Reply To: Saint Francis (PA) – Game 9

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#12558
StablerBum
StablerBum
Participant

Do you think the riskier defensive style is a good choice for us, since we seem to be better suited to a faster pace? Or would the benefit of better positioning be worth it? Interested in your (and anyone else’s) thoughts…

I think the system itself is less important than having solid fundamentals and excelling within that system. The downside to Bucknell’s system is that they basically never create turnovers, and the subsequent easy baskets that can come from those turnovers. It is certainly a practical philosophy for a league like the Patriot or Ivy where you likely won’t have the depth and athletes to beat power conference teams in an uptempo game. It has certainly helped Bucknell compete with major conference teams in recent years for the most part. Lehigh has pretty decent athleticism for a mid-major, so I have no problem with them extending their defense and occasionally gambling.

The bigger issue than philosophy is that this team seems willing to be pushed around inside and doesn’t like to box out and pursue rebounds. I will say though, that it seems like this is being emphasized and improving with both Jesse and Tim each having a huge rebounding game over the past two games. I liked Reed’s quote about TK: “He is doing a better job with rebounding by getting in position and pursuing the basketball with two hands.” Shows that this is clearly being emphasized.