Defending the Post
Per Synergy, Tech is in the top 15 percentile nationally at defending post-up possessions. Last year, we were in the top 5 percentile, but we also had a bonafide enforcer in the paint and the country's best shot blocker.
To me, it's one of the most intriguing story lines of Tech's team: whether opponents can take advantage of our lack of post defenders and, if they can, do they even elect to do it?
There's a lot of aspects to this question. To take advantage of Tech's lack of a true 5, opponents not only need to have skilled post players, they must also have guards that can make good entry passes into the post. That's easier said than done against a Mark Adams' defense.
Beyond that, though, even if our opponent has the personnel to do those two things, their big-heavy lineups need to be able to defend our small-ball lineups on the other end. That won't always be an easy task. 3 guards + Clarke + Holyfield = opponents' big-heavy lineups needing to defend, mostly out on the perimeter, for 20+ seconds/possession. Over the course of a game, that will take a toll on opposing teams' bigs.
Say KU & WVU have the pieces to take advantage of Tech in the paint (they do), can they do enough damage to overcome whatever deficiencies playing big creates for them on the other end of the floor? A lot of that depends on Tech's ability to score and grind down teams in the half-court. Thus, in some ways, running efficient half-court offense is an effective way to defend the post on the other end of the floor.
As we all know, the unique part about Tech's defense is how it forces most offensive actions into one thing (a baseline drive), thus allowing us to meticulously prepare for stopping that one thing. Our small-ball lineups have a similar effect, although it's more psychological than anything -- seeing Clarke/Holyfield defending your 4& 5 will compel some opponents to try and beat us by throwing the ball into the post every possession.
Louisville has a great team and Nwora is a legit NBA prospect. They can score in a lot of different ways. But if you listened to their coach before the game or in his halftime interview, they were dead-set on trying to beat us with post ups.
Louisville's bigs were 6/10 from the field and 7/10 from the free throw line. That's pretty dang efficient (especially since a couple of those misses were rebounded by the shooter).
But Louisville played horrible offensively against us, despite this "easy" way to score the basketball. Offensively, their 2-big lineups couldn't guard us. And, defensively, we completely flummoxed them on the perimeter.
Normally, Mark Adams' defenses rarely allow a post entry pass to be made from the middle of the floor. Against Louisville, we ambushed them w/ that tendency by inviting post entries to be thrown over our defense from the middle of the floor. Because we were expecting it, many of those passes were intercepted or deflected.
IMO, Tech's "flaw" of not having a true post defender will turn out to be fools' gold for opponents.
Pace of Play
We've somewhat abandoned an emphasis on pushing the ball in transition that we saw in the first 5 noncon games. While we had very efficient shooting numbers in transition, we turned the ball over way too much and, frustratingly, could not stop anyone in transition on the other end.
First 6 games: Tech averaged 74.6 poss/game.
Last 6 games: Tech averaged 67.8 poss/game.
Ever since Ramsey went out (really, since the DePaul game), our defense has been much, much better. And I think that's mostly related to us electing to go back to last year's blueprint of grinding games out in the half court.
Transforming into an up-tempo offense may have to wait till next year. I prefer the Meat Grinder style of basketball, anyways.
Late Clock Defense
To my naked eye, it's seemed like there have been many possessions where we defended great for 25 seconds and either had a breakdown right as the shot clock expired or the other team just made a tough contested shot. Synergy numbers seem to confirm this.
Last year, on possessions that ended with less than 4 seconds on the shot clock, Tech gave up .631 points/poss, which was in the top 20% nationally. This year, through a much smaller sample size, we're giving up .824 points/poss and are in the bottom 15% nationally. Not sure if there is anything to this trend just yet... but my hunch is that teams won't continue to be that efficient against us in late clock situations.
Tech's Shooting on Open Jumpers
On catch-and-shoot attempts, Tech is in the 61st percentile nationally. That's pretty good. Strangely, on "guarded" catch-and-shoot attempts, we are in the 86th % nationally, which is excellent. On "unguarded" attempts, however, we're below average and in the bottom 30 %.
Last year, we were 79th percentile on "guarded" attempts, and 76th percentile on "unguarded."
