Men's Basketball
Buckeyes Have Pressing Problems Heading Into Game with Tennessee
By John Porentas

Everybody has selective memory. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking back to OSU's 68-66 win over Tennessee on January 13 this year is Ron Lewis' three point shot to win the game. Then maybe Greg Oden's 24 point, 15 rebound performance, then maybe even Mike Conley's 16 point, four assist night. We all like to remember the good stuff.

The bad stuff, however, is what the OSU coaching staff will have to concentrate on in preparation of the upcoming rematch with the Volunteers in the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, because the Vols are better now than they were in January, and if the Buckeyes want to win on a neutral floor in San Antonio, they'll have to be better too.

The most glaring weakness for the Buckeyes in the first game was their inability to handle Tennessee's press, particularly in the last seven or so minutes of the game. The Buckeyes turned the ball over a season-high 20 times in that game, five of those turnovers assessed to Conley, four each to Oden and Jamar Butler, and three to Daequan Cook.

The Tennessee press has a pedigree lineage. Tennessee Head Coach Bruce Pearl was an assistant coach to Dr. Tom Davis at Lehigh, and Davis was one of the game's innovators in the full-court game.

Davis' press tactics have been passed down into the current coaching ranks through some of his more successful assistant coaches. In addition to Pearl, former OSU Head Coach Gary Williams was an assistant to Davis at Boston College. Williams brought Davis' pressing style to Columbus where players like Jay Burson and Dennis Hopson thrived with it before Williams' departure from OSU for his Alma Mater, Maryland. While at Maryland, Williams has guided the Terrapins to a national championship and that same pressing defense was a vital cog in the championship run.

The press philosophy the Volunteers have implemented is simple. Heavily contest the inbounds pass looking for a steal. If you can't get that steal, force the inbounds pass to be made to place on the court of your liking, then double-team the recipient of that pass in the hopes of creating a turnover. If you don't get it done there and a second pass is made, drop out of the press to prevent a fast-break opportunity for the opposition.

Don't be fooled by the seeming simplicity of that press philosophy. It is effective and can take its toll on a team, particularly late in a game when players are tired and prone to mental mistakes. The Buckeyes committed six of their 20 turnovers in the last six minutes the first time around, a game they were leading by nine with nine minutes left to play, but the Volunteers were nearly able to pull that game out when their press started producing turnovers. The Buckeyes had such a tough time inbounding the ball at the end of the game that they had to bring Greg Oden down to take a lob pass on the inbounds play, something OSU Head Coach Thad Matta would rather not have to do this time around.

"I wouldn't want to do that again, but if we have to we definitely will. But getting him down the floor as a finisher is better for us," said Matta.

"Obviously it's (the press) something they really hang their hat on and do a great job with.

"We need better execution against it, from inbound passes to the cuts we want to make to the spacing we want. We weren't as good as we needed to be in that regard," Matta added.

"They just trap the first pass. If you get out of that first trap you can break the press. You've got numbers. We just didn't execute the first game," said Butler of OSU's turnovers in the first meeting between the teams.

Three Rules for Beating the Tennessee Press:

1) Get it Out!: The Buckeyes can't be slow on the inbounds pass. If they can get the ball in before the press is set up, they stand a lot better chance to break it.

2) Keep it in the Middle!: The Volunteers will try to make the Buckeyes inbound the ball to a corner of the court. They want to get the ball into the hands of a Buckeye in the corner in the hopes of getting him to either step out of bounds or force a bad second pass with the double team. They will even bait the inbounder by making look like players in the corners are open before double teaming them. If the Buckeyes fall for it, it could be a long day for the Bucks. If the Buckeyes can inbound the ball in the center of the court, they will be in much better shape.

3) Fast Break Opportunities!: The downfall of the press is that while your defenders are trying to make a steal, the opposition can be getting up court with numbers. The philosophy of the press is that if you can get more points off turnovers than you give up off fast breaks, you are ahead of the game. In the first meeting between the Buckeyes and Volunteers, Tennessee outscored OSU 18-4 off turnovers and also outscored them 22-10 in fast break points. The press worked.

If the Buckeyes can turnaround that fast break number, however, the Volunteers might be forced to abandon the press all together, and that is the best way of all to beat the press.

Return to the-Ozone Columns and Features

Return to the-OZone Front Page