3 Point Defense

#2
#2
It’s the only team’s weakness.

Although I’m sure Barnes knows that UK has shooters who can light it up from the arc in a hurry.

I expect physical defense if the officials let them play.
 
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#3
#3
More than likely baiting here.....always keep something in the bag. Never bring it out until you have to do so.....
 
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#4
#4
They have several times shown the ability to switch that on and shut it down. BUT. Even in the games where opponents have been on fire they've done enough on offense and limiting points in the paint to overcome. Unexplainable but it's what we've done. Must have something to do with knowing who you are and what you need to do in game situations. Call it BBIQ.
 
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#7
#7
Is it a weakness or a strategy?

We are 7th in the country is 2pt fg% defense, and 15th nationally in blocked shots...in another words, good luck scoring inside against us at an efficient rate. On the flip side our offense is a juggernaut, we are consistent and effective, we rarely go long spurts without scoring and that is tough for teams to match...it appears to me Barnes is essentially saying to opponents, you’ve gotta hit the 3 to beat us, and you’ve gotta hit a ton of them.

South Carolina shot 14/23 for 61%...we won by 12.
Florida shot 12/32 for 38%...we won by 11.
Texas A&M shot 12/27 for 44%...we won by 17.
Louisville shot 11/28 for 39%...we won by 11.


I would be interested in re-watching the Gonzaga game, they’re a good 3pt shooting team yet they went 7/18 against us from deep...not a bad percentage but obviously we didn’t sit back and let them bomb away like we have some teams, so is it the scout of certain teams to play those odds and done by design, or is it really an Achilles heel?
 
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#8
#8
bleedingTNorange said:
Is it a weakness or a strategy?

We are 7th in the country is 2pt fg% defense, and 15th nationally I’m blocked shots...in another words, good luck scoring inside against us at an efficient rate. On the flip side our offense is a juggernaut, we are consistent and effective, we rarely go long spurts without scoring and that is tough for teams to match...it appears to me Barnes is essentially saying to opponents, you’ve gotta hit the 3 to beat us, and you’ve gotta hit a ton of them.

South Carolina shot 14/23 for 61%...we won by 12.
Florida shot 12/32 for 38%...we won by 11.
Texas A&M shot 12/27 for 44%...we won by 17.
Louisville shot 11/28 for 39%...we won by 11.


I would be interested in re-watching the Gonzaga game, they’re a good 3pt shooting team yet they went 7/18 against us from deep...not a bad percentage but obviously we didn’t sit back and let them bomb away like we have some teams, so is it the scout of certain teams to play those odds?
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On your game bud. Some good stuff here.
 
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#9
#9
Maybe it's just me, but I seem to notice a trend of letting down near the middle of the second half of nearly every game. Sometimes it is the defense and others it is the offense. Both seem to be more to the mental side than the physical. Is it just me or are some others seeing this? I know they seem able to "turn it back on" and grind it out. But just wish they would just bury the opponent and this would allow some of the bench riders playing time. As I say this, Coach Barnes says he frowns on both of these approaches. (subbing late and hammering opponents is embarrassing to them)
 
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#10
#10
savannahfan said:
Maybe it's just me, but I seem to notice a trend of letting down near the middle of the second half of nearly every game. Sometimes it is the defense and others it is the offense. Both seem to be more to the mental side than the physical. Is it just me or are some others seeing this? I know they seem able to "turn it back on" and grind it out. But just wish they would just bury the opponent and this would allow some of the bench riders playing time. As I say this, Coach Barnes says he frowns on both of these approaches. (subbing late and hammering opponents is embarrassing to them)
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I see your point, but I disagree. Do enough to win. Save legs/gas etc. for when we really need them (e.g. Saturday)
 
#11
#11
calban said:
On your game bud. Some good stuff here.
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Worth mentioning...to this point of our 11 conference game, all 11 have been teams ranked 5th or worse in 3pt% in conference play, 9 of those games against 7th or worse (Missouri x2 is ranked 5th).

In their 2 games Missouri went a combined 16/49 for 33%, below their season average. Was this different defense or did Missouri simply miss shots?

Our final 7 games include 5 against the Top 6 in 3pt%, so I would say we will get our answer pretty soon on the exact strategy.
 
