Pressing

[Jarad_Hunter]

Not a fan of pressing with this team. Here's why:

1. Our transition offense is average. Our players seem to execute more efficiently when we take our time and run half-court sets through Jackson.

2. Our half-court defense is exceptional, maybe the best in the country. Because Rubles and Jackson can guard anyone on the court, we rarely get caught in a mismatch off a switch.

3. Does anyone really think we are going to be able to press any of the top teams in the country? The best teams are going to have ball-handlers and athletes who can break the press and make you pay. If the point is to make a run in the tournament, I would rather us focus on a style of play that will work against the best teams, even if our athletic advantage allows us to press mid-majors.

Thoughts?

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Not a fan of pressing with this team. Here's why:

1. Our transition offense is average. Our players seem to execute more efficiently when we take our time and run half-court sets through Jackson.

2. Our half-court defense is exceptional, maybe the best in the country. Because Rubles and Jackson can guard anyone on the court, we rarely get caught in a mismatch off a switch.

3. Does anyone really think we are going to be able to press any of the top teams in the country? The best teams are going to have ball-handlers and athletes who can break the press and make you pay. If the point is to make a run in the tournament, I would rather us focus on a style of play that will work against the best teams, even if our athletic advantage allows us to press mid-majors.

Thoughts?

i see your point but having the flexibility to do both is a good thing. Some point in time we will have to press. Having done it numerous times is a good thing. I also think coach knows when and who he can press.

 

[UCalum08]

I like your points. I do think its effective when we aren't over pressing. There are times guys are over playing, get beat and scrambling. I also see guys out of place. Sometimes we have 3 guys trapping the ball. Of course we are going to get beat. When we press smart and even if its just ball pressure I think it does make a difference.

I totally agree with you about us getting better shots when we take our time. Our transition game is mediocre and we struggle to make easy baskets. Like Houston I thought the speed of the game was quick which led to us taking quick bad shots.

Its also a catch 22 because we need transition points. We struggle to score and our defense thrives on turnovers and getting fast break points.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Not a fan of pressing with this team. Here's why:

1. Our transition offense is average. Our players seem to execute more efficiently when we take our time and run half-court sets through Jackson.

2. Our half-court defense is exceptional, maybe the best in the country. Because Rubles and Jackson can guard anyone on the court, we rarely get caught in a mismatch off a switch.

3. Does anyone really think we are going to be able to press any of the top teams in the country? The best teams are going to have ball-handlers and athletes who can break the press and make you pay. If the point is to make a run in the tournament, I would rather us focus on a style of play that will work against the best teams, even if our athletic advantage allows us to press mid-majors.

Thoughts?

This may be a moo point after the injuries sustained the last two games.

Did we not beat Memphis at their place pressing? Memphis has 4 senior guards and they were ranked top 20. They are also freak athletes that are all highly rated, a tier above our guys. They have ball handlers to break press and it started to wear on them in the second half and we were the
19th team to hand them a loss there in 10 years.

Our half court defense sure didn't look elite in the second half last night. Continually got beat down the court and couldn't make a bucket to set up the press. Jackson and Rubles can't guard anyone in the country when they are stuck on the bench with foul trouble or in the game with 4 fouls. There were also many times that Guyn switched and guarded a Memphis big on Saturday.

I don't feel our transition offense is that bad. We normally take it to the hole and get a foul, sometimes make the bucket as well.

 

[TheLongHaul]

I already forget the Memphis game. Did UC press? I do not remember them pressing. I agree with OP, pressing works against lesser teams, not against high quality teams. At times it's good to change the tempo.

 

[UCBearcats]

Not a fan of pressing with this team. Here's why:

1. Our transition offense is average. Our players seem to execute more efficiently when we take our time and run half-court sets through Jackson.

2. Our half-court defense is exceptional, maybe the best in the country. Because Rubles and Jackson can guard anyone on the court, we rarely get caught in a mismatch off a switch.

3. Does anyone really think we are going to be able to press any of the top teams in the country? The best teams are going to have ball-handlers and athletes who can break the press and make you pay. If the point is to make a run in the tournament, I would rather us focus on a style of play that will work against the best teams, even if our athletic advantage allows us to press mid-majors.

