The Meat Grinder
Back when I had aspirations of becoming a full-time sports bettor, I became obsessed with various college team's tempo or pace of play. It was primarily to spot bad over/under totals, but also to bet on teams that had a tendency to force their tempo onto teams with polar opposite paces of play. Tech's team last year was excellent at imposing a very deliberate pace on to teams but, like a cobra, we'd pick our spots on long rebounds or off steals to score very effectively in transition. I think it was Bill Self who commented that guys like Zhaire, Culver, Keenan, and Niem formed one of the fastest back courts in the country.
This year's team also has a very deliberate pace. It's the Motion offense & Beard's pack line defense (see more on that below) that makes us very unorthodox to prepare for/play against, like a triple option team in football.
Last year we averaged 17.9 seconds per offensive possession, which was about 240th slowest out of 351 teams. So far this year, we're at 17.3 seconds, which is 192nd slowest.
Last year, we forced teams to use up 17.5 seconds of shot clock, which was 203rd most in the country. So far this year, however, we're making teams spend 19 seconds per possession. That is slowwwww.... Only Virginia and Seton Hall are forcing teams into longer possessions.
I affectionately call it the Meat Grinder. Most teams are simply not used to (1) guarding the motion--which has a ton of off-ball screens and activity to waste energy defending--for 18 seconds, and (2) having to bust their ass for 20 seconds on offense just to get a decent shot.
The Meat Grinder effect happens before you know it. At one point, you have a 6 point lead. Next thing you know, we make you defend for 25+ seconds on six straight possessions, so you give up 2 offensive rebounds that lead to putbacks & an easy lane for a Culver lay up.... now your whole team is gassed and Tech's up by 4.
The Kansas game in Lubbock was a 61 possession game, approximately 8 possessions below their average and maybe the fewest-possession KU game in the Bill Self era. Unfortunately, they shot out of their minds and pulled that one out, but that's an example of how our style can affect certain teams.
Duke played Kentucky to an 82 possession game this year & Indiana to a 79 possession game. Something tells me they will be looking at a 70ish possession game against us, similar to their game against Gonzaga (72).
The Pack Line Defense
You can tell when we are in the pack-line by our off-ball defenders (1) facing the ball handler, and (2) positioning themselves between their man and the ball. The guy guarding the ball is applying pressure (though I've seen us in a variation that has the on-ball defender sagging a ton). There is this imaginary line running just short of the three-point line and off-ball defenders are taught to stay inside that line, facing the ball handler for max help efficiency.
For the most part, you don't really care if the guy pressuring the ball gets beat, just as long as he forces the dribbler to take one or two lateral steps to get around him, which can be anticipated by all of the helpers.
Virginia has perfected the packline defense, and they force dribblers to the middle (where the helpers are). What I love about our version is we switch that part up. Sometimes we force dribblers to the middle, sometimes we force them baseline. Running set plays against us must be maddening because we don't let teams initiate offense the way they are accustomed to.
Something I didn't notice that much last year, but saw quite a bit late in the games against USC, Nebraska, & Memphis, was Tech checking out of the packline midway through a possession. We'd be in packline until they made their first pass, then we'd switch to a traditional man or even a 2-3 zone. Against Memphis, I saw us defend about 20 seconds in the packline and then switch to a 2-3 zone the last 10 seconds.
From a defensive schematics standpoint, I imagine that Beard/Adams have more "buttons" to push than anyone in the country. I guess that's why Beard says we spend 90% of our practice time on defense.
The Tariq Owens Factor
Last year's defense was freakin' elite, particularly on the perimeter. It was a lot of fun to watch. We were outstanding at (1) limiting teams from running in transition (fewest # of transition shots given up in the country), (2) defending teams in transition (3rd best opp. FG% on shots in transition), and (3) forcing turnovers (17th best in the country).
This year, we're still good at those things. Pretty sure those are staples of a Beard team. What differentiates this team from last year is... Tariq Owens. Last year, St. Johns was 9th in the country in % of opposing teams shots blocked at the rim (17.6%). Tech wasn't that far below at 14%. This year, however, we're blocking 27% of opponents shots at the rim, which is number one in the country and 3 percentage points higher than Cincinnati. According to Kenpom, Tariq has the highest block % of anyone in the country.
