A lot of good stuff here:
– I love the initial analysis. I did something similar when we hired Gott. He’s been quite a good offensive coach and quite a mediocre defensive one. Against high major peers (and thus teams with similar talent levels), the defense has been on the poor side. The best defenses from Gott have always been about average.
– Some argue it’s the players and recruiting. I don’t buy it other than physical attributes of those recruited. Defense is about effort, the scheme, intelligence and helping. Those things can be taught and the effort is a culture.
– I don’t agree with the post stating that they’re hoping staff changes happen to fix the defense. From some recent accounts (related to Lutz leaving), Gott is teaching the offense and the defense. I’m not sure how swapping an assistant helps that.
– I agree with BJD, that in college basketball I would rather be great on offense and above average on defense than great on defense and above average on offense. The reason is that teams that can’t score typically vulnerable in the tournament — particularly those who play stall ball. That’s part of why Wisconsin under Ryan has stalled out so many times. This year they just got lucky with the seed (had them in my Final Four) and the fact that Arizona was playing without a starter lost mid year. Virginia kind of struggled to score this year at times, and the first time they ran into a team with a good defense in Michigan State, they lost. These types of teams are just one emotional high or hot shooting 3 point team from getting knocked out.
