Best Season in about Six Years

[Pigdiana Jones]

Exactly. It was not a great season.

We have a long way to go.

There are real problems that need to be fixed.

But we clearly improved from the previous year.

It was a great season compared to what we have had within the last 7 or 8 years!

But compared to our history, it wasn't all that great. But I do like the step in the right direction.

[Justifiable Hogicide]

He has us about where I thought we would be.

Me too.
A blowout in the 2d game of the NIT in Year 3.

[azhog10]

Sorry Tom, but I disagree. It may be harder to teach Anderson's defensive scheme, but that doesn't mean it is harder to teach defense in general. Syracuse is defensive oriented, and they seem to adjust from year to year. Florida (your example) has been to the Elite 8 each of the prior 4 years (and possibly this year), and they haven't always had senior laden teams.

How long have those coaches been at their school's? Hence they've had plenty of time to get their defensive philosophy taught. It's easier to teach 3-4 freshmen how you want them to play defense then it is to teach 12 players (fresh, sophs, juniors, and seniors) how to play your style of defense. Once you've been there for a while the freshmen are able to come in and the older guys are able to teach the younger guys by example. CMA hasn't had that time yet to do that. In "time" you will see the difference in how the younger guys are able to pick up exactly what you expect out of them. Not to mention over time you won't be expecting a large number of newcomers to come in a play significant minutes.

[WilsonHog]

I keep reading comments about "y'all sure have lowered expectations."

No, I think that the results over the past 15 years have taken care of that for us.

[hogfan10]

How long have those coaches been at their school's? Hence they've had plenty of time to get their defensive philosophy taught. It's easier to teach 3-4 freshmen how you want them to play defense then it is to teach 12 players (fresh, sophs, juniors, and seniors) how to play your style of defense. Once you've been there for a while the freshmen are able to come in and the older guys are able to teach the younger guys by example. CMA hasn't had that time yet to do that. In "time" you will see the difference in how the younger guys are able to pick up exactly what you expect out of them. Not to mention over time you won't be expecting a large number of newcomers to come in a play significant minutes.

Besides Portis, Harris and Kingsley everybody else has been in this system for a minimum of two years.

[azhog10]

Besides Portis, Harris and Kingsley everybody else has been in this system for a minimum of two years.

And over the past two years our defense has improved. But to belabor the point. The seniors that are graduating had to re-learn a lot of things defensively. That usually doesn't happen overnight. It didn't happen for any of the coaches you referenced:
Syracuse with Jim Boeheim, Boeheim was an assisstant at SU for 12 years before he took over for the head coach. When Boeheim got to SU, they went 11-14, 9-16, and then 12-12. After that SU never saw a losing season and almost every season improved their record. In '79 Boeheim took over and they continued their winning ways. But this shows that SU itself had three or four down years before it really got it's program going.

Florida with Donovan he needed three years to make the NCAAT, in his first two seasons he went 13-17, and 14-15. In year 3 he made the tourney with a 22-9 record. So from the looks of it, he needed about the same amount of time as CMA did. This shows that things don't happen in year 1, sometimes not even in year 2. Donovan was able to get his team into the NCAAT with 22 wins, something that even the hogs wouldn't have been able to do. They finished 3rd in the east that year, and the SEC received 6 bids that year.

[hogfan10]

And over the past two years our defense has improved. But to belabor the point. The seniors that are graduating had to re-learn a lot of things defensively. That usually doesn't happen overnight. It didn't happen for any of the coaches you referenced:
Syracuse with Jim Boeheim, Boeheim was an assisstant at SU for 12 years before he took over for the head coach. When Boeheim got to SU, they went 11-14, 9-16, and then 12-12. After that SU never saw a losing season and almost every season improved their record. In '79 Boeheim took over and they continued their winning ways. But this shows that SU itself had three or four down years before it really got it's program going.

Florida with Donovan he needed three years to make the NCAAT, in his first two seasons he went 13-17, and 14-15. In year 3 he made the tourney with a 22-9 record. So from the looks of it, he needed about the same amount of time as CMA did. This shows that things don't happen in year 1, sometimes not even in year 2. Donovan was able to get his team into the NCAAT with 22 wins, something that even the hogs wouldn't have been able to do. They finished 3rd in the east that year, and the SEC received 6 bids that year.