Thoughts?

I think you'll see that this team will continue to press, we may give up a few easy buckets here or there off of the press but that's the risk you take. The press doesn't exist just to create turnovers, it's also a valuable tool in terms of making the opponent feel rushed on offense.

For every time the opponent gets an easy basket off the press there's 4 or 5 times where it took them 10-15 seconds to get the ball up the floor and get their offense set. Now they're dealing with our tough half court defense in a shortened shot clock situation. That's an invaluable advantage for Mick's D and I doubt he'll give it up. I do think they need to continue to practice the press and do better at limiting the easy buckets teams can get off of us when they break the press quickly.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

I think you'll see that this team will continue to press, we may give up a few easy buckets here or there off of the press but that's the risk you take. The press doesn't exist just to create turnovers, it's also a valuable tool in terms of making the opponent feel rushed on offense.

For every time the opponent gets an easy basket off the press there's 4 or 5 times where it took them 10-15 seconds to get the ball up the floor and get their offense set. Now they're dealing with our tough half court defense in a shortened shot clock situation. That's an invaluable advantage for Mick's D and I doubt he'll give it up. I do think they need to continue to practice the press and do better at limiting the easy buckets teams can get off of us when they break the press quickly.

This is what happened in the first half last night. Houston got some easy dunks but also had at least 6 turnovers in the first half due to the press.

 

[bearcat jeff]

I bet you see more m2m and zone with spot pressing the next few games. The advantage of pressure was depth and that's gone.

Totally agree with slower offense getting better shots. The team is not bad in transition when Troy is on the floor.

 

[Shoemaker]

Agreed with the above, it's nice to have the luxury to be able to do both. Some teams press because they rely on quickness, but once broken, are a garbage half court defensive team. UC is not.

I thought last night the press was fueling the speed of the game in the first half and lead to turnovers and points on UC's end of the floor. The difference in the second half I thought was a lack of defensive intensity, perhaps because we weren't pressing, which is just going to require better concentration from the guys on the floor (I think complacency is somewhat natural when you have a young/inexperienced team, fortunately they still won).

The Cats have shown they can be effective in a full court and half court man, and I thought played well in spots in the 2-3 last night. Adding dimensions is a good sign for this team going forward.

 

[mdchick]

There is no pleasing you people we are 14-2 and a lot of people on this board thought it was going to be a down year. Why are you questioning strategy when we are winning games? Doesn't make sense to me. Cronin knows what he's doing leave the strategies to the experts.

 

[UCBearcats]

There is no pleasing you people we are 14-2 and a lot of people on this board thought it was going to be a down year. Why are you questioning strategy when we are winning games? Doesn't make sense to me. Cronin knows what he's doing leave the strategies to the experts.

This is probably the dumbest post I've seen on what was an otherwise good discussion. Leave the discussion boards to the people who are actually capable of having a discussion.

 

[mdchick]

This is probably the dumbest post I've seen on what was an otherwise good discussion. Leave the discussion boards to the people who are actually capable of having a discussion.

Ok, thanks friend

 

[L-T]

This is probably the dumbest post I've seen on what was an otherwise good discussion. Leave the discussion boards to the people who are actually capable of having a discussion.

Don't you love it UCB? This forum is so sensitive. If you aren't jumping up and down and doing cartwheels and cheering on Mick and the boys with every single post, everyone starts to panic and go into attack mode. You made those SK comments yesterday and I chimed in with a few thoughts, and you would have thought I was suddenly the antichrist, even though a few posts earlier I had said he was one of my all-time favorites and should have a banner next to Kenyon. A $h*tstorm ensued and I became an instant SK hater, basher, etc., told I shouldn't be such an unhappy person, my ethnicity was questioned, my manhood was questioned, my mother was attacked, I was called Longtimer again...you name it. You just gotta love it!

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Don't you love it UCB? This forum is so sensitive. If you aren't jumping up and down and doing cartwheels and cheering on Mick and the boys with every single post, everyone starts to panic and go into attack mode. You made those SK comments yesterday and I chimed in with a few thoughts, and you would have thought I was suddenly the antichrist, even though a few posts earlier I had said he was one of my all-time favorites and should have a banner next to Kenyon. A $h*tstorm ensued and I became an instant SK hater, basher, etc., told I shouldn't be such an unhappy person, my ethnicity was questioned, my manhood was questioned, my mother was attacked, I was called Longtimer again...you name it. You just gotta love it!

