Defense Wins Championships?

[GP1]

Everything I have been telling you guys for years has come true tonight. Defense had nothing to do with OU winning that game. They put up a tremendous amount of pressure on GTown to score by scoring a lot themselves. They had nearly 50 at half and nearly scored 100. If you use offense to put pressure on the other team, you will win. You have to hope for too many things to go right if you are expecting defense to win a game for you.

I hope tonight was another step forward for some of you in getting away from the 1950s.

[akronzips71]

Everything I have been telling you guys for years has come true tonight. Defense had nothing to do with OU winning that game. They put up a tremendous amount of pressure on GTown to score by scoring a lot themselves. They had nearly 50 at half and nearly scored 100. If you use offense to put pressure on the other team, you will win. You have to hope for too many things to go right if you are expecting defense to win a game for you.

I hope tonight was another step forward for some of you in getting away from the 1950s.

+1

The best defense is a good offense.

[Dave in Green]

Absolutely. Any team that can consistently shoot field goals at a 58.2% rate and 3-pointers at a 56.5% rate will beat a good defensive team every time. I'm sure that Ohio will continue to shoot at the same percentage throughout the tournament and come home with the national championship.

[UAZip0510]

Absolutely. Any team that can consistently shoot field goals at a 58.2% rate and 3-pointers at a 56.5% rate will beat a good defensive team every time. I'm sure that Ohio will continue to shoot at the same percentage throughout the tournament and come home with the national championship.

+1034932432

[akronzips71]

Absolutely. Any team that can consistently shoot field goals at a 58.2% rate and 3-pointers at a 56.5% rate will beat a good defensive team every time. I'm sure that Ohio will continue to shoot at the same percentage throughout the tournament and come home with the national championship.

See, here I am agreeing with you and you have to get all sarcastic on me!

[Dave in Green]

Sorry, I'm not used to having anyone agree with me.

[GoZips]

I said it before .... John Groce IS the true MAC Coach of the Year. Now do you believe me?

Ball screen after ball screen after ball screen. John Thompson III had the same opportunity to

prepare for them as did Keith Dambrot and Geno Ford. Of the three losers (and they are losers),

Keith had his kids best prepared. At least Akron took OU into overtime.

Georgetown acted like they had never ever even seen a ball screen before. They deserved to get beat.

Whether GP1 is so full of himself it does not matter. You have to defend. Georgetown was

arrogant. They wrongly assumed they could run these upstarts from podunk off the floor. Wrong.

A much deserved congratulations to Ohio University.

John Groce has accomplished much more in two years as a head coach than a couple of MAC coaches

who are totally full of themselves. Names upon request. Fortunately for the rest of the MAC, Groce

probably got himself a ticket to the major-majors today.

[Blue & Gold]

I agree.

Firstly, defense is boring and when all is said and done, basketball is a form of entertainment. Some of the Zips games, though we won, were so boring! High school games - freaking high school games! - are usually played at a faster pace. WTF? Not too many casual b-ball fans will buy tickets and tell their friends, "You've just gotta see the Zips play! Man, do they play great defense!"

Winning, of course, is important. Absolutely. No one would argue that. But it is also important HOW you win. Win 20 games a year with Miami-style-defensive ball and the crowds will dwindle and I'll be taking a nap from my GA seats.

Anyway, that's beside the point. As far as strategery, I do understand that focussing on defense takes the pressure off of your on-court performance, as defense is effort driven - a constant, which you can control - and not as susceptible to cold-spells or being effected by having the butterflies. Having a defensive focus also gives teams with lesser talent the ability to hang with the big boys by slooooowing the game down and limiting possessions for both teams. YAWN. I'm sick with that. I loved OU's attitude tonight. They went in there, showed Georgetown how to play ball, kicked their ass, took names, showed the Hoyas the door and KNEW they were going to.

[Dave in Green]

Now that Ohio is on the Big Boys' radars, and assuming Tennessee finishes off San Diego State tonight, do you figure Bruce Pearl has the smarts to handle the ball screen and outcoach Groce after outcoaching John Calipari and upsetting Kentucky earlier this season?

[UAZip0510]

I agree.

