Good to great bb teams like to play defense

[hogsanity]

This hog team does not.  You really have to like to play defense, to win, when you are not a great shooting team.  Remember guys like Keith Wilson, Clinton McDaniel.  They were not great offensive players, but they loved to play defense.  I dont think anyone on this team even wants to be on the defensive end of the court.

[Beaverfever]

IMO for Pel to have a good team they have to play great defense and force alot of turnovers which creates a fast pace game.  I don't know why we aren't forcing these turnovers.  I'd guess it is a combination of lack of size on the perimeter and coaching.  Britt is a good defender and Welsh/fortson are fantastic athletes and I think you could probably put Jason Henry at least close to that group.  I really don't know why these guys aren't playing decent defense.  I think that's on Pel.  I didn't expect Pel to come in and teach our big how to play like the bigs at Georgetown and Uconn right off the bat (or ever really).  I also didn't expect Pel to come in and field a team that shoots 3's like some of the old Nolan teams.  But, I DID expect Pel to come in and immediately teach our guys how to play some badass physical defense like he learned from Pitino.  I thought that was his bread and butter. 

[HognotinMemphis]

Never going to be a great defensive team while starting 3 players the size of Fortson, Welsh and Clarke. However, at least extend the defense the best you can to at least get a hand in the face of 3 point shooters.

This Hog team is going to set a NCAA record for 3 point shots made by opponents. Almost every game, the opponent sets a school record for 3 point shots made.

[HawgAdvocate]

IMO for Pel to have a good team they have to play great defense and force alot of turnovers which creates a fast pace game.  I don't know why we aren't forcing these turnovers.  I'd guess it is a combination of lack of size on the perimeter and coaching.  Britt is a good defender and Welsh/fortson are fantastic athletes and I think you could probably put Jason Henry at least close to that group.  I really don't know why these guys aren't playing decent defense.  I think that's on Pel.

You can't be aggressive and play all out when you only run 7 to 9 deep. And to say this team doesn't like to play defense (Hogsanity) is wrong. The 2-3 zone isn't an aggressive defense, it's a containment defense that's used to shore up a lack of size in the middle and force the lower % outside shots instead of easier interior shots. But if we can't stop teams from getting offensive rebounds and easy putbacks, then it's negated. But you still have to run it anyway, else you're going to get your bigs in early foul trouble and then the game is practically over. We have height, but little size to block out effectively over long stretches.

We'll have four more players next season, regardless if it's Powell, Borden, etc. Depending on who we play, we won't be relying on a 2-3 zone for 90% of each ballgame, and you'll see more pressing that will create more TOs.

[Beaverfever]

I think depth is a bit of an issue Advocate but I still think we could play pretty physical man defense if we had brought in the right guys.  Like you said, we are playing a zone because we have no decent big guys.  I think that is our main problem.  We need development from those guys.  Clark, Moore, and Sanchez have made no tangible improvements since they got here.  I say we get on that.  Pel can't regularly recruit 3 big men in a class and none of them be any good their first year.  That just doesn't cut it.  I think we have enough guys to play like Pel wants, just not enough guys that are any good or fit Pel's system. 

[HawgAdvocate]

I think depth is a bit of an issue Advocate but I still think we could play pretty physical man defense if we had brought in the right guys.  Like you said, we are playing a zone because we have no decent big guys.  I think that is our main problem.  We need development from those guys.  Clark, Moore, and Sanchez have made no tangible improvements since they got here.  I say we get on that.  Pel can't regularly recruit 3 big men in a class and none of them be any good their first year.  That just doesn't cut it.  I think we have enough guys to play like Pel wants, just not enough guys that are any good or fit Pel's system. 

Pel's prior history with big men was my biggest worry when we brought him in. He didn't have anyone over 6'9" in his years at South Alabama, at least none that I saw on his rosters. He did have a 6'9" 260 guy, but that certainly doesn't equal team depth over 40 minutes.

