I’ve seen a lot of talk on here about pride and toughness and “want to.” For sure, those are key ingredients. But what’s most critical – and I think lacking – from us is discipline to a set of consistent defensive principles. I’ll try to be specific because my goal is not to rant.

Perimeter position
Our guards “over guard” the ball 45 feet from the basket. And they do so outside the context of a system that is trying to push the ball handler into a “trap zone”. We’re not really trying to trap. We just arrogantly think we can steal the ball way out there. The result is usually a high ball screen and ballhandler dribbling into the paint with a head of steam – setting off a scramble to recover. You want to know why Giffey was wide open? Look no further than this.

If we are not going to fully commit to a high-pressure, get-in-the-passing-lanes defense like VCU or the old Arkansas teams (which I don’t favor), then we need to back off and play solid, position perimeter defense with heals on the three point line. Watch Cincy. It’s the way they play and this position allows them to help more effectively.

Help Defense
There are two things at play here. The initial help and then the concept of “helping the helper.” We are slow on the first and really bad on the second. As mentioned before, part of it has to do with how stretched out we start a defensive possession. That leads to the slow part of the initial help.

The second part is an inconsistent recognition from the weakside wing to get all the way to the helpline to cover the open post player that is created when our post player has to help off on a perimeter drive. That inconsistency is what drives me crazy. Some our guys do it OK, some don’t. But it’s like we’ve got five guys on the floor and not all of them are playing by the same rules. I just don’t see how it’s not getting corrected in film sessions.

Guarding ball screens
This is the area that I think I see the most variance in how we execute. And that variance happens possession to possession, so it’s not a specific game plan issue. First, we overswitch creating awful mismatches. If we are going to be committed to playing three guards, we can’t be a switching team. We have to do a better job of fighting through screens. But if we are going to be fighting through screens, it means our post players have to hedge and recover consistently and efficiently. Right now, this process varies widely.

Last night, I watched as Pellom hedged so hard it looked like he was trying to trap the ball 35 feet from the basket. Then, a little later, Nichols’ hedge consisted of a half-hearted “show” with hands down and then a really slow recover. We have to play these the same way, with a strong show (not a trap) and then a quick recover. We also have to decide if we want to “down” ball screens near the sidelines. We started the season trying to do this and it has totally disappeared.

Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Sorry for the length of the post. I know some won't read it because it's long and seemingly critical. My intention is not to bash. I like Coach P and I think he can have a really great future here, but it will start with a little more focus on the defensive end of the floor. We have guys running around 100 miles per hour in scramble mode because we don’t walk onto the floor with five guys playing defense as one.

I almost wish he would look to hire a veteran guy like Terry Tippett, who is a fantastic defensive coach. But at the same time, he is toward the tail end of his career and is not looking to be a D1 head coach (or I assume, he isn't). I think it would fill in the gap we seem to have now on the staff.

Just a thought. Mostly for my therapeutic benefit, I'm sure.

Very good.

And how dare you offer basketball notice and analysis as opposed to just concluding that our kids have no heart.

It is about methods. Live last night you could see them playing hard, but wrong- over aggressively doubling leaving Gilley wide open. 100% they will stress the crap out of this between now and the Iowa game.

You should have coffee with Pastner some time. Great coaching points. Between you and the refs, the guys might actually learn to play some defense.

(03-14-2014 11:40 AM)CTalley Wrote:  We have guys running around 100 miles per hour in scramble mode because we don’t walk onto the floor with five guys playing defense as one.

Agree with all of your points, but this one stands out to me the most. It's why we get shut down by teams that play team defense. Team offense, yeah, we do that, for the most part, and very unselfishly. But on defense, playing man-to-man most of the time is not team defense unless the whole team buys into it and helps out. We had the most trouble this season with teams that played swarming defense.