Firstly, defense is boring and when all is said and done, basketball is a form of entertainment. Some of the Zips games, though we won, were so boring! High school games - freaking high school games! - are usually played at a faster pace. WTF? Not too many casual b-ball fans will buy tickets and tell their friends, "You've just gotta see the Zips play! Man, do they play great defense!"

Winning, of course, is important. Absolutely. No one would argue that. But it is also important HOW you win. Win 20 games a year with Miami-style-defensive ball and the crowds will dwindle and I'll be taking a nap from my GA seats.

Anyway, that's beside the point. As far as strategery, I do understand that focussing on defense takes the pressure off of your on-court performance, as defense is effort driven - a constant, which you can control - and not as susceptible to cold-spells or being effected by having the butterflies. Having a defensive focus also gives teams with lesser talent the ability to hang with the big boys by slooooowing the game down and limiting possessions for both teams. YAWN. I'm sick with that. I loved OU's attitude tonight. They went in there, showed Georgetown how to play ball, kicked their ass, took names, showed the Hoyas the door and KNEW they were going to.

They also shot 58% from the field and 56% from 3PT...that might have had something to do with it.

[UAZip0510]

By the way...

Nobody seemed to dislike defense last season...

[akronzips71]

Now that Ohio is on the Big Boys' radars, and assuming Tennessee finishes off San Diego State tonight, do you figure Bruce Pearl has the smarts to handle the ball screen and outcoach Groce after outcoaching John Calipari and upsetting Kentucky earlier this season?

I don't know about that, but if those two guards (SALIVATING AGAIN) hit for 50+ points combined, they are hard to beat.

[UAZip0510]

Now that Ohio is on the Big Boys' radars, and assuming Tennessee finishes off San Diego State tonight, do you figure Bruce Pearl has the smarts to handle the ball screen and outcoach Groce after outcoaching John Calipari and upsetting Kentucky earlier this season?

I don't know about that, but if those two guards (SALIVATING AGAIN) hit for 50+ points combined, they are hard to beat.

They went for 50+ combined twice this year.

[akronzips71]

Now that Ohio is on the Big Boys' radars, and assuming Tennessee finishes off San Diego State tonight, do you figure Bruce Pearl has the smarts to handle the ball screen and outcoach Groce after outcoaching John Calipari and upsetting Kentucky earlier this season?

I don't know about that, but if those two guards (SALIVATING AGAIN) hit for 50+ points combined, they are hard to beat.

They went for 50+ combined twice this year.

And the results of those games were??????

[UAZip0510]

Now that Ohio is on the Big Boys' radars, and assuming Tennessee finishes off San Diego State tonight, do you figure Bruce Pearl has the smarts to handle the ball screen and outcoach Groce after outcoaching John Calipari and upsetting Kentucky earlier this season?

I don't know about that, but if those two guards (SALIVATING AGAIN) hit for 50+ points combined, they are hard to beat.

They went for 50+ combined twice this year.

And the results of those games were??????

lol

[Dave in Green]

Most basketball fans prefer watching a good offense over a good defense.

Most fans go into fits of ecstasy when an underdog beats a powerhouse with an unbelievable offensive performance.

Most unbelievable offensive performances are not repeatable.

Most underdogs who upset a powerhouse with an unbelievable offensive performance generally come back to earth in the next game or two and are shut down by a good defense.

Most teams that win the national championship have a better combination of offense and defense than other teams, because neither offense nor defense alone is sufficient to win consistently.

[akronzips71]

Now that Ohio is on the Big Boys' radars, and assuming Tennessee finishes off San Diego State tonight, do you figure Bruce Pearl has the smarts to handle the ball screen and outcoach Groce after outcoaching John Calipari and upsetting Kentucky earlier this season?

I don't know about that, but if those two guards (SALIVATING AGAIN) hit for 50+ points combined, they are hard to beat.

They went for 50+ combined twice this year.

And the results of those games were??????

lol

I take that LOL to mean THEY WON?

[UAZip0510]

Most basketball fans prefer watching a good offense over a good defense.

Most fans go into fits of ecstasy when an underdog beats a powerhouse with an unbelievable offensive performance.

Most unbelievable offensive performances are not repeatable.

Most underdogs who upset a powerhouse with an unbelievable offensive performance generally come back to earth in the next game or two and are shut down by a good defense.

