rgdeuce wrote:We have done well against the zone this year, outside of a few lapses here and there. At some point this season, it's not gonna matter what defense teams throw against us. Our third scoring option is #1 at most other schools. Teams have to scheme for Ayton first and foremost, then Trier, which leaves lots of daylight for the other 3 guys on the court. That means you have a legit #1 option, WHO CAN HURT YOU ON ALL THREE LEVELS, with plenty of daylight. If that wasnt enough, you have PJC who is shooting over 51% from deep and Ristic (flaws aside), who is still one of the best interior scorers in the nation. By the way, Brandon Randolph is shooting 47% from 3, Barcello 36%, and Ira Lee is a guy who can cut to open space near the basket and finish strong. This team shoots over 52% from the floor, 40% from 3, and nearly 75% from the line... and we just barely got Alkins back and our freshmen are still getting their legs under them.
All the more reason to keep getting better every day on defense. We don't have the guys to be like those NJ, TJ, Ashley, Zeus, Rondae, Stanley, AG, squads defensively, but we can still make ourselves into a good defensive team by March.
Against a zone, we could not play Dusan at all. One of the negatives with Dusan vs a zone is that he is not a natural passer. He has to be a finisher to be effective vs a zone and doesn't facilitate.
Going PJC, Randy, Trier, Rawle, Ayton would be very effective against a zone if a team plays it. You have shooters everywhere, someone to dunk the ball and dominate that glass, Rawle to slash and show off how he can hit the glass too. As long as we don't settle, that lineup would be really hard on a 2-3.
We may not be a top 20 AdjD team when based on resume by March, but we can be playing top 20 level. I would focus on that, not the overall resume.