This year's numbers will likely converge and finish similar to last year (i.e., only a 3 percentile difference between guarded & unguarded). It doesn't make sense to be this efficient of a jump shooting team on contested shots, but not uncontested ones.
While we may be due to miss a few more contested shots, I'm convinced that our wide open looks are going to start falling at a much higher clip.
To that end, we're generating a lot more "unguarded" catch-and-shoot attempts this year than we were able to last year. While some of that results from last year's team playing a tougher schedule on the whole, I also think it's because our small lineups have been tough to defend in the half-court.
Individual Defenders
Synergy measures how many points/poss a defender gives up and the formula is essentially points given up / shots + shooting fouls + TO forced.
Because of all the switching and rotating that Tech does, I don't know how much weight should be given to an individual defenders' ranking on Synergy, since we don't even really defend guys 1 on 1.... in any event, below are the 5 Tech players that have defended against 50 or more possessions:
Kyler is by far grading out the best, giving up only .5 points/poss, which is in the top 5 percentile nationally.
Shannon has done very well and is in the 72nd percentile nationally.
Ramsey has been fairly good and is in the 59th percentile nationally.
Clarke & Morro have been average and are in 40th percentile nationally.
Last year, we had four starters in the top 10 percentile nationally. That's incredible.
Best Player Right Now
Chris Clarke. Ramsey might be in the mix had he not been injured.
On Synergy, Clarke's in the 95th percentile on his Points per Poss + Assists. He's the most versatile player in the country and, while there are some better pro prospects, there aren't many better college players in the Big 12. If there's a better rebounder/facilitator combo in the country, I'd like to see him.
Best Player in Five Years
Terrence Shannon is a freak with such a high ceiling.
While already elite at getting to the rim and drawing shooting fouls, I think I love Shannon's motor more than anything. When he becomes a threat from 3 and learns how to dribble with his right hand....
Most Important Player
Holyfield. He's all we got in the paint. I don't think it's a fluke that he's got the highest +/- of anyone on the team that's played in all 12 games.
Conference Guess:
9-9 in the conference (+ beat Kentucky at home).
Per Synergy, Tech is in the top 15 percentile nationally at defending post-up possessions. Last year, we were in the top 5 percentile, but we also had a bonafide enforcer in the paint and the country's best shot blocker.
To me, it's one of the most intriguing story lines of Tech's team: whether opponents can take advantage of our lack of post defenders and, if they can, do they even elect to do it?
There's a lot of aspects to this question. To take advantage of Tech's lack of a true 5, opponents not only need to have skilled post players, they must also have guards that can make good entry passes into the post. That's easier said than done against a Mark Adams' defense.
Beyond that, though, even if our opponent has the personnel to do those two things, their big-heavy lineups need to be able to defend our small-ball lineups on the other end. That won't always be an easy task. 3 guards + Clarke + Holyfield = opponents' big-heavy lineups needing to defend, mostly out on the perimeter, for 20+ seconds/possession. Over the course of a game, that will take a toll on opposing teams' bigs.
Say KU & WVU have the pieces to take advantage of Tech in the paint (they do), can they do enough damage to overcome whatever deficiencies playing big creates for them on the other end of the floor? A lot of that depends on Tech's ability to score and grind down teams in the half-court. Thus, in some ways, running efficient half-court offense is an effective way to defend the post on the other end of the floor.
As we all know, the unique part about Tech's defense is how it forces most offensive actions into one thing (a baseline drive), thus allowing us to meticulously prepare for stopping that one thing. Our small-ball lineups have a similar effect, although it's more psychological than anything -- seeing Clarke/Holyfield defending your 4& 5 will compel some opponents to try and beat us by throwing the ball into the post every possession.
Louisville has a great team and Nwora is a legit NBA prospect. They can score in a lot of different ways. But if you listened to their coach before the game or in his halftime interview, they were dead-set on trying to beat us with post ups.
Louisville's bigs were 6/10 from the field and 7/10 from the free throw line. That's pretty dang efficient (especially since a couple of those misses were rebounded by the shooter).
But Louisville played horrible offensively against us, despite this "easy" way to score the basketball. Offensively, their 2-big lineups couldn't guard us. And, defensively, we completely flummoxed them on the perimeter.
