excerpt from a season preview:
...It sounds cliché, but the Bearkats are simply difficult to play against, harassing ball-handlers and defending drivers and cutters with aggressive physicality. The stats back it up: in six of the last seven seasons, SHSU has ranked in the top 41 nationally in defensive turnover rate (KenPom).
Graduation swiped two tremendous on-ball defenders in Qua Grant and Javion May, but Mudge has no shortage of options to replace them. Jaden “JD” Ray is a lightning bug capable of getting underneath opposing guards, and he should be fully healthy despite a mid-January ACL tear. At 5-7, newcomer Bryce Cook might be even quicker, and fast-twitch D2 transfer Marcus Boykin racked up 72 “stocks” (steals + blocks) in just 28 games at Barton College.
SHSU also has several long wings who will make their presences felt. Damon Nicholas and Lamar Wilkerson played solid roles as sophomores and could evolve into even more disruptive defenders. Polish guard Anthony Wrzeszcz took to the scheme well in small doses, too, and Mudge praised his development this offseason as he makes the fabled sophomore leap.
On the other end, Mudge is quite familiar with SHSU’s approach, having engineered major components of the Bearkats’ attack in recent years. But this team could still look different due to personnel.
“Some of the things we’ve done with ball screen motion and our sets, I’ve had a big part in,” divulged Mudge. “How we play offensively depends a lot on what the team becomes. It will depend on what our guys are good at.”
Scheme-wise, expect a spread alignment out of which SHSU can run that ball screen motion. The Bearkats can feature a bevy of playmakers – Ray, Boykin, Cook or even a bigger threat like transfer Davon Barnes – which allows them to attack weaker defenders.
Sending help will be a scary proposition because of how SHSU can shoot the 3-ball. Wilkerson, Ray and sweet-shooting wing Cameron Huefner all contributed to SHSU’s 19th-ranked 3P% last year, and D2 import Owen McGlashin is lethal as a floor-stretching forward. Expect a major boost in Barnes’ perimeter efficiency, as well – he played through a torn labrum at Texas Southern.
Having such offensive balance could enable the Bearkats to play faster. Per Mudge, they often played slower the past two years to ensure they got touches for star scorers Qua Grant and Savion Flagg.....
