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The pressing game can be effective now because it is something of a novelty. It's sort of like D1 schools playing the service academies in football and going against the triple option. It's something they don't see these days and even when they can win due to superior athleticism it drives coaches at the bigger schools nuts.
Press offenses tend to come and go at the college level. Prior to the shot clock era, the press was often used to force tempo. I'm old enough to remember Wooden's first championship team at UCLA before the Abdul-Jabbar and Walton eras. That was actually a smallish press-and-run team led by guards Walt Hazzard and Gail Goodrich. Hard as it is to believe now, the Big 10 actually was something of a run-and-gun league in the late '60s. Purdue in 1969 and Iowa in 1970 averaged almost 100 points a game with no shot clock or three-point basket. Rick Mount at Purdue and Freddie Brown at Iowa probably would have had several hundred more career points if the three-pointer had been in use then. The B1G started to slow when Knight came in at Indiana and dominated with his halfcourt defensive style.
Pressing is especially effective if the pressing team has more athleticism or if the opposing team has inexperienced or subpar players at guard. Teams with talented guards are not easy to press, but they still might not be used to the tempo of an effective pressing team. In my view, one of the most effective aspects of full-court pressure is not necessarily in getting turnovers, but in forcing the other team to take 6-7 extra seconds to get the ball upcourt, leaving less time to get into an offensive flow. I do shudder when I hear some guys talk of knocking the 30-second college clock down to 24 seconds like the NBA. I see enough wild end-of-possession stuff at the college level now — really don't need any more.
West Liberty does seem to have the athletic depth to be successful in most types of games this season. It'll be interesting see how they fare as they do deeper into the tournament. Good luck to them.
Press offenses tend to come and go at the college level. Prior to the shot clock era, the press was often used to force tempo. I'm old enough to remember Wooden's first championship team at UCLA before the Abdul-Jabbar and Walton eras. That was actually a smallish press-and-run team led by guards Walt Hazzard and Gail Goodrich. Hard as it is to believe now, the Big 10 actually was something of a run-and-gun league in the late '60s. Purdue in 1969 and Iowa in 1970 averaged almost 100 points a game with no shot clock or three-point basket. Rick Mount at Purdue and Freddie Brown at Iowa probably would have had several hundred more career points if the three-pointer had been in use then. The B1G started to slow when Knight came in at Indiana and dominated with his halfcourt defensive style.
Pressing is especially effective if the pressing team has more athleticism or if the opposing team has inexperienced or subpar players at guard. Teams with talented guards are not easy to press, but they still might not be used to the tempo of an effective pressing team. In my view, one of the most effective aspects of full-court pressure is not necessarily in getting turnovers, but in forcing the other team to take 6-7 extra seconds to get the ball upcourt, leaving less time to get into an offensive flow. I do shudder when I hear some guys talk of knocking the 30-second college clock down to 24 seconds like the NBA. I see enough wild end-of-possession stuff at the college level now — really don't need any more.
West Liberty does seem to have the athletic depth to be successful in most types of games this season. It'll be interesting see how they fare as they do deeper into the tournament. Good luck to them.
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