I hear over and over and over how Nova does not have elite size/talent/athleticism like Kentucky/Kansas/Duke/UNC, etc. Let's say that is true, since it supports my next thought.
Given that we do not have elite size/talent/athleticism, it is quite obvious to me that we have elite, and quite possibly the best in the country, COACHING. I don't know any other way to explain what we are seeing this year.
We lost 2 seniors and a 3rd starter, that everyone agreed would create a big hit in terms of defense and rebounding. But if you look at our performance on the court since the start of the BE season, we are strongest in defense AND rebounding. That is all coaching and effort.
I would like to add that I think we are also elite in the effort we bring forth every game. You see so many teams lose to teams they shouldn't...and we have been there ourselves over the years. But not last year, and not this year. Our guys play hard every single game, especially on defense. This of course is also a result of coaching and getting our guys to buy into a style of play that may not look as sexy as Kansas, or OK or UNC, but it is a winning formula and it has given us the chance to sit on top of every poll and computer # there is. We do all this without a roster of top 25 talent. What a wonderful time to be a Nova fan.
Given that we do not have elite size/talent/athleticism, it is quite obvious to me that we have elite, and quite possibly the best in the country, COACHING. I don't know any other way to explain what we are seeing this year.
We lost 2 seniors and a 3rd starter, that everyone agreed would create a big hit in terms of defense and rebounding. But if you look at our performance on the court since the start of the BE season, we are strongest in defense AND rebounding. That is all coaching and effort.
- The staff, against pretty much the entire board's (myself included) continued to work on zone defensive schemes early in the season, and now they sprinkle in that rollie-style match-up zone throughout the game, AND IT WORKS.
- We more often than not send all 5 guys to the boards to secure defensive boards, sacrificing fastbreaks but reducing opponent possessions.
- We typically only allow 1 guy to crash the offensive glass, and make it very difficult for opponents to generate fastbreaks of their own or catch us out of position. Remember how many times OK scored from deep in transition? That really doesn't happen much anymore. I did think we slipped a little against Temple late in the game, but the game was so out of reach at times I think our guys just stepped off the gas more than they should or typically do.
- We own loose balls. This is all effort, and we have seen it from Arch and Hart day 1. But you can see how everyone attacks the ball any time it is remotely possible to snatch it from the other team. That is coaching.
I would like to add that I think we are also elite in the effort we bring forth every game. You see so many teams lose to teams they shouldn't...and we have been there ourselves over the years. But not last year, and not this year. Our guys play hard every single game, especially on defense. This of course is also a result of coaching and getting our guys to buy into a style of play that may not look as sexy as Kansas, or OK or UNC, but it is a winning formula and it has given us the chance to sit on top of every poll and computer # there is. We do all this without a roster of top 25 talent. What a wonderful time to be a Nova fan.
