(12-10-2020 10:44 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(12-10-2020 08:38 AM)JFlight21 Wrote:  

(12-09-2020 10:27 PM)stxrunner Wrote:  UC has a serious defensive issue this year. They seem like they aren't athletic enough to play zone, but in man to man this year they've seen Vogt get exposed by being pulled away from the basket, and the rest of the team has been killed by ball screens. It's a mess. Our best defense is creating turnovers, which is notoriously unreliable.

Lot of work to be done. I don't know that there is an easy, readily available fix.

We need better athletes. We were OK defensively last year because Tre Scott correct some mistakes. Tari Eason is a similarly top level athlete but is a freshman and asking him to be a top level defender is unrealistic.

The best (and most realistic path) to being adequate defensively is getting Harvey and Diarra up to speed. Both have been very disappointing but have the type of athleticism (particularly Harvey) to be good defenders. Vogt and Rap are literally atrocious on that end. They should never play together - I'm glad Brannen realized that by game 3.

I really disagree with the idea that Vogt is a bad defender. He's great in one on one post defense. He's a solid help defender if he is defending the post. He's a liability in pick and roll and basically invisible help defender when teams can drag him away from the basket. Given those specific liabilities he had Rap playing together extensive minutes just isn't going to work. It seems like Brannen has quickly figured that out. I like letting Eason grow and learn as a starter. We need athleticism from the 4 if Vogt is the 5.

I don't have much hope for Diarra other than in brief moments for energy. He has skill and athleticism, but also has weak hands and just little feel for the game on both ends. I think with Vogt on the floor going small with Davenport at the 4 makes some sense too.

Well the problem with your first comment is that opposing teams don't allow Vogt to just play man-to-man post defense. They drag him out to the 3 point line in pick and roll action and he is a liability there. Teams attack weaknesses and Vogt's are glaring.

Also, literally the only objective of defense is to get the ball back to score on the other end. In that respect, Vogt is also a below average because he is a poor rebounder. He's likely the best we have at the 5 but a spade is a spade.

I hope Brannen can bring in better athletes at that position going forward - that appears to be his intent with his recruitment of Samson Johnson and Jamarion Sharp, although he landed neither.

I do agree with your point about Davenport though. I'd much rather see him platoon with Tari at the 4 than getting the majority of his minutes at the 3. He has shot the ball well so far but I think that's not what we will see going forward. His limitations handling the ball really constrict the offense at points.