I would taka good pg but it is also that we are not good from three so folks pack the lane and dare us to shoot. Who can shoot are small guards who need more space. Our 3, 4 and 5 are not good from outside and not upper p4 talent

I feel like our poor defense 2-3 months ago was a function of 10 new guys still learning to play together. We defend somewhat better now, but we're inconsistent. Now it's more a question of individual deficiencies.

Also, I hate to say this but Stojakovic is not that good as of late. I don't know what happened but he just seems like your average Cal player. He definitely needs to improve on his ball handling and shooting this offseason if he wants to go to the NBA

socaltownie said:

---

Yeah. What I am unclear about (since we don't run it to compare) is how we are so awful at defending the high ball screen action. Literally other teams score at leat 10 points off that every time I watch the bears. Last night it was AS turn to get abused. One of the last smu buckets was a replay of all season. High ball screen. AS goes over the top and penetrating player now has him on his hip. Screen rolling so big goes with him. Dribble in amd 5 foot floater for 2.

What I wonder is kf it is rotation help. Screened player could hedge their and maybe that is it. Whatever it is I am sick of watching us get abused.

---

pick n roll defense has been a problem all season

partly because we are weak and undersized at the guard position

we have changed our PnR defense the last 2 games to sometimes blitz/trap our big. But we are new at it so it will take time. Our bigs have always gotten back fast enough to avoid an open center and dunk, but in some cases it's allowed the big to get deep post position for a pass

HoopDreams said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

Yeah. What I am unclear about (since we don't run it to compare) is how we are so awful at defending the high ball screen action. Literally other teams score at leat 10 points off that every time I watch the bears. Last night it was AS turn to get abused. One of the last smu buckets was a replay of all season. High ball screen. AS goes over the top and penetrating player now has him on his hip. Screen rolling so big goes with him. Dribble in amd 5 foot floater for 2.

What I wonder is kf it is rotation help. Screened player could hedge their and maybe that is it. Whatever it is I am sick of watching us get abused.

---

partly because we are weak and undersized at the guard position

---

Interesting...Is the argument being that because of that (undersize) we are a 1/2 step slow in fighting through the screen and the lack of heigh means that it is easier to shoot over us on the floater? And thus with say a guy like Jorge or Cobbs they would be less vulnerable because they could muscle through the screen better and not be put on their hip?

I would say that in thinking about our team we do see not really "ripped" up and down the lineup. SOme expectations but a lot of teams (like last nights SMU) seem to have more time in the weight room/put on muscle better than our current starters.

Johnfox said:

---

Also, I hate to say this but Stojakovic is not that good as of late. I don't know what happened but he just seems like your average Cal player. He definitely needs to improve on his ball handling and shooting this offseason if he wants to go to the NBA

---

Yup. I also think he has been scouted but I agree that the injury seems to have had lingering impacts.

Big C said:

---

I feel like our poor defense 2-3 months ago was a function of 10 new guys still learning to play together. We defend somewhat better now, but we're inconsistent. Now it's more a question of individual deficiencies.

---

Sorta. I like some of their defense better. We still SUCK at the high ball screen. Maybe a little less sucky than say against Mizzu second half but still sub power p4.

Johnfox said:

---

No hate but c'mon shocky, you decide to hate on the basketball team in 28th game of the season. We know we can't play defense since early on

---

really, 95% of the criticisms/areas of improvement on this board this season are offensive related, it's really a kinda bizarro non basketball iq board these days

it's kinda like the washington generals that by design gotta give up a dozen+ buckets a game on defense, can they still beat the globetrotters??...sure but it's gonna take elite shooting to overcome zero DEFENSE

Sure. No doubt. But defense is hard to break down. Heck. I have been following basketball for 40 plus years and have a hard time understanding why cal is awful at defending the high ball screen.

Johnfox said:

---

No hate but c'mon shocky, you decide to hate on the basketball team in 28th game of the season. We know we can't play defense since early on

---

Yes, this is not exactly earth-shattering news.

FWIW: we are now at 359th out of 364 teams in 3-pt defense (37.9%)

Another FWIW: Miami is 364th (39.5%)

mazey, good catch, based upon analytics wut would be more effective guarding 3 pointers?

a) 5 empty chairs
b) 5 sugared up middle schoolers from montera middle school screaming at the shooters at the top of their lungs while waving their hands
c) the cal DEFENSE

socaltownie said:

---

Johnfox said:

---

Also, I hate to say this but Stojakovic is not that good as of late. I don't know what happened but he just seems like your average Cal player. He definitely needs to improve on his ball handling and shooting this offseason if he wants to go to the NBA

---

Yup. I also think he has been scouted but I agree that the injury seems to have had lingering impacts.

---

Both Stojakovic and Blacksher are not the same players they were before their midseason injuries.
Although, the quality of the competition (and scouting) also has increased as an explanation.

Yes but "WHY" is important here Bill.

I THINK (but honestly would have to watch tape) at least 2 things.

FIRST, our guards are small and so bigger 2s (and 3s) can shoot over our guys. If they close out hard then they get driven on. But if we don't we can't contest the shot. This isn't lack of effort it is height and the dangers of a fairly odd roster where we have FOUR guards that are all under 6'2' Some of those lengths seem generous. But that is at least 2 too many.

Second, I THINK it is because of the ball reversal we are "SLOOOOOOWWWWW". I love
Rytis and his grit but he often seems to be slow on that reveral and it is footspeed. But I would have to really watch those shots from the elbow and corner to break down WHY our three point defense on that sucks balls. Ditto JS who got burned on the ball reversal at least twice last night while I was watchi

More than anything that is the need for next year. Assuming that JS, Rytis and Wilkerson all return we absolutely need a defensive focused "2" and a good defenders at the 3 and 4. This is fixable but it is going to require recruiting hits. I also think (see above) that we need a 2 or or a 3 that is a proven three point shooter or otherwise we will continue to see sag.

