zhawk21
Well-Known Member
When Fran McCaffery was introduced as the 22nd men's basketball coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes on March 27, 2010, he promised a style of play that would fill Carver-Hawkeye Arena again. After all, he inherited a team in disarray that averaged 60.5 points the previous season.
At the press conference, McCaffery said, “We are going to run and press and change defenses and disrupt rhythm.â€
He has delivered.
The No. 15 Hawkeyes are 16-4 (5-2 in the Big Ten) as they get ready to host No. 7 Michigan State on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). They are winning according to the rebuilding blueprint that worked for McCaffery at UNC-Greensboro and Siena.
Iowa’s style of play is aggressive on both ends of the court, and it is fueled by a deep rotation of 11 players who average from 12-27 minutes per game.
After taking new jobs, coaches will talk about running, scoring points and playing an exciting brand of basketball, but McCaffery has put his money where his mouth is. The Hawkeyes are averaging 85 points per game, and their average offensive possession length is under 15 seconds, the third-fastest rate in the country.
How do they do it?
First, Iowa's big men are masters at what I call “unknown running.†Melsahn Basabe, Adam Woodbury and Gabe Olaseni run rim to rim without knowing whether they will get the ball. It takes a lot of discipline to run every time down the floor not knowing whether you will get rewarded. But by running hard, it’s the first opportunity Iowa has to score easily. And, in a smashmouth, half-court-oriented league like the Big Ten, it is an enormous advantage to be able to create easy baskets.
Secondly, the Hawkeyes do a great job of making the outlet pass as far up the court as possible. Since it’s been proven that “the pass moves faster than the man,†the Hawkeyes get on top of the defense quickly with quick passing. Add in the fact that Iowa has three good primary ball handlers, all with assist rates over 20 percent: Mike Gesell, Anthony Clemmons and Roy Devyn Marble. And, as a bonus, the Hawkeyes are a low-turnover team for a club that plays at a fast tempo.
Finally, the Hawkeyes run their lanes hard with athleticism. When Marble is not handling the ball, he and Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff run like the wind, and can all finish explosively.
In the half-court offense, Iowa keeps the pressure on the opponent’s defense by flowing right into the motion offense from the fast break. The Hawkeyes put stress on the defense with random ball screens to create indecision in screen-and-roll coverages.
The motion offense gives Iowa the ability to spread the defense and attack mismatches. Marble and White average nearly 12 free throws per game between them, and the team derives a relatively high 25 percent of its points from the foul line.
Additionally, Iowa's set plays are simple enough to score quickly or, again, flow into motion offense.
Another strength of McCaffery’s half-court offense is its relentless offensive rebounding. With the requisite length and athletic ability inside with Basabe, Woodbury, White and Uthoff, Iowa is the No. 15 offensive rebounding team in the country. As a team, the Hawkeyes are retrieving nearly 39 percent of their own missed shots.
An area of major improvement this season for the Hawkeyes is from behind the 3-point line. Last season they shot less than 31 percent from deep, but this season that number has risen to nearly 38 percent. Marble has improved in particular, and it has given him another way to effectively attack defenses.
Defensively, Iowa is bottling their opponents with a mix of pressure man-to-man, some matchup zone and a three-quarters court zone press that is perfectly suited for the team's personnel. With the 6-foot-9 White at the point of the three-quarters court 1-2-2 press, Iowa can force careless turnovers and, at the same time, attempt to speed up opponents who want to attack the perceived advantage if they break the press.
Here, as well, the Hawkeyes’ size and athleticism become an advantage, because they can recover quickly and defend the basket. This is evident when you watch them play and see that their block rate of 13 percent and their 43.5 percent 2-point field goal defensive percentage are elite.
In the half court, McCaffery will mix in a confusing matchup zone, but his team’s bread-and-butter is a pressure man-to-man defense.
Iowa is the only team in the Big Ten that consistently pressures the ball outside the 3-point line. But with less of the court to cover than in the press, their recovery time in help situations -- like rotating out of a screen-and-roll coverage -- is quicker.
Solid half-court defense that forces tough shots, while creating chances for blocked shots and turnovers, feeds the fast break when McCaffery’s team recovers the ball. But that’s not the only reason Iowa plays so aggressively on defense. With the Hawkeyes’ great depth and the cumulative effect of pressure over 40 minutes, it may take only one or two runs of 8-0 or 10-2 to break open a close game. Their 15-point comeback against Xavier in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in November was a perfect example.
