waters.  Roger Crawford doesn't have hands, he has 5 appendaged octupi on the ends of his arms.  Beck could thumb wrestle Shaq.

Fine, its a mild exaggeration, but these guys had *incredibly* strong hands, shaped by and used for directing traffic defensively.   Watch old game footage, and you'll see the other team's guards being pushed and prodded where they need to go, like our players were prison guards and they were in manacles.

The thing about the modern stoppage model, is that it both disrupts momentum and gives additional breathers to teams rather than let the pressing style get into their legs as much.      It turns what could have been a 12-1 run, into a 6-2 run, and that aggregates over time.

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

THanks for the reply, ErieHog.  What you said definitely makes sense.  I had no idea that hand-checking was a vital component to the 40 minutes of hell/full-court press which Nolan coached.  I guess that emphasis on preventing hand-checking along with all of these darned tv timeouts/game stoppages really did put a crimp in the full-court pressing style, which is a damn shame in my opinion. 

On a related note, you mentioned "going back to Nolan's squads who PRESSED THE MOST/were the MOST AGGRESSIVE."  Since you are obviously a pretty knowledgeable, old-school Hogs fan who knows his basketball, which one of Nolan's teams would you say was the MOST AGGRESSIVE with the press?  I realize they all obviously employed his 40 minutes of hell style, but if you had to say, which one was the BEST at PRESSING and WREAKING HAVOC on the opponent as they tried to bring the ball up the court?  Is there one team in particular which stands out in your mind at just being insanely aggressive and effective with the press?

I would have to say the 1990 team with Todd Day, but you obviously know more about those Hogs teams than I do, so which one would you say was the most defensively aggressive Nolan team you ever saw?

[ErieHog]

THanks for the reply, ErieHog.  What you said definitely makes sense.  I had no idea that hand-checking was a vital component to the 40 minutes of hell/full-court press which Nolan coached.  I guess that emphasis on preventing hand-checking along with all of these darned tv timeouts/game stoppages really did put a crimp in the full-court pressing style, which is a damn shame in my opinion. 

On a related note, you mentioned "going back to Nolan's squads who PRESSED THE MOST/were the MOST AGGRESSIVE."  Since you are obviously a pretty knowledgeable, old-school Hogs fan who knows his basketball, which one of Nolan's teams would you say was the MOST AGGRESSIVE with the press?  I realize they all obviously employed his 40 minutes of hell style, but if you had to say, which one was the BEST at PRESSING and WREAKING HAVOC on the opponent as they tried to bring the ball up the court?  Is there one team in particular which stands out in your mind at just being insanely aggressive and effective with the press?

I would have to say the 1990 team with Todd Day, but you obviously know more about those Hogs teams than I do, so which one would you say was the most defensively aggressive Nolan team you ever saw?

I'd lean towards the 89-90 team, or the 90-91 team.   While there were better defensive teams at Arkansas, and more flexible defensive teams, and teams that did a better job of rebounding when the press didn't work, Arlyn Bowers was the difference between those teams and other iterations of the aggression of Nolan.    The SWC tournaments from those seasons were simply unfair, as the Iba-brand basketball that still captivated most of the league was buried.

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

haha, yeah like I said, I think that the 40 Minutes of Hell style basically reached its apex circa 1990,  so I am glad to hear you back me up on that.   Like I said, that 1990 team led by Day is still one of my favourite college basketball teams of all-time.  I am still upset they didn't beat Duke, since I really thought they would.

By the way, I can tell from your posts within this thread, that you really know your basketball, ErieHog.  Kudos for that, dude.  Just FYI.   :razorback:

[Dr. Starcs]

Get a room already. Geez

[40MinutesOfHellFOREVER]

Get a room already. Geez

^^^We're just talkin' Hogs basketball and Nolan, little man.  No need to be like that. 

[Dr. Starcs]

Check out the "Speed up" thread a few scrolls down. You'll see some real expertise there. Lol

[ErieHog]

Check out the "Speed up" thread a few scrolls down. You'll see some real expertise there. Lol

If anyone in that thread claiming that pace helped us come back could identify what a secondary break was, it'd be an act of God.

[McKdaddy]

That 1990-91 season was an awesome year of dominant Hawgball, except those 3 double-digit losses that still resonate w/ me (and the 4th loss, to unlv, in which we got down at one point by 20+ or so in the 2nd H).

[McKdaddy]

Good thread