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  1. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Kedsy View Post
    I agree with this, but so far I haven't seen any evidence that Quinn (or Seth or Austin, or Tyler for that matter) can stay in front of his man any more than Andre can. Combine that with the size disadvantage and it would appear as if a Quinn/Seth/Austin would be at a defensive disadvantage.
    Perhaps the reason that Quinn is starting [if he is] is because of our need to develop a true, top-tier PG. Defense by every individual on the floor is essential, I realize that. Having a superior floor leader on offense is a force-multiplier, the smart muscle behind the fist.

  2. #42
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by tommy View Post
    What I saw though wasn't their guards setting screens for each other, necessitating our guards to switch with each other. It was their big men (especially Sullinger) setting the screens, and our having difficulty with switches between a guard and a big. Those are inherently difficult, especially with a screener as skilled and as big as Sullinger, but still, we didn't handle them well.
    Zoubek was the master of the hedge. When his man would set a screen for the guy with the ball, Z would step out and slow the guard down just enough that he couldn't drive, yet at the same time he'd know exactly when to get back to his man to not leave him open. Mason tries to do this but looks to me to be a little more lackadaisical, he just sort of sticks his arm out. With his athleticism he should be able to step out and disrupt the guard; I'm sure it will be a point of emphasis in practice

  3. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by hustleplays View Post
    Perhaps the reason that Quinn is starting [if he is] is because of our need to develop a true, top-tier PG. Defense by every individual on the floor is essential, I realize that. Having a superior floor leader on offense is a force-multiplier, the smart muscle behind the fist.
    Perhaps. Except other than possibly the Ohio State game, I haven't noticed our offense having too much trouble. Even including Ohio State, according to Pomeroy we have the 6th best adjusted offensive efficiency in the country. So if our offense is that good, I wouldn't think the "need to develop a true, top-tier PG" would take precedence over defense (which according to Pomeroy is as bad as we've been in the past 10 years).

    In this case, I think Seth is a superior enough floor leader (especially compared to a freshman) that I think we should be focusing on D.

  4. #44
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    20 Minutes From The Heaven That Is Cameron Indoor
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    Zoubek was the master of the hedge. When his man would set a screen for the guy with the ball, Z would step out and slow the guard down just enough that he couldn't drive, yet at the same time he'd know exactly when to get back to his man to not leave him open. Mason tries to do this but looks to me to be a little more lackadaisical, he just sort of sticks his arm out. With his athleticism he should be able to step out and disrupt the guard; I'm sure it will be a point of emphasis in practice
    Hedging is tricky. Especially the way Duke's defense plays it. When one big hedges out top, he obviously abandons his man, especially if the hedge is at the top of the key. When that happens, the 2nd big rotates over to cover the hedging big's man, which is critical if the screener quickly rolls to the basket and gets the ball. Several times last year this happened and the screener got the ball on the "roll" and scored. Some people screamed bloody murder that the hedging big "did not recover quickly enough and screwed up". In actuality, the helping big in that scenario was late in his help rotation, and the basket was on him, not the hedging big.

    Also, and this is impressive when the helping big executes it perfectly, depending on where the screen and hedge happens, at times in Duke's scheme, the helping big actually covers both his offensive big, AND the hedging big's man. Hard to do, but impressive when done correctly, and not a major sin (because of degree of difficulty) when the helping big fails. Lance Thomas was an absolute master in the scenario of covering both at the same time until the hedging big recovered. That Ryan, Mason, or Miles are not as good at that as Lance does not make them weak defenders, it's just that Lance was incredible at it.

    Our 3 main bigs have become good at their rotations in this very difficult scheme that K deploys. There is room for improvement for sure, but I would not declare them bad at it. Just not as good as Lance was. As you noted, once Zoubs finally got healthy feet and in shape, he became really good at it considering his overall lack of quickness.

  5. #45
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    Zoubek was the master of the hedge. When his man would set a screen for the guy with the ball, Z would step out and slow the guard down just enough that he couldn't drive, yet at the same time he'd know exactly when to get back to his man to not leave him open.
    Wow! I've either entered the Twilight Zone or some serious revisionism is going on here. If I had the time and inclination to conduct a search (okay the inclination as I obviously have the time), I could find dozens of threads with dozens of posts where countless DBR posters proselytize against the evil tactic of Zoubek hedging because he always gets beat or commits a foul. "Why is 7'2" Zoubek crowding a guard 20' from the basket?" screams the DBR masses.
    Bob Green

  6. #46
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    San Francisco
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Green View Post
    Wow! I've either entered the Twilight Zone or some serious revisionism is going on here. If I had the time and inclination to conduct a search (okay the inclination as I obviously have the time), I could find dozens of threads with dozens of posts where countless DBR posters proselytize against the evil tactic of Zoubek hedging because he always gets beat or commits a foul. "Why is 7'2" Zoubek crowding a guard 20' from the basket?" screams the DBR masses.
    Ha! I was going to write the same thing. I actually think the fact that Zoubek and Thomas became masters of the hedge shows that this team can improve. It took Zoubek three and a half seasons before he got it down.

    I also agree with Newton that the weakside big's positioning with regard to the screener makes a difference, as well. A perfect hedge is no good if the screener is wide open with no one around him.

  7. #47
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Maryland
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    Zoubek was the master of the hedge. When his man would set a screen for the guy with the ball, Z would step out and slow the guard down just enough that he couldn't drive, yet at the same time he'd know exactly when to get back to his man to not leave him open. Mason tries to do this but looks to me to be a little more lackadaisical, he just sort of sticks his arm out. With his athleticism he should be able to step out and disrupt the guard; I'm sure it will be a point of emphasis in practice
    This is actually one of the areas I think Mason has shown significant improvement in compared to the last two seasons. Its still not great, but its better IMO. I think some of it is due to him thinking less and playing more by feel.

    Like you mentioned the purpose of the hedge is to show yourself just enough to make the guard with the ball hesitate. You don't really have to leave your man to do that. I always tried to keep my hand on my guy's hip when he went to set a pick. I could still step out far enough to cause the guard to slow up, and if my man tried to slip the screen I would know because I would lose contact. If the guard lobbed it over the top I knew there was backside help. If he threw a bounce pass I was still somewhat in the passing lane and had a chance to get a hand on it. This is what Zoubs learned, and by making himself as wide as possible (which is pretty wide) he could essentially defend two guys just long enough for his teammate to recover. He wasn't a great athlete but his senior year he learned to do all of the little things that make a big difference.

    In the past both Mason and Miles would pretty much run out at the guard with the ball and often times even jump out past him. They were usually in bad defensive posture as well (standing up straight) so the guard with the ball could easily get around. Because they were jumping out so hard their momentum carried them away from the basket, and when their guy rolled they had a really hard time recovering. So in essence instead of guarding two men temporarily they would take themselves out of the picture entirely and guard nobody. Miles still does this...

    If I'm not mistaken Mason stole a pass in this exact scenario against OSU. Sullinger rolled and the guard tried to lob it over the top, Mason released and got it. I could be wrong though. Can anyone confirm?

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