StepCross
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And here's one more from the other board. Sorry for the length again, but I thought these posts were interesting and worth sharing.
*****BEGIN QUOTED POST*****
Again, comparing 2010 vols to 2011 version, and trying to be specific. Here D1 means "the guy who guards the opponent's PG," D2 means "the guy who guards the SG," etc.
D1
2010: Maze, occasionally Prince
2011: Goins
Trend: up
IMO the biggest improvement from 09 to 10 was Bobby Maze's defense. In the 2008-09 season, we looked too slow, particularly at guard, particularly at the point. In 09-10, Maze brought the fire. Improvement is always fun to watch, and Maze improved more than a casual observer could have reasonably expected.
I say all that to point out that I'm a big Maze fan, and don't want to take anything away from him. But the simple fact is that Goins is just quicker. He's quick, he's strong, and he has the tools to be a better on-ball defender than Bobby Maze was. He also demonstrated the energy and leadership to suggest he plans to do it. Goins is quick and strong and aggressive enough to be a JaJuan-level pest...except Goins gets to guard the guy bringing the ball down the floor all game. He could potentially be good enough to singlehandedly change the course of a game with his defense--especially if the opponent has a young or iffy point guard. He's the main reason we'll be able to stomach losing Chism's stellar post defense, IMO.
D2
2010: Hopson
2011: Hopson
Trend: up
Hopson guarded better than the average fan probably thinks. He's quick enough to stay with any wing the bad guys trot out there, and tall enough to guard anyone who isn't a center. Last year he was on the skinny side, of course, but that doesn't usually matter when you're guarding the shooting guard. This year he'll be stronger, which shouldn't matter much for preventing open shots, but might lead to more forced turnovers.
More seriously, last year he sometimes took plays off. Hopson's story is that this year he won't do that. He went to camps, trained with national teams and NBA players, and received evaluations and "competing every play" is his main theme. He needs to prove it, though.
In any case, he has the skills to be a great defender. His length is hard to shoot over, and he has the quickness to stay with anyone and fight through screens. Even if he just plays to the level of his 2010 NCAA tournament, Goins/Hopson should be the best 1-2 defensive punch we've had at guard in Pearl's tenure.
D3
2010: Prince
2011: Tatum
Trend: down
Prince was a heckuva defender last year.
Tatum has the height and strength to cover a 3. His footspeed was suspect last year, but he bounced between injury and suspension, and mixed it all up with youth.
It's on Tatum to bring the defense at this position. He'll be too valuable offensively to take off the floor, so he just needs to make it happen on defense and that's all there is to it.
D4
2010: Chism
2011: Harris
Trend: Need you ask?
Ouch. Chism was the best post defender on the basketball court, on either team, in nearly every game he played for the past 3 years. Harris is a true freshman.
Chism guarded the 4, the 5, and the occasional 3. He wasn't a serious concern if he had to switch to a wing on a pick. He took defense seriously, and he got others to take it seriously.
Essentially, we can't replace Wayne's defense with one guy. It'll be a team effort, with Harris, Hall, Fields, Maymon, Steven Pearl, and of course....
D5
2010: Chism, Williams
2011: Williams
Trend: Hard to say. (2011 Williams should trump 2010 Williams and 2010 Hall/Woolridge/whoever else we used during that long stretch after Jan. 1...but 2011 Williams should not trump 2010 Chism. Basically, it depends on where we count Chism's defense last year: here or at the 4.)
The post is tricky when referring to last year. For most of the year, Wayne actually guarded the 5. But in the tournament, Brian got good enough on defense to slide Wayne to the 4 and play both bigs together. I expect continued improvement from Brian, and to be honest we absolutely HAVE to have it. He's got good feet and hands, he's a monster on the glass, and he's always been strong. Williams has to be the primary go-to defender on the best big man most nights. He needs to stay out of foul trouble, and he needs to shut the post game down.
Again, luckily he has help. Hall, Fields, Maymon, and Steven Pearl can all guard one position or another.
Summary
I don't honestly know. We'll be better at guard, and at the non-Chism post position. But we'll fall off some at Prince's and Chism's positions, it appears.
OTOH, defense is a team thing. It's effort and leadership and communication and depth, and we've got all that. I think we'll be maybe less good defensively than our best from the end of last year, but I'm holding out hope that we won't be MUCH worse.
