Can Mark Adams fix the offense?
When Adams was hired two Aprils ago, people immediately assumed that Steve Green would come with him from South Plains. We finally got him after a bizarre early exit from Barret Peery.
Green's made a name for himself as an offensive guru at SPC over the years. He became popular a few years ago when national media wrote articles about him copying the Golden State Warriors offense, but I think that's almost become a misconception about what he wants to do offensively. Sure, he likes to shoot the 3 ball -- if he has good shooters. But his offense at SPC varied over the years from high tempo / quick 3s to a little bit slower and playing through the post. His offensive philosophy is not a one-sized-fits-all thing. It will change depending on his personnel.
I think Adams has been enamored with Baylor's offense since they changed it a couple years ago after Tristan Clark tore his knee up. Somehow, Baylor was able to perfectly replicate Tech's no-middle defense, while playing these 3-guard lineups that killed teams with ball movement and elite shot-making. Baylor had crazy-good guard play in that time (they still do unfortunately).
Was Baylor so good offensively because of scheme? Or was it just really, really good personnel? Probably a mixture of both. But it's tough for anyone to replicate. I think much tougher for us to replicate than it was for Baylor to steal our defense.
But I do think we are going to try.
This year's team is a major shift in personnel for Tech. Some of it by design (adding shooters) and some of it out of our control (our big guy being lost for, what's likely to be, the majority of the season). How different will the offense actually be? By all accounts, Coach Adams is taking a bit of a step back in directing the offense in favor of Steve Green (with the help of Luke Adams).
I'm expecting there to be a noticeable difference for the reasons listed above. But will it work? If it doesn't work, will we shift back to a grind-it-out affair? Will we even know how effective it is during non-conference play? Maybe not.
Quick shots will hurt our defense. Will the tradeoff be worth it? I think it will, but that's going to depend on those shots going in.
How big of a step back will we take defensively?
We are a lot smaller on the perimeter. A lot younger, too. Tech's had a top 10 Kenpom defense (#1 twice) in 4 of the last 5 years. The year we did not have a top 10 defense -- the 2021 team was a measly top 20 defense -- we were playing younger and smaller lineups (McClung, Kyler, MSS as the post, Peavy, etc.). It reminds me a little bit of this year's roster from a size / experience standpoint.
The one kicker here is Daniel Batcho. If he is what we think he could be, Tech's defense will have a premier shot-blocking center in the paint. We didn't have that in 2021 -- hell, we haven't really had that since the 2019 defense, which makes our historic run of defense even more impressive.
This Tech team can be really good by March if (1) the defense gels over the course of the season like I think it will, and (2) losing all of that size and experience on the perimeter is offset by an elite shot-blocking presence. I wouldn't bet against Mark Adams figuring out how to play good defense.
People say that you need to build your team to beat the best team in the conference. Most thought that was Baylor going into last year, and we were built to beat them with all the length and experience on the perimeter. I think it's debatable whether that's the case this year. Baylor's loaded again at guard. They are more talented than we are -- similar to last year -- except now we aren't much, much bigger and older than them, which was a huge equalizer.
I predict that our defense will be a lot better by the end of the season than it will be through January or so.
Will the United Spirit Arena & Mark Adams effect still be there?
Tech Hoops in Lubbock is a monster. It's been like that for a long time now. It's probably the toughest place to play in the country. That effect isn't going anywhere.
Mark Adams is a force of nature. He beat the national champs last year -- soundly, too -- with Mylik Wilson and Clarence Nadolny playing 60 minutes.
We will have a coaching advantage in most games. It's possible that the addition of Steve Green (and Al Pinkins) widens that gap even more.
It's important for that home court and coaching edge to carry us through the early part of this season, while our young guys grow up and while our defense's cohesiveness tightens up.
This league is a juggernaut.
Baylor is stacked.
Kansas is Kansas.
Texas has a lot of talent, just like they did last year. Betting on them to massively underachieve two years in a row might be a stretch.
TCU is really good, unfortunately.
Kansas State will be improved. So will WVU. OU and Oklahoma State are probable tournament teams if they were in any other league. Iowa State has a home court advantage that rivals Tech's.
Someone really good in this league is going to lose 12 or more conference games.
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
https://shop.summerlandwinebrands.com/Shop/Fields-of-Gold
@Saynotobarefoot
When Adams was hired two Aprils ago, people immediately assumed that Steve Green would come with him from South Plains. We finally got him after a bizarre early exit from Barret Peery.
