Dortch: Morphing defense could be UT's calling card this season

#1
kamoshika

kamoshika

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#1
Yes, chances are good the calling card of Tyndall’s first Tennessee team will be defense. That’s partly because, for all the Vols’ other shortcomings, they have length and athleticism in abundant supply. But it’s also because defense, Tyndall style, is a rare combination of full-court pressure and half-court zone.

The press and the zone work in concert, and both are hard for opponents to solve. The press can be utilized to speed up the game, net some quick steals and easy baskets to take the pressure off the Vols’ offense. But far more often, it’s a nuisance press that keeps a team from getting into its offense quickly and figuring out what sort of zone it’s facing in the half court.
Chris Dortch » Morphing defense could be Tennessee’s calling card this season
 
#3
#3
Nice article, thanks. I wonder who Dortch knows on the staff. He's been killing it ever since Tyndall got here.
 
#4
#4
NashVOL93 said:
Nice article, thanks. I wonder who Dortch knows on the staff. He's been killing it ever since Tyndall got here.
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Maybe Zo's mumbling kept that same avenue of communication closed. :sleep:
 
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#5
#5
butchna said:
Maybe Zo's mumbling kept that same avenue of communication closed. :sleep:
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Zo was a polite, cordial guy but he didn't look to be the sort of Mack Brown media puppet master type, and I doubt he particularly went out of his way to interact with them when not necessary. Dortch clearly has some sort of in with someone on the current staff, though.
 
#6
#6
Let's talk about the darned defense. It could carry us into the NCAA tournament in his first season and then the sky's the limit! Vol fans have seen nothing to even approach this defense. Some of you basketball guru's care to comment?
 
#7
#7
SeniorDrill said:
Let's talk about the darned defense. It could carry us into the NCAA tournament in his first season and then the sky's the limit! Vol fans have seen nothing to even approach this defense. Some of you basketball guru's care to comment?
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It's extremely complicated and difficult to learn. I'm hoping the guys can pick it up quickly because I do agree that it could make a difference against some teams.
 
#8
#8
Tyndall's defense was always really interesting to me when he was at USM. I think he throws a lot of wrinkles in to keep opposing teams off balance. UT fans will like it, it works.

"Tyndall’s zone differs from that of say, the 2-3 favored by the game’s leading practitioner of the defense, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. The Tennessee zone could start as a 2-3, but it could morph into three other variations, plus man to man."
 
#9
#9
SeniorDrill said:
Let's talk about the darned defense. It could carry us into the NCAA tournament in his first season and then the sky's the limit! Vol fans have seen nothing to even approach this defense. Some of you basketball guru's care to comment?
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They run a defense almost exactly like Pitino does at Louisville and the way he did at Kentucky. That is the reason Rick likes big athletic kids that can feel the gaps and be a nusance on d. If you watch their d it morphs as well. I have always liked Rick as a coach and I am a Louisville fan second. If we can garner some of the he is having with that d then I think this team will go places. I also think that recruiting will pick up once these potential recruits see what we can do on the court.
 
#11
#11
Very interesting comments in the article from Coach T.
“It’s a unique and different defense,” Tyndall said. “Not trying to sound like I’ve invented the wheel, but I do think it’s been good to us and helped us keep teams out of rhythm. The biggest thing it’s going to do for us is negate our lack of a physical post presence. We don’t have that strong, physical guy. Teams, even bigger teams, aren’t going to be able to pound the ball inside against us. It’s no surprise that, over the last three seasons, one at Morehead State and two at Southern Miss, opponents have taken 40 percent of their shots from behind 3. If a team’s having a hot night from behind the arc, that might mean trouble. But often, opponents are taking hurried 3s late in the shot clock because the press has delayed them getting into their offense."
 
#12
#12
I am excited to watch this team play Donnie ball. It is going to be a big change from we have have been watching.
 
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#14
#14
I'm interested in how DT handles himself during a game. Will he stand up for his players? Will he let a ref know he blew a call? Take a tech if needed? I want to see energy/passion from our head coach.
 
#16
#16
volbeast33 said:
I think his wins and losses will be as good as most would have predicted for this season no matter who the coach is.
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This. I think what gets lost in the whole Zo vs. CDT debate is the fact that this team was likely to struggle for an NCAA bid regardless of who was coaching them. I think the totality of what Tyndall brought in > than what Zo was bringing in, in terms of talent, but Zo would have likely had two actual PGs (Austin and Thompson). So, to me, it remains a crapshoot to predict which coach would have been better off. CDT has the benefit of being the "unknown" in his first season where the rest of the league knew what to expect from Zo since he would have been in his fourth season.

