"D" at Sienna?

[Adam]

I know there's talk about Fran emphasizing defense this year but a leopard can't change its spots. Sienna, Iowa, elsewhere, it's about pretty good offense stats and awful defensive ones.

Well the numbers suggest that occasionally Fran coaches a team of guys that realize that defense is important and therefore put out a seasons effort that lands them in above average defensive category. Oddly enough those teams align with Fran's most successful seasons...funny how that works.

So I would say off-season focus on defense is probably not a complete waste. While we would be foolish to think that it will somehow make us a top 20 defense, if we can somehow improve to a top 100 defense then we could win substantially more games.

With Fran's history of offensive output and the roster full of talented scorers, it wouldn't take a Virginia level defense for the Hawks to head back to the dance. It just simply needs to be top 1/3. Can Fran and this group of players make that jump? Hell if I know.

 

[SteveGarvey1]

Well the numbers suggest that occasionally Fran coaches a team of guys that realize that defense is important and therefore put out a seasons effort that lands them in above average defensive category. Oddly enough those teams align with Fran's most successful seasons...funny how that works.

So I would say off-season focus on defense is probably not a complete waste. While we would be foolish to think that it will somehow make us a top 20 defense, if we can somehow improve to a top 100 defense then we could win substantially more games.

With Fran's history of offensive output and the roster full of talented scorers, it wouldn't take a Virginia level defense for the Hawks to head back to the dance. It just simply needs to be top 1/3. Can Fran and this group of players make that jump? Hell if I know.

Heck, merely competent defense puts us squarely on the bubble for the Dance probably.

 

[N8theGr8]

Well the numbers suggest that occasionally Fran coaches a team of guys that realize that defense is important and therefore put out a seasons effort that lands them in above average defensive category. Oddly enough those teams align with Fran's most successful seasons...funny how that works.

So I would say off-season focus on defense is probably not a complete waste. While we would be foolish to think that it will somehow make us a top 20 defense, if we can somehow improve to a top 100 defense then we could win substantially more games.

With Fran's history of offensive output and the roster full of talented scorers, it wouldn't take a Virginia level defense for the Hawks to head back to the dance. It just simply needs to be top 1/3. Can Fran and this group of players make that jump? Hell if I know.

Another thing I'd be curious to see would be the number of upperclassmen on each of his rosters. Seems to be in cycles of improvement, suggesting that he teaches more as they can handle more but that the focus is always on offense first. As another poster had mentioned, after the Lickliter years, this is a hugely welcome change. I can stomach an 85-75 loss but those 55-45 losses were just hard to take. Given the focus on defense this off-season and the length of this team, I think we can see a large improvement since even an average D will likely get us to the bubble. Above average defense and I think we can make a run.

 

[BigD]

Me either, because I believe Fran has become nose blind to how bad the defense stinks compared to other college teams. I'm also guessing he is surrounded by yes men that aren't giving it to him straight. No one wants to tell the boss that half of the company sucks.

Lack of guard quickness has murdered this team. Once the opponent’s gets past our guards (which happens on a regular basis) it becomes a numbers game where they drive toward the basket and dish off to the unguarded man.

That’s why Deace is right about playing solely a zone defense. That defense was designed for slower less talented players. Even so the guards quickness on defense is key to guarding the three ball and stopping penetration. Get by the guard and then post players have to come up to stop penetration which opens up the base line for an easy layup or dunk. GEEZ how many times have we seen that. If you can’t recruit the quick guards then your only hope is to recruit B1GS that can jump out of the auditorium and block or at least intimidate the shooter.

I do anticipate that we will show improvement this season because we got upgrades from three vacancies. Earlier during the season I mentioned that there were three players (I didn’t want to name them as they were Hawkeyes and I try my best not to throw anyone under the bus) that were hurting the team that I thought would be in the best interest for them and the team for them to move on. One was gone for sure due to graduation. All I can say is geez there really is a Santa Claus Dorothy. Just that alone should improve the team, although the senior player was (GULP, dare I say so) was one of our better defensive players.

I am hoping for the best and at least a few more wins.

 

[tksirius]

I threw them all together to see the progression... (Lehigh not included due to missing stats)

Defensive Efficiency Rankings:

Avg Def Eff Ranking: 151.57

UNCG
1999/00= 247th
2000/01= 151st
2001/02= 58th
2002/03= 268th
2003/04= 260th
2004/05= 175th
Siena
2005/06= 193rd
2006/07= 137th
2007/08= 137th
2008/09= 75th
2009/10= 24th
Iowa - Avg at Iowa: 144.37
2010/11= 151st
2011/12= 287th
2012/13= 33rd
2013/14= 60th
2014/15= 40th
2015/16= 76th
2016/17= 200th
2017/18= 308th

Opponent's Points From 3 Pointers:

Avg Opp Pts From 3 Pointers Ranking: 232.68

UNCG
1999/00= 253rd
2000/01= 167th
2001/02= 114th
2002/03= 189th
2003/04= 232nd
2004/05= 281st
Siena
2005/06= 284th
2006/07= 281st
2007/08= 282nd
2008/09= 239th
2009/10= 165th
Iowa - Avg at Iowa: 241.75
2010/11= 258th
2011/12= 275th
2012/13= 98th
2013/14= 270th
2014/15= 229th
2015/16= 206th
2016/17= 304th
2017/18= 294th

Opponent's Shooting Percentage:

Avg Opp Shooting Percentage Ranking: 164.84

UNCG
1999/00= 244th
2000/01= 144th
2001/02= 90th
2002/03= 254th
2003/04= 225th
2004/05= 115th
Siena
2005/06= 232nd
2006/07= 111th
2007/08= 246th
2008/09= 181st
2009/10= 142nd
Iowa - Avg at Iowa: 143.5
2010/11= 201st
2011/12= 277th
2012/13= 24th
2013/14= 68th
2014/15= 30th
2015/16= 84th
2016/17= 190th
2017/18= 274th

Opponent's Points Per Game:

Avg Opp PPG Ranking: 203.78 (71.24ppg)

UNCG
1999/00= 226th (73.1ppg)
2000/01= 192nd (72.5ppg)
2001/02= 111th (68.5ppg)
2002/03= 287th (75.8ppg)
2003/04= 295th (76.4ppg)
2004/05= 279th (74ppg)
Siena
2005/06= 259th (72.9ppg)
2006/07= 225th (71.3ppg)
2007/08= 227th (71.2ppg)
2008/09= 227th (70.3ppg)
2009/10= 89th (65.5ppg)
Iowa - Avg at Iowa: 181.88 (70.26ppg)
2010/11= 169th (68.1ppg)
2011/12= 286th (72.5ppg)
2012/13= 68th (62.8ppg)
2013/14= 175th (70.3ppg)
2014/15= 59th (62.3ppg)
2015/16= 97th (69.3ppg)
2016/17= 291st (78.1ppg)
2017/18= 310th (78.7ppg)