Defensive improvement

[InstiGATOR1]

So I will take my shot at why I think UF is playing such good defense so far this year and see what additions, agreement and disagreements I get.

1. Size, UF has replaced undersized players at two position with two taller players, ie Boynton/Wilbekin at PG and Yeguete and some Prather at the 3.

2. Depth, UF has 8 players that Donovan has pretty full confidence. With Prather back to good health and Wilbekin off suspension, UF can keep running relatively fresh good defenders at other teams.

3. Flexibility, Donovan can go big as he has most of the season with his starting lineup. He can go small as he did tonight. In the past at time, 2005-2007 for example UF had the most problem with teams with big guards. I doubt that will be the case this year.

4. Experience, particularly in the post. Young and Murphy are JR/SR starters in the post that have good idea what they can and can not get away with in college basketball. Yeguete too has a good idea of what college post play is and how you can defend.

5. The offensive development of Prather and Yeguete which means more minutes for two excellent defensive players. Also the defensive development/focus of Rosario so that he is no a liability on defense.

6. Coaching particularly mixing up defenses. This certainly seems to have kept opponents off balance. UF certainly plays a much more active zone this season that some past seasons.

[GatorPlanet]

On the interior, Murphy, Young, and Yeguete have also all added muscle. That, plus experience, is really helping.

[fox]

I've heard a couple of players say that a good defensive effort will carry them on nights when shots aren't falling. This team is mature enough and unselfish enough to live it.

[rserina]

All really accurate, in my opinion. Donovan has always switched up defenses pretty regularly, but was limited a bit in that regard last year due to size and inexperience.

I think point #3 has been maybe the biggest season. Yeguete, Wilbekin, Prather can defend three positions, Boynton is great defending either guard spot, and Frazier can defend the two and the three. You can go long a little longer and that makes the match-up zone very difficult to score on from the wings or baseline, or you can switch up your rotations to match up defensively against any personnel combination.

[tegator80]

I think that Billy likes offensive minded players that he can develop into well rounded ones (read play defense/team ball). To me takes a while for some players to finally get it sunk in. From a tactical standpoint, it appears like there is a big shift is in the ability to cover the ball either in the paint or on the wings once the press has been broken. It allows him press and use the depth the way he likes.

An added bonus is how the freshmen overall look less freshmen-like. They seem to be a coachable group. And I agree that having more size in the backcourt is a big advantage over the recent past, as well as the Prather coming out party from last year's post season. He is going to be the one I am most excited about. Incredible potential.

[don23lucia]

All is accurate in my book, plus it seems that everyone is on the same page and exerting a tremendous amount of effort even Swag is playing great D out there. The depth of our roster is incredible on both sides of the ball when you can sub in players and not skip a beat like that it's pretty awesome to see.

Who wouldn't want to play this kind of basketball, especially if you were I don't know a 6'9" or 6'9" forward who wanted all their skills showcased at the next level like Randle or Parker.

[MoscowGtr]

Insti can do a far better job than I can explaining these things, but there is a sense in which (and forgive the tautology) they are playing better defense just because they are playing better defense. In other words, I think points 4-6 are especially important: we are playing better defenders for more minutes, our starters are more experienced as a whole, and our schemes have been better fits so far.

[NorthCaptivaGator]

I have to agree that the fact that we can put Prather, Yeagutte and Wilbekin all on the floor at the same time and not miss a beat offensively is the biggest difference between this years and last year's team. Plus, for as good as Beal was as a Freshman he was not a great team defender the first half of the season.

[dnigels]

Skill sets and schemes are important don't get me wrong but there is a motivating factor in numbers (depth) which is at least twofold. First defense takes hustle and mental desire to put forth greater physical and mental effort. When you know if you don't produce on defense you will sit, motivates. Second if you know you will get a blow when needed, you can maximize your effort/intensity when you are on the floor. Does this make any sense?

[InstiGATOR1]

Originally Posted by MoscowGtr

but there is a sense in which (and forgive the tautology) they are playing better defense just because they are playing better defense. In other words, I think points 4-6 are especially important: we are playing better defenders for more minutes, our starters are more experienced as a whole, and our schemes have been better fits so far.

I like your way of putting it. Also dnigels is I think saying something similar.

UF's players lead by the upperclass players on this team care about D. Good defense is contagious. When there is positive leadership on a team, you see players not wanting to let down their teammates and striving to play defense and play hard all the time.

BTW, I think a huge example of the positive leadership on this team was Frazier last night. He hit a couple of threes and guys like Rosario, Boynton, Wilbekin and even Young were looking for him not worrying about getting their own shots to keep up. And they were celebrating with him in timeouts after a shot. This is a team with very positive leadership among the players.

[qwghlmgator]

And it can't hurt the way the football team such a heck of an example of what great team defense can do.

[themistocles]

Originally Posted by MoscowGtr

Insti can do a far better job than I can explaining these things, but there is a sense in which (and forgive the tautology) they are playing better defense just because they are playing better defense. In other words, I think points 4-6 are especially important: we are playing better defenders for more minutes, our starters are more experienced as a whole, and our schemes have been better fits so far.

Moscow, are you familiar with Rupert Sheldrake's work regarding morphic fields (related to the Morphogenetic construct from biology) - http://www.sheldrake.org/homepage.html.

He notes in other places, that teams act as if linked together by morphic fields, much like flocks of birds or schools of fish that react and move essentially as a unit. The materialist scientific metaparadigm has no explanation for this (among innumerable other so-called anomalies). When you have that "defensive field" going, it tends to be self perpetuating and the more frequently it occurs, the stronger it becomes (much like Alabama football teams).