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#12
#12
bleedingTNorange said:
Worth mentioning...to this point of our 11 conference game, all 11 have been teams ranked 5th or worse in 3pt% in conference play, 9 of those games against 7th or worse (Missouri x2 is ranked 5th).

In their 2 games Missouri went a combined 16/49 for 33%, below their season average. Was this different defense or did Missouri simply miss shots?

Our final 7 games include 5 against the Top 6 in 3pt%, so I would say we will get our answer pretty soon on the exact strategy.
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I'd say you're right and I think it is strategy. i also think we've got some high IQ guys that are actually following their scouting reports this season. One of Barnes' biggest gripes last season. Haven't heard it much this year.
 
#14
#14
calban said:
I'd say you're right and I think it is strategy. i also think we've got some high IQ guys that are actually following their scouting reports this season. One of Barnes' biggest gripes last season. Haven't heard it much this year.
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Schofield said postgame something to the effect of...”I promise you we are following the scout and what the coaches want us to do”, and Barnes wasn’t all that upset either said something like “some were tough shots, obviously at 60% some were missed assignments too, but they just hit some shots”...these statements told me that was the scout, I’m sure certain guys they didn’t want to leave like they did, but I think as Schofield mentioned for the most part that was the scout.

If they shoot their season average from 3 they go 8/23 instead of 14/23 and we win 85-55, let that sink in.
 
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#15
#15
I actually think our weakness is on ball defense and it’s disguised itself as a three point defensive weakness. Too many times our on ball defense allows an easy drive which then requires someone to help. The kickout to the helpers open man is what’s killing us. Learn to stop your man so others don’t have to help and our three point defense will be much improved.
 
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#17
#17
bleedingTNorange said:
Is it a weakness or a strategy?

We are 7th in the country is 2pt fg% defense, and 15th nationally in blocked shots...in another words, good luck scoring inside against us at an efficient rate. On the flip side our offense is a juggernaut, we are consistent and effective, we rarely go long spurts without scoring and that is tough for teams to match...it appears to me Barnes is essentially saying to opponents, you’ve gotta hit the 3 to beat us, and you’ve gotta hit a ton of them.

South Carolina shot 14/23 for 61%...we won by 12.
Florida shot 12/32 for 38%...we won by 11.
Texas A&M shot 12/27 for 44%...we won by 17.
Louisville shot 11/28 for 39%...we won by 11.


I would be interested in re-watching the Gonzaga game, they’re a good 3pt shooting team yet they went 7/18 against us from deep...not a bad percentage but obviously we didn’t sit back and let them bomb away like we have some teams, so is it the scout of certain teams to play those odds and done by design, or is it really an Achilles heel?
Click to expand...
I mentioned this in the postgame report. Giving up that many open looks from 3 is frustrating, but with our elite 2pt defense, it almost feels like they are banking on playing the odds that they can outscore most opponents, make them beat us from deep, and let the cards fall where they may. Bold strategy, but if you lose to a team who hits 15 3s at a better than 50% clip, it just wasn’t your night.
 
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#18
#18
calban said:
They have several times shown the ability to switch that on and shut it down. BUT. Even in the games where opponents have been on fire they've done enough on offense and limiting points in the paint to overcome. Unexplainable but it's what we've done. Must have something to do with knowing who you are and what you need to do in game situations. Call it BBIQ.
Click to expand...

I agree. If you know yourself and know your enemy, you need not fear the outcome of a thousand battles.
 
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#19
#19
macrovol said:
This is the team's Achille's Heel. If we lose a game it will be because of this. It's happened too often now to be just a hot night by the opponent.
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I agree and it seems like we are a 1/2 second slow in transition defense. I also see these same teams clanking wide open 3’s over and over against other teams, no one seems to miss against the Vols especially when they are up 12 to 15 points.
 
