TLDR
As always feel free to laugh at me.
I only watched the Nova S Fla game so Im sure these could be off, but here's what I noticed about Nova.
General Things About Nova
Nova is a very young team.
Plays hard, and are a lot more talented than their record indicates.
Not the best decision makers, and often times seem lost defensively.
Major defensive lapses from slow rotations, poor on the ball defense, helping when they shouldnt, and general low IQ basketball plays.
Not a great shooting team, but they still can make open catch/shoot looks.
A lot more talented offensively than I initially thought.
They got pounded on the glass by SFla's bigs, but they are in the top 25 in the country in rbd (not sure where they are rbd % wise bc I dont have a kpom subscription for the detailed stats)
What Cincy should do to exploit them:
Play off of wayns and bait him into taking jumpers. The more you get up on him, the more likely he is to try and drive and thats when hes at his best albeit he doesnt seem to want to do it enough.
Pressure everyone else very hard, deny wing passes and try to force the wings to start 7-9+ feet behind the 3 pt line. Not easy to do at all.
Definitely want to press. They are already weak defensively in the halfcourt, it only gets highlighted more in the open floor.
Should be able to get to the offensive glass in this game.
Our experience and superior decision making (sounds odd i know) should be a huge edge.
Cash, Sk, and Dixon should get into the paint at will to create their own shot or set up others for good looks. Even look for guys like Parker, GG, JD3 and Justin Jackson if Kennedy is on him to have a good chance to attack the rim
Nova's Offense
Base is 4 out 1 in the post vs man 2 man(Yarou) and (sometimes Kennedy and/or Pinkston) with pass and pick away or pass and cut to the basket as the general principles.
Decent movement without the ball offensively, but often makes poor passes and head scratching decisions.
Tends to run PnR's with wayns and Yarou on the so Wayns can drive to his stronger hand when going to the middle and rt side of the lane
Double Screen on the ball with both bigs. Yarou dives hard to the rim and posts up with good position (no clue why they didnt run this more)
Struggled against 2-3 zone as well.
Very good FT shooting team, especially Wayns, and can not put this team in the bonus early. Imperative to defend w/o fouling (like always obv)
Nova's Defense
Jay Wright does a very good job of switching up defenses in an attempt not let teams get in a rhythm offensively (one prob, his team isnt very good defensively)
They switched to a 2-3 zone out of a S Fla TO, pressed on made free throws, ran some half court 221 traps and even trapped the first pass some in the half court of man2man and zone
Their guys will get up on you defensively and pressure you 25-30 feet from the rim and even further. They play hard, but I think dumb defensively.
They will help, but it seemed their rotations after the first pass were on the slower side.
Never really settled on a standard way to defend vs the PnR but a big part was probably the changing parts that Sfla was using in the PnR and was adjusting to the diff Sfla players strengths/weaknesses.
Players
Wayns #2 Junior 17ppg and 5asst pg
Probably their best player and even shooter despite poor 3pt %.
Dont let the % confuse you, if he gets catch/shoot looks he will knock them down. Gets stuck with the ball in hand at end of shot clock which hurts %
Questionable shot selection also contributes to his poor 3pt % and 2p Fg%. Can be lured into settling for jumpers. Much, much more effective when attacking the rim, but falls in love with his pull up jumper.
Runs a lot of PnRs with Yarou, and other bigs especially as the shot clock winds down and generally going to the right in this game. I think the best way to guard it is to get the ball out his hands as quick as possible with double teaming it and/or hedging hard. Yarou has a nice jumper, but if he has to pick n pop/flare to help wayns have an outlet vs diving to the rim Cincy is ahead of the game.
Average defender at best
Yarou Junior #13 13ppg 8 rbd pg
Solid shot from the elbow in post game facing up. 12-17 feet good looking shot. Strong with the ball in the post. Decent foot work and up fakes. Our bigs can not bite on the ball fakes. Hit a ridiculous contested fallaway from 16 ft on the baseline (really difficult shot that if he makes vs us, so be it)
Good things in general happen when he gets the ball around the rim. He doesnt get enough touches in that area at all and hopefully the UC bigs can neutralize him.
Cheek #23 Junior
SHoots a lot of 3's but low percentage on the year. Definite defensive question mark. Can attack the rim off ball fakes and dish approrpriately when the help comes. Really needs to do more of this instead of just standing at the 3pt line
Pinkston #22 Fresh
Some poor closeouts. Blown by in on the ball defense, but did help nicely later on and drew a charge. In general not a good on the ball defender against dribble drives or smaller guys. Got abused by S Fla's bigs on the glass. Jackson, Mbodj and Gates should have a field day on the offensive glass when hes in the game.
Efficient back to the basket post scorer, but doesn't get position enough.
Pretty good attacking the rim facing it too. Nice offensive player that needs to be more assertive with the ball.
Bell #32 Sophomore
36% 3pt Shooter best on the team % wise
Major defensive question marks in limited time. Fouled a lot and didnt play much due to foul trouble. Good athlete but can get out of control on drives and also called for multiple moving screens and got blown by multiple times in limited minutes.
Hilliard#4 Fresh
Not a strong finisher at the rim. Run at him and force him off the 3p line on rotations. Knocked down catch/shoot 3 from the corner off post pass
Poor 3pt% but nice technique and form and probably hasnt gotten the best looks this year. Little over aggro on D. Will leave shooters to help when he shouldnt. Susceptible to back doors and silly, silly fouls. Tries to do too much on defense and ends up hurting the team.
Kennedy #21 Fresh
Big, strong, and physical. Wide body. Very productive rebounder and good vision and passer for a big. A lot more skilled,athletic, and agile then he looks. IF he loses some of the baby fat and continues to improve he may be a force by his senior year. Major on the ball defensive liability against face up post guys. Conditioning may be an issue. Very Poor Ft shooter though. Pretty much whenever hes on the floor Id be looking to use whoever is guarding him in PnRs. He struggled vs it a lot.
Johnsonc#3 Fresh
Above average handles. Very quick. Able to get to the rim off the bounce vs most. Really effective at attacking the rim and creating off the dribble. Unsure of on his shot, and decision making but he can get anywhere on the floor with his dribbling ability. Will likely develop into a very good pg for years to come
Yacoubou #24 Fresh
Didnt do much of note in limited minutes. Will shoot 3's, but has a poor 3p% like the rest of the team
Sutton #25 Junior
only played a minute or two in this game.