L-T your not getting sensitive in your old age are you? For the record I don't think your a SK hater your just a little misguided concerning his abilities as I pointed out yesterday.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Don't you love it UCB? This forum is so sensitive. If you aren't jumping up and down and doing cartwheels and cheering on Mick and the boys with every single post, everyone starts to panic and go into attack mode. You made those SK comments yesterday and I chimed in with a few thoughts, and you would have thought I was suddenly the antichrist, even though a few posts earlier I had said he was one of my all-time favorites and should have a banner next to Kenyon. A $h*tstorm ensued and I became an instant SK hater, basher, etc., told I shouldn't be such an unhappy person, my ethnicity was questioned, my manhood was questioned, my mother was attacked, I was called Longtimer again...you name it. You just gotta love it!

Not everybody. But yes there are certainly people of both sides that are hyper sensitive.

 

[L-T]

L-T your not getting sensitive in your old age are you? For the record I don't think your a SK hater your just a little misguided concerning his abilities as I pointed out yesterday.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Waite. For the record, SK did resemble a lot of what I was saying last night.

Everyone is misguided on this forum if you don't subscribe to the basic theme of "Thou shalt love Mick unconditionally....and thou shalt love all players not named Ge'Lawn". If you post outside of those boundries, look out!

 

[bearcat jeff]

I have a dream that one day Mick supporters and non-supporters will not be judged on their like or dislike but upon the merit of their argument. Oh yes brothers I have a dream!

 

[UCBearcats]

If some people had their way this site would just be a bunch of posts with titles like "Top 10 reasons why Mick is the best coach ever" and "We won tonight so here's why we'll win the championship" with a few responses on each saying "I agree".

There wouldn't be much to discuss if everyone was just agreeing with each other all the time. Yes, we're currently winning games and from the overall tone of the board it seems like most people are very happy with that. That doesn't mean this team doesn't have areas where it needs to improve, especially if you want to see them make a deep run in March.

So the people who are interested in UC sports come to this board to discuss it. They share their opinions and perspectives and occasionally disagree about topics. I mean, that's why this place exists right?

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Waite. For the record, SK did resemble a lot of what I was saying last night.

Everyone is misguided on this forum if you don't subscribe to the basic theme of "Thou shalt love Mick unconditionally....and thou shalt love all players not named Ge'Lawn". If you post outside of those boundries, look out!

my main disagreement with your post yesterday was your assertion that his 3's shot us out of games against X and NM.That is not accurate. My advice and I'm certainly not a expert is to ignore the ridiculous post and enjoy the good ones. I didn't always take my own advice but since I have adopted this new approach I enjoy the site much more.

My support of MC has nothing to do with his personal life. Don't know him. I think he is a very good young coach that has worked under 2 HOF's. He is elevating the program and as his reputation grows so will his clout in the recruiting circles.I'm not willing at this time to start over with another low budget under the radar up and comer and start the process all over again. That's my opinion.His teams play hard and he gets the most out of their ability.

As for GG seems like a good kid just doesn't perform as well as many would like. From my perspective if I criticize a kid for his play Its not personal it's a fans point of view. I think all of us should remember when evaluating a players performance that for me even in my younger days he is still light years more talented then I ever was.

 

[bearcat jeff]

If some people had their way this site would just be a bunch of posts with titles like "Top 10 reasons why Mick is the best coach ever" and "We won tonight so here's why we'll win the championship" with a few responses on each saying "I agree".

There wouldn't be much to discuss if everyone was just agreeing with each other all the time. Yes, we're currently winning games and from the overall tone of the board it seems like most people are very happy with that. That doesn't mean this team doesn't have areas where it needs to improve, especially if you want to see them make a deep run in March.

So the people who are interested in UC sports come to this board to discuss it. They share their opinions and perspectives and occasionally disagree about topics. I mean, that's why this place exists right?

Yes, and we should respect each others opinion and not make it personal. I love a good debate.