It was surprising to see Coach Brady start the Dukes off in man defense tonight. High Point is not a very good three point shooting team and the Dukes didn't match well with their quick and athletic bigs. For most of the first half, High Point's back door cuts and quickness off the dribble sped past the Dukes defense for easy scores. Offensively, in the first half, we shot the ball well from three due to the magnitude of screens our shooters were running off of. Jackson Kent leading the way in this category with 4 threes in the first half alone. The Dukes successful three point shooting pushed the Panther's defense up toward the three point line which made back door cuts and lobs available but were not exploited. There were plenty of opportunities to cut for easy buckets but once again our offense was stagnant at times and we forced up bad shots. Both coaches switched to zone in the second half and it paid off more for the Panthers than the Dukes. The Panther's zone slowed down the Dukes and made them even more stagnant on offense as they failed to get a fluid offensive game plan rolling. They threw the ball around the perimeter playing a game of hot potato before someone had to jack up a three before the shot clock went off. The Dukes played well in the zone at first with quick rotations and forced a few turnovers but they struggled to rebound the basketball and the Panthers ate out the clock as they took the lead. In the last ten minutes of the game Brady switched back to man for some defensive pressure but it was worthless as the Dukes applied no pressure and allowed the Panthers to cruise to a 80-71 victory.
Key Offensive Takeaways
Down the stretch it was clear to see that the Dukes were out coached tonight. The Dukes were getting killed in man and the zone sped up the Panther's offense and forced them into bad spots. However, in a last minute push for pressure Brady went back to a man press that lost the game for us. As soon as the Panther's inbounded the ball our guards couldn't guard them full court and once we had them in the corner for a trap they slid right past us for a transition bucket. On offense, the Dukes weren't running any late game sets that would give them good looks at the basket. As the Panther's lead grew, our shot selection continued to get worse. We shot up three after three without any thought of running a decent offensive play. There is no question the Dukes could have fought harder so in no way is it all on Brady, but I expect Brady to put the Dukes in a better position to win in late game situations instead of letting them with no game plan and no chance.
Key Offensive Takeaways
- early sets and screens lead to open shooters and back door cutters; however, we stopped running these sets early which lead to no motion on offense and forced shots
- Jackson Kent's hot shooting kept us alive in the first half while our defense struggled in man
- had three back door cuts for layups in the whole game when it was clearly open all game; we decided to force 30 threes rather than cut for an easy layup
- Curry and Satkus combined for just 2 points but our benched scored 31 mainly from Hall (15) and Nation (13)
- man defense was killed all game long; continuously beat off the dribble and back doored for easy baskets.
- Brady continued to let Yohanny guard High Point's John Brown who scored it nearly every time he touched it; Dalembert is a post defender not a perimeter one and Brady should have put Hall or even Lukic on the elusive Brown to slow him down
- Man press had no effort or sense of urgency as players failed to trap the corner quickly which lead to easy 3 on 2 transition opportunities for the Panthers
Down the stretch it was clear to see that the Dukes were out coached tonight. The Dukes were getting killed in man and the zone sped up the Panther's offense and forced them into bad spots. However, in a last minute push for pressure Brady went back to a man press that lost the game for us. As soon as the Panther's inbounded the ball our guards couldn't guard them full court and once we had them in the corner for a trap they slid right past us for a transition bucket. On offense, the Dukes weren't running any late game sets that would give them good looks at the basket. As the Panther's lead grew, our shot selection continued to get worse. We shot up three after three without any thought of running a decent offensive play. There is no question the Dukes could have fought harder so in no way is it all on Brady, but I expect Brady to put the Dukes in a better position to win in late game situations instead of letting them with no game plan and no chance.