Full court defense?

[Guest]

The thread on the zone made me think of this issue--why don't we press or play full court defense more? I like the idea of chagning up D, and I've noticed in the last couple years we play an agressive 2-3. However, I have been surprised that we do not really apply pressure defenses as much as one would think or hope we would. I would think we'd press more, maybe not a standard trapping defense, but we could go full-court man, and/or mix it up with a variety of full-court pressure D. I think we should try doing it more given: (1) With the players we have had under Jim, and especially with the emphasis on guards, we have the personnel for it; (2) We have more overall quickness than many teams we play; (3) We want and need to go uptemo, so we could use the full-court pressure to create a tempo that is better suited to us; (4) With the turnovers and additional posessions it would create for us, this would give us more "easy" baskets on the transition, and the increased posessions would give us more looks to the basket for increased 3 pt. chances.; (5) Team depth--we could go at teams in waves (I left this off initially and edited it back in).

I would think the ability to dictate to our tempo with full court pressure would be a better alternative than going at other team's paces, but still going small with our line up. Any thoughts on all this?

[ER3]

I think our personnel last year would have been better suited to doing more full court pressing...
This year with Warren and Crouch playing big minutes, we have two guys on the court who aren't very quick defensively...I think Ruff and Wilson could cause problems with their quickness and athleticism in a press, but if the other team broke that trap consistently, we'd be in big trouble with them running out 4-on-3 against Crouch, Warren, and Salley.
Last year with a group of Ruffin, Franklin, JJ, Crouch, and Andrews, I think you would have had a much better chance at being successful with the press...
I think it's something that could be thrown in occasionally to try and get some quick turnovers, but I think our personnel this year is better suited to trying to defend the other team's half court sets...

[Dubl R 1]

I kind of disagree here. I think our personnel this year is better suited to pressing. Last year, for one, BU wasn't deep enough to sustain a press. We would run the risk of wearing down, or getting into foul trouble, with nobody to back us up. That should not be an issue this year.

Plus, the make-up of this team screams full court pressure to me, from an athletic player type standpoint, awareness, may be another issue. Ruffin, TCS, and Sam M would be very effective at the front of the pressure, with Theron Wilson, AW, or Egolf in the mid-court range, with DC backing up the press. Like I said, all of these players have all the attributes(quickness, athleticism, good length, and a 7 footer as a last line) to make for an outstanding zone press. The thing is, everyone has to be in-tune with one another for a zone press to be really effective, and with some of our young/new guys having mental lapses(DC, Egolf, TCS, and even Sam M sometimes) the press may breakdown, and lead to some cheap fouls on our bigs backing up the press. Even JC would be effective in some pressure situations, Singh however, may not be a full court/trapping type of player. I think maybe JL, with so much to go over with all the new faces had to maybe spend a little less time on some things, and a full court zone may be that something.

We could always go Full court man, but that usually just slows down an opponent, as they drop everybody back, then take their time bringing it up 1 on 1. You really need a zone press to speed up the game and force turnovers, but like I said, it requires a lot of work and communication and alertness to be really effective.

[TheGreatOne]

Full court pressure is not as easy as many people think. To be able to apply full-court pressure long enough to make it effective takes at least 7-8 suitable players.

In my opinion, both Jeremy and Sam are incapable of playing this style against quality D-1 opponents. That is not to say they are poor defenders. On the contrary, I believe JC has turned himself into a much better on-ball defender than I ever thought possible. Sam, also has done a very good job on defense in the little time he has been at Bradley.

However, playing a full-court, trapping style of D is a much different animal. You are going to have to move much more, expend much more energy, and be able to sustain that amount of energy for 40 minutes. I personally do not feel Bradley has enough athletes to sustain that style.

[Les is More]

We dont have the team speed for a full court press. Especially if DC or SS are in there. I know we cant have 5 super athletes, but i certainly dont trust Salley in teh back of it.

Again, changing up the D is a good idea to keep the opposing team on their toes. I am not disregarding the fact that maybe we should do it sometimes.

[ph]

This BU team is both deep and not very deep at the same time. There is really only 5 guards playing 3 guard spots (1,2,3) and one of them, TCS, barely takes any minutes. 2 guys playing the 4 (TW and WE) but WE does not play much. And a collection of 3 guys playing the 5, although RA would make it 4 and our deepest position.

With 4 guards playing the 3 spots there is not enough depth to press, since you cannot press with centers.

[Da Coach]

It is all about personnel. I am sure Jim Les has considered this, but he does not think playing a full court defense like that is in the team's best interest. He needs to keep DR and JC on the court for 32-35 minutes a game, and extending the defense would risk more fouls or more fatigue. Last night, Wright had one of their key players foul out, while Bradley's key guys played the full overtime period, and it made a difference.

[wingrider81]

Full Court Zone

I think that we have enough guys to play that UCLA full
court zone press. It's an icing on the cake thing that you
might see 5X per game. Just a gut feeling and I won't ex-
pect to see it before the MVC tourney. There is a busload
to learn about defenses before we strut out that little ditty.
Wing

[peoriakid]

ful court press

Another big reason that I havnt seen anyone mention, if the other team breaks the press it often leads to easy lay ups. I think thats why a lot of times it is used as a "desparate times call for desparate measures" tactic.

Ryan

[Beninator]

I think that we have enough guys to play that UCLA full
court zone press. It's an icing on the cake thing that you
might see 5X per game. Just a gut feeling and I won't ex-
pect to see it before the MVC tourney. There is a busload
to learn about defenses before we strut out that little ditty.
Wing

I like your idea Wing. I think that we could put a press in at times when someone like JC is getting a blow on the bench. Then bring JC back for a three dagger!

[TheGreatOne]

It is all about personnel. I am sure Jim Les has considered this, but he does not think playing a full court defense like that is in the team's best interest. He needs to keep DR and JC on the court for 32-35 minutes a game, and extending the defense would risk more fouls or more fatigue. Last night, Wright had one of their key players foul out, while Bradley's key guys played the full overtime period, and it made a difference.

These are excellent points you bring up Da Coach.

I think many also do not consider the fact that pressing is better when it's a full time strategy. Part of using the FC Press is the long term effect it puts on the opposing team. The press is meant to wear down the opposition, especially mentally over the course of the game. It's not just about quick turnovers in the first half. A good press will eventually wear down a team in the 2nd half, and then you get a load of turnovers in a short period of time.

[Murph]

Slo Mo used the full court press I think 2 times in his career at BU, I hope JL isn't that stubborn.....

[wingrider81]

Starters?

I wasn't thinking in terms of starters. I was thinking the
second five and Austin. Some length, some quickness
there too...
Wing

[ER3]

I wasn't thinking in terms of starters. I was thinking the
second five and Austin. Some length, some quickness
there too...
Wing

You do realize that this isn't football...right? Because that 2nd five that you would want to come in and play full-court defense would also have to find a way to run some sort of offense at the other end...And this "second five" would consist of Maniscalco, Cole-Scott, Egolf, Collins, and Singh/Austin...and that lineup would be really, really hard-pressed to get a quality shot on offense...so I'll pass on that idea.

[wingrider81]

Er3

Hey ER3, I do think that we have barely enough quick-step
people to run a full court zone. If we drop DR and TW down
I am pretty sure that we could run it effectively. I am, just
like you, convinced that we don't want to do that. I want
something that the 2nd five can hang their hat on and just
another annoyance that our MVC friends need to invest time
in practice over. Stirring the pot between big games. lol
Wing