Controlled Chaos or half court

#26
#26
I don't see why CC gets such a bad rap here. We were one basket from beating a better Ohio State team than the one we beat this year with a roster that was arguably worse than this one. That OSU team had three top twenty picks on it including the first pick. We also owned a Florida team that won two titles because stylistically it was just a bad matchup for them, and beat a team that went on to the national final at their place.

I have no problem with the way we played this year, but all this talk about how futile our efforts were in the past is revisionist history. Our success this year has more to do with the team coming together after the suspension and Bruce changing his half-court offense than it does with the lack of a press.
 
#27
#27
I hope the "controlled chaos" is now a thing of the past and he keeps it on the shelf for good. I can handle it every now and then, but not 40 minutes of it. I think CBP has found what Tennessee basketball is all about now and stick with the style of play from this year.
 
#28
#28
half court with situational press depending on depth of our team vs the opponent along with the tempo we want to play.
 
#31
#31
hatvol96 said:
Why? His system bore no resemblence to the carnival slop UT played Pearl's first three and a half seasons.
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This board wouldn't be half as entertaining as it is without you around, but for someone with an oft mentioned awareness of the so called history of UT basketball you sure have a lack of respect for what was, until Friday, the apex of our program's existence. Carnival slop indeed. Imagine how successful Bruce's first few teams would have been with a real tactician on the bench.
 
#32
#32
Seriously? After we just saw how far the controlled half court offense took us? Half court, without a doubt in my mind
 
#33
#33
Titanic said:
I don't see why CC gets such a bad rap here. We were one basket from beating a better Ohio State team than the one we beat this year with a roster that was arguably worse than this one. That OSU team had three top twenty picks on it including the first pick. We also owned a Florida team that won two titles because stylistically it was just a bad matchup for them, and beat a team that went on to the national final at their place.

I have no problem with the way we played this year, but all this talk about how futile our efforts were in the past is revisionist history. Our success this year has more to do with the team coming together after the suspension and Bruce changing his half-court offense than it does with the lack of a press.
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This is the best point in this whole thread. There are some serious lapses in memory as to how the "controlled chaos" worked out for us. I remember two Sweet 16s, one that nearly got us our first Elite 8, and a thirty win season, plus a pair of two seeds.

And, seriously, if you have the small lineups we had for much of that time, coupled with the shooters on the perimeter in Lofton and Smith, would you really want to play a slow, methodical half court? If we have a bunch of quick athletes who slash and shoot very well, then, yes, I want to see the fast paced, pressing team.

Actually, to be clearer, I want something in the middle of "controlled chaos" and half court slow down. Crazy, Loyola Marymount offense with 30 three attempts a game isn't ideal, but neither is grinding out games and trying to win at the end all the time. Winning four games in row by 5 or less in the NCAA Tournament is pretty rare. You need to roll a few times by 10-20 in order to get to the Final Four, typically. I want to be able to attack a team with pressure defense, in the full and half court sets as well as wear down teams with our depth. I'm looking for mid-90s Kentucky.

I think people get caught in this Bobby Knight, 1950s mindset that the only real basketball is the methodical, half court sets whereas there are many ways to skin a cat.
 
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#34
#34
Controlled Chaos is more fun to watch, half court is better for us until we get some faster athletes.

But I would love to see some full court press again.
 
#35
#35
Titanic said:
This board wouldn't be half as entertaining as it is without you around, but for someone with an oft mentioned awareness of the so called history of UT basketball you sure have a lack of respect for what was, until Friday, the apex of our program's existence. Carnival slop indeed. Imagine how successful Bruce's first few teams would have been with a real tactician on the bench.
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You probably wouldn't have an NCAA loss to Wichita and a blown 20 point lead in the Sweet 16 as part of that "apex" if Pearl hadn't had to have attrition to learn when to dial back. There's a reason Tom Davis never won a damn thing of substance.
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#36
#36
Davis did just fine at Iowa, hell he had two Elite Eights in his history and a winning record in the NCAA Tournament. He was just coaching at Iowa, a wasteland.

Like I said, give me mid-90s Kentucky in our style. I want a team, like those Wildcat teams, that aggressively attack their opponents, bury teams in the early rounds and start their tournament in the second week. This tournament was great, but you only win close games so often and we nearly bowed out in the first round with the half court style this board seems to love now.
 