Green's made a name for himself as an offensive guru at SPC over the years. He became popular a few years ago when national media wrote articles about him copying the Golden State Warriors offense, but I think that's almost become a misconception about what he wants to do offensively. Sure, he likes to shoot the 3 ball -- if he has good shooters. But his offense at SPC varied over the years from high tempo / quick 3s to a little bit slower and playing through the post. His offensive philosophy is not a one-sized-fits-all thing. It will change depending on his personnel.
I think Adams has been enamored with Baylor's offense since they changed it a couple years ago after Tristan Clark tore his knee up. Somehow, Baylor was able to perfectly replicate Tech's no-middle defense, while playing these 3-guard lineups that killed teams with ball movement and elite shot-making. Baylor had crazy-good guard play in that time (they still do unfortunately).
Was Baylor so good offensively because of scheme? Or was it just really, really good personnel? Probably a mixture of both. But it's tough for anyone to replicate. I think much tougher for us to replicate than it was for Baylor to steal our defense.
But I do think we are going to try.
This year's team is a major shift in personnel for Tech. Some of it by design (adding shooters) and some of it out of our control (our big guy being lost for, what's likely to be, the majority of the season). How different will the offense actually be? By all accounts, Coach Adams is taking a bit of a step back in directing the offense in favor of Steve Green (with the help of Luke Adams).
I'm expecting there to be a noticeable difference for the reasons listed above. But will it work? If it doesn't work, will we shift back to a grind-it-out affair? Will we even know how effective it is during non-conference play? Maybe not.
Quick shots will hurt our defense. Will the tradeoff be worth it? I think it will, but that's going to depend on those shots going in.
How big of a step back will we take defensively?
We are a lot smaller on the perimeter. A lot younger, too. Tech's had a top 10 Kenpom defense (#1 twice) in 4 of the last 5 years. The year we did not have a top 10 defense -- the 2021 team was a measly top 20 defense -- we were playing younger and smaller lineups (McClung, Kyler, MSS as the post, Peavy, etc.). It reminds me a little bit of this year's roster from a size / experience standpoint.
The one kicker here is Daniel Batcho. If he is what we think he could be, Tech's defense will have a premier shot-blocking center in the paint. We didn't have that in 2021 -- hell, we haven't really had that since the 2019 defense, which makes our historic run of defense even more impressive.
This Tech team can be really good by March if (1) the defense gels over the course of the season like I think it will, and (2) losing all of that size and experience on the perimeter is offset by an elite shot-blocking presence. I wouldn't bet against Mark Adams figuring out how to play good defense.
People say that you need to build your team to beat the best team in the conference. Most thought that was Baylor going into last year, and we were built to beat them with all the length and experience on the perimeter. I think it's debatable whether that's the case this year. Baylor's loaded again at guard. They are more talented than we are -- similar to last year -- except now we aren't much, much bigger and older than them, which was a huge equalizer.
I predict that our defense will be a lot better by the end of the season than it will be through January or so.
Will the United Spirit Arena & Mark Adams effect still be there?
Tech Hoops in Lubbock is a monster. It's been like that for a long time now. It's probably the toughest place to play in the country. That effect isn't going anywhere.
Mark Adams is a force of nature. He beat the national champs last year -- soundly, too -- with Mylik Wilson and Clarence Nadolny playing 60 minutes.
We will have a coaching advantage in most games. It's possible that the addition of Steve Green (and Al Pinkins) widens that gap even more.
It's important for that home court and coaching edge to carry us through the early part of this season, while our young guys grow up and while our defense's cohesiveness tightens up.
This league is a juggernaut.
Baylor is stacked.
Kansas is Kansas.
Texas has a lot of talent, just like they did last year. Betting on them to massively underachieve two years in a row might be a stretch.
TCU is really good, unfortunately.
Kansas State will be improved. So will WVU. OU and Oklahoma State are probable tournament teams if they were in any other league. Iowa State has a home court advantage that rivals Tech's.
Someone really good in this league is going to lose 12 or more conference games.
Ryan left it all out on the field in everything he did. In his honor, we bring you Fields of Gold, so that others facing bone cancer can keep on playing. A portion of proceeds from every case sold is donated to The Little Warrior Foundation.
The Little Warrior Foundation's mission is to fund & find a lasting cure for childhood cancer, with a specific focus on Ewing's Sarcoma.
https://shop.summerlandwinebrands.com/Shop/Fields-of-Gold
@Saynotobarefoot
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