I expect these percentages will go down as competition ramps up, but Tariq adds an element to Beard's packline defense that makes it that much more elite, and may end up compensating for some of the elite defenders that we lost from last year's team.
2 Point Jump Shots
Full disclosure: If Beard decided that wearing golf spikes were more optimal for closing out on three-point shooters, then I'd advocate the same to my son's future little dribbler teams. It's a given that Beard's youngest daughter knows more about basketball than me. But if there was one thing that I'd like to see... it's shooting more 3s and less 2-point jump shots.
Last year, we attempted 39% of our total shots at the rim, 27% 2-point jump shots, & 36% from three.
This year, we've attempted 41% of total shots at the rim, 29% 2-point jump shots, and 30% from three.
Last year, we shot only 35% from three. This year, it's up to 41%, which is much better than our percentage on 2-point jumpers (33%).
Based on the make-up of this year's team versus last year, I expected us to shoot a lot more threes, but that has not been the case. So far at least.
It hasn't helped that Mooney, Francis, & Kyler are a combined 10-33 on 2-point jump shots. Beard would probably say that those "averages will average out" and call me for the idiot that I am.
Moar Corprew
If our team was playing at the park, Corprew would be the first player taken (unless a really savvy hooper wanted to get Tariq for rim protection). Simply stated, Corprew is the baddest dude on the court. No one would question any of his foul calls, and no one would have the balls to call a foul on him.
I'm pretty sure Corprew fell out of bed this morning with 6 rebounds and 11 points on 5 shots. At one point when the little Memphis guard was beating everyone off the dribble, we moved Corprew on to him.
Corprew has (1) the highest effective FG % on the team (79% compared to Culver's 61.7%), (2) the most put back baskets on the team, and (3) the second highest PAM (Points Above Median--essentially, an adjusted +/-).
Per Kenpom, he has the highest offensive rebound % and the second highest defensive rebound % to Norense. He's only played 37% of our minutes, compared to 72.9% for Moretti or 51.8% to Kyler. Some of the Stepian NBA draft bloggers even have Corprew as a top 50 prospect for the upcoming draft...
I expect Corprew to be playing significant minutes by the time conference play comes around. I want moar Corprew....
Back when I had aspirations of becoming a full-time sports bettor, I became obsessed with various college team's tempo or pace of play. It was primarily to spot bad over/under totals, but also to bet on teams that had a tendency to force their tempo onto teams with polar opposite paces of play. Tech's team last year was excellent at imposing a very deliberate pace on to teams but, like a cobra, we'd pick our spots on long rebounds or off steals to score very effectively in transition. I think it was Bill Self who commented that guys like Zhaire, Culver, Keenan, and Niem formed one of the fastest back courts in the country.
This year's team also has a very deliberate pace. It's the Motion offense & Beard's pack line defense (see more on that below) that makes us very unorthodox to prepare for/play against, like a triple option team in football.
Last year we averaged 17.9 seconds per offensive possession, which was about 240th slowest out of 351 teams. So far this year, we're at 17.3 seconds, which is 192nd slowest.
Last year, we forced teams to use up 17.5 seconds of shot clock, which was 203rd most in the country. So far this year, however, we're making teams spend 19 seconds per possession. That is slowwwww.... Only Virginia and Seton Hall are forcing teams into longer possessions.
I affectionately call it the Meat Grinder. Most teams are simply not used to (1) guarding the motion--which has a ton of off-ball screens and activity to waste energy defending--for 18 seconds, and (2) having to bust their ass for 20 seconds on offense just to get a decent shot.
The Meat Grinder effect happens before you know it. At one point, you have a 6 point lead. Next thing you know, we make you defend for 25+ seconds on six straight possessions, so you give up 2 offensive rebounds that lead to putbacks & an easy lane for a Culver lay up.... now your whole team is gassed and Tech's up by 4.
The Kansas game in Lubbock was a 61 possession game, approximately 8 possessions below their average and maybe the fewest-possession KU game in the Bill Self era. Unfortunately, they shot out of their minds and pulled that one out, but that's an example of how our style can affect certain teams.
Duke played Kentucky to an 82 possession game this year & Indiana to a 79 possession game. Something tells me they will be looking at a 70ish possession game against us, similar to their game against Gonzaga (72).
