A Dummy's Observations on WLU at WVSU 2/1/23 WLU 102 – WVSU 97
WVSU Strategy- WVSU has recruited far and wide to find tall, long, fast players, who are great 3 pt shooters and excellent 1 on 1 players. As a result, they can be a very dangerous team.
- Play man to man defense
- Minimize Turnovers
- Be aggressive in attacking the rim on 3 on 2 breaks against the press. Keep spread out to prevent set up of trap on second pass. Try to get behind the defense for long pass against the press.
- Against the press, focus on intermediate to long passes against the press
- When players close out on the wing to contest the 3 pt WLU shot, they are to sprint out toward their goal, so that WVSU can throw over the press in transition for the open layup
- Exploit WLU on switches, where smaller defenders are guarding their taller players
- At the beginning of the game, WVSU was sprinting down the court in transition, getting open looks. They were sagging in the middle to stop Bryc and others, but their length still allowed them to run out to contest the shot from the wing or corner. Few WLU had that critical 6 pt spacing between opponent and shooter that is important for high % shooting.
- However, after the first 7 to 10 minutes, WLU was intercepting their intermediate passes against the press. For the game, as a free safety, Cannady had 5 steals .
- For the half, they committed 12 turnovers, of which 8 were steals.
- As the half wore on, fatigue was causing WVSU to be much slower on the close outs.
- For the game the WLU team shot an effective FG% to 62% to 58% for WVSU (who made many layups).
- A key factor was hitting 21 of 28 free throws, and 11 of 12 in the last 6 minutes when we could not buy a field goal.
- Good defense. WLU forced 20 turnovers, while only committing 8.
- Running the WVSU team by the 1st and 2nd platoons had a cumulative effect of tiring them, leading to unforced turnovers.
- A fundamental aspect of defense is to always be able to peripherally see both the ball and your opponent at all times. Some WLU players lose that defensive positional angle, which opened them up for back door cuts.
- Similarly, at the back of the press, WLU naturally will cheat up toward the half line. However, against WVSU, WLU cannot afford to be even one step behind the opponent, as they are just too fast, and WVSU is willing to throw an accurate long pass unless it is a very tight window.
- Some players are galloping, but not sprinting back on defense when the press is broken and there is a 3 on 2 situation. You cannot do this against WVSU. They are too fast. Many times, there is time to cover the open opponent before the pass is made for an open shot or layup. if they would sprint back. It is obvious on the film.
- Some players need work on their running form. Some are leaning forward with their arms pumping too far ahead of their body. If they have the track coach just work on body lean and arm movement, they could probably add 6 ft to their distance covered on a 70 ft sprint in the press. Against WVSU, this could be an important factor.
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