All of this discussion is in general terms, but I think we can say some intelligent things comparing a new "philosophy or style" of play in different sports.
Just like the wing-T in its day, or the triple-option, or west coast offense, Heupel's "new" offense (or CKC's system or approach) diminishes certain defensive advantages and creates exploitable opportunities on offense.
It's the old rock-paper-scissors aspect of any good game. It creates new ways to win. Instead of competing against better teams by trying to assemble a bigger, better rock to out-smash their rock... you create paper.
Chavis had great defensive personnel going up against the Gators, but Spurrier had a system that allowed him to quickly complete passes by finding the one receiver who was defended one-on-one and delivering the ball to a location where it was either a completion or out of bounds. It negated whatever advantages we might have had at 10 other positions.
There was a time when time-of-possession determined the winner of most football games. Then the key stat was rushing yardage on first down. Then it became avg. yards per pass completion. Each "winning" stat reflected a change in the way the game was being played and defended.
So now CKC is going to see if she can make "number-of-offensive-possessions" become the new key winning stat in women's basketball.
Should be more fun to watch than the current men's basketball winning stat: "longest you can stay in the lane without a whistle."
You make a lot of good points but let's focus just on the basketball side.
"Number of offensive possessions" is already an important metric but it is captured through stats like rebound and turnover differentials.
Playing at a faster tempo and spreading the floor with 3 point shooters is how the game has evolved but a faster pace does not guarantee more possessions.
Example, if my teams scores at 5 seconds or 20 seconds on the shot clock, the opponent still takes the ball out of bounds for their possession turn; That remains a 1 to 1 possession ratio. If I score more baskets quickly, they get their possession turn faster and everyone has more possessions. Tempo does not change the basic rules of the game
If my team misses a shot at 5 seconds or 20 seconds on the shot clock and my opponent gets the rebound - that is still a 1 to 1 possession ratio.
The only factors that tip possessions in my team's favor is whether they get the rebound or force a turnover (not how quickly we get shots up).
My point is that CKC's "system" is not that radically different from that deployed by many other teams and, at the end of the day, its success will still depend in large part on defense (forcing TOs), rebounding, and converting possessions into points. Even with more possessions, a team will still need to shoot a decent % from the field and FT to make those possessions literally count.
The Achilles heel of the LVs over the last two season really has not been scoring, even if the offensive scheme left something to be desired. It has been defense. Too often, opposing guards had their game of the season (or even careers) against the LVs. It happened too often to just be bad luck.
So, CKC has brought in two portal players who can defend on the wings and I suspect she will better utilize players like Wynn and Hollingshead on the defensive side.