All in all, Iowa’s recent success is the result of a coach who has not only talked the talk but also walked the walk. He promised a style that would be aggressive and exciting, win games, and put Iowa fans back in the seats.
At the press conference, McCaffery said, “We are going to run and press and change defenses and disrupt rhythm.â€
He has delivered.
The No. 15 Hawkeyes are 16-4 (5-2 in the Big Ten) as they get ready to host No. 7 Michigan State on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). They are winning according to the rebuilding blueprint that worked for McCaffery at UNC-Greensboro and Siena.
Iowa’s style of play is aggressive on both ends of the court, and it is fueled by a deep rotation of 11 players who average from 12-27 minutes per game.
After taking new jobs, coaches will talk about running, scoring points and playing an exciting brand of basketball, but McCaffery has put his money where his mouth is. The Hawkeyes are averaging 85 points per game, and their average offensive possession length is under 15 seconds, the third-fastest rate in the country.
How do they do it?
First, Iowa's big men are masters at what I call “unknown running.†Melsahn Basabe, Adam Woodbury and Gabe Olaseni run rim to rim without knowing whether they will get the ball. It takes a lot of discipline to run every time down the floor not knowing whether you will get rewarded. But by running hard, it’s the first opportunity Iowa has to score easily. And, in a smashmouth, half-court-oriented league like the Big Ten, it is an enormous advantage to be able to create easy baskets.
Secondly, the Hawkeyes do a great job of making the outlet pass as far up the court as possible. Since it’s been proven that “the pass moves faster than the man,†the Hawkeyes get on top of the defense quickly with quick passing. Add in the fact that Iowa has three good primary ball handlers, all with assist rates over 20 percent: Mike Gesell, Anthony Clemmons and Roy Devyn Marble. And, as a bonus, the Hawkeyes are a low-turnover team for a club that plays at a fast tempo.
Finally, the Hawkeyes run their lanes hard with athleticism. When Marble is not handling the ball, he and Aaron White and Jarrod Uthoff run like the wind, and can all finish explosively.
In the half-court offense, Iowa keeps the pressure on the opponent’s defense by flowing right into the motion offense from the fast break. The Hawkeyes put stress on the defense with random ball screens to create indecision in screen-and-roll coverages.
The motion offense gives Iowa the ability to spread the defense and attack mismatches. Marble and White average nearly 12 free throws per game between them, and the team derives a relatively high 25 percent of its points from the foul line.
Additionally, Iowa's set plays are simple enough to score quickly or, again, flow into motion offense.
Another strength of McCaffery’s half-court offense is its relentless offensive rebounding. With the requisite length and athletic ability inside with Basabe, Woodbury, White and Uthoff, Iowa is the No. 15 offensive rebounding team in the country. As a team, the Hawkeyes are retrieving nearly 39 percent of their own missed shots.
An area of major improvement this season for the Hawkeyes is from behind the 3-point line. Last season they shot less than 31 percent from deep, but this season that number has risen to nearly 38 percent. Marble has improved in particular, and it has given him another way to effectively attack defenses.
Defensively, Iowa is bottling their opponents with a mix of pressure man-to-man, some matchup zone and a three-quarters court zone press that is perfectly suited for the team's personnel. With the 6-foot-9 White at the point of the three-quarters court 1-2-2 press, Iowa can force careless turnovers and, at the same time, attempt to speed up opponents who want to attack the perceived advantage if they break the press.
Here, as well, the Hawkeyes’ size and athleticism become an advantage, because they can recover quickly and defend the basket. This is evident when you watch them play and see that their block rate of 13 percent and their 43.5 percent 2-point field goal defensive percentage are elite.
In the half court, McCaffery will mix in a confusing matchup zone, but his team’s bread-and-butter is a pressure man-to-man defense.
Iowa is the only team in the Big Ten that consistently pressures the ball outside the 3-point line. But with less of the court to cover than in the press, their recovery time in help situations -- like rotating out of a screen-and-roll coverage -- is quicker.
Solid half-court defense that forces tough shots, while creating chances for blocked shots and turnovers, feeds the fast break when McCaffery’s team recovers the ball. But that’s not the only reason Iowa plays so aggressively on defense. With the Hawkeyes’ great depth and the cumulative effect of pressure over 40 minutes, it may take only one or two runs of 8-0 or 10-2 to break open a close game. Their 15-point comeback against Xavier in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in November was a perfect example.
All in all, Iowa’s recent success is the result of a coach who has not only talked the talk but also walked the walk. He promised a style that would be aggressive and exciting, win games, and put Iowa fans back in the seats.
