Dakich on defense

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bga1

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Dakich was scoffing about our defense. Said at one point it was simply a matter of how many open shots Northwestern would make. This was while we were in the man to man. For the Armelin bashers - Chip wasn't in. Chip or no Chip our man to man is really, really bad. There's just a lack of quickness of reaction (even moreso than footspeed) and sound defensive principles. Hoff and Sampson just got abused on drives on consecutive possessions. The zone looked better.

I actually think we will win and live to see another day here. We played a lousy half and we are right there with NW.
 

bga1 said:
Dakich was scoffing about our defense. Said at one point it was simply a matter of how many open shots Northwestern would make. This was while we were in the man to man. For the Armelin bashers - Chip wasn't in. Chip or no Chip our man to man is really, really bad. There's just a lack of quickness of reaction (even moreso than footspeed) and sound defensive principles. Hoff and Sampson just got abused on drives on consecutive possessions. The zone looked better.

I actually think we will win and live to see another day here. We played a lousy half and we are right there with NW.
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I think a lot of issues are gonna be solved when we bring in Hollins along with Coleman, both guys who are quick and willing to play D. Chip's defense has actually improved quite a bit this year, you can tell he's been working on his game hard, and you see him getting more burn as well.

We've pretty much played lousy halves throughout. We'll play better in the 2nd half, but I think Northwestern will also hit more shots. If this game is tight with 5 minutes left, I just lack faith anymore in this team's ability to come up with the clutch plays like they were earlier this year. It wasn't even always Nolen, but the team just believed it would win games. Now, they wait for the shoe to drop. Maybe having a neutral site game can help them forget about the issues they've had, but I'm not confident about it.
 

There is a reason Dakich is broadcasting and not a head coach somewhere. The defense has looked bad and there have been some lapses, yet the gophers still are on pace to allow fewer than 60 points. Defense is not this teams problem.
 

Rosemountian said:
There is a reason Dakich is broadcasting and not a head coach somewhere. The defense has looked bad and there have been some lapses, yet the gophers still are on pace to allow fewer than 60 points. Defense is not this teams problem.
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it's one of them
 



Rosemountian said:
There is a reason Dakich is broadcasting and not a head coach somewhere. The defense has looked bad and there have been some lapses, yet the gophers still are on pace to allow fewer than 60 points. Defense is not this teams problem.
Click to expand...

Are you watching the game? Their defense has been horrendous. Normally I'd agree.
 

After seeing how many wide open looks NW, in particular Juice Thompson is getting defense is in my top 5.
 

1) Can't shoot
2) Nobody wants the ball
3) Can't establish position to get the ball to our big guys
4) Nobody can penetrate
5) free throws
6) Are bad at clutch rebounding
7) Are bad defensively in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock
8) Give up too many open 3 attempts


And it is typically the same story in every game.
 

Rosemountian said:
1) Can't shoot
2) Nobody wants the ball
3) Can't establish position to get the ball to our big guys
4) Nobody can penetrate
5) free throws
6) Are bad at clutch rebounding
7) Are bad defensively in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock
8) Give up too many open 3 attempts


And it is typically the same story in every game.
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Not to mention, miss layups, can't hit a midrange jumper, have costly turnovers, and have players like Ahanmisi on the floor.
 




He is right about our "scouting" issue. I seriously think we have a coaching issue. Tubby and his assistants are being out-coached. A team this talented, not knowing how to play zone. What's Tubby teaching them during practices?
 


station19 said:
it's one of them
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Indeed it is. We give up a good shot to NU virtually every time down the court. And we get few good shots ourselves. (OK, I admit I'm not a hoops guy, and have just stated the very obvious.)
 



Defense might not be the #1 problem, but it is a major problem. We were playing NW and they aren't an offensive powerhouse. We just don't have anyone who plays solid defense. Trevor is really bad despite blocking some shots. Same goes for Williams, Ralph, and Colton. All can block a shot or two but can't guard anyone. The guards are even worse. The only kid with any instinct on defense is Hollins.

I've said it before...we have way too many "not so smart" players on this team. Illinois and Michigan have the same problem at times, but we suffer from it every game.
 

IMO the Gopher zone defense the last couple of coaches has been poor. Tubby is not a zone guy. Monson didn't coach it the right way either.

The problem is that the top of the zone doesn't push the guards out high enough. What happens is that since the offensive guards aren't pushed back, basically whenever they want they can ball fake and get one of our guys in the air since they are in their normal 3-pt shooting range. Then the endless cycle of trying to rotate defensively starts and you end up giving up an open jumper.

Watch Syracuse play zone tomorrow in the Big East Tournament and note how far out the top of the zone makes the opposing guards play. It is out of their normal 3-pt shooting range. The guards usually have to make a move to get to an open jumper, a big difference with how we play zone.

Another good thing Syracuse does is that they actually invite you to get the ball to the free-throw line area. Once that happens the bigs down low push out and the top of the zone collapse on the forward/center with the ball. The beauty is that those guys are far more likely to commit a turnover than a guard - plus, they'd rather live with giving up a long 2-pt shot to a big than a 3-pt shot to a guard - a mathematical equation that makes a lot of sense.

The problem isn't that we're playing zone. The problem is how we're playing it.
 

bga1 said:
Dakich was scoffing about our defense. Said at one point it was simply a matter of how many open shots Northwestern would make. This was while we were in the man to man. For the Armelin bashers - Chip wasn't in. Chip or no Chip our man to man is really, really bad. There's just a lack of quickness of reaction (even moreso than footspeed) and sound defensive principles. Hoff and Sampson just got abused on drives on consecutive possessions. The zone looked better.

I actually think we will win and live to see another day here. We played a lousy half and we are right there with NW.
Click to expand...

Gopher D was poor yesterday. NWU got open shots (whether 20 footers or layups) whenever they wanted. Poor defense in the lane and on the perimeter.
 

Rosemountian said:
There is a reason Dakich is broadcasting and not a head coach somewhere. The defense has looked bad and there have been some lapses, yet the gophers still are on pace to allow fewer than 60 points. Defense is not this teams problem.
Click to expand...

It was a major problem yesterday. But you are correct - the lack of offense is also a problem.

Gophers had 1 or 2 (at the most) scorers on the floor most of the game. No scorer at 1 or 3 spot, none at 5 when Iverson played it. RSIII scored better at high post than C.
 

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