(03-14-2014 11:40 AM)CTalley Wrote:  I’ve seen a lot of talk on here about pride and toughness and “want to.” For sure, those are key ingredients. But what’s most critical – and I think lacking – from us is discipline to a set of consistent defensive principles. I’ll try to be specific because my goal is not to rant.

Perimeter position
Our guards “over guard” the ball 45 feet from the basket. And they do so outside the context of a system that is trying to push the ball handler into a “trap zone”. We’re not really trying to trap. We just arrogantly think we can steal the ball way out there. The result is usually a high ball screen and ballhandler dribbling into the paint with a head of steam – setting off a scramble to recover. You want to know why Giffey was wide open? Look no further than this.

If we are not going to fully commit to a high-pressure, get-in-the-passing-lanes defense like VCU or the old Arkansas teams (which I don’t favor), then we need to back off and play solid, position perimeter defense with heals on the three point line. Watch Cincy. It’s the way they play and this position allows them to help more effectively.

Help Defense
There are two things at play here. The initial help and then the concept of “helping the helper.” We are slow on the first and really bad on the second. As mentioned before, part of it has to do with how stretched out we start a defensive possession. That leads to the slow part of the initial help.

The second part is an inconsistent recognition from the weakside wing to get all the way to the helpline to cover the open post player that is created when our post player has to help off on a perimeter drive. That inconsistency is what drives me crazy. Some our guys do it OK, some don’t. But it’s like we’ve got five guys on the floor and not all of them are playing by the same rules. I just don’t see how it’s not getting corrected in film sessions.

Guarding ball screens
This is the area that I think I see the most variance in how we execute. And that variance happens possession to possession, so it’s not a specific game plan issue. First, we overswitch creating awful mismatches. If we are going to be committed to playing three guards, we can’t be a switching team. We have to do a better job of fighting through screens. But if we are going to be fighting through screens, it means our post players have to hedge and recover consistently and efficiently. Right now, this process varies widely.

Last night, I watched as Pellom hedged so hard it looked like he was trying to trap the ball 35 feet from the basket. Then, a little later, Nichols’ hedge consisted of a half-hearted “show” with hands down and then a really slow recover. We have to play these the same way, with a strong show (not a trap) and then a quick recover. We also have to decide if we want to “down” ball screens near the sidelines. We started the season trying to do this and it has totally disappeared.

Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Sorry for the length of the post. I know some won't read it because it's long and seemingly critical. My intention is not to bash. I like Coach P and I think he can have a really great future here, but it will start with a little more focus on the defensive end of the floor. We have guys running around 100 miles per hour in scramble mode because we don’t walk onto the floor with five guys playing defense as one.

I almost wish he would look to hire a veteran guy like Terry Tippett, who is a fantastic defensive coach. But at the same time, he is toward the tail end of his career and is not looking to be a D1 head coach (or I assume, he isn't). I think it would fill in the gap we seem to have now on the staff.

Just a thought. Mostly for my therapeutic benefit, I'm sure.

FINALLY! Someone that understands. Great Post. Post more!

(03-14-2014 11:40 AM)CTalley Wrote:  I’ve seen a lot of talk on here about pride and toughness and “want to.” For sure, those are key ingredients. But what’s most critical – and I think lacking – from us is discipline to a set of consistent defensive principles. I’ll try to be specific because my goal is not to rant.

Perimeter position
Our guards “over guard” the ball 45 feet from the basket. And they do so outside the context of a system that is trying to push the ball handler into a “trap zone”. We’re not really trying to trap. We just arrogantly think we can steal the ball way out there. The result is usually a high ball screen and ballhandler dribbling into the paint with a head of steam – setting off a scramble to recover. You want to know why Giffey was wide open? Look no further than this.

If we are not going to fully commit to a high-pressure, get-in-the-passing-lanes defense like VCU or the old Arkansas teams (which I don’t favor), then we need to back off and play solid, position perimeter defense with heals on the three point line. Watch Cincy. It’s the way they play and this position allows them to help more effectively.

