Can we give that a try?
Late in the game the press turned Delaware State over at least 3 times. Why is that not a defense that we play until it's desperation time?
Have to make shots to set up the press.
Plus, that's not how we played defense in the 80s. We played basic man-to-man defense back then. The emphasis Louie put on the guys was foot movement. Playing defense with your feet, rather then your hands, cut down on reaching fouls, and grabbing fouls. That was wise, but we never really dialed up the pressure on a regular basis.
They scored 34 points in the first half, yet I don't see recall seeing a real press until the game had 3/4 minutes to go. All I'm asking is why not?
Same reason Syracuse doesn't press the entire game, its the philosophy of the Coach. You have Coaches who do it and those that don't. It's not about the type of offense or defense you run, its the execution of whatever it is you run. Coaches are reluctant to "try" something else if they don't practice it. If they can't execute what they practice the thought isn't going to be "lets switch to something we don't practice". We are losing because the effort hasn't been there and execution has been poor. The staff has done a poor job drilling the rules of their system into the players. It appears that coach wants this to be a high scoring team, not by turning the other team over, but by playing fast and shooting 3's. That's not going to change based on who we play. Some may not agree with it, but that seems to be what it is. Coach will try to bring in players that will play to his system. Since the program was void in talent when he took over, it will take more than one season and 7 games.
And for the record, I keep hearing we need a "X's and O's" coach. You don't think Mullin knows X's and O's? Speak to Norm Roberts about basketball, he knows his X's and O's. The staff needs a great teacher. That is what separates coaches. They all know X's and O's, but the really good ones know how to teach it. They know how to create a "curriculum" of drills that will address and improve areas of deficiencies that are identified and commit time to working on it. Norm's answers were always "we need to play tougher". I've heard Mullin say we need to do a better job putting a body on the opposing player to rebound the ball but is he actually spending significant time emphasizing that with drills in practice? I don't know. If he is then its the player and those elements will improve in time. Cant make that assessment watching games alone.