Why doesn't ISU press much?

Dryburn

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I'm sure this may have been brought up in some other threads, but I am just wondering, with the guards that we have, why does ISU not press more?

If you want to control the tempo of a game and speed it up, especially against a team that likes to slow it down, one way to do that is with a full-court press. Personally, I would have liked to see that from the very beginning of the game last night so that maybe ISU could have set the tempo. ISU jumped out to a 14-5 lead. No better time to try a full court press and completely take UNI out of their game.

I just think it would work with the guards that we have, and the overall athleticism of this team.

Now, one danger of pressing with this ISU team is that the bench is thin, so you risk wearing players out, but still...isn't it worth a shot against a team like UNI?

Thoughts?
 

IcSyU

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The drop off from the starters to the guys on the bench is huge. Additionally, who is at the back to prevent easy dunks when the press is broken?
 

Dryburn

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The drop off from the starters to the guys on the bench is huge. Additionally, who is at the back to prevent easy dunks when the press is broken?

Well, yeah, the drop-off is huge in terms of experience from most of the starters to the bench, but still. As far as someone back to prevent dunks, it depends on what type of press you use. Likely it would be Melvin or Godfrey. Personally, I would put JVB on the guy throwing the ball in. Then DG and Jake up front with Scotty in the center of the court.

Sure, there are going to be times when the other team might break the press, but there are also going to be times that it works for easy baskets and drawing fouls. More than that, it can frustrate the hell out of another team.

If it does not work, it can always be taken off. I just thought it might work with this team, especially against a team like UNI.
 

Clone5

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The drop off from the starters to the guys on the bench is huge. Additionally, who is at the back to prevent easy dunks when the press is broken?
I agree but how much can it hurt? We saw how bad we are at the slow down game last night we need to try to create turnovers and fastbreaks somehow right? I'd rather take my chances with UNI having a few 3 on 2 or 2 on 1's than them slowing the entire game down.
 

Dryburn

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Depth and Conditioning

I agree, the depth could be a problem, but the conditioning really shouldn't be, especially on a team that supposedly is built to play an up-tempo game. In fact, if that is indeed the kind of tempo ISU is going to run, the depth should not be much of a problem either.
 

Dryburn

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DEPTH! You are asking guys to defend another 47 feet of floor. That's a lot.

But it is supposed to be an up-tempo team, so in theory, they are running up and down the full length of the floor anyway. Besides with a good press, a lot of the turnovers will come in your end of the court.
 

clone11

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But it is supposed to be an up-tempo team, so in theory, they are running up and down the full length of the floor anyway. Besides with a good press, a lot of the turnovers will come in your end of the court.
Depth. End this thread, you don't know basketball. Maybe see some next year.
 

Frak

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But it is supposed to be an up-tempo team, so in theory, they are running up and down the full length of the floor anyway. Besides with a good press, a lot of the turnovers will come in your end of the court.

DEPTH! Come on, man! Everyone is saying it and you refuse to believe it. To really press, you need to rotate in waves of players. Going 8 deep (9 if you count Phillips) doesn't cut it.
 

nickwc

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It's not like you have to do it the whole game. I would have liked it once or twice coming out of timeouts.
 

wartknight

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RUnning up and down the court on offense is a lot different than defending the whole court. Full court press creates a lot more turnovers in Jr high and HS bball than college and I'm not sure the tradeoff is worth it for this team.
 

Dryburn

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DEPTH! Come on, man! Everyone is saying it and you refuse to believe it. To really press, you need to rotate in waves of players. Going 8 deep (9 if you count Phillips) doesn't cut it.

If depth is the issue because they will get worn out, then why push the up-tempo?
 

heitclone

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I think he OP answered his own question with the line "with the guards we have". I'm a little confused as to why people say we don't have the depth to press but yet have we have depth to play a fast paced offense? Pressing can actually help hide problems with depth by forcing the opponent to be more deliberate with the ball. Dana Altman used this method to perfection at Creighton, his bench routinely went 8-10 deep even though he probably didn't have much quality in the depth he was able to get good minutes out of his bench. He didn't press the entire game but would throw it on after a time out or some subs, it causes your opponent to use more of the shot clock, thus gaining extra rest for your starters.Pressing, if only for a few minutes is a great way to force your opponent to make adjustments and slow down what they are doing and buy extra rest time for your starters. IMO any decent coach has 4 or 5 different presses they can throw on at various times during the game. Maybe those are things that Freddie will add over time.
 

Dryburn

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RUnning up and down the court on offense is a lot different than defending the whole court. Full court press creates a lot more turnovers in Jr high and HS bball than college and I'm not sure the tradeoff is worth it for this team.

I understand all that.

The thing is if you are playing a team like UNI, who wants to control the tempo, you need to take that away from them. One way to impose the up-tempo game is to attempt a full-court press. You may not have to do it an entire game, or every game, but against a team like UNI (or Montana State) it seems to me it might work.
 

Frak

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If depth is the issue because they will get worn out, then why push the up-tempo?

Dude, quit being bull-headed. You run on offense to get easy baskets before the D sets up. Definitely helps with teams like ISU with no inside game (poor half court O). You really want our players who run on offense all game to run on defense too? Don't you think that they'll get too tired?

The answer to your question is that on offense, it's worth expending the energy. On defense (pressing), it's not.
 

Dryburn

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I think he OP answered his own question with the line "with the guards we have". I'm a little confused as to why people say we don't have the depth to press but yet have we have depth to play a fast paced offense? Pressing can actually help hide problems with depth by forcing the opponent to be more deliberate with the ball. Dana Altman used this method to perfection at Creighton, his bench routinely went 8-10 deep even though he probably didn't have much quality in the depth he was able to get good minutes out of his bench. He didn't press the entire game but would throw it on after a time out or some subs, it causes your opponent to use more of the shot clock, thus gaining extra rest for your starters.Pressing, if only for a few minutes is a great way to force your opponent to make adjustments and slow down what they are doing and buy extra rest time for your starters. IMO any decent coach has 4 or 5 different presses they can throw on at various times during the game. Maybe those are things that Freddie will add over time.

Exactly! Thank you! I never said you had to run it the entire game.

This team got out to a fast start last night. A perfect time to put in a full-court press against a team that you know wants to slow it down. Take it off, put it on, change it up. Take UNI out of their game, and make them play your pace. I know we do not have the depth to full-court press all 40 minutes. It just seems to me that last night it may have been an effective thing to try. especially from the beginning when you had them down.
 

Dryburn

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Dude, quit being bull-headed. You run on offense to get easy baskets before the D sets up. Definitely helps with teams like ISU with no inside game (poor half court O). You really want our players who run on offense all game to run on defense too? Don't you think that they'll get too tired?

The answer to your question is that on offense, it's worth expending the energy. On defense (pressing), it's not.

Yeah, the running game worked so well last night huh? Wouldn't have wanted to expel any energy on a press. LOL

UNI took ISU out of their running game. So why not try a press?
 

jay moe

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I'm sure this may have been brought up in some other threads, but I am just wondering, with the guards that we have, why does ISU not press more?

If you want to control the tempo of a game and speed it up, especially against a team that likes to slow it down, one way to do that is with a full-court press. Personally, I would have liked to see that from the very beginning of the game last night so that maybe ISU could have set the tempo. ISU jumped out to a 14-5 lead. No better time to try a full court press and completely take UNI out of their game.

I just think it would work with the guards that we have, and the overall athleticism of this team.

Now, one danger of pressing with this ISU team is that the bench is thin, so you risk wearing players out, but still...isn't it worth a shot against a team like UNI?

Thoughts?

No depth, maybe next year.