Kentucky ran approximately 40 plays versus Missouri that could unambiguously be called half court offensive sets. Because Missouri spent only about 3 minutes in a 2-3 zone and the rest of the game in a 2-1-2 zone, last night's contest gave us a great opportunity to study UK's strategy against a "pack it in zone" going forward.Mind you, this was Missouri, but it still gave us the same schematic sets. After studying each set thoroughly, I am very pleased with what I saw. Cal is patently NOT simply rolling the ball out there; UK has at least 20 different looks against this version of the zone and 35/40 possessions were run very smoothly. Calipari is clearly preparing them for March.
Some observations:
(1) UK's basic offensive set is the same for both platoons: Andrew or Ulis dribbles to the right side with Towns/Cauley or Johnson coming immediately to the high post to set a screen to the PG's left side. The shooter (Aaron or Booker) stands mostly still on the high left wing, the strongside wing (Hawkins or Lyles on the right) runs baseline to whichever side the ball is on, and the other PF (Cauley Stein or Lee) plays weak side mid post, switching to the opposite side depending on where the ball is. It's basically a four man game with the shooter playing a kind of offensive safety. If the play breaks down, he is the primary defender on the fast break. If the offense penetrates, he waits for a kick out.
This basic set creates all sorts of matchup problems, but the most important one happens right away with the PG, who has the option to play the screen and head left, drawing the shooter's defender in and exposing him for a 3. Or, if he beats his own man to the right, it leaves the high post open in the lane or draws the strong side wing's defender in, leaving the right wing open.
This set also is ideal for both Andrew and Ulis, because you can use either strength or quickness to get by the initial defender.
Kentucky ran no less than 10 variations of this basic set against Missouri, with lots of nuances and little hitches that will be much fun to watch as they players feel more comfortable in it.
(2) UK only runs weakside "Jeff Sheppard off the ball screens" for two players: Booker and Aaron, and Booker gets twice as many as Aaron.
(3) If the high post player receives the ball and then passes to a guard, he immediately sets a screen for that guard.
(4) All guard passes into the post result in that guard going to the baseline three point line. This clears the way for the post player who just received the ball to avoid a double team, and leaves the kick out for three open for the wing who just passed the ball. Remember Dakari's nice move in the second half? That was made possible by Booker's entry pass and slide to the baseline.
(5) Ulis is more content to run the offense than Andrew, who is more keen to take advantages of weak spots in the defense and exploit them immediately. Andrew is very adept at spotting them, Ulissees them but is more risk averse.
(6) Calipari will occasionally use Cauley-Stein and Lee as guards on the perimeter at times, in order to create mismatches for the Harrison's down low.
(7) Almost all of Kentucky's dunks come from the weakside; either wings or bigs being freed up for alley-oops or offensive rebound dunks. There is very little a defense can do except stay at home and hope UK's guards miss short jumpers. Calipari takes advantage of defenses keeping their eyes on the ball and has his weakside players roam, sneak, and lurk. It is awesome.
(8) About 4-5 times, you could tell UK's players didn't know the offense and Ulis or Harrison had to buy time on the perimeter. To their credit, they didn't turn the ball over despite having nobody to pass to.
(9) Two times, Ulis patted his head, which signaled to the offense that they were running a high-low game. The post game forward and the wings went low and out. This "return to high school" set freed Ulis to dribble penetrate and kick. It seems to be the white platoon's safety valve play.
(10) When we started hitting 3's, Missouri extended the 2-1-2 defense, which opened up all sorts of holes for short jumpers. UK's players were a bit surprised with their opportunities in these situations, but handled themselves rather well. As the year goes on, they'll need to hesitate less though.
(11) UK's best shooter is the inbounds man, and after inbounding it, he immediately runs baseline through two screens to get open. It's a thing of beauty when it works.
Some observations:
(1) UK's basic offensive set is the same for both platoons: Andrew or Ulis dribbles to the right side with Towns/Cauley or Johnson coming immediately to the high post to set a screen to the PG's left side. The shooter (Aaron or Booker) stands mostly still on the high left wing, the strongside wing (Hawkins or Lyles on the right) runs baseline to whichever side the ball is on, and the other PF (Cauley Stein or Lee) plays weak side mid post, switching to the opposite side depending on where the ball is. It's basically a four man game with the shooter playing a kind of offensive safety. If the play breaks down, he is the primary defender on the fast break. If the offense penetrates, he waits for a kick out.
This basic set creates all sorts of matchup problems, but the most important one happens right away with the PG, who has the option to play the screen and head left, drawing the shooter's defender in and exposing him for a 3. Or, if he beats his own man to the right, it leaves the high post open in the lane or draws the strong side wing's defender in, leaving the right wing open.
This set also is ideal for both Andrew and Ulis, because you can use either strength or quickness to get by the initial defender.
Kentucky ran no less than 10 variations of this basic set against Missouri, with lots of nuances and little hitches that will be much fun to watch as they players feel more comfortable in it.
(2) UK only runs weakside "Jeff Sheppard off the ball screens" for two players: Booker and Aaron, and Booker gets twice as many as Aaron.
(3) If the high post player receives the ball and then passes to a guard, he immediately sets a screen for that guard.
(4) All guard passes into the post result in that guard going to the baseline three point line. This clears the way for the post player who just received the ball to avoid a double team, and leaves the kick out for three open for the wing who just passed the ball. Remember Dakari's nice move in the second half? That was made possible by Booker's entry pass and slide to the baseline.
(5) Ulis is more content to run the offense than Andrew, who is more keen to take advantages of weak spots in the defense and exploit them immediately. Andrew is very adept at spotting them, Ulissees them but is more risk averse.
(6) Calipari will occasionally use Cauley-Stein and Lee as guards on the perimeter at times, in order to create mismatches for the Harrison's down low.
(7) Almost all of Kentucky's dunks come from the weakside; either wings or bigs being freed up for alley-oops or offensive rebound dunks. There is very little a defense can do except stay at home and hope UK's guards miss short jumpers. Calipari takes advantage of defenses keeping their eyes on the ball and has his weakside players roam, sneak, and lurk. It is awesome.
(8) About 4-5 times, you could tell UK's players didn't know the offense and Ulis or Harrison had to buy time on the perimeter. To their credit, they didn't turn the ball over despite having nobody to pass to.
(9) Two times, Ulis patted his head, which signaled to the offense that they were running a high-low game. The post game forward and the wings went low and out. This "return to high school" set freed Ulis to dribble penetrate and kick. It seems to be the white platoon's safety valve play.
(10) When we started hitting 3's, Missouri extended the 2-1-2 defense, which opened up all sorts of holes for short jumpers. UK's players were a bit surprised with their opportunities in these situations, but handled themselves rather well. As the year goes on, they'll need to hesitate less though.
(11) UK's best shooter is the inbounds man, and after inbounding it, he immediately runs baseline through two screens to get open. It's a thing of beauty when it works.