A lot of folks thought we'd instantly bring in Horfford/Noah types due to the Florida connection, but reality says that wouldn't be the case when looking back at when Billy D and Pel first arrived in Florida. It took the duo three seasons to get it together, and there wasn't a lot of size in those first few recruiting classes. 6'8" rebounder/defender Donnell Harvey set the tone for the future of Florida's frontcourt studs.

That being said, I still believe we'll see noticable improvement from two of the three PFs next season. We knew going in that Moore was raw on offense, Clark was not a back-to-the-basket player, and Sanchez, well...we just heard he was a blue collar guy.

We will definetly see more M2M next season, you are right about that. Even if Borden is a sign and place guy, that's another scholarship we can use on someone else. We just need bodies. We have our starters established for four of our five starting spots (if Washington returns). We just need good role players to give valuable minutes until we can bring in the 2010 class, which will help us shift gears and take it up another notch.

[hogsanity]

You can't be aggressive and play all out when you only run 7 to 9 deep. And to say this team doesn't like to play defense (Hogsanity) is wrong. The 2-3 zone isn't an aggressive defense, it's a containment defense that's used to shore up a lack of size in the middle and force the lower % outside shots instead of easier interior shots. But if we can't stop teams from getting offensive rebounds and easy putbacks, then it's negated. But you still have to run it anyway, else you're going to get your bigs in early foul trouble and then the game is practically over. We have height, but little size to block out effectively over long stretches.

We'll have four more players next season, regardless if it's Powell, Borden, etc. Depending on who we play, we won't be relying on a 2-3 zone for 90% of each ballgame, and you'll see more pressing that will create more TOs.

Rebounding is as much about want to, as it is about size.  The reason teams get so many outside looks is because once we shift 2 or 3 times we quit hustling to get back to the shooters. 

This team does not like to play defense, period. 

[HawgAdvocate]

Rebounding is as much about want to, as it is about size.  The reason teams get so many outside looks is because once we shift 2 or 3 times we quit hustling to get back to the shooters. 

This team does not like to play defense, period. 

It is about want to, as well as athleticism and position, but playing in a zone is also well known for being harder to rebound off of due to the fact you can't quickly body players out since you're not in a M2M scenario. Freshman mistakes are freshman mistakes. Washington is trying to hold his own against bigger players who weight 20lbs+ more than him, while playing major minutes and staying out of foul trouble.

I saw a ton of challenged shots against Mississippi St. Legs get tired after a while, and we don't have a whole lot of options on the bench, playing from behind in a 2-3 zone against confident D1 shooters. It's not nearly as easy as you assume it is.

[hogsanity]

It is about want to, as well as athleticism and position, but playing in a zone is also well known for being harder to rebound off of due to the fact you can't quickly body players out since you're not in a M2M scenario. Freshman mistakes are freshman mistakes. Washington is trying to hold his own against bigger players who weight 20lbs+ more than him, while playing major minutes and staying out of foul trouble.

I saw a ton of challenged shots against Mississippi St. Legs get tired after a while, and we don't have a whole lot of options on the bench, playing from behind in a 2-3 zone against confident D1 shooters. It's not nearly as easy as you assume it is.

Yes, I am just assuming.  I never played out of a zone in all my years of playng ball.........lol.  I played the 3 and 4 spots at 5'9".  If you want to block out, you can find someone to block out, you have to want to.  No, I did not ply in the SEC, but blocking out is blocking out. 

Anyone can see this team does not play D for full posession, and can see that this team does not play hard for 40 minutes. 

[Hog Pharm]

This hog team does not.  You really have to like to play defense, to win, when you are not a great shooting team.  Remember guys like Keith Wilson, Clinton McDaniel.  They were not great offensive players, but they loved to play defense.  I dont think anyone on this team even wants to be on the defensive end of the court.

I would have to disagree in the fact that Fortson likes to play defense.  He really gets after it and hopefully that intensity will spread to the other players.  I also think defense is the hardest thing for a young team to master.  Playing team defense takes a commitment that I know Pel preaches and hopefully it will catch on with the players soon.