Stockton vs the Help Side D

In looking at the high low action of VCU last night (here), I complimented Frank Hassell on his post defense but also warned about him being unable to cut off the baseline on a drive. Here’s a post from @earlyonions where you can see that in action.

By mid-January, Gonzaga was in trouble. Never mind that they’d already beaten Marquette, Baylor, Xavier and Okalahoma State. Mark Few’s team was missing one piece:

A point guard.
That had never been a problem in years past for the Zags, who’ve relied on guards like Matt Bouldin, Jeremy Pargo and Derek Raivio. This year’s team didn’t have one of those.
But Few’s finally found a leader at the point. One with a familiar last name, too.
Freshman guard David Stockton hasn’t been spectacular at the 1. But consider this: through mid-January, he’d only played 20+ minutes once. Since a January 20 loss to Santa Clara, Stockton has played 20+ minutes in 10 of 13 games.

In Monday’s 76-63 WCC title-clinching victory over St. Mary’s, Stockton showed off some of the smart decision-making that Gonzaga will need as the NCAA Tournament begins.

 

The Mikan Drill can be found on Twitter @TheMikanDrill

Inside the play: Wake Forest baseline out of bounds play

In this post, we will see a baseline out of bounds play for Wake Forest executed for an open layup. Wake Forest comes out in the typical 4 across set that they use for a majority of their baseline out of bounds sets. This does not allow the defense to recognize their play based on the set. Although they may recognize the play based on the call, it is much easier to disguise the play call than the formation.

Ty Walker fades back with his hands raised, calling for the ball. He gets the ball in this position at the start of some sets, so the play is still somewhat disguised. JT Terrell sets a screen for Walker, so he can roll to the weak side of the basket. Walker is the first option on this play but Gonzaga switches the screen, so Walker is covered.

Mescheriakov comes from the sideline to screen the screen, JT Terrell. Marquise Carter thinks that they are going to switch this screen as well, so he stays in position to cover Terrell. However, Sacre does not switch the screen and stays with Terrell. This leaves Mescheriakov open when he slips the screen and rolls to the basket.

The miscommunication on defensive strategy by Gonzaga gives Wake Forest the layup. If the second screen was switched by Sacre, the play likely would not have worked as both Terrell and Mescheriakov would have been covered. Instead, a lapse by Sacre allowed the slip of the screen, leading to the layup.

Gonzaga screens the bottom of the zone

Earlier this season, I took a look at W&M screening the top players of the zone, helping them get open looks (seen here). One thing I noted I would have liked to have seen them do is screen the bottom players of the zone. This can be equally effective in getting a teammate open and Gonzaga demonstrates that in this play.

Gonzaga gives up 2 open 3′s off of the same play

Leading by only 4 at the half, Illinois came out in the second half and fired off a barrage of long distance shots that eventually sunk the Bulldogs. Three of those makes came from 7 footer Mike Tisdale, two of which came off of the same action that Gonzaga had trouble defending.

Kawhi Leonard’s jab step

The jab step is a simple move but I believe it is underutilized in the college game. If used at all, it is often a token move without any benefit for the offensive player. Which is why I was happy to see Kawhi Leonard show such a strong jab step in the game against Gonzaga. As I talked about earlier, Kelly Olynyk is going to be matched up against quicker offensive players alot of the time. He is guarding Leonard in this clip and is at a major disadvantage on the defensive end.

How the trio of Harris, Olynyk and Sacre can function together

In Gonzaga’s season opener, they trotted out a starting lineup that featured 6-7″ Elias Harris at SF, 7-0″ Kelly Olynyk at PF and 7-0″ Robert Sacre at center. This is a lineup that will be taller than just about any other trio in the country. Harris played the PF spot the majority of the time last season, so I was interested to see in how the trio plays together.

Rebounding

2010 Season Preview: Highlighting Gonzaga’s impressive ability to get to the foul line

I consider Gonzaga’s free throw rate to field goal attempts to be its most impressive quality of a pretty successful 2009-2010 season. They ranked 7th in the country at 49.3% although their 66.4% success rate from the line shows this might not have been beneficial to Gonzaga.

However, the success rate at the line is much easier to fix than a team that is not aggressive and not able to get to the foul line. There is hope that Elias Harris (67.5%), Robert Sacre (62.9%), Demetri Goodson (56.1%) and others will raise their free throw percentage while getting to the line at the same rate. I would rather have the problem of not making foul shots than not being aggressive enough to get to the lane.

Two questions came to mind when I saw this stat: How did they do it last year and is it sustainable this year? Let’s find out the answers to both.

How did they do it?

Attacking the rim

Gonzaga had several players who had the ability and desire to attack the rim with the ball. Matt Bouldin (40.4%), Steven Gray (33.7%) and Demetri Goodson (58.3%) were above average at attacking the rim and drawing fouls.

Compare these rates to the rates of Lebron James (51%) and Dwyane Wade (46%) and we can see that the guards of Gonzaga match up with two of the better attacking players in the NBA.

