[franstheman]

I believe that a big key to iowa pulling off upsets against these teams with scoring 7 footers is going to be getting Archie in the game to defend them. He's done a great job defensively all year and I respect him for accepting that role. Basabe is a good shot blocker as a help defender but Archie is the only guy on the team that can square you up and stuff you and we'll need that on Leonard and Zeller. Archie shut down Sampson III this year and I remember last year he completely shut down JaJuan Johnson. That's really Impressive and we'll need him to continue doing his thing blocking shots and rebounding as he is the only true center we have that can affect a game defensively (brommer is too soft and we haven't seen much of Gabe)

[GhostofBTT]

We can put in Archie to guard their 7 footers, but then the question is: How do we beat Illinois and Indiana playing 4 on 5 on offense?

[truehawk]

With our own 7 footer next year.

[tweeterhawk]

Originally Posted by GhostofBTT

We can put in Archie to guard their 7 footers, but then the question is: How do we beat Illinois and Indiana playing 4 on 5 on offense?

Zack McCabe goes 15 of 20 from beyond the arc and makes 80 percent of his FTs.

[GhostofBTT]

Originally Posted by tweeterhawk

Zack McCabe goes 15 of 20 from beyond the arc and makes 80 percent of his FTs.

You know what's sad, I think the former is more likely than the later.

[hawkfan33]

Originally Posted by GhostofBTT

You know what's sad, I think the former is more likely than the later.

What? Is that supposed to imply that McCabe is not a good free throw shooter? The kid did hit 18 in a row this year.

[bcl20]

Attack them and get them into foul trouble.

[GhostofBTT]

Originally Posted by hawkfan33

What? Is that supposed to imply that McCabe is not a good free throw shooter? The kid did hit 18 in a row this year.

Well, he's 30-42 (71%) this season. If what you said is true, that means he is 12-24 (50%) outside of that streak.

FWIW, he shot 80% last season from the line. Who drops 10% on FT one season to the next?

[1hawkeye1]

I would keep the pace of the game as frantic as possible. Press and trap full court throughout the game.
Defensively, in the half court I would pressure their guards and not let them have time to make entry passes. Once the ball is inside to their 7' ers, there is little we can do. We must prevent it in the first place.
I'd also play some zone that puts defenders on the perimeter. 3-2 or 1-3-1 for instance.

On of our strengths, is getting to the line. Offensively, we must attack those 7 footers with our guards driving into the lane.

The most important part of defending those bigs, though, is to keep the pace up to tire them. Then attack them and hope to get them in foul trouble.

[IATrainMaster101]

We go all Tonya Harding.

[franstheman]

I was really talking about in the half court that Archie would be needed.

[sioux34]

The guards need to keep in mind that Archie should only be a target of last resort on the offensive end. I watched in the last game a couple of times when they attempted to force the ball into Archie with poor results.

[1hawkeye1]

Originally Posted by franstheman

I was really talking about in the half court that Archie would be needed.

In my mind, he's too big a liability offensively. He can sub in for a minute here and there, but only if we have a lead.
Don't get me wrong. I like his defense too, but he is a mess on the offensive end and we can't afford that.

[SteveGarvey]

He can be like Dennis Rodman was on the Bulls. Good defender and rebounder with no offense. Hey, the Bulls won with 4 on 5 ball in the 90s. Course, we don't exactly have a Jordan and Pippen.

[franstheman]

Devon can score around around the basket.