^ agreed re: lack of footspeed & quick twitch movements, there are zero +1 athletes in the men's basketball program right now & the roster plays DEFENSE with very little intensity which is partially attributable to a failing s&c program with undersized (other than mady) guys who can't physically impose their will on gamedays

Guys, we go back and forth about whether it's our bad defense or our bad outside shooting. Sorry to oversimplify it, but this year's team SUCKS at BOTH. Simple as that.

bearister said:

---

Bears 3.5 point dogs.

---

The worst thing for me was that the Bears failed to cover by .5 points and my wife hit me with a toaster. The kids will have to wait for those new shoes.

redless, the difference is that when a team shoots the ball poorly but defends at a high level they can still win games whereas when there's aau summertime DEFENSE there's a very low probability of winning

Shocky1 said:

---

^ agreed re: lack of footspeed & quick twitch movements, there are zero +1 athletes in the men's basketball program right now & the roster plays DEFENSE with very little intensity which is partially attributable to a failing s&c program with undersized (other than mady) guys who can't physically impose their will on gamedays

---

If Jeremiah Wilkinson isn't a "+1 athlete" it's because he is a +2.

really, have u seen him play thru screens then & r u aware that he's averaging 1.9 rebounds/.1 blocks per game??

jw is a skilled scorer as a true freshman, he is not a +1 athlete

Shocky1 said:

---

redless, the difference is that when a team shoots the ball poorly but defends at a high level they can still win games whereas when there's aau summertime DEFENSE there's a very low probability of winning

---

Shocky, I will give you this. If I had to rank this year's deficiency, defense - especially against ball screens has been this team's most prominent glaring weakness. To your point it deserves top priority. But our shooting is also a big issue. Forget the 3's, we were only 22/32 from the line last night, and I think three of those misses were front ends of one/ones. Even some normalcy there may have led to a victory.

redress, smu also missed quite a few free throws, with some normalcy on the pony's part this would've been a double digit victory for the visitors

did u notice that in loose 50/50 balls that the mustangs usually came away with the ball?...other than mady the bears are undersized & not muscular enough to play effective DEFENSE which is compounded by a lack of defensive intensity (guys would rather jack up shots/get buckets)

Basketball is an alternating possession sport. Offense and defense are equally important. If you look at Ken Pom, Kentucky is #15 by being #6 on offense and #61 on defense. St. John's is #14 by being #72 on offense but #2 in defense.

Duke is #1 by being #2 on offense and #4 on defense.

Cal is #116 by being #98 on offense and #179 on defense. Both need to improve for us to make the postseason, but the room for improvement on defense is obvious.

Oh, and (generalizing) you recruit shooters. Especially with the portal. Just go through all the stats, 3pt% is easy to identify. If players have decent length and athleticism they can be taught defense.

Golden One said:

---

Thank God this awful season is almost over. This Cal team is just awful. Very hard to watch.

---

You got that right

A tall long skilled quick player > An undersized skilled quick player

It's the difference between a 4/5 star and 3 star

Shooting, defense and rebounding was my concern pre-season

Rebounding is better than expected but…

calumnus said:

---

Oh, and (generalizing) you recruit shooters. Especially with the portal. Just go through all the stats, 3pt% is easy to identify. If players have decent length and athleticism and attitude they can be taught defense.

---

FIFY.

stu said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Oh, and (generalizing) you recruit shooters. Especially with the portal. Just go through all the stats, 3pt% is easy to identify. If players have decent length and athleticism and attitude they can be taught defense.

---

FIFY.

---

Understanding how to communicate with and successfully motivate players is a huge part of the multimillion dollar job of coaching.

The attitudes of players going to the top 10 teams are not better. The talent and coaching is. If anything, getting top ranked players to play defense is tougher.

calumnus said:

---

stu said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Oh, and (generalizing) you recruit shooters. Especially with the portal. Just go through all the stats, 3pt% is easy to identify. If players have decent length and athleticism and attitude they can be taught defense.

---

FIFY.

---

Understanding how to communicate with and successfully motivate players is a huge part of the multimillion dollar job of coaching.

The attitudes of players going to the top 10 teams are not better. The talent and coaching is. If anything, getting top ranked players to play defense is tougher.

---

You may be correct about the effect of coaching on defensive attitude. Some players (Jorge, Jason) came in with it. Others (Paris Austin) improved. I haven't seen enough of Madsen's teams to evaluate that.

It's possible to play defense without size. Leilani McIntosh made the all-conference defensive team at 5' 5" due to good athleticism and a great heart.

stu said:

---

calumnus said:

---

stu said:

---

calumnus said:

---

Oh, and (generalizing) you recruit shooters. Especially with the portal. Just go through all the stats, 3pt% is easy to identify. If players have decent length and athleticism and attitude they can be taught defense.

---

FIFY.

---

Understanding how to communicate with and successfully motivate players is a huge part of the multimillion dollar job of coaching.

The attitudes of players going to the top 10 teams are not better. The talent and coaching is. If anything, getting top ranked players to play defense is tougher.

---

You may be correct about the effect of coaching on defensive attitude. Some players (Jorge, Jason) came in with it. Others (Paris Austin) improved. I haven't seen enough of Madsen's teams to evaluate that.

It's possible to play defense without size. Leilani McIntosh made the all-conference defensive team at 5' 5" due to good athleticism and a great heart.

---

Kennedy and Rytis are dawgs on D