Scouting Report: Howard Bison

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The 2022-2023 college basketball season is officially upon us. At 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the SEC Network, the #4 Kentucky Wildcats will host the Howard Bison. Games have been going on since noon, but this is the one with obvious interest for Big Blue Nation. Between the Bahamas Trip, Big Blue Madness, the Blue-White game, and a pair of exhibition matchups, it feels like we have seen this team play quite a bit. However, the games are different now. The lights are a little bit brighter and the stakes are obviously higher.

A year ago, the Howard Bison went 16-13 overall, 9-5 in the Mid-Eastern American Conference. After a decade at the helm, head coach Kevin Nickelberry moved on to become an assistant at LSU. He would eventually earn Interim Head Coach status in the wake of the Will Wade saga. Coach Nickelberry is now the associate head coach for Patrick Ewing at Georgetown. Leading the Bison into Rupp Arena will be fourth year boss Kenny Blakeney. Coach Blakeney has an elite background having spent time playing for Morgan Wooten in high school and Mike Krzyzewski in college at Duke. He then worked for likes of Lefty Driesell, Mike Brey, and Tommy Amaker.

At Howard, Coach Blakeney went 4-29 in year one, essentially had his second season canceled, then bounced back to get above .500 in year three. It was their first winning season in 20 years. The return of All-MEAC selection Steve Settle and MEAC Freshman of the Year Elijah Hawkins, mixed with some transfer portal additions, give the Bison a solid core of talent. Let’s dive into a full personnel breakdown, with some video to see offensive and defensive schemes, and get to know more about the Howard Bison.

Howard Bison Personnel

Starters

#3 Elijah Hawkins: 5’11” 152 lbs, Sophomore Point Guard

13.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5.6 apg

Dynamic, playmaking point guard. Extremely quick with the ball in his hands. He is going to push the pace in transition. You have to get back and protect the basket and then get the ball stopped. Will need help to corral him and get the ball stopped. Willing 3-point shooter, but better as a driver. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! You can closeout short to stay between him and the basket. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Switch if you need to in order to stay between him and the basket. Get your hands up to contest the floater. Make him score over you. Stay between him and the basket so we don’t have to help on the drives. Excellent passer. Don’t over help. Slow him down in transition. No layups!

#5 Jelani Williams: 6’5″ 201 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

6.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.0 apg (Penn)

Bigger, strong guard. Physical. Much better as a driver than as a shooter. Just 12-41 from 3-point range last season. No right-hand drives!!! You can pressure him some, but do not get beat off of the dribble. Just back up if you need to and stay between him and the basket. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Be in help off of him when he doesn’t have it. Help to corral #3 Hawkins. Closeout short as you recover. Be ready for him to be physical at the end of his drives. Just get your hands up to contest when he shoots. No layups!

#2 Steven Settle, III: 6’10” 180 lbs, Redshirt Junior Forward

13.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.6 apg

Best player. Versatile, talented scorer. Will rebound and bring it himself in transition some. Have to get the ball stopped and pick him up early out beyond the 3-point arc. Very good shooter! No 3’s! Shot 35.3% last season and was 4-11 in two exhibition games. Have to be tight enough to take him away from 3. Very aggressive offensive player. Get up and pressure him when he has the ball. Doesn’t want the game to be comfortable. If you give him space he can operate and score. Looking to drive it right. No right-hand drives! Come bring help when he drives it right and try to take it off of him. Switch if he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s. Chase him off downscreens and get over flares. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. Don’t help off of him. No catch-and-shoot 3’s.

#24 Jordan Wood: 6’9″ 205 lbs, Junior Forward

2.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.3 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 7-19 from 3 in two exhibition games. He is really looking to squeeze them off. Loves to shoot them when thrown ahead in transition. Have to get back and get matched up to him in transition. Really wants to catch-and-shoot. Be tight to him at all times. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Absolutely no help off of him! Switch if he ballscreens to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Get all the way out to him if he is trailing the play in transition. Don’t let him make a deep 3 just because you weren’t out there. Your job when guarding him is to limit his attempts. If he isn’t dribbling then you aren’t close enough. No 3’s!

#12 Kobe Dickson: 6’9″ 250 lbs, Graduate Student Forward

5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg

Strong, physical 5-man. Moves very well for as big as he is. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. Need to give ground and stay below him on the roll. Looking to catch the ball on the block. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages go down the further away from the basket you make him catch it. No quick drop steps to the baseline. Make him score over you with you between him and the basket. Very good passer. Don’t over help when he has it inside. If we are between him and the basket do not help. Excellent offensive rebounder. Don’t let him play harder or be more physical than you. BOX OUT!

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Bench

#34 Bryce Harris: 6’4″ 220 lbs, Sophomore Guard

4.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.6 apg

Thicker guard. Much more of a driver than a shooter. No right-hand drives!!! He is really looking to drive it right. Closeout short to him on the perimeter to stay between him and the basket and cut off the right hand drives. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Will post up some smaller defenders to use his strength. Right hand, left shoulder. Likes to face-up and shoot the little jumper as well. Just give it a hard contest. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out!