Help Defense
There are two things at play here. The initial help and then the concept of “helping the helper.” We are slow on the first and really bad on the second. As mentioned before, part of it has to do with how stretched out we start a defensive possession. That leads to the slow part of the initial help.

The second part is an inconsistent recognition from the weakside wing to get all the way to the helpline to cover the open post player that is created when our post player has to help off on a perimeter drive. That inconsistency is what drives me crazy. Some our guys do it OK, some don’t. But it’s like we’ve got five guys on the floor and not all of them are playing by the same rules. I just don’t see how it’s not getting corrected in film sessions.

Guarding ball screens
This is the area that I think I see the most variance in how we execute. And that variance happens possession to possession, so it’s not a specific game plan issue. First, we overswitch creating awful mismatches. If we are going to be committed to playing three guards, we can’t be a switching team. We have to do a better job of fighting through screens. But if we are going to be fighting through screens, it means our post players have to hedge and recover consistently and efficiently. Right now, this process varies widely.

Last night, I watched as Pellom hedged so hard it looked like he was trying to trap the ball 35 feet from the basket. Then, a little later, Nichols’ hedge consisted of a half-hearted “show” with hands down and then a really slow recover. We have to play these the same way, with a strong show (not a trap) and then a quick recover. We also have to decide if we want to “down” ball screens near the sidelines. We started the season trying to do this and it has totally disappeared.

Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Sorry for the length of the post. I know some won't read it because it's long and seemingly critical. My intention is not to bash. I like Coach P and I think he can have a really great future here, but it will start with a little more focus on the defensive end of the floor. We have guys running around 100 miles per hour in scramble mode because we don’t walk onto the floor with five guys playing defense as one.

I almost wish he would look to hire a veteran guy like Terry Tippett, who is a fantastic defensive coach. But at the same time, he is toward the tail end of his career and is not looking to be a D1 head coach (or I assume, he isn't). I think it would fill in the gap we seem to have now on the staff.

Just a thought. Mostly for my therapeutic benefit, I'm sure.

I just don’t see how it’s not getting corrected in film sessions.
[/i]



We have to do a better job of fighting through screens



"it is so fundamental"

Gr8 insight,Gr8 perspective ;Gr8 post: This phenomenon happens so much, that it's very baffling why this doesn't get emphasized in film sessions...And if it is getting emphasized in film sessions, but not getting executed, then someone(s) should answer to it....period. It's been happening all year, we're at the end of the season, And were still as undisciplined as the first OKSU game, with 4 senior guards!


Our guards are terrible with high ball screens: but I must admit...after fighting those ball screens for so long...they don't get adequate rest because of underdeveloped bench and inadequate/ineffective substitutions; as well as underutilization of timeouts...Too many times; our strategy is reactive instead of proactive....We don't dictate anything....And with 4 senior guards and the infinite combinations that we have at our disposal from transfers to high ranked recruiting class...That's dispicable!

[b]"it is so fundamental"
[/b]
This ^ is what's so frustrating about this whole matter!

I honestly don't think the guys know how. I am certain they are hearing things like "we have to close out on shooters" and "no more open looks guys", but with no further instruction in specific situations (like "don't sag in the lane and get caught in a down screen" or "open your stance so you can show help to close out"). I was a few rows behind our bench last night. I watched Pastner EXCLUSIVELY for the last 5 minutes of the first half and up to about an 18-point UConn lead the second half. He walked around, folded his arms, clapped at random good things and made some substitutions. That was it. While we were hopelessly lost, that was it.

This is why the onus falls on the coach.

This is his defense scheme/philosophy the young guys are trying to implement and it is not effective when used against teams with exceptional guard play (hence my comment here)..... hence Napier's remark which many here agreed with and some accused those who agreed as "celebrating" Napier's so-call jab.

A coach who knows how to implement a well organized defensive scheme (I won't mentione Bruce Pear l) would not yield so many horrendous games on the defensive front loke we do.