The Pack Line Defense
You can tell when we are in the pack-line by our off-ball defenders (1) facing the ball handler, and (2) positioning themselves between their man and the ball. The guy guarding the ball is applying pressure (though I've seen us in a variation that has the on-ball defender sagging a ton). There is this imaginary line running just short of the three-point line and off-ball defenders are taught to stay inside that line, facing the ball handler for max help efficiency.
For the most part, you don't really care if the guy pressuring the ball gets beat, just as long as he forces the dribbler to take one or two lateral steps to get around him, which can be anticipated by all of the helpers.
Virginia has perfected the packline defense, and they force dribblers to the middle (where the helpers are). What I love about our version is we switch that part up. Sometimes we force dribblers to the middle, sometimes we force them baseline. Running set plays against us must be maddening because we don't let teams initiate offense the way they are accustomed to.
Something I didn't notice that much last year, but saw quite a bit late in the games against USC, Nebraska, & Memphis, was Tech checking out of the packline midway through a possession. We'd be in packline until they made their first pass, then we'd switch to a traditional man or even a 2-3 zone. Against Memphis, I saw us defend about 20 seconds in the packline and then switch to a 2-3 zone the last 10 seconds.
From a defensive schematics standpoint, I imagine that Beard/Adams have more "buttons" to push than anyone in the country. I guess that's why Beard says we spend 90% of our practice time on defense.
The Tariq Owens Factor
Last year's defense was freakin' elite, particularly on the perimeter. It was a lot of fun to watch. We were outstanding at (1) limiting teams from running in transition (fewest # of transition shots given up in the country), (2) defending teams in transition (3rd best opp. FG% on shots in transition), and (3) forcing turnovers (17th best in the country).
This year, we're still good at those things. Pretty sure those are staples of a Beard team. What differentiates this team from last year is... Tariq Owens. Last year, St. Johns was 9th in the country in % of opposing teams shots blocked at the rim (17.6%). Tech wasn't that far below at 14%. This year, however, we're blocking 27% of opponents shots at the rim, which is number one in the country and 3 percentage points higher than Cincinnati. According to Kenpom, Tariq has the highest block % of anyone in the country.
I expect these percentages will go down as competition ramps up, but Tariq adds an element to Beard's packline defense that makes it that much more elite, and may end up compensating for some of the elite defenders that we lost from last year's team.
2 Point Jump Shots
Full disclosure: If Beard decided that wearing golf spikes were more optimal for closing out on three-point shooters, then I'd advocate the same to my son's future little dribbler teams. It's a given that Beard's youngest daughter knows more about basketball than me. But if there was one thing that I'd like to see... it's shooting more 3s and less 2-point jump shots.
Last year, we attempted 39% of our total shots at the rim, 27% 2-point jump shots, & 36% from three.
This year, we've attempted 41% of total shots at the rim, 29% 2-point jump shots, and 30% from three.
Last year, we shot only 35% from three. This year, it's up to 41%, which is much better than our percentage on 2-point jumpers (33%).
Based on the make-up of this year's team versus last year, I expected us to shoot a lot more threes, but that has not been the case. So far at least.
It hasn't helped that Mooney, Francis, & Kyler are a combined 10-33 on 2-point jump shots. Beard would probably say that those "averages will average out" and call me for the idiot that I am.
Moar Corprew
If our team was playing at the park, Corprew would be the first player taken (unless a really savvy hooper wanted to get Tariq for rim protection). Simply stated, Corprew is the baddest dude on the court. No one would question any of his foul calls, and no one would have the balls to call a foul on him.
I'm pretty sure Corprew fell out of bed this morning with 6 rebounds and 11 points on 5 shots. At one point when the little Memphis guard was beating everyone off the dribble, we moved Corprew on to him.
Corprew has (1) the highest effective FG % on the team (79% compared to Culver's 61.7%), (2) the most put back baskets on the team, and (3) the second highest PAM (Points Above Median--essentially, an adjusted +/-).
Per Kenpom, he has the highest offensive rebound % and the second highest defensive rebound % to Norense. He's only played 37% of our minutes, compared to 72.9% for Moretti or 51.8% to Kyler. Some of the Stepian NBA draft bloggers even have Corprew as a top 50 prospect for the upcoming draft...
I expect Corprew to be playing significant minutes by the time conference play comes around. I want moar Corprew....
