Pressing/Trapping Bearcats?

[BasketBySteveLogan]

Mick has served under Huggins and Pitino, and it seems like he would love to play Pitino's uptempo pressing chaos style.. this year he has a very deep roster in terms of bodies.. I would like to see him choose a starting 5 and a reserve 5 for a 2nd unit that he can bring in all at once to press and trap and create havoc while he rests his starters... do y'all think he will do that? Here's what it can be:

Starters: Vaughn, Gentry, Williamson, Williams, Hyrcianuk
2nd Unit: Warren, Davis/Miller, Mitchell, Bishop, Belton/McClain

This can wear down the teams that don't play their bench much....

Thoughts?

[james jr]

Mick has served under Huggins and Pitino, and it seems like he would love to play Pitino's uptempo pressing chaos style.. this year he has a very deep roster in terms of bodies.. I would like to see him choose a starting 5 and a reserve 5 for a 2nd unit that he can bring in all at once to press and trap and create havoc while he rests his starters... do y'all think he will do that? Here's what it can be:

Starters: Vaughn, Gentry, Williamson, Williams, Hyrcianuk
2nd Unit: Warren, Davis/Miller, Mitchell, Bishop, Belton/McClain

This can wear down the teams that don't play their bench much....

Thoughts?

Although I am not completely sold on this idea it think it could work in a limited application. The second unit you mentioned would work best with "Biggie" at C because Mick likes an "eraser" at the back end of his press.

[Kindog202]

You also forgot about Wilks...

I see Mick as a more offensive minded coach than Huggins is/was. I see his teams doing a lot more running and gunning. If you look, there are 2 SF's on this team (Wilks and Bishop) that either played some at the point in high school or handled the ball often in high school. As mentioned above, Biggie is an eraser at the back end of a press, so I think that is another clue as to how Mick would like his teams to play. Also, remember when he was coaching at Murray St. they used a lot of trapping and played at a high pace.

[swilsonsp4]

Time to move on. This bickering is pointless.

The original thread dealt with whether Mick will employ a pressing defense. Please keep it to that.

[jkwuc89]

The bickering on this thread will stop. Once I get back to my faster Internet connection, I will be cleaning up this thread.

[SLMadiCat]

Time to move on. This bickering is pointless.

The original thread dealt with whether Mick will employ a pressing defense. Please keep it to that.

The bickering on this thread will stop. Once I get back to my faster Internet connection, I will be cleaning up this thread.

I agree, which was my original point. No need for the comparison. The thread started out as a good thread until someone ruined it with some stupid comparison.

[daaphearthrob]

all i see is people talking about bearcat basketball... if that's bickering then bicker away boys... until people start getting hurtful in their comments or defecting to Xavier, i don't think there is anything wrong with the conversations going on here.

i'm stoked for this year to start. mick finally can roll out of the fetal position and play with a full roster of kids he brought in. i still think there's a lot of building yet to be done, but at least we wont be out manned like the last 2 years.

[jkwuc89]

The reason you don't see the so called "bickering" posts is because I removed them. There were several posts comparing Pitino's record to Huggins' record. If you want to talk about Pitino or Huggins, go to the Louisville or WVU boards respectively. In my opinion, they are now both enemies that must be pounded each time UC plays them.

[jkwuc89]

Talk about Huggins goes on the "Where are they now" forum with VERY FEW exceptions allowed.

[JerseySean]

Talk about Huggins goes on the "Where are they now" forum with VERY FEW exceptions allowed.

Thanks for removing the bickering -- I agree that it should be moved where appropriate. Perhaps a little more explanation next time. We thought you were castigating some well-written, well-intentioned posts...

[Mick's Da Man]

Wish I'd have seen the "bickering" comments for myself to judge if it was necessary to delete them.

Rarely do I ever see anything bad on this site. Don't know why it had to be deleted, but oh well.

[SLMadiCat]

Wish I'd have seen the "bickering" comments for myself to judge if it was necessary to delete them.

Rarely do I ever see anything bad on this site. Don't know why it had to be deleted, but oh well.

I was involved with it, and agree, it was necessary. I saw this site getting some publicity over on the ncaabbs. I gotta say, this site is 100x better than the non-stop bickering over there. Ctipton copied the post over there to say how he doesn't like this site, yet he comes over here and posts. None of the posts on that site have any content at all, just bickering. A thanks goes out to all the admins that put this site together and make it work.

Ironically, as they complain about this site, the ncaabbs boards have been down just about all day.

[BasketBySteveLogan]

Wow thanks you guys really killed that thread there... I was just trying to say that Mick has learned from 2 of the most successful coaches of the past 20 years firsthand.. both of which have used pressing/trapping.. and he has a squad deep enough (in terms of number of athletic bodies) to do some helter skelter stuff if he wants to. It would be cool to try a pseudo-Loyola Marymount style.. run and gun baby.. dunks, 3's, steals...

[SLMadiCat]

Wow thanks you guys really killed that thread there... I was just trying to say that Mick has learned from 2 of the most successful coaches of the past 20 years firsthand.. both of which have used pressing/trapping.. and he has a squad deep enough (in terms of number of athletic bodies) to do some helter skelter stuff if he wants to. It would be cool to try a pseudo-Loyola Marymount style.. run and gun baby.. dunks, 3's, steals...

That would be a fun game to watch, but I don't think a trapping/pressing style is very successful anymore. Too many players with good ball skills nowadays. It used to be the point guard and maybe one other player could handle the ball. Now most centers can handle the ball to some degree. It gives up way too many easy baskets. IMO, it hurt the bearcats a few years ago when they got so many easy baskets from the trap early on in the season that when they could no longer use the trap, the offense became very stagnant.