The following clips will highlight this strength of the Gonzaga guards, as they were able to recognize the open space and were quick enough to take advantage and get to the rim.

Goodson beats the defense down the court on this drive. Watch him turn on the jets right before the 3 point line and notice how he can get from the 3 point line to the rim without a dribble. That shows off the athleticism of Goodson.

Bouldin drives the baseline and gets cut off in the following play. Instead of forcing a kick out pass, he is patient, waits for the defense to make a move and squeezes in the opening to draw a foul.

Bouldin uses the screen beautifully and curls to the lane. With his defender on his help, he slips around the help defender but creates enough contact to draw a foul.

Goodson again shows his explosiveness in the following clip, as he forgoes the ball screen and takes it hard to the rim. The guards for Gonzaga have shown they do not shy away from contact in the pain and are willing to draw the foul if they cannot make the shot in the lane.

Strong offensive post player

Robert Sacre and Elias Harris form one of the better post tandems in the nation. Add in Kelly Olynyk (who last year thrived more on the perimeter) and I do not think you can find a better trio of big men.

Sacre ranked 36th in the nation in free throw rate last season at 73.9%, shooting 170 FTs and 229 field goals. Harris was exceptional at drawing fouls as well, with a free throw rate of 56.2%.

By having two or more big men on the court at once, it creates mismatches on the offensive end for Gonzaga. Add in the fact that both Sacre and Harris are good post players on their own, this gives them a better chance to succeed by either scoring or drawing a foul.

Watch the clips of Sacre and Harris getting the ball in the post and going to work against the defender. They are strong post players and when they beat their man, can either score or force the defense to commit a foul (as we will see in the following clips).

Now if Harris and Sacre could only improve their free throw percentage, they could become an even more formidable duo.

Offensive rebounding

Piggybacking off the previous point, Gonzaga uses offensive rebounding to draw fouls on the opposition. They had a 33% offensive rebounding percentage last season, again thanks to the size advantage they have over many teams.

The strength of offensive rebounding helps to contribute to the high free throw to field goal rate. These situations are ripe for drawing fouls and Gonzaga is an above average rebounding team.

So when you look at the high free throw rate from Gonzaga last year, these three things are the three main reasons Gonzaga was able to accomplish and sustain that rate through last season. Although their free throw percentage was lower than desired, they had plenty of chances at the line.

Is it sustainable?

That is the main question heading into the upcoming season. I see Gonzaga having a very high free throw rate again. Their big men are back to attack the offensive glass and dominate the post and their guards still have the ability to drive to the basket.

Matt Bouldin departs and while Steven Gray is not the best at attacking the rim. Goodson and Manny Arop  return and are very good at getting to the rim and drawing fouls.

Both of these bode well for Gonzaga having a repeat performance of a high free throw rate. Hopefully they were working on free throws this summer and are ready to improve on their rate from last season and take full advantage of their ability to draw fouls.

Inside the play: Gonzaga gets shooters open

Last season, Gonzaga had two deadly shooters in Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray. They liked to run this play which allowed both of them to run off screens and work to get open. It gave the ball handler options and forced the defense to guard both Bouldin and Gray instead of focusing on one of them, while the other was not moving.

It’s a fairly simple play but it is a nice play because of its simplicity and available options. Let’s break it down.

The play develops quickly, as Bouldin passes the ball back to the top of the key and he and Gray immediatly start the action. With Elias Harris and Kelly Olynyk based on the wings, Gray and Bouldin cross paths in the middle of the key and run off of screens on the opposite side.

The first point is to notice how the movement of Gray and Bouldin creates a natural pick for each other, as the defenders have to be careful to avoid both each other, as well as the crossing Gonzaga player. This confuses the defenders and Bouldin’s defender is already a step behind.

Next, Gray and Bouldin come off of simple down screens. The key is the fact that the defense is already a step behind due to the crossing action, which allows the shooters room to get open. It also gives the ball handler options, as they can see which player is more open and assess to which side the action should go.

Bouldin is the recipient of the pass and he buries a three. A simple play but sometimes those are the most effective.

It will be interesting to see who is paired with Gray when this play is run this year. Harris and Olynyk have both shown to be capable shooters, but I am not sure they would be effective in running this play and shooting off the screen. Any insight Gonzaga fans?

Kelly Olynyk update: Driving to the basket

Thanks to the person who linked my Gonzaga updates to the Gonzaga board (seen here). One of the comments got me curious, which was related to Kelly Olynyk. In the post, I mentioned this in my analysis:

Olynyk showed he can get to the rim and has the ability to finish against stronger players. If he can incorporate a shot fake and drive to the basket, he could become a useful offensive player and see a much bigger role for Gonzaga this year. 

Now one of the comments mentioned this was one of his favorite moves last season, so I had to go check it out for myself. I went back to Gonzaga’s youtube page I have been using (seen here) to look at some footage on Olynyk and found that he had used this move several times. Let’s take a look.

Now in this first move, he does not really use a shot fake to get his defender off balance, but rather a quick cut that catches the defender off guard. He then shows the skill to draw contact from the help defender and finish with the contact.

