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The Need to Press...NOW

KnightTerrors

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Dec 24, 2015
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We have seen a large enough sample size to see our glaring weakness is scoring and if no action is taken, there isn't much reason to think the results will change. This team needs to start pressing from the jump for the following reasons:

1. When you can't score in a set offense, you need to generate easy buckets off turnovers.

2. We have the depth & athleticism! Our strength this year is our depth. We have the athleticism and bench to do it whereas in years past it wouldn't have been an option. More importantly we have the staff.

3. We have had success pressing this season. In our comeback with vs Hartford, we rallied to win that game from generating points late off turnovers from pressing.

I am not a fan of our current pressure. We pick up guards on the inbound then just sag off and fall into our half court set.
 
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We have seen a large enough sample size to see our glaring weakness is scoring and if no action is taken, there isn't much reason to think the results will change. This team needs to start pressing from the jump for the following reasons:

1. When you can't score in a set offense, you need to generate easy buckets off turnovers.

2. We have the depth & athleticism! Our strength this year is our depth. We have the athleticism and bench to do it whereas in years past it wouldn't have been an option. More importantly we have the staff.

3. We have had success pressing this season. In our comeback with vs Hartford, we rallied to win that game from generating points late off turnovers from pressing.

I am not a fan of our current pressure. We pick up guards on the inbound then just sag off and fall into our half court set.
I think your suggestion has merit.Rutgers has great difficulty playing a half court game because of the lack of scorers.Easy baskets off of turnovers is worth a try.At this stage in the season Rutgers has nothing to lose and there is enough depth to press.
 
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I don't disagree with this post.

In addition the other thing I would be would be at least TRY to set up some 3 pointers. We don't even try. There might be a game or 2 where they actually go down. We have guards that can drive and the opponents will collapse on them. Kick it out to someone --ANYONE and fire it up. Shooting 30% from 3 is better than shooting 40% from 2.
 
Do agree but only due to our desperate straits. Quick guards are good for press, but short quick guards get thrown over. Gotta force other team to put ball on the floor.
 
I agree that we need to press ALOT. Gotta be better than the results we've seen lately.
 
Have thought that all along with 3 guards, Corey, Williams, and a Johnson... maybe Laurent?
 
We have seen a large enough sample size to see our glaring weakness is scoring and if no action is taken, there isn't much reason to think the results will change. This team needs to start pressing from the jump for the following reasons:

1. When you can't score in a set offense, you need to generate easy buckets off turnovers.

2. We have the depth & athleticism! Our strength this year is our depth. We have the athleticism and bench to do it whereas in years past it wouldn't have been an option. More importantly we have the staff.

3. We have had success pressing this season. In our comeback with vs Hartford, we rallied to win that game from generating points late off turnovers from pressing.

I am not a fan of our current pressure. We pick up guards on the inbound then just sag off and fall into our half court set.
I would have to agree with you. We can't shoot consistently and we are HORRIBLE from the charity stripe. What we are good at is rebounding and defensive pressure. I think Pikiell should think about pressing more, because we can not only get cheap points that way off of TO's but we can limit the amount of time the opposition has to set up their half court offense. And we certainly rotate enough players in and out to do it so, yes, I think Pikiell needs to seriously think about putting in a press. I also think he may want to switch up our man to man and play different zones against certain squads.
 
We have seen a large enough sample size to see our glaring weakness is scoring and if no action is taken, there isn't much reason to think the results will change. . . . .
Unless "add new players" is what follows next, then I sense we're about to get the basketball equivalent of start the backup QB.
 
We do lack length and depth st the guard spot really to press more than a couple of minutes
 
We should press until such time as we reach the bonus (the 7th foul) in each half. We need easy points because we cannot make contested jump shots or even wide open shots. Nigel Johnson has completely lost his touch. Thiam is called a sharp shooter by the announcers, but has made 2 outside shots in a row only one time this season (if I recall correctly).

Our shooting is pathetic. We have to be the worst shooting team in Division 1. It's epic.
 
Can't press. We have 3 guards and they are small. B1G schools will rip us to shreds.

We want a slow tempo, NOT fast.

To add to that everything needs to be looked at thru the lens of rebounding. We are one of the better rebounding teams in the league, with 7 of our last 12 B1G games at home. We give up our biggest edge if we press.
 
Depends how you press. Also, 30-second clock has an impact both ways (speeds up the game but then you don't have to press as many seconds as you used to, to be effective).

I can see Corey pressing the opposing PG in the backcourt and having Thiam and Sa trapping at midcourt, while Gettys and Freeman hang back in the front court near the basket to defend when/if the press is broken.

At the very least your opponent is burning clock just to advance the ball, leaving them fewer seconds to get into their offense and to get off a good shot.

If they break the press and trap but do not score quickly, you drop back into your normal defense and play out the possession.
 
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Can't press. We have 3 guards and they are small. B1G schools will rip us to shreds.

We want a slow tempo, NOT fast.

I see where you're coming from but disagree. I get that in theory if we slow the game down our defense can keep us in games but we've seen that and we simply don't have the firepower to put up enough pts to win. We are in desperate need of easy buckets and the press could provide that. Yes-- our guards are small but they're extremely athletic. Also think Sa, Thiam, Freeman, and O can provide the length needed.

