Bill Self has never taught defense like this before. What KU’s new change looks like
Bill Self has shown numerous recent examples of being adaptable, including his creation of a four-guard offense that ultimately led to a Final Four run in 2018.
Could we be seeing a similar change from Self this season ... only this time on the defensive end?
Perhaps.
KU, in its first two regular-season games, has done something Self admitted Thursday that he’s never coached before: His team has been “downing” ball screens.
Let’s stop here to simply explain what that means. In the easiest terms, KU’s guards — when facing a ball screen — are turning their feet and bodies toward the sideline to try to keep the ball-handler on one side of the court.
Here’s how this has looked for KU this season, compared to how the Jayhawks typically defended a ball screen last year.
So why adjust like this? Perhaps it’s not surprising that when asked, Self immediately brought up Villanova.
KU played the Wildcats in both 2018 and 2019. And in those two games, Villanova coach Jay Wright worked to take advantage of a KU defensive weakness.
College basketball analyst Jordan Sperber explained the problem succinctly in a Tweet from last December: KU’s ball screen coverage briefly required three men to cover two Villanova players, which left KU vulnerable to open pick-and-pop threes.
Downing should take away some of that risk. If executed properly, the new defensive style works to keep the ball on one side while making it easier for KU’s forwards to recover to their men.
One factor that might have made the change easier was Texas Tech’s success with downing last season. The Red Raiders, Self said, were the most effective college team he’s ever seen with that approach, and it also was a contributing factor in Texas Tech finishing No. 1 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Though KU has spent a large amount of practice time on downing (also called “icing”), it predictably hasn’t been a perfect transition. Self said he thought KU’s downing was “awful” in the opener against Duke before saying that it was “pretty good” in the second game against UNC Greensboro. Guard Marcus Garrett also admitted to a learning curve, saying the implementation of the new defensive rules required constant communication.
In time, Self believes downing “is something that will be good for us.” It’s potentially less risky than KU switching five defensively (which often results in defensive mismatches) and also leaves the team more covered on three-pointers than its previous style of hedging.
Most importantly in a big-picture sense, Self and staff continue to search for new ways to succeed while looking to others for inspiration and fresh ideas.
That lack of ego resulted in unquestioned improvement for KU’s offense two years ago.
The defense, perhaps, could be next in line.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Bill Self has never taught defense like this before. What KU’s new change looks like."