(03-14-2014 11:43 AM)Mimi Wrote:  Very good.

And how dare you offer basketball notice and analysis as opposed to just concluding that our kids have no heart.

It is about methods. Live last night you could see them playing hard, but wrong- over aggressively doubling leaving Gilley wide open. 100% they will stress the crap out of this between now and the Iowa game.

Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Last night several of the loud mouths on here were claiming the idea is to force the player to the baseline.

Calkins article blurb ... how many players had career highs against us this year - in addition to Giffey last night ... let's recap:

"... Because defense has been a problem since the season began. Or maybe you remember Marcus Smart opening the year with a career-high 39. Everyone thought it was proof that Smart had gotten a whole lot better. It was actually proof that the Memphis defense had gotten a whole lot worse. Pretty soon everyone was getting a career high against Memphis. Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier had a career high of 34. SMU’s Markus Kennedy had a career high of 21. Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick had a career high of 34. Cincinnati’s Titus Rubles (Titus Rubles!) had a career high of 24. Remember when Temple’s Dalton Pepper lit up the Tigers for 24? Tied his career high."

great insight. It's painful to watch us play defense for all the reasons above. Even when we get stops, much of the time it's the result of missed shots and not good defense

IF our guards stood at the 3 point line, IMO it would cure most of our problems on defense. With the new rules you can't start out 35' from the basket running sideways trying to avoid contact with the ballhandler with your head on a swivel to avoid screens from the opposing bigs 20' from the basket.

I actually think that our perimeter defense might be better next year because our defenders won't be as good individually. Pastner will be forced to play defense more passively; which should help us avoid a lot of the messes we are seeing this year.

I agree that Pastner could be the next Darth Vader of passive defense ...

(03-14-2014 01:15 PM)80sTiger Wrote:  Calkins article blurb ... how many players had career highs against us this year - in addition to Giffey last night ... let's recap:

"... Because defense has been a problem since the season began. Or maybe you remember Marcus Smart opening the year with a career-high 39. Everyone thought it was proof that Smart had gotten a whole lot better. It was actually proof that the Memphis defense had gotten a whole lot worse. Pretty soon everyone was getting a career high against Memphis. Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier had a career high of 34. SMU’s Markus Kennedy had a career high of 21. Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick had a career high of 34. Cincinnati’s Titus Rubles (Titus Rubles!) had a career high of 24. Remember when Temple’s Dalton Pepper lit up the Tigers for 24? Tied his career high."

Smart had 39

(03-14-2014 03:22 PM)thagr82008 Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 01:15 PM)80sTiger Wrote:  Calkins article blurb ... how many players had career highs against us this year - in addition to Giffey last night ... let's recap:

"... Because defense has been a problem since the season began. Or maybe you remember Marcus Smart opening the year with a career-high 39. Everyone thought it was proof that Smart had gotten a whole lot better. It was actually proof that the Memphis defense had gotten a whole lot worse. Pretty soon everyone was getting a career high against Memphis. Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier had a career high of 34. SMU’s Markus Kennedy had a career high of 21. Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick had a career high of 34. Cincinnati’s Titus Rubles (Titus Rubles!) had a career high of 24. Remember when Temple’s Dalton Pepper lit up the Tigers for 24? Tied his career high."

Smart had 39 7rbs 7assists 7stls

Sykes had 24pts 12rebs

The last time Memphis played UC, it was a layup fest and nothing changed as far as scheme goes. Every player isn't going to pin their ears back and give you a full effort on defense, but you can make up for that by adjusting and knowing your strengths. It will be interesting to see if this remains a theme when Pastner goes up against the top of the league, year in and year out.

(03-14-2014 11:40 AM)CTalley Wrote:  I’ve seen a lot of talk on here about pride and toughness and “want to.” For sure, those are key ingredients. But what’s most critical – and I think lacking – from us is discipline to a set of consistent defensive principles. I’ll try to be specific because my goal is not to rant.