#37
#37
VolFromNashville said:
Alright please don't flame me for this, but I want to ask Volnation if Bruce will revert back to the "controlled choas" or perhaps stick to a more half-court set considering the success we had with it. I haven't seen much on this so merge if necessary
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He has already said that he will go back to controlled chaos.
 
#38
#38
lol this thread reads like "i heard it's half man half bear-pig" "no it's half man-bear, half pig" "i heard it's half bear half man and half pig"
 
#39
#39
There is a place for a press. And there is a place for a press in the tournament. Had Bill Self not waited until there were 3 minutes to go to start pressing, Kansas wins that game.

I understand the need to be able to play halfcourt D in the tournament. I do. I just saw the Vols do it quite well, and they came within a point of the FF. But there is something to be said for having better athletes than your opponent and simply running them off the floor.

Malcolm Gladwell got it backwards. The press is a Goliath strategy.
 
#40
#40
hatvol96 said:
You probably wouldn't have an NCAA loss to Wichita and a blown 20 point lead in the Sweet 16 as part of that "apex" if Pearl hadn't had to have attrition to learn when to dial back. There's a reason Tom Davis never won a damn thing of substance.
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Right. Because no one blows big leads or gets upset in the tournament who goes with a conventional walk it up and play good defense mentality. I'm sure a team with 6'1 Chris Lofton on the wing and 6'4 Dane Bradshaw in the post with no legitimate center would have excelled in that style of basketball.
 
#41
#41
i'm perfectly fine with a "run and gun" full court pressing game as long as we have sound, half-court offense fundamentals we can rely on when we aren't forcing the points off of turnovers.
 
#42
#42
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of traditional offenses, I love the Princeton.

That said, "Controlled Chaos" can work, moreover, Pitino and Richardson had a great deal of success. I'm not necessarily advocating the system Pearl has turned away from, but a fast-paced, in your face/full court press can work - that is of course if you have the right players, and coaches who know what they are doing.

I'm more comfortable with the organized sets and tempo Pearl is running now, hands down. If Tennessee had the correct players and Rick Pitino coaching I might feel differently.
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#43
#43
I can assure all of you that next year will be neither ALL half-court nor ALL controlled chaos. It's simplistic to think the coaching staff will rely on one style of play for every set. This argument seems to be exactly for the point of some exalting their views from the past because the team and coach actually achieved what the "some" thought was not possible, so it has to be shoved down the collective throat of VolNation that it wasn't the old way of doing things that got the Vols to the Elite Eight; it was THEIR way and they were right all along.

Well, kudos to y'all for knowing more than our coach and players. I'm sure they could not have done it without coming on here everyday to find out just exactly what it is that WE thought they should be doing.

By the way, what is the name of this new offense that has been created and preached on this site? Bruce runs the Flex. Is there a name for the VolNation half-court controlled offense? That seems pretty cumbersome. Or do we just call it: The VolNation Offense?

In my opinion, Bruce has shown an ability to adapt to his personnel and will continue to do that in the years ahead depending on those unknown factors and not just one preset offensive philosophy, or am I wrong?
 
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#44
#44
PoochPunt3rdDown said:
I can assure all of you that next year will be neither ALL half-court nor ALL controlled chaos. It's simplistic to think the coaching staff will rely on one style of play for every set. This argument seems to be exactly for the point of some exalting their views from the past because the team and coach actually achieved what the "some" thought was not possible, so it has to be shoved down the collective throat of VolNation that it wasn't the old way of doing things that got the Vols to the Elite Eight; it was THEIR way and they were right all along.

Well, kudos to y'all for knowing more than our coach and players. I'm sure they could not have done it without coming on here everyday to find out just exactly what it is that WE thought they should be doing.

By the way, what is the name of this new offense that has been created and preached on this site? Bruce runs the Flex. Is there a name for the VolNation half-court controlled offense? That seems pretty cumbersome. Do we just call it that; The VolNation Offense?

In my opinion, Bruce has shown an ability to adapt to his personnel and will continue to do that in the years ahead depending on those unknown factors and not just one preset offensive philosophy, or am I wrong?
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What do you expect? This is a message board after all.

Kudos to the adaptation, that is what makes coaching special to a select few. Bill Walsh developed the WCO because he had a QB who couldn't throw worth a lick.

Belichick is the best at this, hands down.

I'm going to love the BB Defensive Coordinator role next season.

I'm not exactly sure Bruce runs a pure Flex cut, at least not to the extent of Gary Williams or Mark Few, but they run different variations.
 
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