Bold Moves That Could Make 2012 A Special Season
by Max Mandel on Jun 29, 2011 11:15 AM PDT
Email
PrintThe success and consistency of the Gonzaga basketball program over the past 10 years has been nothing short of remarkable. Although it may seem like myself and the other writers on the site take all the 20+ win seasons for granted, I can assure you that there is a high level of respect and appreciation for the culture that the coaching staff has been able to create in Spokane.
With that said, this past season provided some of the first chinks in the Gonzaga armor, as there seemed to be a sense of complacency and staleness throughout the program. While the talent of the squad ultimately prevailed in March, it was hard not to notice that a lot of the recruiting reaches over the past two years had failed to pan out. The reliance on signing players in the Spring signing period wasn't beneficial, and there appeared to be a lack of player development.
In order to overcome complacency in the program, I think it's imperative that this upcoming season sees Gonzaga go back to it's roots that allowed the program to emerge as something special. It's time to see a Gonzaga team push the tempo on both ends of the court and use the length and athleticism that is abundant on the team to make something special happen and adjust the culture of the program for the coming years.
The key for me is the implementation of a man-to-man fullcourt defense. Throughout this great run that Gonzaga has had, I can't remember a team that has had the kind of length and athleticism at all positions, which allows this type of defense to be played. I would love to see a starting lineup of Gary Bell, Marquise Carter, Elias Harris, Sam Dower and Rob Sacre at the start of the season. This lineup would have tremendous length at each position and is a team that would be incredibly difficult to stop when on the fastbreak. I don't necessarily think it would be the most fluid team in the halfcourt, but I like to think back to the North Carolina team that won it all in 2009, since that team pushed the tempo every possession (note: just to make it clear, in no way do I think that this Gonzaga team will be as good as that UNC team). The other aspect of this lineup that is intriguing is the ability to matchup at each position on the defensive end. As Marquise Carter demonstrated last season, he has the ability to guard on the perimeter, and I expect GBJ to be able to do the same. At the SF, PF and C positions, GU would have the advantage in terms of length, and would be able to matchup athletically with most of the top teams in the country.
With the idea of playing at such a high tempo on both ends of the court, a team needs to have depth to give the starting five legitimate rest over the course of 40 minutes. Thankfully, it looks like this roster is capable of doing so. At the PG/SG position, I see a legitimate competition between Mathis Keita, David Stockton and Kevin Pangos for the primary role off the bench. I would like to see GBJ, Marquise Carter and one of the guys mentioned in a rotation over the course of the game. Since I am a huge believer in improving the defense and implementing fullcourt pressure, I would lean towards Keita, especially if he has been able to improve his ball-handling abilities. Along with Keita, players like Guy Landry, The Hoff, Kelly Olynyk and Ryan Spangler can provide significant depth and allow this team to play at the high tempo that is necessary for the program to continue to improve and hopefully get to the next level.
While the high-tempo offense will not be a big adjustment for this program, it's the willingness to pressure the ball on the defensive end that is so important. It's difficult to count the number of times I have been talking to Zach during a game and mentioning how much I would love to see some 3/4 court pressure. Unfortunately, since the departure of Austin Daye, there seems to have been a reluctance to really force the issue on the defensive end. Sitting back in a zone has been the reason that we have seen blowout losses in the NCAA Tournament to Syracuse and BYU in the past two years. It's not that teams just seem to shoot the ball well against Gonzaga. Instead, the issue at hand is that it's not easy to be a good defensive team when you sag back in a 2-3 zone and allow teams to beat you from the perimeter. This group next year has the talent to be a pretty special team, but in order to do so there must be a commitment to using a deeper rotations and stepping up the tempo and pressure on both ends of the court.
25 comments
|
1 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Not Optimistic
I’d love to be wrong, but I think that lineup gets eaten alive by a team that plays three quality guards or two guards and a small forward/swingman with guard type shooting and ball handling skills. On the other hand Elias’ perimeter skills on offense and defense are going to be key to succeeding at the next level so he should have plenty of motivation to improve in that area if given the chance.
by Murphy Park on Jun 29, 2011 11:46 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
"I think that lineup gets eaten alive by a team that plays three quality guards or two guards and a small forward/swingman with guard type shooting and ball handling skills."
Name me ONE team like that in college basketball. There aren’t any.
Welcome to the Sound Pound...
By that I mean
There aren’t any teams that will play 3 quality guards that can stop Elias and Rob. Maybe a Duke or Kentucky, but they are Duke and Kentucky. This team has considerable experience in the paint and now we will have multiple perimeter shooters with Meech being gone. The poor WCC is going to get stomped.
Welcome to the Sound Pound...
Name One?