Perimeter position
Our guards “over guard” the ball 45 feet from the basket. And they do so outside the context of a system that is trying to push the ball handler into a “trap zone”. We’re not really trying to trap. We just arrogantly think we can steal the ball way out there. The result is usually a high ball screen and ballhandler dribbling into the paint with a head of steam – setting off a scramble to recover. You want to know why Giffey was wide open? Look no further than this.

If we are not going to fully commit to a high-pressure, get-in-the-passing-lanes defense like VCU or the old Arkansas teams (which I don’t favor), then we need to back off and play solid, position perimeter defense with heals on the three point line. Watch Cincy. It’s the way they play and this position allows them to help more effectively.

Help Defense
There are two things at play here. The initial help and then the concept of “helping the helper.” We are slow on the first and really bad on the second. As mentioned before, part of it has to do with how stretched out we start a defensive possession. That leads to the slow part of the initial help.

The second part is an inconsistent recognition from the weakside wing to get all the way to the helpline to cover the open post player that is created when our post player has to help off on a perimeter drive. That inconsistency is what drives me crazy. Some our guys do it OK, some don’t. But it’s like we’ve got five guys on the floor and not all of them are playing by the same rules. I just don’t see how it’s not getting corrected in film sessions.

Guarding ball screens
This is the area that I think I see the most variance in how we execute. And that variance happens possession to possession, so it’s not a specific game plan issue. First, we overswitch creating awful mismatches. If we are going to be committed to playing three guards, we can’t be a switching team. We have to do a better job of fighting through screens. But if we are going to be fighting through screens, it means our post players have to hedge and recover consistently and efficiently. Right now, this process varies widely.

Last night, I watched as Pellom hedged so hard it looked like he was trying to trap the ball 35 feet from the basket. Then, a little later, Nichols’ hedge consisted of a half-hearted “show” with hands down and then a really slow recover. We have to play these the same way, with a strong show (not a trap) and then a quick recover. We also have to decide if we want to “down” ball screens near the sidelines. We started the season trying to do this and it has totally disappeared.

Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Sorry for the length of the post. I know some won't read it because it's long and seemingly critical. My intention is not to bash. I like Coach P and I think he can have a really great future here, but it will start with a little more focus on the defensive end of the floor. We have guys running around 100 miles per hour in scramble mode because we don’t walk onto the floor with five guys playing defense as one.

I almost wish he would look to hire a veteran guy like Terry Tippett, who is a fantastic defensive coach. But at the same time, he is toward the tail end of his career and is not looking to be a D1 head coach (or I assume, he isn't). I think it would fill in the gap we seem to have now on the staff.

Just a thought. Mostly for my therapeutic benefit, I'm sure.

What you're sharing makes perfect sense...my issues is this: These got glaringly exposed OKLAState Game...and have been evident all season...Jimmie's and JOES..NEED SOME X'S AND O'S ...to be great!

$2.65 should provide some honest answers to these concerns...not coach speak...and dry comical relief.

For all the "work-a-holic" quotes spent on CJP...he may spend so much time watching other teams that he doesn't watch his own team....smh

(03-14-2014 12:29 PM)midtowncowboy Wrote:  Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Last night several of the loud mouths on here were claiming the idea is to force the player to the baseline.

Actually, it is widely taught now to force the player to the baseline and use it as another defender. However, when you do this, you gotta cut him off before he gets to the lane. I've repeatedly seen our guards get completely to the side of the ball-handler, where there is a DIRECT OPEN PATH to the rim. WTF? Blows my mind!

(03-14-2014 10:30 PM)hsvtiger Wrote:  

(03-14-2014 12:29 PM)midtowncowboy Wrote:  Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Last night several of the loud mouths on here were claiming the idea is to force the player to the baseline.