Look I understand there is a transitional period, but if it takes players 3+ years of service before they are capable of running Anderson's system, then he needs to change the system. If that is the case, every HS senior we sign is a minimum of 3 years away from helping us.
Oh, and at a minimum, Anderson is at least 1 year behind Donovan's schedule.

[bigredone]

I think by disagreeing, you actually agree.  Each of the programs you mention with the exception of the Vols teach defense and it is hard to do.  Many coaches do not have the tenacity to teach defense like Jim Boeheim, Bob Huggins or Coach Donovan.  Syracuse is a prime example.  Their matchup zone is similar to ours,  The program and staff have been in place for a while.  There is a continuity from year to year. And it takes hard work to get there.

You will see better defense at Arkansas as players stay together and mesh together.

Because Syracuse is strictly a straight zone it is easier to teach. A team that really gets hot is a nightmare for any zone. As long as you have some size to sit in front of the basket it doesn't take as much athleticism to play just a zone defense.

A straight man to man defense is somewhat harder to teach than nothing but zone. Bob Knight was a master at teaching straight man to man. You probably need better athletes to play a good man to man defense. They need to be reasonably intelligent to make the required switches also.

A coach that teaches a combination will have a tougher time than any specialty coach will. Sutton preferred man to man while at AR but did zone depending the situation. You need athletes with a lot of basketball intelligence. Sutton with the triplets type of talent to have a shot at the Final Four. It is probably more exciting than either of the pure defenses but it also requires more teaching.

Then you come to the trapping defense that Mike Anderson employs. I honestly don't believe their is a tougher defense for someone to teach/learn. The players not only have to be aware of the opponent, they have to read what their teammate is going to do to set the traps because the traps can happen anywhere on the court. This is not the old zone trap that most people learn in high school. It requires athletes that have played enough together to read both what the opponent is doing but also know where their teammate is going to attack. Then the players not actually in on the trap have to position themselves to play passing lanes and stop layups if someone passes just before the trap. There is more individual responsibility in this system and to work properly all the players have to be interchangeable on the traps. To me this is the most exciting system, it should disrupt the opponents when run properly by the players. It is more important what your team does than the opponent which is why Nolan always said he wasn't worried about how the other team wanted to play it was up to his team to take over the game.

[bigredone]

Look I understand there is a transitional period, but if it takes players 3+ years of service before they are capable of running Anderson's system, then he needs to change the system. If that is the case, every HS senior we sign is a minimum of 3 years away from helping us.
Oh, and at a minimum, Anderson is at least 1 year behind Donovan's schedule.

Nothing Anderson ever does will meet with your approval just as Nolan didn't. Luckily Broyles is no longer around to screw with things in basketball so Mike has the time he needs to get his system completed. He doesn't have an AD sabotaging him at every turn as Nolan did in the last years he was here. I know, you still can't understand what the judge said.

It is going to get better every year despite your thinking the Mike is the worst coach in the country right beside Nolan. Mike was hired to clean up the mess created by Broyles (Heath/Altman/Pelphrey), win, and put butts in the seats. From all appearances he is improving in all areas. Sad for you, but it is the truth. I can't wait for next basketball season to see how much Mike's team improves again!

[hogfan10]

Nothing Anderson ever does will meet with your approval just as Nolan didn't. Luckily Broyles is no longer around to screw with things in basketball so Mike has the time he needs to get his system completed. He doesn't have an AD sabotaging him at every turn as Nolan did in the last years he was here. I know, you still can't understand what the judge said.

It is going to get better every year despite your thinking the Mike is the worst coach in the country right beside Nolan. Mike was hired to clean up the mess created by Broyles (Heath/Altman/Pelphrey), win, and put butts in the seats. From all appearances he is improving in all areas. Sad for you, but it is the truth. I can't wait for next basketball season to see how much Mike's team improves again!

Do you play basketball, because your ability to make huge leaps is tremendous.

I don't think I've ever stated whether I think either man was a good or a bad coach. I happen to think NR was a great coach, and at this point in MA's career I think he is closer to average than great. With that being said, it doesn't mean that everything NR did was perfect, nor does it mean that everything that MA does is bad or average. It appears to me that you and some others think that anybody who disagrees with you, is a MA/NR hater.
I think that says more about you, than it does about me.