Tactics of Izzo, Pitino, Self etc

There was a good article on ESPN from Seth Greenberg about what he sees the top coaches running this year.  He looks at the offense and defensive tactics of Self, Pitino, Coach K, Calipari, and Izzo.     It's an insider article, so I'll try to copy and paste the best parts without running afoul of Dave's copyright policy...

There are two keys to coaching: finding a system that fits your personnel, and putting that group in position to be successful offensively and defensively. Coaches need to define clearly who their team is and how they win. Players need to be committed to the plan and use it as a road map, with the destination being victories.

What's the identity of five of the nation’s top teams? Let's take a look.

Michigan State Spartans
Offensively
Michigan State is an explosive transition team that is looking to run on makes and misses. [----] By running to score as opposed to running a secondary, it frees up the wings for layups and provides room for rhythm jumpers. Keith Appling, Gary Harris and Branden Dawson all run the floor consistently and can finish. Adreian Payne will set "drag" ball screens from the trail position in transition, giving Appling and Harris a seam as the defense is in transition.

In the half court [---]Tom Izzo runs a pro set, [---] He runs Harris off staggers and wide pin-downs, puts Appling in ball screens at different angles (allowing him to get downhill to finish or distribute) and makes Payne a screener on and off the ball. This frees him to roll to space for open shots.

[----]

Defensively
Tom Izzo has done a terrific job of adjusting to the new defensive rules. Michigan State is a gap-oriented, half-court defensive team, making it hard for opponents to get in the lane. The defense is built on "shrinking" the court and giving early help. This enables the Spartans to force their opponents to be jump-shooting teams. They do an excellent job of running shooters off the 3-point line, giving help off the screener and contesting shots.

In ball screens, the Spartans either "down" side ball screens or "string out" middle ball screens. This keeps the game in front and limits their interior players' exposure to committing fouls. In the low block, they will "scrape" the ball out of the post by doubling big-to-big or just scraping off the passer. They show their physicality with aggressive physical block-outs, igniting their quickness.

Kansas Jayhawks
Offensively
Kansas is an explosive offensive team in transition. Its wings run the floor hard and its posts do a good job of posting early in the possession. If the initial break is not there, the Jayhawks flow into their "basic" high-low action. [----]

Self changes the system to utilize his personnel. Early in his career, his high-low had few wrinkles. Today, he has added counters that include ball screens at different angles, runs to the rim, flair screens and back screens. The pace of the offense is outstanding. The Jayhawks sprint to their cuts and screens and move the defense. [---] Self's attention to detail in side and under-the-hoop situations is also as good as it gets.

Defensively
[---] The Jayhawks put great pressure on the ball and make it hard to catch it in the scoring area. They challenge all passes and are alert away from the ball. Opponents must be strong with the ball and meet passes, otherwise the result is usually a live-ball turnover for Kansas and two points. Their ball pressure enables their guards to go over the top on ball screens and their big men show early and hard.

[---]

Louisville Cardinals
Offensively
Rick Pitino puts a premium on taking care of the ball, yet he gives his players tremendous freedom to be aggressive and attack. He has a deep, explosive backcourt led by dynamic guard Russ Smith and the ultracompetitive Chris Jones. Pitino's teams push the action in transition, trying to get to the rim as well as spot up for a 3-pointer. Louisville will set drag ball screens for the ball handler, trying to create a seam and space off the ball for the perimeter shot.

[---] In the half-court set, Louisville sets a lot of back screens and quick ball screens. A unique offensive concept for the Cards is that their ball guards keep their dribbles along the baseline and probe the defense. Their best offense comes out of their defense, as they force their opponents into 22 turnovers a game. [---]

Defensively
"Relentless" and "aggressive" are the best words to describe Louisville defensively. The Cardinals have several layers to their pressure. They make it hard to inbound the ball, and once it is in, they will look to create an uncontrolled dribbler. In essence, they try to get teams to play faster than their skill sets allow. Once out of control, the Cardinals will send a second defender and rotate into passing lanes.

In the half court, Louisville plays both man-to-man and matchup zones. The Cards' matchup zone is harder to solve than a Rubik's cube. They do a great job of containing penetration as well as contesting shots in both the zone and man.

Kentucky Wildcats
Offensively
John Calipari is trying to get this season's Wildcats to run the floor and attack in transition on every opportunity. He has emphasized advancing the ball up the floor on the pass to his big athletic wings and allowing them to make aggressive attacking plays. If the early offense is not there, Kentucky will flow into its dribble-drive offense. A staple of the dribble-drive is the shallow cut at the top, which creates a "brush block" and gap for the ball handler to attack the lane.

The key to the dribble-drive is to get double gaps and for the ball handler to get downhill, forcing help. If the help defenders turn their heads or help up, they will backcut on the baseline. The post is always opposite the ball on the baseline. When the post defender helps on the drive, it is not uncommon for the guard to lob the ball at the rim for a dunk.

Kentucky will run different sets, but the favorite is to give the guards a chance to come off single-double floppy action. In this set, they can get room and rhythm jumpers or have post-up opportunities.

Defensively

[---] They pressure the ball and play in gaps off the ball. In most lineups, the Wildcats will switch 1 through 5 in ball screens. On made shots, Kentucky will pressure the ball up the floor, looking to back-trap the ball handler and force the offense to reset or have a secondary ball handler to be a play-starter.

With the new block charge rules, it's important to have a shot-blocker and rim protector. And Kentucky has a whole team of them. [---]

Duke Blue Devils
Offensively
Duke is one of the most skilled offensive teams in the country, with at least four playmakers on the floor at all times. The Blue Devils do a great job of spacing the floor and creating driving lanes. In this system they can attack matchups, and on penetration, their shooters are spotted up and ready to shoot.

What makes this so difficult to defend is that they have two 6-foot-8 hybrid players in Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker.[---]They can be play-starters, playmakers or finishers. When rebounding on the defensive end, both can initiate the break and clear the first line of defense to give Duke an advantage situation. Void of a true low-post player, Krzyzewski posts Parker when he needs a post up. Ahead late in a game, Duke will adjust the pace by spreading the floor and limiting possessions.

Defensively
Duke will pressure-extend its defense up the floor, trying to force opponents to start their offense away from the basket. It switches all ball screens in an attempt to keep the ball in front. The Blue Devils have been exploited by this early in the season, as teams are attacking the switch. They make it very difficult to make an entry pass or a reversal pass.

It is not uncommon for the Blue Devils to switch all perimeter screens with the goal of taking their opponent out of the offense and forcing them to be drivers. Duke lacks a true rim protector; [--] Early in the season, Duke has struggled to protect the paint and defend the post. [---]
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncbexperts/post?id=721

thanks for posting desco

I used to think Self had the crappy coach/great recruiter thing going on, so he's either improved a ton or I'm dopey. I will lean toward massive X's and O's improvement.   

I used to think Self had the crappy coach/great recruiter thing going on, so he's either improved a ton or I'm dopey. I will lean toward massive X's and O's improvement.   

Norm has been instrumental in his improvement

Love, love, love the Kansas Hi-Lo offense. That's the offense we should be running...fits our personnel to a T.

Love, love, love the Kansas Hi-Lo offense. That's the offense we should be running...fits our personnel to a T.

Bring back Norm to help Lavin with x and o's!