****END QUOTED POST*****
*****BEGIN QUOTED POST*****
Again, comparing 2010 vols to 2011 version, and trying to be specific. Here D1 means "the guy who guards the opponent's PG," D2 means "the guy who guards the SG," etc.
D1
2010: Maze, occasionally Prince
2011: Goins
Trend: up
IMO the biggest improvement from 09 to 10 was Bobby Maze's defense. In the 2008-09 season, we looked too slow, particularly at guard, particularly at the point. In 09-10, Maze brought the fire. Improvement is always fun to watch, and Maze improved more than a casual observer could have reasonably expected.
I say all that to point out that I'm a big Maze fan, and don't want to take anything away from him. But the simple fact is that Goins is just quicker. He's quick, he's strong, and he has the tools to be a better on-ball defender than Bobby Maze was. He also demonstrated the energy and leadership to suggest he plans to do it. Goins is quick and strong and aggressive enough to be a JaJuan-level pest...except Goins gets to guard the guy bringing the ball down the floor all game. He could potentially be good enough to singlehandedly change the course of a game with his defense--especially if the opponent has a young or iffy point guard. He's the main reason we'll be able to stomach losing Chism's stellar post defense, IMO.
D2
2010: Hopson
2011: Hopson
Trend: up
Hopson guarded better than the average fan probably thinks. He's quick enough to stay with any wing the bad guys trot out there, and tall enough to guard anyone who isn't a center. Last year he was on the skinny side, of course, but that doesn't usually matter when you're guarding the shooting guard. This year he'll be stronger, which shouldn't matter much for preventing open shots, but might lead to more forced turnovers.
More seriously, last year he sometimes took plays off. Hopson's story is that this year he won't do that. He went to camps, trained with national teams and NBA players, and received evaluations and "competing every play" is his main theme. He needs to prove it, though.
In any case, he has the skills to be a great defender. His length is hard to shoot over, and he has the quickness to stay with anyone and fight through screens. Even if he just plays to the level of his 2010 NCAA tournament, Goins/Hopson should be the best 1-2 defensive punch we've had at guard in Pearl's tenure.
D3
2010: Prince
2011: Tatum
Trend: down
Prince was a heckuva defender last year.
Tatum has the height and strength to cover a 3. His footspeed was suspect last year, but he bounced between injury and suspension, and mixed it all up with youth.
It's on Tatum to bring the defense at this position. He'll be too valuable offensively to take off the floor, so he just needs to make it happen on defense and that's all there is to it.
D4
2010: Chism
2011: Harris
Trend: Need you ask?
Ouch. Chism was the best post defender on the basketball court, on either team, in nearly every game he played for the past 3 years. Harris is a true freshman.
Chism guarded the 4, the 5, and the occasional 3. He wasn't a serious concern if he had to switch to a wing on a pick. He took defense seriously, and he got others to take it seriously.
Essentially, we can't replace Wayne's defense with one guy. It'll be a team effort, with Harris, Hall, Fields, Maymon, Steven Pearl, and of course....
D5
2010: Chism, Williams
2011: Williams
Trend: Hard to say. (2011 Williams should trump 2010 Williams and 2010 Hall/Woolridge/whoever else we used during that long stretch after Jan. 1...but 2011 Williams should not trump 2010 Chism. Basically, it depends on where we count Chism's defense last year: here or at the 4.)
The post is tricky when referring to last year. For most of the year, Wayne actually guarded the 5. But in the tournament, Brian got good enough on defense to slide Wayne to the 4 and play both bigs together. I expect continued improvement from Brian, and to be honest we absolutely HAVE to have it. He's got good feet and hands, he's a monster on the glass, and he's always been strong. Williams has to be the primary go-to defender on the best big man most nights. He needs to stay out of foul trouble, and he needs to shut the post game down.
Again, luckily he has help. Hall, Fields, Maymon, and Steven Pearl can all guard one position or another.
Summary
I don't honestly know. We'll be better at guard, and at the non-Chism post position. But we'll fall off some at Prince's and Chism's positions, it appears.
OTOH, defense is a team thing. It's effort and leadership and communication and depth, and we've got all that. I think we'll be maybe less good defensively than our best from the end of last year, but I'm holding out hope that we won't be MUCH worse.
****END QUOTED POST*****
