ALL-MAC TEAMS

Name me one Mid Major program that has had sustained success playing this way. I can name a ton of Major programs that play and win that way. You can’t be successful trying to mimic the big programs by playing their own game. You want to win big and compete, you play a different style of game that you don’t prepare for everyday. Majerus and Hunsaker laid out the plan, Barry Collier created his own but with similar traits and Butler has had sustained success that has continued. We can’t get enough quality recruits to mimic the bigger programs. This has mediocrity written in big letters and tattooed all over our programs face.

When did I ever say smash mouth basketball? You have always used that term, not me. No, I said I want physical players inside and players who defend with toughness, control the tempo and the glass and impose their will on teams. You have to be able to go inside which opens up everything else. When I think smash mouth, I think of a team that only plays inside and I am not advocating that. We were not one dimensional in our most successful days. The most important trait is recruiting toughness and do the other things I mentioned above. Physical guards who are not afraid to defend.

I think it would be cool to be versatile enough to play either way and switch at will. We are probably just one or two monsters inside from being able to do that. That would keep opponents off balance. They plan for one style we switch to another. Like changing up your defenses but on a larger scale.

Ahh yes. The common refrain of everyone who tries to talk to 00. "When did I ever say that?

Different is good. That's a good point.

But using our players the best way we can is my point.  Match style to personnel and  long term match style to the type of good players we can most likely get.  NOT pick a style and recruit the best players we can get for that particular style.  Then we miss, and we lose...

Playing big we get killed by the good bigger programs most of the time, anyway.  We are not beating the typical MSU or other B10 level school that plays based on tough inside play.  PLUS.  Even the big schools that are playing faster and smaller will have some good inside players too.  Very hard to beat OU or Oregon inside, they are better recruiting big guys too.

There are two things tell me we should play a versatile style, stress shooting and fast pace, gamble on shooting very well to beat good teams, and NOT primarily an inside out style and slow pace. 

1. It a different recruiting world now than in the 80's.  Few kids who are big and tough are under the radar.  We can get "lesser" big players who are "relatively" big and tough, but we won't beat the better power teams then any way.    

The odds of going for shooting and speed are better in my mind than minding a miracle post man who could carry us.

How players play in AAU and in HS also disfavors rugged inside play,  and favor much less defense. The way big kids play now we see fewer of the good post players developed. They want to get out and shoot and run because they see how the pros play, and they just don't want to do the dirty work.

So there are fewer targets to recruit and since coaches still want size and toughness, and just as many power teams recruiting against mid majors for fewer kids. As I said above we don't beat the power teams with second best big men.

2. Rules changes now favor the 3 point shot, and disfavor rough defense in the post and aggressive play on the boards.  Being different in the direction of inside orientation goes against the rules too much unless you have a very great advantage in that area.   See point one.