To add to that everything needs to be looked at thru the lens of rebounding. We are one of the better rebounding teams in the league, with 7 of our last 12 B1G games at home. We give up our biggest edge if we press.

I don't see them as mutually exclusive. If the press is broken you can fall back into your half court set. Im not sure we give up that edge.

I agree with you both that our half court defense has been a strength. I just feel that this team is in desperate need of easy buckets and this is a way to experiment. At least worth a try and if it doesn't work we are back to square one.
 
Never happen with this HC. Have we played zone at all this season?

A few possessions, a few times OOC for sure.

I could see a lineup of

Johnson OR Chandler
Thiam
Eugene or Laurent
Freeman
Sa

Zone press and fall in to a 2-3.

Again you lose DREB.

Maybe a possession or 2 right before a media timeout OR after a made FT. A made FT :scream:
 
Our best scoring opportunities are in transition - so a full court press sense.

You are making an assumption that the full court press actually causes turnovers.

Pikiell knows our team. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. If pressing would increase our chances of winning he'd be doing it.
 
I agree that we could try to mix in more pressing and traps but I think you are underestimating what would happen if you pressed as much as you are saying. I do want to mix in more real presses rather than always the token pressure until the last two minutes
 
Yup, and out comes the "at least it's worth a try" reasoning that comes with so many posts about starting the backup QB.
 
don't agree here. If you have the horses, and guys that you know can press and RECOVER when it's broken, sure. But a team shooting 30 some odd % can't afford to speed up the game and give more possessions.
 
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Yup, and out comes the "at least it's worth a try" reasoning that comes with so many posts about starting the backup QB.

I don't think it's crazy for a fan to want to see a different approach when your team is consistently losing conference games. Crazy is continuing to do the same thing with our talent gap and expect a different result.

I'm very happy with this team, their effort, and their coaching. I just believe the basic notion if you can't generate offense from a set, you need to find a way to get easy buckets. We haven't seen much in transition and I think that we could see it if we were to implement a press.

You are making an assumption that the full court press actually causes turnovers.

Pikiell knows our team. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. If pressing would increase our chances of winning he'd be doing it.

I agree with you & have faith that Pikiell knows best. I love the job he has done. That being said, does it hurt to try?
 
I don't think it's crazy for a fan to want to see a different approach when your team is consistently losing conference games. Crazy is continuing to do the same thing with our talent gap and expect a different result. . . . QUOTE]
It's that clause "with our talent gap" in your statement that makes it hard to figure out. You've essentially stated the reason we're losing and will continue to lose and said that the coaches are crazy. Odd.

Sure, we can just try anything. Why not institute holding the ball until at least 5 seconds remain on the shot clock to cut game-time and overall shot attempts to hide to some extent are shooting deficiencies? Or why not just ban three-pointers because we can't hit them. Or instead institute an offense in which we only shoot three-pointes to improve our shooting and to apply the theory that, since we can't shoot from anywhere, let's at least do it from a spot where we score more points when we do hit. Or just have everyone rush the boards on each shot to increase our chance at chippies, which maybe we'll start making. Or . . .

Under your standard, all these options are OK and, instead, continuing trying to implement the coach's offense is crazy. Got it.
 
It's that clause "with our talent gap" in your statement that makes it hard to figure out. You've essentially stated the reason we're losing and will continue to lose and said that the coaches are crazy. Odd.

Sure, we can just try anything. Why not institute holding the ball until at least 5 seconds remain on the shot clock to cut game-time and overall shot attempts to hide to some extent are shooting deficiencies? Or why not just ban three-pointers because we can't hit them. Or instead institute an offense in which we only shoot three-pointes to improve our shooting and to apply the theory that, since we can't shoot from anywhere, let's at least do it from a spot where we score more points when we do hit. Or just have everyone rush the boards on each shot to increase our chance at chippies, which maybe we'll start making. Or . . .

Under your standard, all these options are OK and, instead, continuing trying to implement the coach's offense is crazy. Got it.
So me wanting to see our team try to press is the equivalent in your mind to me suggesting to ban the three point shot because we're not good at them. What are you saying?

I don't get posters like you that respond with sarcasm or hostility when it's not something you agree with. Greene rice doesn't agree with me but stated legitimate basketball related reasons why he does.
 
Tee token pressure doesn't yield very much.

This i don't agree with. Token pressure shows up in the later parts of the game. Small, seemingly insignificant, deposits in the bank pay dividends when it matters. This is why I like for our guards to play 32 minutes and pick up at 3/4 court.
 
So me wanting to see our team try to press is the equivalent in your mind to me suggesting to ban the three point shot because we're not good at them. What are you saying?

I don't get posters like you that respond with sarcasm or hostility when it's not something you agree with. Greene rice doesn't agree with me but stated legitimate basketball related reasons why he does.
No, Pikiell will instruct his players never to shoot a three-pointer. I mean, we're no good at them. So instruct the players that they are not allowed to shoot them. Are you saying that we shouldn't just try something different given that we are losing? What we're doing isn't working.
 
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