I'm still not comfortable putting myself out there with a season prediction and calling it anything more than a wild guess.
 
#17
#17
cncchris33 said:
This. I think what gets lost in the whole Zo vs. CDT debate is the fact that this team was likely to struggle for an NCAA bid regardless of who was coaching them. I think the totality of what Tyndall brought in > than what Zo was bringing in, in terms of talent, but Zo would have likely had two actual PGs (Austin and Thompson). So, to me, it remains a crapshoot to predict which coach would have been better off. CDT has the benefit of being the "unknown" in his first season where the rest of the league knew what to expect from Zo since he would have been in his fourth season.

I'm still not comfortable putting myself out there with a season prediction and calling it anything more than a wild guess.
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I give a slight edge to Zo because like you said he would have had 2 pg's...but still that's not anything to brag since it would have been his 4th year as a HC it shouldn't be a bubble year.
 
#18
#18
Both teams were gonna struggle. Ccm was going to be in trouble scoring and front court play. Possibly worse than CDK and co will. I agree the pg spot would be more solid but we'd still have a freshman pg backing up DT. Who still had a lot to prove as a pg.(defense/foot speed and shot) imo
 
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#20
#20
You can choose to believe this or not, but I feel pretty strongly that if Martin had chosen to return so would Jarnell Stokes, however there were conversations between the 2 and Stokes knew Martin would not be here this season. If Stokes returned we were all but guaranteed to also land Rhett, which would've provided a very good duo in the paint this season.

It's all hypotheticals, but I said last season multiple times, I thought next years squad with a true PG finally coming in and Thompson getting a year under his belt would produce a better record regular season than last years squad and would get a NCAAT bid. It likely wouldn't have packed the scoring punch McRae brought, but the team also wouldn't been much more than 5 deep which would've benefited them.
 
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#21
#21
bleedingTNorange said:
You can choose to believe this or not, but I feel pretty strongly that if Martin had chosen to return so would Jarnell Stokes, however there were conversations between the 2 and Stokes knew Martin would not be here this season. If Stokes returned we were all but guaranteed to also land Rhett, which would've provided a very good duo in the paint this season.

It's all hypotheticals, but I said last season multiple times, I thought next years squad with a true PG finally coming in and Thompson getting a year under his belt would produce a better record regular season than last years squad and would get a NCAAT bid. It likely wouldn't have packed the scoring punch McRae brought, but the team also wouldn't been much more than 5 deep which would've benefited them.
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Not sure only being 5 deep would benefit anybody.
 
#22
#22
bleedingTNorange said:
You can choose to believe this or not, but I feel pretty strongly that if Martin had chosen to return so would Jarnell Stokes, however there were conversations between the 2 and Stokes knew Martin would not be here this season. If Stokes returned we were all but guaranteed to also land Rhett, which would've provided a very good duo in the paint this season.

It's all hypotheticals, but I said last season multiple times, I thought next years squad with a true PG finally coming in and Thompson getting a year under his belt would produce a better record regular season than last years squad and would get a NCAAT bid. It likely wouldn't have packed the scoring punch McRae brought, but the team also wouldn't been much more than 5 deep which would've benefited them.
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Would've loved for stokes to have stayed but if it meant Martin had to stay I'm not sure how I feel
 
#23
#23
Lefteye said:
Not sure only being 5 deep would benefit anybody.
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I was saying they would've been more than 5 deep, which last years team really wasn't, if you remember there were games which like 95% of scoring and rebounding came from the starting 5.
 
#24
#24
Dallasbowlin said:
Would've loved for stokes to have stayed but if it meant Martin had to stay I'm not sure how I feel
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It wouldn't have guaranteed Martin was here 10 years or anything, idk about you but I sure enjoyed being in the Sweet 16, hopefully Tyndall gets us there in the same timeframe or less.
 
#25
#25
bleedingTNorange said:
It wouldn't have guaranteed Martin was here 10 years or anything, idk about you but I sure enjoyed being in the Sweet 16, hopefully Tyndall gets us there in the same timeframe or less.
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While I enjoyed being in the sweet 16 it sucked having to turn the tv up trying to hear martin speak I still have no clue how the players heard him on the sideline
 
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