Most teams that win the national championship have a better combination of offense and defense than other teams, because neither offense nor defense alone is sufficient to win consistently.

Excellent points

[Blue & Gold]

Though making offense v defense an either/or proposition is falacious, an important distinction in regards to defense should, ironically, be mentioned here.

Personally, I neither enjoy, nor respect, Pheonix Suns-esque defenseless basketball. Defense is vital.

But... defense should be used on top of or in addition to your offensive prowess to demoralize your opponents; not as your essential MO for winning games. If your program is overly-focussed on defense because you don't have any confidence in your offensive abilities, well, that's asking for trouble / playing not to lose / waiting for the sky to fall / choose your preferred cliche. Big difference and an important distiction to realize.

But, right now we don't seem to have the horses to run with the big boys, so, I guess we'll just have to try to slow everyone down & play not to lose for the next year or two? Idk. As another poster said, we need some bad ass MFers who can ball. Right now we've got a team-full of system/role players.

I love KD, but I do hope he's a little shaken up right now. In a healthy, humbling way, of course. We've got to re-evaluate some philosophies - both recruiting and in-game.

[GoZips]

I love KD, but I do hope he's a little shaken up right now. In a healthy, humbling way, of course. We've got to re-evaluate some philosophies - both recruiting and in-game.

This is the best comment of them all.

[zip37]

Defense and rebounding are effort related and are therefore closer to a constant than shooting, which is closer to a variable. since a shooting touch can be lost sshort/long term.

Mental toughness is the key in either case, and the Zips AIN'T.

[ZachTheZip]

Defense and rebounding are effort related and are therefore closer to a constant than shooting, which is closer to a variable. since a shooting touch can be lost sshort/long term.

I don't care if you give all the effort in the world on defense. If the player you're guarding puts up more points than you do, you're on the bench.

Sometimes players get hot and become undefendable, as we've had demonstrated repeatedly the past few weeks. When that happens, you let him have his points and make sure the teammates don't get in on the act too. You also have to figure out a way to outscore him.

Just like an offense can go cold, defense can be ineffective. Dambrot must begin to understand that D doesn't always work all the time. It's the same as offense. Sure, D takes effort, but so does a good offense. Effort on offense means finishing your layups, following your shots instead of chucking it up and sprinting back on defense, moving the ball around to find the open man. There's plenty of effort-based things on offense. If a player is defending his heart out but doesn't put in the effort enough to make sure his layup goes in or if he chucks up a prayer with 25 seconds left because he doesn't feel like running a proper offense, is he really giving 100 percent?

What good is defense if you don't care enough to score with the opportunities that defense creates?

[GP1]

But... defense should be used on top of or in addition to your offensive prowess to demoralize your opponents; not as your essential MO for winning games. If your program is overly-focussed on defense because you don't have any confidence in your offensive abilities, well, that's asking for trouble / playing not to lose / waiting for the sky to fall / choose your preferred cliche. Big difference and an important distiction to realize.

Amen (for the most part)!

OU took charge of the game last night and won. They set the pace with offense. The defense looked good because the pressure to score they put on GTown was so great GTown was desperate to score and was taking low percentage shots (three point shots). Even when GTown went on runs, they were never able to close the gap because the gap was so big and OU's coach was able to manage the game.

There is no doubt OU played the best game in school history yesterday. There is also no doubt they did it with offense. UofA is not going to be anything more than a MAC Champion once every six years by focusing on defense. They will never win an NCAA game with defense. We need to get some guys, or stop destroying the ability of guys, who can launch the little orange ball through the little orange ring. It's so simple. If we can do that, there is no reason we cannot win a championship at least every other year.

I know this is difficult for some to get their arms around because most are Cleveland fans and have never won anything. It isn't 1950 anymore where teams are playing with talentless slugs.

[skip-zip]

I'm sure I've watched thousands of NCAA tournament games in my lifetime. And I would guess that limiting the high seed's scoring has probably played a bigger role in giving low seeds a chance to win the game, as opposed to some stunning offensive scoring performance.

[GoZips88]

I love KD, but I do hope he's a little shaken up right now. In a healthy, humbling way, of course. We've got to re-evaluate some philosophies - both recruiting and in-game.

This is the best comment of them all.

+1