Given that Iowa may be oversized at the 1,2 and 3 positions and, as a result, perhaps lacking the quickness to contend with smaller and quicker penetrating guards, and perhaps a little undersiized at the 4 and 5, making it difficult to contend with bigger and stronger opponents, is there any chance McCaffrey would consider a zone defense, ala Syracuse, to utilize Iowa's perimeter length and compensate for the lack of a stopper inside? Does Iowa's staff have any history of teaching and utilizing on a continuing basis a zone defense?
Zone Defense?
- Thread starter 2319
- Start date
Yes, Iowa has used zone in the past. We like to switch back and forth and use what works the best for most of the game. We are taller as a whole this year, and as to the inside defense we've some guys with very long arms so the height inside should be alright.
I look for a lot of 3/4 court traps and falling back into a zone more often than not. With the length and quickness of our guards I expect we'll close out on those shooters pretty well.
I look for a lot of 3/4 court traps and falling back into a zone more often than not. With the length and quickness of our guards I expect we'll close out on those shooters pretty well.
The X factor with zone is always whether you can effectively rebound out of it. We lost our best rebounder from last year so this year's team will need to make up for those boards. But Fran will use a zone at different times I'm sure. I think the real question is if he wants to use a half court zone and use our length to create tough passing lanes or does he want to use our athleticism and use it in our 3/4 court trap?
I think with Williams starting at point we will have a lot of horizontal length, which makes for a good zone. I fear that when Bohannon is playing our defense will suffer some because he is neither quick nor long. That said, if he can stretch the defense with his 3 point shooting he will provide a nice change of pace.
Yes, we lost Woody. But this is a much beefier team than last year. Other than Woody, every position could be argued to be better from a rebounding perspective. Start with Jok/Williams vs Sapp/MG as rebounders- obvious edge this year. Baer v Jok- edge Baer. Uhl/Wagner v Uthoff- edge Uhl/Wagner. Perhaps some argument here but JU was an awfully skinny starting PF. Cook v Woody- Woody but Cook might not be far behind and look at the beef backing him up. We might be stronger this year than last at Woody's position as rebounders when you consider depth. Last year's team had some better qualities than this year, but I wouldn't 'automatically' put rebounding as one of them.
Wagner actually had a higher Defensive Rebound % in his Fr year than Woodbury did in his Soph year. I expect from what I have heard of Cook, and the limited amount I have seen of Jones; our rebounding will be just fine. We will get less of the ones Woody caught over people, and we will get more from "outside our zone" as Wagner and Cook are much quicker and mobile than Woody was.
Some of your best rebounders are not 7' tall. I remember a couple guys from the past who excelled at rebounding: Clay Hargrave 6'4" averaged 10 rebounds/gm. We also guys like Ed Horton average 10/gm, Chris Street 9/gm, Bill Jones as SF average 6/gm, Jess Settles 8/gm, Ryan Bowen 9/gm, Reggie Evans 12/gm, Greg Brunner, 9/gm,
Four year rebound numbers: White: 6, 6, 7, 7. Woody: 5, 4, 5, 8. Woodys best year was 8/game. Look at many of the players from above. Most were 6' 8" or less, yet they rebounded better than Woody. The numbers from above are there best season numbers, not career numbers. My point being, we could be fine at rebounding. It is about desire, effort and hops.
Four year rebound numbers: White: 6, 6, 7, 7. Woody: 5, 4, 5, 8. Woodys best year was 8/game. Look at many of the players from above. Most were 6' 8" or less, yet they rebounded better than Woody. The numbers from above are there best season numbers, not career numbers. My point being, we could be fine at rebounding. It is about desire, effort and hops.
Given that most of the team is 6'6 to 6'8, I hope we see some other zones besides just a 2-3. Maybe some 1-3-1 or box and 1 type things. Most opponents will have spent some time working on their 2-3 offense so a different zone will give them something different and maybe be harder to score on.
Dan I have been thinking a lot about this. I am starting to wonder if Iowa will play primarily play man to man again this year but with a twist: we switch all screens. We will put five players on the court who are close to the same size and have the versatility to guard multiple positions. I could see this switching man to man defense becoming a real strength. I wonder.....
Interesting. I don't see why that wouldn't work. Also, I'm imagining a lot of steals this year. I know Williams already times those passing lanes really well. And Jok takes more than enough chances cheating on the pass. Wagner with that first step, if we're in a man and he's guarding a guy up top? And, as much as we like to take time off the shot clock with our press and traps, (with our long arms???), it could be before the first set in our opponents offense they are already confused and concerned about how hard it is to actually move the ball around, AND caught with time running short.
One of the things I like about Fran is his willingness to use what works and not just stick with something "because." With that said, in 2 of the last 3 years the Iowa defense collapsed down the stretch. The defensive efficiency numbers fell off the cliff in those years at the end of the year.
Will be interesting to see how he plays this year out. Iowa appears to have more versatile defenders that will be on the floor at the same time. Wagner, Uhl, Cook, Baer, Jok, Williams all have the size and lateral movement to guard multiple positions. Potentially - key word potentially - this could make for a good defensive team.
"You don't play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball.", Bobby Knight. I never liked the guy but he could coach. The thing about McCaffery, imo, is that he is a move or two ahead of most coaches. That can translate into wins against teams with more talent. And frankly we've seen teams with more talent fall to the Hawkeyes. But the more time you give the other coach to scout, the more likely that all the little things that were working are now known, and prepared for.
The day we have equal talent and don't have to rely on every little thing working to our advantage, in other words the day opposing coaches look at us and say, "There are few weaknesses we can exploit", is the day we stop having a tougher time the second time around in the Big Ten regular season. And that day is coming.
