Some notes about UK's offensive attack vs. The Tide, in what I thought was UK's best game of the year…
(1) UK ran 25 half-court offensive plays in the first half and 16 in the second half. This is because Grant decided to press more in the 2nd half and UK got more transition baskets and got fouled more in the backcourt.
(2) Alabama ran an extremely confused zone for the entirety of the first half. It varied from a 1-2-2, to a 2-3, to a 3-2, to a 2-1-2. I could not tell if it was intentionally confusing or not. On one play alone in the first half, they ran 3 different zone looks. UK adjusted to each of these looks with ease, largely because of the superior ball handling by Andrew and Ulis, who patiently waited for the offense to get to their spots.
(3) Alabama was never going to win this game, but the entire game turned with Johnson's post play and when Grant reacted by prematurely abandoning the man-to-man defense in the second half. Bama had cut the lead to 39-30 off of a tough man to man defense, and Johnson then scored 3 points on two consecutive plays to make it 42-30. Grant flat out panicked. He ordered his team to press more (perhaps to disrupt Johnson) and UK got easy points from Alabama overplaying, allowing UK to stretch the lead to 49-32 and effectively ending the game. He compounded the mistake by calling off the press and switching back to a zone and it was 57-36 in no time. The looks on UK's players' faces told the story: Johnson was the spark in the 2nd half.
(4) In the first half, 15/25 plays were UK's basic offense against the zone (a 4-man game with the shooter standing still on wing, a high post screen, and the PG deciding whether to drive, pass, drive and kick, or shoot). There were many more wrinkles, however. About 7-8 times, the PG would pass and cut sharply to the baseline. About 4-5 times, the PG would run a circle cut. Both of these wrinkles seemed designed for Ulis alone, owing to his ability to shoot. Clearly, Calipari is involving him more in UK's scoring plays.
(5) The remaining 10/25 plays in the first half were extremely intriguing. Cal used a 1-2-2 zone attack, and even had Booker and Aaron in the game at the same time as two shooters on the wing. UK did not execute this look well, but some GREAT spots opened up on the floor, particularly with bigs flashing to the free throw line. Yet another wrinkle.
(6) No less than 10 times, UK's guards abandoned the play and directly fed the post from near the 3-point line. UK's bigs were dynamite today in the post. The shots did not always fall, but the footwork was terrific.
(7) Dakari Johnson is arguably UK's best offensive player against a man-to-man defense. His eyes absolutely light up in these spots. He is not as good at flashing in the lane against a zone. But when he can isolate his man on the blocks, it's over.
(8) Underrated: Marcus Lee's passing ability in a zone attack. He is like a pogo stick, flashing to fill those gaps. His vision is good and his passes are on the money.
(9) Although the basic M2M attack is a rub screen b/w the high post and the PG, the most intriguing attack against the M2M was a 1-4 attack, with the PG at the top of the key and the other four players in a line parallel to the baseline, mid key. Tremendous variation in this set up, including switches, back cuts, fake cuts, and ISO's. The player who looked most comfortable in this setup was Lyles. He is a matchup nightmare in the open floor. UK ran no less than 5 versions of this play. I really liked it.
(10) It is becoming clear that the two hardest working players in a Calipari offense are the PG and the center. UK's centers set a TON of screens.
This post was edited on 1/18 5:54 AM by pascat
This post was edited on 1/18 6:29 AM by pascat
(1) UK ran 25 half-court offensive plays in the first half and 16 in the second half. This is because Grant decided to press more in the 2nd half and UK got more transition baskets and got fouled more in the backcourt.
(2) Alabama ran an extremely confused zone for the entirety of the first half. It varied from a 1-2-2, to a 2-3, to a 3-2, to a 2-1-2. I could not tell if it was intentionally confusing or not. On one play alone in the first half, they ran 3 different zone looks. UK adjusted to each of these looks with ease, largely because of the superior ball handling by Andrew and Ulis, who patiently waited for the offense to get to their spots.
(3) Alabama was never going to win this game, but the entire game turned with Johnson's post play and when Grant reacted by prematurely abandoning the man-to-man defense in the second half. Bama had cut the lead to 39-30 off of a tough man to man defense, and Johnson then scored 3 points on two consecutive plays to make it 42-30. Grant flat out panicked. He ordered his team to press more (perhaps to disrupt Johnson) and UK got easy points from Alabama overplaying, allowing UK to stretch the lead to 49-32 and effectively ending the game. He compounded the mistake by calling off the press and switching back to a zone and it was 57-36 in no time. The looks on UK's players' faces told the story: Johnson was the spark in the 2nd half.
(4) In the first half, 15/25 plays were UK's basic offense against the zone (a 4-man game with the shooter standing still on wing, a high post screen, and the PG deciding whether to drive, pass, drive and kick, or shoot). There were many more wrinkles, however. About 7-8 times, the PG would pass and cut sharply to the baseline. About 4-5 times, the PG would run a circle cut. Both of these wrinkles seemed designed for Ulis alone, owing to his ability to shoot. Clearly, Calipari is involving him more in UK's scoring plays.
(5) The remaining 10/25 plays in the first half were extremely intriguing. Cal used a 1-2-2 zone attack, and even had Booker and Aaron in the game at the same time as two shooters on the wing. UK did not execute this look well, but some GREAT spots opened up on the floor, particularly with bigs flashing to the free throw line. Yet another wrinkle.
(6) No less than 10 times, UK's guards abandoned the play and directly fed the post from near the 3-point line. UK's bigs were dynamite today in the post. The shots did not always fall, but the footwork was terrific.
(7) Dakari Johnson is arguably UK's best offensive player against a man-to-man defense. His eyes absolutely light up in these spots. He is not as good at flashing in the lane against a zone. But when he can isolate his man on the blocks, it's over.
(8) Underrated: Marcus Lee's passing ability in a zone attack. He is like a pogo stick, flashing to fill those gaps. His vision is good and his passes are on the money.
(9) Although the basic M2M attack is a rub screen b/w the high post and the PG, the most intriguing attack against the M2M was a 1-4 attack, with the PG at the top of the key and the other four players in a line parallel to the baseline, mid key. Tremendous variation in this set up, including switches, back cuts, fake cuts, and ISO's. The player who looked most comfortable in this setup was Lyles. He is a matchup nightmare in the open floor. UK ran no less than 5 versions of this play. I really liked it.
(10) It is becoming clear that the two hardest working players in a Calipari offense are the PG and the center. UK's centers set a TON of screens.
This post was edited on 1/18 5:54 AM by pascat
This post was edited on 1/18 6:29 AM by pascat
