How Bill Self nearly cost Kansas the title
Why can't coaches leave well enough alone?
Holding a three-point lead roughly halfway through the second half of Monday night's championship game, Kansas coach Bill Self switched from a straight man-to-man defense to a box-and-one. Memphis immediately went on a 10-2 run. Had the Tigers made a few clutch free throws, this stretch would have decided the title.
So-called "junk" defenses like box-and-one are uncommon, and the reason they aren't used very often is that a couple of very specific conditions need to be met in order to make them more effective than a more standard defense. The specific conditions for the box-and-one are:
1)Standard man or zone defense is ineffective in stopping one particular player on the opponent; and
2)The opponent does not have a second player capable of taking over the game offensively.
Neither of those conditions were met when Self made the switch. Kansas had by and large defended a talented Memphis team very well. Chris Douglas-Roberts had a big first half and the Tigers were getting slightly better-than-usual contributions from Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier, but freshman phenom Derrick Rose had been held in check. And Rose, as he'd shown all year and especially in the tournament, certainly was capable of turning the game into his own highlight reel.
Heading into Monday night, it was widely acknowledged that Kansas couldn't possibly expect to shut down both Rose and Douglas-Roberts, but that keeping one in check would be enough to win. In other words, Kansas had Memphis more or less right where they wanted them.
By going box and one on Douglas-Roberts, Kansas basically forced Rose to shake his timidity and get involved in the offense, which is EXACTLY what Memphis needed.
Holding a three-point lead roughly halfway through the second half of Monday night's championship game, Kansas coach Bill Self switched from a straight man-to-man defense to a box-and-one. Memphis immediately went on a 10-2 run. Had the Tigers made a few clutch free throws, this stretch would have decided the title.
So-called "junk" defenses like box-and-one are uncommon, and the reason they aren't used very often is that a couple of very specific conditions need to be met in order to make them more effective than a more standard defense. The specific conditions for the box-and-one are:
1)Standard man or zone defense is ineffective in stopping one particular player on the opponent; and
2)The opponent does not have a second player capable of taking over the game offensively.
Neither of those conditions were met when Self made the switch. Kansas had by and large defended a talented Memphis team very well. Chris Douglas-Roberts had a big first half and the Tigers were getting slightly better-than-usual contributions from Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier, but freshman phenom Derrick Rose had been held in check. And Rose, as he'd shown all year and especially in the tournament, certainly was capable of turning the game into his own highlight reel.
Heading into Monday night, it was widely acknowledged that Kansas couldn't possibly expect to shut down both Rose and Douglas-Roberts, but that keeping one in check would be enough to win. In other words, Kansas had Memphis more or less right where they wanted them.
By going box and one on Douglas-Roberts, Kansas basically forced Rose to shake his timidity and get involved in the offense, which is EXACTLY what Memphis needed.
posted by H.S. Slam, Ph.D at 7:07 PM
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