Tubby Ball Year In Review Part 3

PJS Note: This is the third installment in an ongoing series looking at the season that was for Minnesota's men's basketball team. Previously we've discussed the three departing seniors and the impact Tubby Smith had on player progression.

Part 3: Defense

In the final year of the Dan Monson/Jim Molinari era, the Golden Gophers allowed on average 66 points per game. In Tubby Smith's first season, the Gophers allowed on average 63 points per game.

Not a huge difference, right? Maybe, but the change in defensive philosophy can be more easily seen in other areas. In 2006-07, Gophers opponents turned the ball over 390 times. In that year, the Gophers themselves turned the ball over 456 times. In Tubby's first season, those numbers changed dramatically. Minnesota caused or was the beneficiary of 560 turnovers made by opponents. Playing a more up-tempo game, the Gophers' turnover numbers rose as well (482 turnovers), but more times than not the Gophers were winning the turnover battle. The number of steals also rose dramatically, from 150 under Monson/Molinari to 298 under Tubby Smith.

Why the improvement in these categories? It wasn't for an influx of talent. But instead it came from a change in philosophy. After the first couple games of the season, returning players from Monson/Molinari's teams were quoted as saying Tubby Smith was orchestrating a 180 as far as their defensive thinking went. Instead of playing back, giving defenders a step or two because of a concern that opponents were more athletic than Minnesota, Tubby Smith instead decided to set the tempo himself.

The Gophers would apply full-court pressure against inferior, equal and superior opponents. Against lowly teams nicknamed such atrocious things as the Jackrabbits, this strategy allowed the Gophers to run up the score and gain confidence. Most importantly, however, the Gophers were playing aggressive basketball instead of playing basketball on their heels. One game specifically stands out.

In the second Big Ten game of the season, the Gophers travelled to Happy Valley to take on the Nittany Lions. This was Geary Claxton's last full game for Penn State and he led his team to a seemingly insurmountable double-digit second-half lead. Last year's Gophers wouldn't have had a shot. They would have sat back, playing not to lose, instead of increasing pressure. Tubby Smith decided with about 15 minutes left in that game to ramp up the full-court pressure. This did two things: caused turnovers and lengthened the game allowing Minnesota a chance to come back. Come back they did and an Al Nolen steal sealed the improbable comeback.

Aside from the full-court pressure, which admittedly did lessen as the Gophers played top-notch Big Ten foes, the Gophers executed Tubby Smith's ball-line defense fairly well. This meant Gophers defenders who were one pass away from the ball tried to deny passing lanes. Defenders two passes away would sag to help out. This leaves teams susceptible to the skip pass, but it also resulted in numerous deflections, steals and fast-break points, something the offensively challenged Gophers desperately needed.

Finally, a couple players deserve some plaudits for helping the Gophers improve defensively. Damian Johnson led the team in blocks (46) and was second in steals (59) and most likely led the team in deflections. Al Nolen led the team with 64 steals. Just how good was Nolen in this department? Let's look at Ken Pomeroy's tempo-free stats. Nolen ranked 9th nationally in Steal Percentage, which is, according to Pomeroy's site "the percentage of possessions that a player records a steal while he is on the court. It is computed by Steals/(%Min * Team Possessions). Anything greater than 5% is very good."

Nolen's steal percentage was 5.2 percent, which was the highest for any BCS conference player. For comparison, Kansas' Mario Chalmers, who demonstrated his defensive aptitude during the Final Four, was #17 by those rankings and finished with a Steal Percentage of 4.75. The Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year, Purdue's Chris Kramer, finished right behind Chalmers.

Damian Johnson wasn't far behind, ending the season ranked 21st in Steal Percentage.

These numbers might not say everything--considering former Gopher Rico Tucker finished right ahead of Chalmers for his work out west for Pepperdine--but they do indicate how proficient Nolen was at pick-pocketing opponents.

Conclusion: Tubby Smith came in and completely changed the way returning Gophers thought on the defensive end. Playing not to lose wasn't the plan any more. The aggressiveness certainly cost the Gophers on possessions here or there, but overall the increased intensity and focus on creating turnovers helped the Gophers win games. A big reason why the Gophers won 11 more games in Tubby Smith's first year than they did in the last year of Molinari/Monson was the new defensive mindset. The offense is a different story. And that will be the next installment.