#15 Reece Brown: 6’9″ 191 lbs, Junior Forward

0.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.3 apg (UNLV)

Long, athletic backup forward. Very mobile. Runs the floor well. Have to get all the way back in transition to take him away on the rim-run. Handles the ball well for his size. No right-hand drives! If they throw it ahead in transition you need to get over and cut off the right hand drives. Stay between him and the basket. You can closeout short when he is on the perimeter. Throw your hands up to contest. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Want to stay between him and the basket. Right hand, left shoulder around the basket. Always coming back right to finish. No layups!

#13 Thomas Weaver: 5’10” 156 lbs, Junior Point Guard

0.8 ppg, 0.4 rpg, 0.6 apg

Backup point guard. Stay between him and the basket. No right-hand drives! You can back up and make him shoot from the perimeter. Just throw a hand up to contest if he shoots it. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it and then closeout short. Absolutely no layups for him.

#4 Miles Stewart: 6’7″ 202, Redshirt Freshman Forward

In two exhibition games, all four of his shots have been 3’s. Really wants to catch-and-shoot. You need to get matched up with him transition. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Don’t get flared in. Get over the flares. Switch if he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s.

#11 Ose Okojie: 6’5″ 191 lbs, Freshman Guard

Athletic backup guard. Attacks closeouts really hard. Right hand driver. No right hand drives! Stay between him and the basket. We will start the game by closing out short and adjust if he makes a couple of outside shots. Get back in transition. They will throw it ahead to him so he can drive it right.

Howard Bison Offense

The Howard Bison are going to bring it at you fast. Last season, they ranked 35th nationally in tempo per KenPom. With #3 Hawkins back at point guard, and several players who are capable of starting the break, you can expect them to play fast once again. Howard had an insane 89 possessions in their first exhibition game and then a more normal, but still very fast-paced 70 possessions in their second. They are also coming off of attempting 48 3-point shots in their second exhibition contest.

The first game was a track meet and in the second they went against a 2-3 Zone so it is hard to take away too much about the Bison’s offensive plan. However, it is obvious that they want to play fast and will take the first open shot they can get. Our transition defense will be a key to slowing down their offensive attack.

When the Bison push the ball in transition they are hunting a 3-point shot. They will have at least four guys spread around the perimeter ready to catch-and-shoot at all times. In this clip above you see #5 Williams lead the break and get deep on the right wing. The overall spacing is excellent and there is a little flare screen being set on the weak side. As the ball gets swung you have to be more ready to tighten up to your man. You shouldn’t be this far from #2 Settle when you are one pass away. They shouldn’t be able to flare you in if you do a good enough job of tightening up.

This clip is a perfect example of why knowing your personnel is so important. When #3 Hawkins is in the game Howard is going to play fast and set ballscreens. Switching it is totally fine, like the defense did in this clip, because it keeps us between #3 Hawkins and the basket. However, off of the ball, you have to know your personnel. We don’t want to over help in the post when #12 Dickson gets a catch. At the same time, when he catches it this deep, you have to go make a play. That is especially true when guarding #5 Williams over here on the right wing. We aren’t worried about him as a shooter so get down and help on the post instead of denying the passing lane.

The Howard Bison guards have been coached well on taking the ball low on the wing to get into their side ballscreen action. Our number one goal when guarding the ballscreens is to stay between #3 Hawkins and the basket. If that means you need to switch then switch it. On the roll, you can help off of #5 Williams as the defense did above. However, we would probably like at least a little more of a closeout and content. It doesn’t need to be much though. Rebound when he misses.

This is exactly what we want to avoid when guarding #3 Hawkins in ballscreen situations. You have to get over and cut off the right hand drive. Break his rhythm with some stunts and fakes at him and be ready to help some to try and make him pick it up. If he is able to dribble this much, and get to his right hand, he is going to score.

Howard Bison Defense

The fast pace that the Howard Bison play with on offense translates to their defensive style as well. Last season, they were 10th nationally with a 23.5% defensive turnover rate. They will pressure the ball, get into the passing lanes, and mix in plenty of full-court pressure. Expect to see a man-to-man full court press at least on dead balls, timeouts, and free throws. In the half-court, we have to be strong with the ball and deliberate with our passing. It will get stolen if you make lazy, one-handed passes. You have to be ready to drive the ball hard in a straight lane and then move it ahead as they bring help. Catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and second drives will be the name of the game on Monday night.

Keys to the Game

Contain #3 Hawkins off of the dribble. The electric 5’11” point guard is excellent off of the dribble. It will take a team effort to get him corralled in transition and contain him in ballscreen situations. Stay between him and the basket!
No catch-and-shoot 3’s for #2 Settle, #24 Wood. These guys are really hunting 3’s and will take the first open look each possession. You have to tighten up as the ball is driven towards you to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s.
Limit turnovers. Howard was one of the better teams in the country last season at forcing opponent’s to turn the ball over. We have to be strong with the ball, be deliberate with our passes, and play off of two feet inside. 12 or fewer turnovers tonight.
Dominate the glass. The Bison were one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country last season. We were one of the best offensive rebounding teams. Even without Oscar Tshiebwe, this should be a dominant performance on the both ends of the glass.