I agree with zone strategy. (Then again, I'm a believer in zone, first, because of the simple concept of protecting the rim and playing percentages by forcing the ball further out.)
As you mentioned, Rob, problem for this team is defending penetration off ball screen and too much "hero ball". Coach also goes in-depth about these same defensive struggles, in the "McCaffery discusses Jok's back and OSU" report, [ another GREAT read! ] -- discussing proper recognition of rotation vs relying on help defense, rather than thinking you've got to guard all 5 players.
Tho he references Pemsl, as an example, it really applies to every "Big" (Cook, * cough *; Uhl *ahem*; even Baer on occasion) and can even be said about every guy on the floor. On defense, these guys are usually somewhere between looking like a 4th grade girls Kiwanis team swarming to the ball or paralyzed in their tracks deciding to stay or help.
It really is the symptom of the things discussed:
- youth & inexperience adapting to a new system, at a high level and fast pace, on the fly;
- good players adapting to team ball where you do your job and trust in your teammate to do his.
The symptoms are exacerbated by a couple things:
1) Limited defensive development at the AAU and high school level.
Most emphasize man and many play it exclusively. This means most players come to college with little experience, let alone understanding, how to play zone D.
-- Impact: Iowa is relying on 80% of guys who have minimal exposure and ability to execute what is necessary to be successful. That's a steep learning curve for really good players, let alone, young, inexperienced players with average athleticism.
2) That G-damn hedge. If zone is your base strategy to compensate for youth, average athleticism, low physicality, and defending ball screen, that f-ing hedge completely undermines it!!
I just don't get McCaffery's emphasis on this and find it hypocritical. He acknowledges his guys' struggles to recognize and decide whether to maintain position or help, encourages his guys to trust in help defense, yet can't see that a fundamental component of his defense is directly at fault for them being out of position and unable to recover!? IT'S IDIOCY!! especially with this young team.
McCaffery's biggest challenge with making this team successful over the next 3 years (I believe it's a 2nd round NCAA team with the potential for sweet 16 in 2018-2019) is if he can coach some of this crap out of them and out of himself.