Yeah, So, That Was Close

In a post earlier today I suggested that Gopher fans take a deep breath. The 6-1 start was nice, I wrote, but I cautioned that it didn't mean a lot in the larger scheme of things. We destroyed some cupcakes that Eden Prairie, or maybe even Mahtomedi could beat.

And Wednesday night, in the Barn no less, the Gophers proved why we need to be careful with our expectations for this team.

Something called the South Dakota State Jackrabbits fought the Gophers for 40 minutes, and for most of the game controlled the game. The Jackrabbits handled the Gophers on the offensive end of the floor. When the Gophers played zone, the Jackrabbits attacked the zone and found the open shooter when the zone collapsed. When Tubby Smith had the Gophers in a man-to-man defense--which should have benefitted us considering we are far more athletic--the Jackrabbits made the Gophers overcommit, and when the help-side defense wasn't there, the Jackrabbits pounced.

The blue bunnies from South Dakota had about a 10 rebound advantage. A lot of this came when the Gophers were palying a flat-footed 2-3 zone. Not only did we fail to box out, but as the bunnies ran out to a 9 point first half lead, we failed to challenge a slew of outside jump shots.

Basically, the Gophers are incredibly lucky to have walked out of Williams Arena with a 78=72 win against the Jackrabbits. Had this been a team with a less childish nickname, say the Spartans, the Gophers would have been run out of the gym.

What else should we take note of? Here's a list.

** This near-disaster was mostly about team defense. Shots weren't challenged. The help-side defense was slow.

** On numerous occasions, the Gophers struggled to get going offensively. A 35-second violation against the blue bunnies is somewhat embarrassing. Part of the reason for tihs is the Gophers don't have a guard that can effectively, and consistently create his own shot. Only two Minnesota players on this night could create their own shots: Damian Johnson and Dan Coleman. Lawrence McKenzie? No. Al Nolen? He'll get there, but not yet. Kevin Payton? LOL

** Where art thou Lawrence McKenzie? He finished the game with 7 points on 2-for-6 shooting. Gophers bloggers took Dan Coleman to task earlier this year for lackadasical play. Coleman has since put up his first back-to-back 20+ scoring games in his career. Perhaps we should turn our attention to McKenzie.

** Speaking of Coleman, he led the Gophers tonight, and they needed every bit of it. Twenty-four points on 10-for-14 shooting is nothing to scoff at. He scored with his back to the basket, and showed off a baby-hook, among other inside moves. It's good to see him play down low.

** In the last two minutes, with the Gophers holding on to a two to five point lead, this is the lineup we saw: Damian Johnson, Dan Coleman, Spencer Tollackson, Al Nolen and Lawrence McKenzie. All the talk about starting lineups is pointless. The lineup at the end is what matters. Here is your go-to Gophers lineup. I'd assume that if Tubby wanted offense instead of defense, he'd have Blake Hoffarber on the floor instead of Johnson--but that might not be the case. Johnson has been the Gophers MVP so far, and he's not a liability on offense.

** Spencer Tollackson came through in the clutch. With 1:30 left, and the Gophers nursing a 3 point lead, Tollackson had the ball on the block with the shot clock at 10. He did his best Kevin McHale up-and-under, jumped, and somehow underhanded a pass to a wide-open Coleman under the basket.

** South Dakota State sophmore Garrett Callahan should transfer to the Gophers. He destroyed us. He has a quick a release as Blake Hoffarber, can penetrate effectively and was the best player on the floor Wednesday night.

** The Barn can still get loud!

** Al Nolen hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch for his only three points of the game. But he was feisty on the defensive end, and on this night the Gophers needed his energy

** Sometimes I think I sound like I'd like to knob off Damian Johnson. But I can't stop with the superlatives for him. He led the Gophers in rebounds. He altered shots down the stretch. He was the most effective Gopher in drawing fouls and penetrating. Johnson finished with 10 points and went 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Most improved Big Ten player?

In summary, the Jackrabbits put quite the scare into the Gophers. The win wasn't pretty. But 7-1 is 7-1 and the Gophers now have 10 days off before Santa Clara comes to town. The close game should give Tubby Smith plenty to bark about in practice. It was clear at times he wasn't happy Wednesday night.

For the same reasons we shouldn't point to the 7-1 mark and start talking about Big Ten titles, we also shouldn't point to this surprisingly close game and believe that the Gophers can't be competitive. They can. But there is work to be done.