Portland.
St. Mary’s — especially last year.
U-Dub
Arizona
All these teams could put a lineup like that on the floor — and these are just West coast teams. I could go on all day.
mjc
Full court pressure?
With Gary Bell, Marquise Carter, Elias Harris, Sam Dower and Rob Sacre?
Seems like you would have a problem with depth on the front line if you go this route.
Also seems like a formula to get all your best bigs in foul trouble early in the game.
If you have Elias Harris, Sam Dower and Rob Sacre sitting on the bench with two fouls each and 7 minutes to go in the first half, who are you going to sub for them?
Are these subs going to continue to apply full court pressure?
Carter’s D improved a lot during the course of last year. Just the same, it appears to me that he does not see the whole court well and is not especially effective in transition defense. IMO, he is much better when matched up one on one. How many steals did he get? (played about 19 minutes a game and came up with one steal per game — very average).
This team isn’t even close to the talent and mobility of the teams the featured Austin Daye. You have to tailor your game to the players you have to be successful.
This group does some things very well. Few would be wise to play to his strengths. That will win the conference and most games.
You are correct, we will lose some games by packing it and daring them to beat us from outside. You are also correct in that we will likely (this is being charitable) get beat in the tournament at some point this year. I know this can be frustrating for some of the faithful but there is no shame in losing to a better team if you play your best and leave it all on the floor.
mjc
If you want...
to do a full court press, it would be best if you had GBJ, Carter, and Keita out there. Keita can play some damn good D! If he plays like he did against Xavier each night, which is not unrealistic, I think he’s gotta be put into the back end of the rotation (like an 8-9 man). You wanna put some defensive pressure on a team, those 3 would be the best to get it done.
In Few We Trust.
by d2zag on Jun 29, 2011 1:08 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Realistically
Elias, in two seasons, was more of a defensive liability than an asset.
I don’t think Rob has the coordination to avoid fouling when the emphasis is on pressure defense.
In several interviews, Gary Bell has been up front about the fact that his d needs major improvements.
Sam Dower provides instant O, but not necessarily tenacious d.
Marquise seems in his comfort zone in a half court O—doesn;t seem to be the kind of guy that shines in a helter skelter situation.
If you want to play full court, it helps to substitute freely with warm bodies and I don’t see a lot of blazing speed on the bench. Long arms we have in Keita and Dranginis—but how disruptive are they? Because of his length Sarbaugh might surprise in a pressing scenario, but methinks he redshirts.
The question to me
is who will rs (assuming anybody does)? If Spangler is available and can contribute, Few can be much more aggressive with the other bigs.
I’m also hoping Landry is as good a defender as he is a dunker.
You raise a very good point
There is the possibility that we will feature a very long bench this year.
Personally I don’t think that is going to happen, but you never know.
I see this year as more of a rebuilding process than anything else. I know very well how much time playing a sport can take out of your day. It helps a lot to put in a RS year and get 30 credits under your belt — particularly if your major is challenging academically.
We are on the verge of some really great teams. I hope this particular year is better than last year but I would be surprised if this particular team will accomplish as much as some teams of the past.
mjc
Definitely
I would rather have Spangler and KD (maybe even Pangos) take a year to acclimate and get their academics to a solid start than have them get overwhelmed and/or waste a year on sparse playing time.
I'd redshirt Dranginis
and possibly Spangler.
I’d love to redshirt Pangos since I don’t think he’s ready but I’m not sure if the depth will allow for that type of flexibility
The Slipper Still Fits - SB Nation's home for the Gonzaga Bulldogs!
Awesome- Let's talk basketball!!
Great Post Max! First real basketball post in months. Blah blah blah about personnel. Let’s talk philosophy. I believe that a program like Gonzaga, a mid-major if we want to admit it or not, needs some unique way to play the game to get us to the next level. Butler has done it with unbelievable half-court man-to-man defense. We will never compete with the athleticism of the big boys. I’m an east coast guy- newsflash- Gonzaga will NEVER consistently have the talent of Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc. Maybe Max has an idea. Can we play full-court up-tempo on both ends. I never met up-tempo that I didn’t like. I’m a Westhead disciple. “Guru of Go”. In my opinion, I’m not sure that’s the answer, as much as I hate to say it.
We are long, but we are not quick. The open court may expose this even more. I like half-court trapping defenses. If they get beaten at the top, the team just recovers back to the half court. It controls tempo and provides opportunities for easy opportunities. I think Syracuse’s 2-3 is effective because they are long and big. They can disrupt and get in passing lanes because of that. They can challenge shots and they rebound.
