In the aftermath of the loss. Many critics praise SJU and Lavin, All in all a great game plan.
from Fromhttp://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...rankings-ohio-state-winning-arizona-stays-top
Just about every Syracuse opponent ends up making the same two mistakes. The first mistake is that it spends so much time trying to figure out how to crack the 2-3 zone with its half-court offense that it doesn't realize the key to beating it starts on the other end of the floor. The easiest way to beat the Orange's zone is to prevent it from setting up in the first place. You do that on defense. Get physical with C.J. Fair, know where Trevor Cooney is at all times, make Jerami Grant force shots, and try to get Tyler Ennis to make freshman mistakes. Then rebound the misses or scoop up the steals, get out in transition, and score before the zone gets set. St. John's did this all game on Sunday, and the Red Storm nearly pulled off a huge upset despite throwing up brick after brick from the perimeter.
The other mistake that teams make against Syracuse is that once the 2-3 does get set, opponents become hesitant and don't attack the zone. Thanks to so many great defensive teams over the years, Jim Boeheim's zone has an aura of invincibility that leads opponents to overthink things.
Yes, Syracuse's zone is unlike any 2-3 in basketball, and you can't beat it with the basic actions that every high school team in America runs against zone defenses. But at the same time, it's still just a 2-3 zone. You can throw little wrinkles into your offense like Minnesota did when it flashed a player to each elbow at the same time and forced the middle man of the zone to make a decision. At the end of the day, the weak spots of Syracuse's 2-3 are the same weak spots of every 2-3 (the high post and short corners). As long as you attack it and don't let it attack you, you can create good scoring opportunities. St. John's confirmed this on Saturday, especially in the second half. The Johnnies were strong with the ball, utilized fakes well, had great movement, and, most importantly, they went at Syracuse. The Orange zone looked more vulnerable than it has all season, which was astonishing since great 3-point shooting is key against a zone defense and St. John's shot 1-for-15 from the 3-point line.
Nothing I've described here is revolutionary, and it's not like a more talented team that takes St. John's approach is going to blow out Syracuse. In fact, I think Sunday's game showed what makes the Orange so good: St. John's had a perfect game plan and executed it well. Syracuse got absolutely nothing from its second-leading scorer. And the Orangestill came away with a win.
from Fromhttp://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...rankings-ohio-state-winning-arizona-stays-top
Just about every Syracuse opponent ends up making the same two mistakes. The first mistake is that it spends so much time trying to figure out how to crack the 2-3 zone with its half-court offense that it doesn't realize the key to beating it starts on the other end of the floor. The easiest way to beat the Orange's zone is to prevent it from setting up in the first place. You do that on defense. Get physical with C.J. Fair, know where Trevor Cooney is at all times, make Jerami Grant force shots, and try to get Tyler Ennis to make freshman mistakes. Then rebound the misses or scoop up the steals, get out in transition, and score before the zone gets set. St. John's did this all game on Sunday, and the Red Storm nearly pulled off a huge upset despite throwing up brick after brick from the perimeter.
The other mistake that teams make against Syracuse is that once the 2-3 does get set, opponents become hesitant and don't attack the zone. Thanks to so many great defensive teams over the years, Jim Boeheim's zone has an aura of invincibility that leads opponents to overthink things.
Yes, Syracuse's zone is unlike any 2-3 in basketball, and you can't beat it with the basic actions that every high school team in America runs against zone defenses. But at the same time, it's still just a 2-3 zone. You can throw little wrinkles into your offense like Minnesota did when it flashed a player to each elbow at the same time and forced the middle man of the zone to make a decision. At the end of the day, the weak spots of Syracuse's 2-3 are the same weak spots of every 2-3 (the high post and short corners). As long as you attack it and don't let it attack you, you can create good scoring opportunities. St. John's confirmed this on Saturday, especially in the second half. The Johnnies were strong with the ball, utilized fakes well, had great movement, and, most importantly, they went at Syracuse. The Orange zone looked more vulnerable than it has all season, which was astonishing since great 3-point shooting is key against a zone defense and St. John's shot 1-for-15 from the 3-point line.
Nothing I've described here is revolutionary, and it's not like a more talented team that takes St. John's approach is going to blow out Syracuse. In fact, I think Sunday's game showed what makes the Orange so good: St. John's had a perfect game plan and executed it well. Syracuse got absolutely nothing from its second-leading scorer. And the Orangestill came away with a win.