Normally, Mark Adams' defenses rarely allow a post entry pass to be made from the middle of the floor. Against Louisville, we ambushed them w/ that tendency by inviting post entries to be thrown over our defense from the middle of the floor. Because we were expecting it, many of those passes were intercepted or deflected.
IMO, Tech's "flaw" of not having a true post defender will turn out to be fools' gold for opponents.
Pace of Play
We've somewhat abandoned an emphasis on pushing the ball in transition that we saw in the first 5 noncon games. While we had very efficient shooting numbers in transition, we turned the ball over way too much and, frustratingly, could not stop anyone in transition on the other end.
First 6 games: Tech averaged 74.6 poss/game.
Last 6 games: Tech averaged 67.8 poss/game.
Ever since Ramsey went out (really, since the DePaul game), our defense has been much, much better. And I think that's mostly related to us electing to go back to last year's blueprint of grinding games out in the half court.
Transforming into an up-tempo offense may have to wait till next year. I prefer the Meat Grinder style of basketball, anyways.
Late Clock Defense
To my naked eye, it's seemed like there have been many possessions where we defended great for 25 seconds and either had a breakdown right as the shot clock expired or the other team just made a tough contested shot. Synergy numbers seem to confirm this.
Last year, on possessions that ended with less than 4 seconds on the shot clock, Tech gave up .631 points/poss, which was in the top 20% nationally. This year, through a much smaller sample size, we're giving up .824 points/poss and are in the bottom 15% nationally. Not sure if there is anything to this trend just yet... but my hunch is that teams won't continue to be that efficient against us in late clock situations.
Tech's Shooting on Open Jumpers
On catch-and-shoot attempts, Tech is in the 61st percentile nationally. That's pretty good. Strangely, on "guarded" catch-and-shoot attempts, we are in the 86th % nationally, which is excellent. On "unguarded" attempts, however, we're below average and in the bottom 30 %.
Last year, we were 79th percentile on "guarded" attempts, and 76th percentile on "unguarded."
This year's numbers will likely converge and finish similar to last year (i.e., only a 3 percentile difference between guarded & unguarded). It doesn't make sense to be this efficient of a jump shooting team on contested shots, but not uncontested ones.
While we may be due to miss a few more contested shots, I'm convinced that our wide open looks are going to start falling at a much higher clip.
To that end, we're generating a lot more "unguarded" catch-and-shoot attempts this year than we were able to last year. While some of that results from last year's team playing a tougher schedule on the whole, I also think it's because our small lineups have been tough to defend in the half-court.
Individual Defenders
Synergy measures how many points/poss a defender gives up and the formula is essentially points given up / shots + shooting fouls + TO forced.
Because of all the switching and rotating that Tech does, I don't know how much weight should be given to an individual defenders' ranking on Synergy, since we don't even really defend guys 1 on 1.... in any event, below are the 5 Tech players that have defended against 50 or more possessions:
Kyler is by far grading out the best, giving up only .5 points/poss, which is in the top 5 percentile nationally.
Shannon has done very well and is in the 72nd percentile nationally.
Ramsey has been fairly good and is in the 59th percentile nationally.
Clarke & Morro have been average and are in 40th percentile nationally.
Last year, we had four starters in the top 10 percentile nationally. That's incredible.
Best Player Right Now
Chris Clarke. Ramsey might be in the mix had he not been injured.
On Synergy, Clarke's in the 95th percentile on his Points per Poss + Assists. He's the most versatile player in the country and, while there are some better pro prospects, there aren't many better college players in the Big 12. If there's a better rebounder/facilitator combo in the country, I'd like to see him.
Best Player in Five Years
Terrence Shannon is a freak with such a high ceiling.
While already elite at getting to the rim and drawing shooting fouls, I think I love Shannon's motor more than anything. When he becomes a threat from 3 and learns how to dribble with his right hand....
Most Important Player
Holyfield. He's all we got in the paint. I don't think it's a fluke that he's got the highest +/- of anyone on the team that's played in all 12 games.
Conference Guess:
9-9 in the conference (+ beat Kentucky at home).