A couple of points to consider: IMO our biggest weakness defensively is with controlling the dribbler. Reason for the onslaught of 3s- we get beat off the dribble, kick out to spot up shooter, bam. Remember us getting schooled by the USF freshman point guard early in the season. One more thing to remember- Austin Daye was long, very long, but he was also very slow. In the open floor he was a nightmare. What he did do defensively was rebound and guard the inbound pass underneath.
I vote for up-tempo on O, like we usually do, and something more packed in on D with emphasis on getting in the passing lanes with our length. Setting some traps, laying for steals. We will not be able to stop the dribbler, but we can help each other. Step in like Hart does. Maybe Sacre can step up and be a real “last line of defense”. How often did Patrick Ewing make John Thompson look like a genius. Switch defenses, ala Dean Smith. Take advantage of our IQs. Zone, man, half court traps, a little full. Also, one more point, even full court defenses can be more passive, tempo controlling. Doesn’t have to be “helter skelter”. Jim Calhoun is the master of that. The team that won around 2000.
Fun to talk hoops. Go Zags!
a couple comments on your "points to consider"
IMO our biggest weakness defensively is with controlling the dribbler. Reason for the onslaught of 3s- we get beat off the dribble, kick out to spot up shooter, bam.
I agree that we have trouble controlling the dribbler but the result of the open three is more of a result of “packing it in on defense” There is no help, the GU defenders are 3 steps off their man in help side, packed in position and can not close out on the shooter. You refrence ‘Cuse zone D. But that zone is extended not packed in. It works BECAUSE they have long, quick, athletic players….not because they do any form of “packing it in” Also, how do you get in the passing lanes if you are packing it in? The answer is…you don’t.
IMO GU needs to play a match up zone and be MUCH better about help side defense, MUCH better about how to properly hedge since they seem dead set on this, and MUCH better at not allowing the other team to attack the gaps and exploit an overloaded side of the zone. This requires work, and effort by the coaching staff to ensure the players are know their job and role no matter where the ball is on the court.
As far as the press…last year with Meech, Carter, and Gray, all reasonable athletes with a fair amount of D-1 experience…. the press sucked. it accomplished nothing. This years team would be better served to play tough defense and push the ball at every opportunity in transition and the secondary break as well… all this of course is IMO
If you don't like my fire then don't come around...
by mattydog73 on Jun 30, 2011 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
full court 3/4 court press...
is all well and good but not for the entire game. GU needs to figure out how to defend in the half court before they try extending it out. With that said, this GU team fits the mold of a Mark Few model….pretty good defenders, not great but they can score score score score….and that is how he will look to win this year. I hate to say it but that is the case. Make no mistake the team on the floor this year will NOTstruggle to score….but will they be able to defend well enough for that to matter??? IMO that is the question.
Also, I can not for the life of me figure out how anyone could call this a “rebuilding” year. We lost Gray…the one major contributor in any significant catagory. We Kept everyone else of consequence…we bring PG’s who can score, a PF who has a awesome motor, a transfer SF who looks like a taller version of Ira Brown….will this team struggle at first…of course….but give them 10-12 games….they will make leaps and bounds and be better…especially on the offensive side than the team last year.
If you don't like my fire then don't come around...
Changeups, instead of fastballs...
I think a few people have touched on this already and they are absolutely correct: we are long, but not necessarily quick, and I there are key players that play a lot who aren’t “intelligent” defenders. I’ve been begging Mark Few (we’re best friends, see) to play up tempo for years, and I think on offense that is an excellent idea. For all the grief I’ve given Stockton, he always seemed to push the ball up the floor with a head of steam and get something going. Having the UNC mindset of just constantly pushing on every possession is something we need to instill from day one. Having said that, I’m pretty sure we can all predict how this incredibly deep roster will shake out: Few will play a bunch of crazy rotations early in the season, settle on one, change his mind, and then leave one or two key reserves with confidence problems before the tourney.
On D, I think full court pressure and trapping is a good idea, but I don’t think we have the speed or intelligence to do it consistently. At the same time, mixing up our schemes and including a few surprise half court traps (instead of just sitting in zone all game) can lead to some opportunities. I think a big reason why we played so well against Rutgers was their pressure: they forced us to play up tempo and it just so happened to fit our personnel perfectly. They harassed us and we managed to avoid turnovers and get a bunch of easy buckets. We aren’t going to blow anyone away with lockdown full court pressure or a funky 1-3-1 zone, but we can have several different schemes on hand it could be useful. We don’t need to be an elite fastball pitcher, but a pitcher who throws 5 junk pitches pretty well and mixes them up effectively can be just as useful.
Shaq as an undercover cop:
Shaq: yo man, can I score some dope?