#20
#20
Most open 3 attempts come due to switching and/or help D with a good pass to the player left open due to the switch or help. On most of those a Vol dashes out but too late to be effective. A significant number of made 3's happen with a hand in the face. It's pretty much impossible to stop every 3 point attempt without risking a 3 shot foul. Tough to find the perfect balance between weak side help, covering the corner, pressing the arc, protecting the lane, and positioning for rebounds.
Contested 3's that are made are simply a part of the game. All they can do is all they can do. Too much focus on the arc leaves the lane less protected and negatively impacts rebounding. So far the tradeoffs have not been fatal.
Expecting totally consistent intensity is a bit much. There is only so much energy to be spent so the team has to pick its poison and timing. Every team has to work for more runs than the opponent and hope they don't run out of gas like Louisville vs Duke. Got to keep something in the tank for end game.
 
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#21
#21
bleedingTNorange said:
Is it a weakness or a strategy?

We are 7th in the country is 2pt fg% defense, and 15th nationally in blocked shots...in another words, good luck scoring inside against us at an efficient rate. On the flip side our offense is a juggernaut, we are consistent and effective, we rarely go long spurts without scoring and that is tough for teams to match...it appears to me Barnes is essentially saying to opponents, you’ve gotta hit the 3 to beat us, and you’ve gotta hit a ton of them...
...not a bad percentage but obviously we didn’t sit back and let them bomb away like we have some teams, so is it the scout of certain teams to play those odds and done by design, or is it really an Achilles heel?
Click to expand...

Exactly. I think we are happy to let teams attempt a bunch of threes because we know that if they miss, we are getting the ball and turning that into points. We are the #2 most efficient offense in the nation behind Gonzaga, and we all know what happened there.

I think our defense will come through when it's necessary, and we arent up by 15
 
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#22
#22
bleedingTNorange said:
Is it a weakness or a strategy?

We are 7th in the country is 2pt fg% defense, and 15th nationally in blocked shots...in another words, good luck scoring inside against us at an efficient rate. On the flip side our offense is a juggernaut, we are consistent and effective, we rarely go long spurts without scoring and that is tough for teams to match...it appears to me Barnes is essentially saying to opponents, you’ve gotta hit the 3 to beat us, and you’ve gotta hit a ton of them.

South Carolina shot 14/23 for 61%...we won by 12.
Florida shot 12/32 for 38%...we won by 11.
Texas A&M shot 12/27 for 44%...we won by 17.
Louisville shot 11/28 for 39%...we won by 11.


I would be interested in re-watching the Gonzaga game, they’re a good 3pt shooting team yet they went 7/18 against us from deep...not a bad percentage but obviously we didn’t sit back and let them bomb away like we have some teams, so is it the scout of certain teams to play those odds and done by design, or is it really an Achilles heel?
Click to expand...
That's a really good point you make. Last night, Ole Miss' strategy was to let Auburn shoot the 2's and not the 3's, and you saw the outcome.
 
#23
#23
bleedingTNorange said:
Schofield said postgame something to the effect of...”I promise you we are following the scout and what the coaches want us to do”, and Barnes wasn’t all that upset either said something like “some were tough shots, obviously at 60% some were missed assignments too, but they just hit some shots”...these statements told me that was the scout, I’m sure certain guys they didn’t want to leave like they did, but I think as Schofield mentioned for the most part that was the scout.

If they shoot their season average from 3 they go 8/23 instead of 14/23 and we win 85-55, let that sink in.
Click to expand...
I did the same calculation, and strictly from an "averages" perspective, we blast them.
 
#24
#24
cncchris33 said:
I mentioned this in the postgame report. Giving up that many open looks from 3 is frustrating, but with our elite 2pt defense, it almost feels like they are banking on playing the odds that they can outscore most opponents, make them beat us from deep, and let the cards fall where they may. Bold strategy, but if you lose to a team who hits 15 3s at a better than 50% clip, it just wasn’t your night.
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I agree, and from a defensive perspective, I just HATE giving up easy shots at the basket. If you beat us, then earn it with made 3-pointers.
 
#25
#25
IPleadInsanity said:
I agree and it seems like we are a 1/2 second slow in transition defense. I also see these same teams clanking wide open 3’s over and over against other teams, no one seems to miss against the Vols especially when they are up 12 to 15 points.
Click to expand...
As an interesting sidebar to your post, I like to watch opponents in warm-ups, and SC players were not shooting very well from 3-range, so surmise what you will about their great in-game shooting.
 
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