Here is another clip where he uses almost the exact same move: catching the ball between the foul line and the three point line, taking a quick, hard dribble to his left and drving to the middle of the lane. Again, he draws contact and still finishes the layup.

This is a nice move that Olynyk has in his arsenal. He has used it effectively several times and showed that he can finish around the basket, even while drawing contact. He can use this move to catch defenders off guard who are expecting him to shoot a jumper and are ready to defend that play. Then, if defenders are taking away his driving lane, he can easily take a jumper with that open space.

Olynyk is looking like a great candidate for a breakout player in the 2010-2011 season. He has a variety of ways to score and I really love his movement without the ball that gives him open layups and dunks. Be on the lookout for Olynyk this season to put up solid number for Gonzaga off the bench.

FIBA update: Kelly Olynyk

I would be remiss if I did not give you a look at the third Gonzaga player playing in the FIBA World Championships, after taking a look at Elias Harris and Robert Sacre in earlier posts. After sitting the first two games, Olynyk broke out in the next 4 games and was Canada’s leading scorer in their final game against Spain.

Again, this is a small sample size of games but I was able to garner a few opinions from what I saw of Olynyk. If he can harness these games and take that back to Gonzaga, the Bulldogs could challenge for the most talented front line in the country.

Strengths

Basketball IQ

Olynyk showed he knows what to do on offense without the ball and that he recognizes the situation and the appropriate movement to make.

In this next clip, Olynyk’s man provides help defense on the roll man for Canada. Olynyk notices this and cuts toward the basket which allows his teammate to give him the easy pass for the dunk.

Olynyk recognized the situation and made the right cut to give himself an easy dunk. If he did not make that cut, his teammate forces a tough shot or pass that likely results in an empty possession. Instead, Canada comes away with an easy bucket.

Here, he shows off his athleticism and ball handling as he jumps the pass and makes the steal. He makes the smart play (especially for a big man) and draws the defense, then gives the ball up on the 2 on 1. He did not get flustered but he made the smart, correct pass which drew a foul on the opposition.

It’s rare you see that kind of handle on a big man, especially one as young as Olynyk. He definitely has a lot of promise in that area and will help Gonzaga there.

Shooting

Olynyk has a nice stroke, as he shot 40% (granted it was 2/5 from 3 in the games he played in). He showed he was comfortable to catch and shoot and with his height, he will be able to get his shot off when he wants to.

With the college line being closer than the international line, I can see him being able to consistently hit that shot when he is open. He has good form and looks comfortable shooting it from distance.

He shot only 4-18 from 3 last season, but it looks as though he is confident in his shot and ready to add it to his repertoire for Gonzaga. I am not sure if Mark Few will be happy to see Olynyk shooting from 3, but he definitely has the skill to take those shots. With Sacre in the post and Harris/Olynyk able to shoot from outside, they could have a great inside/out combo.

Getting to the rim

Olynyk showed the ability to get to the rim against more experienced players. Watch here as he fumbles the pass at first but recovers and beats his defender, finishes the layup and draws the contact.

Here, watch Olynyk’s ball handling skill on display once again. He grabs the rebound and takes the ball coast to coast and draws the foul.

Olynyk showed he can get to the rim and has the ability to finish against stronger players. If he can incorporate a shot fake and drive to the basket, he could become a useful offensive player and see a much bigger role for Gonzaga this year.

I think he has shown some skills on the offensive end in this tournament and it will be interesting to see if he can incorporate them into his game this fall.

Weakness

Defense

Olynyk showed a bit of weakness on defense. First, watch how he does not move his feet off the ball but just reaches, which only results in him drawing a foul.

He needs to learn to move his feet to get in front of the driver to cut him off. Just reaching will only get him in foul trouble and sitting on the bench.

Next, watch how Olynyk plays on ball defense with his hands at his side. This allows Spain to pass the ball right over him for an open layup. He did not show a willingness to play defense and was burned as the ball was passed right over him. If he had his hands up, he could have gotten a hand on the ball to deflect the pass.

Finally, watch the poor closeout by Olynyk. He leaves his feet on the pump fake, which allows the Spanish player to take a dribble past him. Now that Olynyk is out of position, a help defender must come to cut the ball off, which results in the wing player being open.

Olynyk really showed some struggles on defense. He needs to iron out these wrinkles and show some desire to play fundamentally sound defense to help his team. If he does not show this, he may be seeing a lot more time on the bench than on the court.

Overall

Olynyk only averaged 12 minutes per game last season and did not make that much of an impact. With this experience and the skill set he has shown in the FIBA World Championships, he has the opportunity to make a bigger impact for the Bulldogs this year.

I really think this experience of playing in the FIBA WCs is going to be great for Harris, Scare and Olynyk. They are playing against professionals and facing some tough competition. This can only help them as they go back to college basketball and play in the West Coast Conference. Even though the 3 players did not put up gaudy numbers, they played against superior competition, which will help them improve their game.

With Sacre, Harris and Olynyk, Gonzaga may have the best frontline in all of college basketball and this competition will be quite the experience for the three of them.