I thoroughly enjoyed watching the replay of the Kentucky vs. Florida game this past weekend. As I catch up on college basketball during the Winter Storm in Kentucky, I find myself contemplating:
Are these teams so concentrated on their offensive strategies that their defense is being compromised? Or is their offense so effective that the era of holding teams to a .39 FG percentage is over?
During a Kentucky practice I attended this past pre-season, I observed that their offense is not primarily set-based, but rather action-based or stunt-based.
As a high school coach, I recognize that most of our players cannot execute the defensive reading that a team like Kentucky does. This serves as a valuable reminder of the importance of teaching young athletes how to play, rather than merely teaching them plays. I emphasize to our players the importance of noting how a defender reacts to a pin-down or a ballscreen, and being prepared to counter effectively the next time they use that same cut or screen.
I watched the Houston vs. TCU game last night. I've always regarded Jamie Dixon as one of the top half-court man-to-man defensive coaches in the country, and it's clear that Kelvin Sampson at Houston has built his program's culture on defensive toughness, making it a compelling game to watch. I was impressed by how Houston maintains their defensive aggression, consistently executing quick, hard hedges, and sometimes traps on ballscreens. Our coaching staff emphasizes that for every trap, a gap must be covered. Houston excels in rotating to cover the roll man, pop-man, or short-roll man, and is equally adept at rotating back out of the hedge and gap or trap and gap coverage. This led me to wonder how much time Coach Sampson dedicates to BS rotation coverages in a typical practice to achieve such consistency.
I also appreciate how Houston varies the timing of their post-doubles. I would assume Houston's post-double strategy is based on 1) the catch, 2) the first dribble, 3) a trap from the low opposite man, and 4) a trap from the high opposite man. Their ability to rotate into and out of traps is truly impressive.
Lastly, I noticed how Houston employs a run-and-jump style with another guard to double team (trap) baseline drives from the corner, rather than using the typical post-help-over and trap in the short corner.
Peja Stojakovic, a Yugoslavian basketball player, was drafted into the NBA in 1996. He played for the Kings, the Raptors (for two games), the Hornets (then Charlotte), the Pacers, and won a championship with the Mavericks. In 2006, I recall watching him score the first 20 points in a game for the Hornets. He was renowned as an excellent shooter and a skilled playmaker/facilitator. He finished fourth in the NBA MVP voting in one season. During his time with the Kings, he played under one of the most consistent coaches of all time, Rick Adelman. Peja eventually became the General Manager of the Kings before retiring.
Credit: I first noticed this on Sean Billerman's X page. This clip is from his X post.
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