madtownvol
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As in all things, there is a risk - reward function in play. Pressing for 40 minutes against overmatched teams, as the LVs have been doing, can create a lot of reward as we have seen with some of these early season games. A team like Liberty also showed that teams that stay calm under pressure and beat the press with passes, rather than dribbling, can create a lot of risks. Add a skilled PG with a team that is good at passing and the risk ratio likely becomes unfavorable.I agree with your top statement, I think many people including myself wonder what happens when we play against excellent guards who are every bit as fast and athletic as ours. The argument that it doesn't matter how good a point guard is in breaking defenses is ludicrous, though I am not saying that we can't beat a team with a good point guard. Think of all the losses the LVs have had in recent years when teams like Auburn and Alabama made us turn it over so often. The most common reaction to those losses was something along the lines of "we need an elite point guard". I think point guard play especially matters against a good pressing defense given that excellent court awareness, quickness, and effective passes is what breaks the press the best. These skills are the bread and butter of point guards. That said, our platoons of defense may even break down good point guards due to fatigue. If not this year, I would bet for sure next year.
You can still play uptempo; you can still have 2 players putting a lot of pressure on the ball (once it hits the half court) but trying to press, for example UConn, into oblivion would prove to be disasterous.
The Fl St. game will be interesting in terms of how aggressive CKC wants be in the press defense.
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