We all have secrets…
Thanks to the brilliant All-American Rejects video and so-so song we have long lines of people lining up on the radio to tell theirs. These secrets include the fact I that own Kelly Clarkson’s CD and rarely missed an episode of “Making the Band 3.” Of course, we’re talking about dirty little secrets, the things people love to hear about others and will stop at nothing to ensure that no one else knows about them.
College basketball teams have secrets too. Every team has a weakness or hidden strength that it hopes to hide from its opponents, while exploiting the vulnerable area of the opposing side. Here are some of the things that America’s top teams hope their opponents and the media continue to overlook:
The key to beating Duke is stopping Sheldon Williams, not J.J. Redick.
Georgetown finally finished off what Indiana and Virginia Tech tried to start. Williams is the motor that makes the Blue Devils go, even if he is completely overshadowed by his sweet-shooting teammate. The Hoyas never double-teamed Redick, allowing him to score 41 points on 24 shots from the field. Instead, the Hoyas sent doubles toward Williams, and Coach John Thompson III preached to his big men to not even worry about getting rebounds themselves, just ensure that The Landlord, Williams’ superb nickname, didn’t. The result was a four point, 11-board night for Williams and a Hoya win.
Indiana tried a similar strategy in a game in which they limited Williams to only 13 points and nine rebounds, while letting Reddick go for 29 in a close loss. This strategy works because behind Williams, who averages 18 points and 10 boards on 60 percent shooting, the Blue Devils have only the talented but still developing Josh McRoberts to guard the post.
Backing up this theory is the game in which Reddick was most famously shut down. Reddick had 15 points for the game, including none in the second half, against the number two RPI team in the nation — Memphis. Duke still won because Williams had 30 points, including a tip-in to take the lead with 20 seconds left.
George Washington cannot run half-court offense to save its life.
The No. 10 team in the nation has a gaudy 17-1 record and is an extremely good basketball team that turns great when allowed to do what it does best, run and gun. The Colonials shoot 49 percent as a team because of an array of lay-ins and dunks. They also benefit from running the best trapping defense in the country.
North Carolina State handed the Colonials their only loss in a 19-point drubbing where the Wolfpack used a slow down style to crush the more talented Colonials. They did so by taking advantage of the Colonials’ aggressive defense with back-door cuts,and sending two guys back on all shots.
This works so well because George Washington is horrendous in half-court set offense. Its best low-post player is 6-foot-7-inch Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who is most effective on the break and following up misses. J.R. Pinnock is the team’s leading scorer, but he struggles to find his own shot. Coach Karl Hobbs is great at drawing up attacking defenses, but seriously struggles creating open looks for his players. Not scoring in the half-court means George Washington can’t set up its traps off made baskets, limiting the Colonials’ ability to beat any quality opponent.
Gonzaga is more athletic than it wants you to believe.
For years, the national media has labeled the Bulldogs as hardworking overachievers who win games with clutch shooting and superior X-Os by Coach Mark Few. That’s fine by Few, who doesn’t mind that everyone seems to ignore the fact that Errol Knight is the best defensive player on the west coast and has a 37-inch vertical.
He also prefers we ignore that Gonzaga managed to convince Jeremy Pargo, who might be the fastest player in the nation with the ball in his hands other than Dee Brown, to come out to Spokane from Chicago. Big man JP Batista, who is 6 feet 9 inches tall, has the best combination of size and touch in the nation and averages 18 points and nine rebounds. The Zags are not as athletic as a team like Memphis, but they have more then enough to compete for the national title with the genius of Mark Few and the best player in college basketball, Adam Morrison.
It might talk about defense, but Michigan State sure isn’t playing much of it.
Tom Izzo has built his program on toughness and defense, and the results have been amazing: four final fours in the last decade and a national championship. This year, somewhere along the line, the message got lost in translation.
The No. 12 Spartans give up 99.7 points per 100 possessions, which is 190th in Division I. This is horrendous for the Spartans, as teams with NCAA title aspirations traditionally finish in the Top 40 in defensive efficiency. In short, State has had trouble with every type of player imaginable, including big names like Dee Brown and Adam Morrison who are going for career highs against them, and lesser known players like Hawaii’s Julian Sensley and Georgia Tech’s Ra’sean Dickey having huge nights against Izzo’s bunch.
Quick point guards, rangy shooters and rugged posts all have had big nights against the Spartans, meaning Izzo not only lacks a defensive stopper, but also can’t rely on a single unit to limit its counterparts. For State, defense is a way of life. If the team doesn’t improve now, it will be out of the tournament early because of a defense that has faded from its former glory.
These are just examples of the little secrets every team has. The coach that hides or exploits his best will win the national championship.