Actually, it is widely taught now to force the player to the baseline and use it as another defender. However, when you do this, you gotta cut him off before he gets to the lane. I've repeatedly seen our guards get completely to the side of the ball-handler, where there is a DIRECT OPEN PATH to the rim. WTF? Blows my mind!

because it is a great strategy, first drawn up by Phil Jackson.

(03-14-2014 11:40 AM)CTalley Wrote:  I’ve seen a lot of talk on here about pride and toughness and “want to.” For sure, those are key ingredients. But what’s most critical – and I think lacking – from us is discipline to a set of consistent defensive principles. I’ll try to be specific because my goal is not to rant.

Perimeter position
Our guards “over guard” the ball 45 feet from the basket. And they do so outside the context of a system that is trying to push the ball handler into a “trap zone”. We’re not really trying to trap. We just arrogantly think we can steal the ball way out there. The result is usually a high ball screen and ballhandler dribbling into the paint with a head of steam – setting off a scramble to recover. You want to know why Giffey was wide open? Look no further than this.

If we are not going to fully commit to a high-pressure, get-in-the-passing-lanes defense like VCU or the old Arkansas teams (which I don’t favor), then we need to back off and play solid, position perimeter defense with heals on the three point line. Watch Cincy. It’s the way they play and this position allows them to help more effectively.

Help Defense
There are two things at play here. The initial help and then the concept of “helping the helper.” We are slow on the first and really bad on the second. As mentioned before, part of it has to do with how stretched out we start a defensive possession. That leads to the slow part of the initial help.

The second part is an inconsistent recognition from the weakside wing to get all the way to the helpline to cover the open post player that is created when our post player has to help off on a perimeter drive. That inconsistency is what drives me crazy. Some our guys do it OK, some don’t. But it’s like we’ve got five guys on the floor and not all of them are playing by the same rules. I just don’t see how it’s not getting corrected in film sessions.

Guarding ball screens
This is the area that I think I see the most variance in how we execute. And that variance happens possession to possession, so it’s not a specific game plan issue. First, we overswitch creating awful mismatches. If we are going to be committed to playing three guards, we can’t be a switching team. We have to do a better job of fighting through screens. But if we are going to be fighting through screens, it means our post players have to hedge and recover consistently and efficiently. Right now, this process varies widely.

Last night, I watched as Pellom hedged so hard it looked like he was trying to trap the ball 35 feet from the basket. Then, a little later, Nichols’ hedge consisted of a half-hearted “show” with hands down and then a really slow recover. We have to play these the same way, with a strong show (not a trap) and then a quick recover. We also have to decide if we want to “down” ball screens near the sidelines. We started the season trying to do this and it has totally disappeared.

Defending the baseline
Honestly, I can’t even believe I’m typing this because it is so fundamental. We give up the baseline way, way too much. Which leads to a paint dish or an opposite corner three (Hello, Giffey). It happens most of the time on our right side of the floor because we are shading an offensive player’s right hand. Shading is great. But it shouldn’t be happening anywhere near the baseline. We have to force the offensive player toward the middle and toward help.

Sorry for the length of the post. I know some won't read it because it's long and seemingly critical. My intention is not to bash. I like Coach P and I think he can have a really great future here, but it will start with a little more focus on the defensive end of the floor. We have guys running around 100 miles per hour in scramble mode because we don’t walk onto the floor with five guys playing defense as one.

I almost wish he would look to hire a veteran guy like Terry Tippett, who is a fantastic defensive coach. But at the same time, he is toward the tail end of his career and is not looking to be a D1 head coach (or I assume, he isn't). I think it would fill in the gap we seem to have now on the staff.

Just a thought. Mostly for my therapeutic benefit, I'm sure.

I agree with this whole heartedly but the bolded part would take care of 90% of this teams problems.

It would cause teams to not get so many layups...
It would lower the amount of open threes
and it would help to keep our bigs out of foul trouble.

It is totally on the coach to find a way to play ball screens that is best for his personnel. It may not be the way he wants to play but maybe the way that is best for the team.