It's ridiculous how I didn't see it before. I was curious why Alabama continues to run a damn 2-3 zone when they get killed on the perimeter. Teams with good shooters will destroy Alabama every single freaking game if we're playing zone.
The 2-3 zone is designed to stop dribble penetration from the guards and is meant to keep the ball from going to the big men in the middle. Teams run this when they cannot man-up with a good forward or center from another team. It is also used when there is a weak defender in a crucial spot on the floor that can destroy an entire defensive set. For example, Ronald Steele.
At first, I thought it might be a good idea to have Steele play even with his injury. It's obvious he's not 100%, but I thought that his leadership would get everyone else to step up and play a bigger role. It's not that his teammates are playing big...it's just that it's almost impossible to do that when you allow teams to just crush you offensively.
Vanderbilt hit 15 out of 28 three point attempts. Are you fucking kidding me? After the first 3 or 4, you pull Steele and get the hell out of that zone. That's what it means for someone to "shoot you out of a zone." It will work when the other team doesn't have shooters (i.e. LSU), but not when a team has nothing BUT shooters. This was a horrible coaching decision by Coach Gottfried to allow them to keep playing this style. The 2-3 zone allows a lot of open perimeter shots, so to continue playing that against a team that is red-hot from outside is just insane. (i.e. @ Arkansas and @ Notre Dame)
I wish somebody in Tuscaloosa would listen to me on this. PLAY BRANDON HOLLINGER FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. You prepared him and Torrence and the other guards in the "pre-season." They are good, capable players. Keep Steele out of the lineup because he is KILLING THIS BASKETBALL TEAM. If you score 73 points on the road, you should at least be in contention to win. This is 3 blowouts so far this year. If I see another one, I'm going to quit writing about it.
Oh well...on to happier thoughts -- my birthday was on January 11th and my little brother got me a freaking awesome gift.
Pretty damn cool. Now I just need to get one of him at the press conference. Anybody got a large, good quality sized picture of Saban at the Press Conference? I've already booked my hotel for the last weekend of April.
¶ 11:33 PM
Comments:
Great post. I'm just glad I'm not the only one who sees this. What's sad is that this has been the case for a couple of years. I remember a few years back watching Florida point guard Anthony Roberson absolutely kill us from behind the arch and I was livid from wondering why we hardly ever played a 3-2 or even man defense. But I think the the defensive formation, as well as the lack of hustle, are all attributed to Gottfried and his staff. To have the level of talent we have had year in and year out and to only make to the Sweet Sixteen ONCE (and with the most sub-par of all of them) in the last 5 years is appalling. Ever since T.R. Dunn left, there has been a void on this team when it comes to effort. I won't say anything as drastic as firing him, but there needs to be a serious evaluation of Gottfried by AD Mal Moore and President Witt at season's end if he continues to pull Shula-ish moves and is either too dumb or stubborn to adjust his defensive scheme. Again, thanks for addressing this. Keep up the good work, man. # posted by Unknown : 10:39 AM
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It's ridiculous how I didn't see it before. I was curious why Alabama continues to run a damn 2-3 zone when they get killed on the perimeter. Teams with good shooters will destroy Alabama every single freaking game if we're playing zone.
