Hey kingaling42, could you do me a favor? Since you know Coach McD pretty well, would you mind explaining in a brief summary what is Coach McD's system? As a fan, I get some of the basics. Being that I never formally played or was ever taught to play basketball, I really don't know a lot of the details or ins and outs of offensive and defensive philosophy. What I have learned is from watching MT basketball over the years. I've learned enough to be a mouthy fan, but I really don't know much of the various philosophies and approaches offensively and defensively. I had hoped to really pick up his system during the 3 games in 3 days of the tournament. Sadly, you know how that turned out. I couldn't tell what the heck they were supposed to be doing! Generally, I get that CNM wants to play fast with big, lengthy, and versatile guards. I gather he wants to play good defense with toughness, but what will that look like under CNM? What will the offense look like when successfully run under CNM? How does his approach set his team apart from team x running system xyz?
I'm really not asking for a 5 page report or anything, but I really would appreciate a brief rundown for me to pick up on.
First- I know CNM will gradually evolve from what he was doing at Asheville- simply because he will be able recruit some different players at MTSU. I will be interested just like you all to see how he's able to further adapt and bring in the types of players he wants over time.
Offensively- his preference has been as you've summarized in part. But specifically taking those versatile, long guards and being able to push pace- i.e. long guards can help rebound and push the ball up the court instead of waiting for an outlet pass.. but that's all opportunity driven- off of rebounds, steals, turnovers.. you'll see the assists rise and turnovers fall as these guys get more comfortable with each other and as the players learn how to run plays while also reading the defense.
In the half-court CNM has preferred similar formation sets that have a ton of options off of the same "shell"- quick hitting plays and high IQ/high team chemistry stuff.. as one example: a 3 or 4 guard/perimeter set with a big that can step out or is able to work the baseline/short corners- the motion looks all the same initially but various stuff happens- sometimes there's a pick/pop, pick/roll, backcut, duck in post for a big guard guarded by a small guard, or traditional zipper/exchange screens for a BIG in the post. CNM likes the similar formation sets because it's harder to scout and doesn't give away any tells about what play is coming. Right now there are some plays just not being executed that I recognize- especially with the BIGS needing to screen then either pop, roll, or open up based on reading the defense. Green is often the guy getting the screen and on the overplay when the BIG isn't reading it they're just clogging things up instead of rolling and getting easy shots/layups. So right now it looks like a mess.. in any set play all it takes is one guy to be out of position, a step late, make the wrong read and then the spacing is bad... the other guards are getting open looks that they're passing up on in some sets.. through time CNM will expect guys to take/make those shots and that'll make the defensive hesitant to overplay one guy..
Late shot clock- he'll expect a playmaker to make a play probably with high ball screen/3 low or flatten all 4 guys to the baseline with some set screen/movement. Overall CNM will expect these guys to play ball within the sets and he'll allow them to make reads on the defense accordingly- not just be robots who go from point A to point B- you see that right now with some guys not taking opportunities to slip, roll, or pop because they're running "the play" or not confident.
Hopefully that makes sense as it's hard to describe through words without drawing up plays I know they're trying to run right now...
Situational: CNM really likes situational sets though- specialized plays for sideline/underneath OOB plays. He'll have a bunch of specialized plays but generally will use only in situations- late game, end of half.. opts for 2 for 1 possessions at the end of halves..
Defense- CNM has always played the style of defense that fits his players and based on scouting the other team.. he'll show a lot of different looks as you saw in the Bahamas and it was on display in that UVA & Butler game when they battled back in the first halves- the defense changed from man-man to that halfcourt 1-2-1-1 and then the 2-3 zone.. you've got to have depth and some studs to rely on man-man due the fouls committed and the "freedom of movement" emphasis.. the 1-2-1-1 has Syracuse tendencies- long armed point and front wings to force the offense to throw slow lobbed passes and prevent quick direct passes that will eat up any zone D. Emphasis on active hands and getting a lot of deflections (which I'm sure the staff is charting).. depth will be the biggest key here as you can only switch to man-man if you're not in foul trouble.. you won't see any packline stuff on the 2-3 zone daring teams to shoot- he'll expect those guys to be in position to help then close out on shooters, active hands, hands up..
Not being familiar with CKD's offense was it more robotic execution/play oriented?
Some coaches run a ton of plays that require high execution. I played for Randy Wiel at Asheville for 1 year and he was from that Carolina mold where you have a ton of plays and are expected to execute because the defense knew what was coming. Then Eddie Biedenbach came during my last 3 years and we ran the "UCLA" 4 around 1 sets which was a shell formation with a ton of set play options.. in my experience you could see why Dean Smith didn't play freshmen- too many damn plays to know what you were doing without enough time...
