Just a thought while watching the Seton Hall game. Not sure I’ve seen a team struggle so much to inbound the ball and not seem to run plays to get it in easier. It’s pretty frustrating
I don’t think the NCAA keeps readily available stats on that - but I’ve seen it’s equal or worse and it’s not why they lost. (Though I feel your pain, brother). Offense isn’t why they lost. Not because of a “lack of a true point guard” or inbounding challenges, etc.— a turnover is just a turnover. And 80+ points is the same number whether they came from John Stockton dishing out assists or from a the style the friars play. A point is a point. Fact is, they scored plenty of points in Newark.
They lost because they just cannot stop teams from scoring at will once the opposing coach sees what the drops, helps and rotations are. Once a game’s defensive musical score is identified, the opposing coach has his offense dance to the predictable and static parts of the tune in a way that consistently exploits. Over a game’s worth of possessions the shots will fall enough and the possession # battle advantage will do its work more often than not.
Seton hall has a great defense, they are going to turn you over, there are going to be shot clock violations, and there are going to be 5 second calls. You need to factor that in cause it’s coming. (I’m not entirely ready to accept Hargrove getting blocked twice on dunk attempts on one possession yet thought).
Now, you can’t have Mela making a wild cross court pass begging to be intercepted, you can’t have Edwards crying to the ref and not getting back on defense. But by and large Seton Halls great defense did its worst and it shouldn’t have been enough. It’s the defense that is the problem. And I don’t really think it’s the defensive effort.
Everyone wants it to be effort because you can easily identify scapegoats. But running teams that play at this pace often struggle to play Defense because you burn up so much energy on the offensive side. Very few players have the inborn cardio vascular set up to give it there all on both sides of the court when you are playing at this pace. I stress, at this pace.
That’s why when you play with an up tempo pace, be you the Guru of Go Paul Weshead himself, Oats at Alabama, or English at Providence you have to, have to, have to get the math on the number of possessions in your favor and the 3 point shooting math right. English doesn’t have that because either (a) he doesn’t have the length (which is not height) at perimeter or (b) the ability for shot deterrents to their job in the lane effectively, without extra help, and without fouling. Or (c) both.
He Guinea pigged this approach - maybe he read a book like “Basketball behind Paper” this past Spring or went to a coaches clinic or something that turned him and his camp on to this approach - and he unfortunately doesn’t have exactly the right pieces to pull it off with this team, and it didn’t work. And it’s really hard to make adjustments on defense when the defensive principles and positioning is so tightly integrated with the transition based offense. It’s a tough decoupling. And it should probably be getting worked out at a mid-major somewhere.
Many moments will be looked at this year as the moment we knew it was over, the latest, for me at least, being the performative technical on the Vaaks no call. Sure, he got fouled. Honestly, an easy one to miss from my perspective. So why, why, why give the other team free throws when you know that we are drawing near to this team’s witching hour this season, when leads evaporate - and at this stage every single point matters? To get players fired up to change the trajectory of effort? They already were fired up. Random play aside, the players are playing hard. It’s not effort, it’s scheme. Needs to stop blame shifting but I guess the reality that you are 25 games in and have a schematic problem that really can’t be changed is maybe too tough to face in the stretch run of the campaign.
Good coaches will attack the static and predictable parts of their opponent’s defense. English’s defense - even with adjustments - is predictable by the 10 min mark of each game and is a riddle easily solved by strong minds. And BE coaches have strong minds.
We saw this once again last night. It’s not much more complicated than that.
English is 37, the next youngest coach in the league is six years older than him, and the average coach is like 20 years older than him. He just doesn’t have the experience to match wits with rival coaches who have earned their stripes by climbing the ladder longer.
Just a thought while watching the Seton Hall game. Not sure I’ve seen a team struggle so much to inbound the ball and not seem to run plays to get it in easier. It’s pretty frustrating
I don’t think the NCAA keeps readily available stats on that - but I’ve seen it’s equal or worse and it’s not why they lost. (Though I feel your pain, brother). Offense isn’t why they lost. Not because of a “lack of a true point guard” or inbounding challenges, etc.— a turnover is just a turnover. And 80+ points is the same number whether they came from John Stockton dishing out assists or from a the style the friars play. A point is a point. Fact is, they scored plenty of points in Newark.
They lost because they just cannot stop teams from scoring at will once the opposing coach sees what the drops, helps and rotations are. Once a game’s defensive musical score is identified, the opposing coach has his offense dance to the predictable and static parts of the tune in a way that consistently exploits. Over a game’s worth of possessions the shots will fall enough and the possession # battle advantage will do its work more often than not.
Seton hall has a great defense, they are going to turn you over, there are going to be shot clock violations, and there are going to be 5 second calls. You need to factor that in cause it’s coming. (I’m not entirely ready to accept Hargrove getting blocked twice on dunk attempts on one possession yet thought).
Now, you can’t have Mela making a wild cross court pass begging to be intercepted, you can’t have Edwards crying to the ref and not getting back on defense. But by and large Seton Halls great defense did its worst and it shouldn’t have been enough. It’s the defense that is the problem. And I don’t really think it’s the defensive effort.
Everyone wants it to be effort because you can easily identify scapegoats. But running teams that play at this pace often struggle to play Defense because you burn up so much energy on the offensive side. Very few players have the inborn cardio vascular set up to give it there all on both sides of the court when you are playing at this pace. I stress, at this pace.
That’s why when you play with an up tempo pace, be you the Guru of Go Paul Weshead himself, Oats at Alabama, or English at Providence you have to, have to, have to get the math on the number of possessions in your favor and the 3 point shooting math right. English doesn’t have that because either (a) he doesn’t have the length (which is not height) at perimeter or (b) the ability for shot deterrents to their job in the lane effectively, without extra help, and without fouling. Or (c) both.
He Guinea pigged this approach - maybe he read a book like “Basketball behind Paper” this past Spring or went to a coaches clinic or something that turned him and his camp on to this approach - and he unfortunately doesn’t have exactly the right pieces to pull it off with this team, and it didn’t work. And it’s really hard to make adjustments on defense when the defensive principles and positioning is so tightly integrated with the transition based offense. It’s a tough decoupling. And it should probably be getting worked out at a mid-major somewhere.
Many moments will be looked at this year as the moment we knew it was over, the latest, for me at least, being the performative technical on the Vaaks no call. Sure, he got fouled. Honestly, an easy one to miss from my perspective. So why, why, why give the other team free throws when you know that we are drawing near to this team’s witching hour this season, when leads evaporate - and at this stage every single point matters? To get players fired up to change the trajectory of effort? They already were fired up. Random play aside, the players are playing hard. It’s not effort, it’s scheme. Needs to stop blame shifting but I guess the reality that you are 25 games in and have a schematic problem that really can’t be changed is maybe too tough to face in the stretch run of the campaign.
Intrigue has worn off quickly this week.
Good coaches will attack the static and predictable parts of their opponent’s defense. English’s defense - even with adjustments - is predictable by the 10 min mark of each game and is a riddle easily solved by strong minds. And BE coaches have strong minds.
We saw this once again last night. It’s not much more complicated than that.
English is 37, the next youngest coach in the league is six years older than him, and the average coach is like 20 years older than him. He just doesn’t have the experience to match wits with rival coaches who have earned their stripes by climbing the ladder longer.