Dealer: Motherf****r, you shaq.
by kguner on Jun 29, 2011 5:24 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Up tempo is fine.................
if you have the quickness, BBIQ and defensive players to go with that style. Could we please get a list of these stalwart high BBIQ defenders on the 2011 team? You recruit that, you don’t try to put square pegs in round holes.
To play the up tempo style Max and others want, would require a house cleaning of the current GU players and a need to change out at least 3 coaches! Look, either you do it whole hog or you don’t. You can’t play the hunt and peck method some here are suggesting and achieve the results expected.
Probably said more than I should’ve. One parting shot on our current defenders at GU………..Mike Hart was our best???? I mean no disrespect for Mike Hart just pointing out my foundation of statement.
Also, I expect 3-4 redshirts, not just 1.
Anybody want to talk philosophy/strategy instead of personnel? I'm bored. Help me out!
Mike, I feel like the conversation always gets “in the weeds” regarding personnel and it moves away from more general topics like philosophy. I’ve been a Zags fan for about 12 years since I took a teacher trip to the university to study Lewis and Clark. In general, we get certain types of players. We get athletic players that are less refined like Manny Arop, Erroll Knight, Larry Gurganius, Meech, etc. We get more cerebral, less athletic players like Matt Bouldin and Blake Stepp. Maybe David Stockton will fit that classification. We get lots of quality bigs that just don’t quite fit the bill at the highest level. A tad too slow. Can’t jump. Not enough skills- Heyfelt, Mallon, Rony,
Every year is similar to but also different from the year before. Gonzaga Univ is going to attract certain players and UConn, Kentucky, UNC are going to attract certain players. I would go as far as to argue, that we may be better off in the long run attracting the 4-year types rather than the one and dones. (Austin Daye)
To repeat my point from the previous post- Can we do something different to give us a competitive advantage over other D1 schools, regardless of talent? Does anybody want to talk strategy, philosophy, Xs and Os? I’m weary of talking about GG and GV and DS, etc, etc.
It is pretty much the same plus or minus every year. Occasionally a player comes to Gonzaga and develops off the charts like Adam Morrison. Coincidently that team was the team we have had that had a legit chance to go to the final four. I know how everybody likes to discuss the UCLA game.
Pangos, Spangler, etc, etc, etc- quality young men, quality division 1 basketball players. NOT blue-chippers. Quality individuals. That’s one reason we like Gonzaga. I have traveled from Md to Seattle and to Salt Lake City to watch them. Sometimes a player does not pan out- like Grant Gibbs. Sometimes a player develops out of this world. Sometimes a player develops late, like Rony. Starting center for the Knicks. Overall, it’s basically the same deal year after year. It’s fun to be a fan. Can we get to a Final Four? Not sure. In summary, I think our recruiting is outstanding considering all the factors. I my opinion, the holy grail is in strategy. There has got to be a way to compete at the highest level with this talent. Football analogy- Oregon and Boise State. Later. Go Zags!
Very well stated
No arguments here! Agree completely. I was addressing the absurdity of the of the overall theme. (GU should play up tempo with this group)
Again, excellent dialogue MdZagFan!
I know you don't want to talk personnel, but
let me just say in passing that I can’t believe anyone would ever lump Heytvelt in with Mallon when discussing skills and athleticism. Heytvelt was a freaking beast.
And I think Erroll Knight was plenty refined
he took a backseat offensively, concentrating on defense, because of his repeated injuries…but we are nitpicking, overall, I agree with MD’s theme, and many of have stated,, WE NEED AN IDENTITY, SOMETHING WE CAN HANG OUR HATS ON,,,I hope we copy Butler and develop a stifling D,,, we are halfway there, just need to start sitting every player who allows an open 3..lol, maybe
Dower and Landry
Two Players I’m really hoping flourish this year:
Dower needs 20+ minutes. Period.
Landry is our x-factor. Granted, Hoff and Keita are only sophomores and still have something to prove (i hope), but Landy is seasoned and strong. If he can get 15+ minutes, I’ll be thrilled.
Heytvelt not a "freakin beast"
People’s memories get blurred with time. Heytvelt was never the “freakin beast” Few wanted him to be. Zero, zip boards in that humilliating exit against North Carolina. Kelly suffers from some of that “point guard in seven foot body syndrome”, too. I thought Daniels was supposed to work magic with bigs. I’ve yet to see it.
Too often, Heyfelt was the invisible man.
Will only agree with you there.
As for Daniels, you need look no farther than Dower for your ‘results’. Sacre’s D was a lot better last year as well.
Now I don’t know who exactly was ‘responsible’ for this ‘magic’ but . . .
mjc
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on The Slipper Still Fits
Related FanShots on The Slipper Still Fits
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