[tophat]

There's no question Mick likes to play a pressing, uptempo style with alot of players. Who his starters will be is very much up in the air. I see Williams as a sure starter and probably Vaughn. After that it's guesswork at this point.

I agree this style can have its drawbacks. It tends to be successful at home, but not on the road, and it can leave alot of easy shots for the opposition if they solve it. It does work overall if you've got the talent.

[waterhead]

That would be a fun game to watch, but I don't think a trapping/pressing style is very successful anymore. Too many players with good ball skills nowadays. It used to be the point guard and maybe one other player could handle the ball. Now most centers can handle the ball to some degree. It gives up way too many easy baskets. IMO, it hurt the bearcats a few years ago when they got so many easy baskets from the trap early on in the season that when they could no longer use the trap, the offense became very stagnant.

I would have to say this depends on the team you're competing against. If the other team can break the press easily it would be unwise to press. If they struggle with pressure you use the press. If your team is talented enough you can dictate your style on anyone but we are not that talented just yet.

I think the best coaches can adapt to any situation. Another poster mentioned how well the run and gun works at home while not as well on the road. My advice would be to get good at both. Tiger Woods philosophy in golf is to be the best at EVERY facet of the game such as driving, putting, and iron play to name a few. I suggest that is a good idea...even if it is unattainable...you should still try!

Great coaches can adapt to almost every situation! I think Mick has learned from two of the games best coaches and that should make him better at adapting than if he only learned from one.

[SLMadiCat]

I would have to say this depends on the team you're competing against. If the other team can break the press easily it would be unwise to press. If they struggle with pressure you use the press. If your team is talented enough you can dictate your style on anyone but we are not that talented just yet.

I think the best coaches can adapt to any situation. Another poster mentioned how well the run and gun works at home while not as well on the road. My advice would be to get good at both. Tiger Woods philosophy in golf is to be the best at EVERY facet of the game such as driving, putting, and iron play to name a few. I suggest that is a good idea...even if it is unattainable...you should still try!

Great coaches can adapt to almost every situation! I think Mick has learned from two of the games best coaches and that should make him better at adapting than if he only learned from one.

I agree. I just don't like how a team can become too dependent on the press and rely on it solely for offense. It is important to have a solid half-court offense in place for when other teams are effective in slowing the game down. I definitely think Mick will use the press/trap on occasions, especially with all the athleticism he is bringing in.

[MicksTheGuy]

You guys miss the point though. Pressing leads to easy baskets sometimes for both teams but it is the 2nd half where it can really change things for your team. Most teams are only 7 deep so in the 2nd half that other team is now tired and taking bad shots or ones with tired legs. The team that does the trapping has to be deep and in shape otherwise this won't work as well. I also think it is great for recruiting wise and keeping your bench happy if you are playing 10 -12 guys instead of just 7 guys.

Mick to recruit:
So you want to come to UC? You know we go 10-12 deep so your going to have to be ready to play when you come to our school. The more in shape you are and the harder you work the more playing time you will get. Make no mistake about it though I need you to play in your first year. We like to get steals which makes for a lot of easy baskets and helps with your shooting percentage and we like to score a lot of points which helps with your scoring average. Both of these being key indicators of what the NBA is looking for.

If you want to sit on a bench for a couple of years and slowly learn the game then we are not the school for you.

[SLMadiCat]

You guys miss the point though. Pressing leads to easy baskets sometimes for both teams but it is the 2nd half where it can really change things for your team. Most teams are only 7 deep so in the 2nd half that other team is now tired and taking bad shots or ones with tired legs. The team that does the trapping has to be deep and in shape otherwise this won't work as well. I also think it is great for recruiting wise and keeping your bench happy if you are playing 10 -12 guys instead of just 7 guys.

Mick to recruit:
So you want to come to UC? You know we go 10-12 deep so your going to have to be ready to play when you come to our school. The more in shape you are and the harder you work the more playing time you will get. Make no mistake about it though I need you to play in your first year. We like to get steals which makes for a lot of easy baskets and helps with your shooting percentage and we like to score a lot of points which helps with your scoring average. Both of these being key indicators of what the NBA is looking for.

If you want to sit on a bench for a couple of years and slowly learn the game then we are not the school for you.

I respectfully disagree. Like I said earlier, when used on occasion, it can be effective. But, I don't think that a whole game of pressing is very successful at the collegiate level anymore. That is mainly why you don't see very many teams doing it anymore. IMO.

[waterhead]

I agree. I just don't like how a team can become too dependent on the press and rely on it solely for offense. It is important to have a solid half-court offense in place for when other teams are effective in slowing the game down. I definitely think Mick will use the press/trap on occasions, especially with all the athleticism he is bringing in.

I think you and I are on the same page. We need to be good at both full court action and half court action. Offense and defense.

[waterhead]

You guys miss the point though. Pressing leads to easy baskets sometimes for both teams but it is the 2nd half where it can really change things for your team. Most teams are only 7 deep so in the 2nd half that other team is now tired and taking bad shots or ones with tired legs.

I get the point. I watched a certain coach do it (press) for about 15 years for the most part. My only point is in your last sentence. MOST teams are 7 deep. What if they are ten deep and great at breaking the press? Then you have to have a plan B and be good at it...scratch that great at it. You always have to have plan B ready if plan A isn't working. Although I like the press...I don't want to HAVE to rely on it as the only game plan. You must be a well rounded team able to play half court and full court with the best if you are going to be the best.

[Inchickinkick]

Time to move on. This bickering is pointless.

The original thread dealt with whether Mick will employ a pressing defense. Please keep it to that.

Who would be our on the ball defender, In a pressing defense?