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Home > Blogs > Flyer Connection: University of Dayton sports > Archives > 2009 > January > 08 > Entry
Flyers not at their best in half-court sets
Miami couldn’t quite knock off Dayton at UD Arena earlier this week, but Charlie Coles’ team may have given Atlantic 10 schools a blueprint for beating the Flyers.
As Coles pointed out after the 45-40 defeat, UD is much more comfortable in transition than in half-court sets. And the RedHawks turned the game into a walk-it-up affair by keeping defenders back.
George Mason coach Jim Larranaga had the same idea. He constantly motioned to his players during a 66-62 loss to collapse in the paint, cutting off driving lanes to the basket.
Opponents fear the Flyers’ athletic ability, but not their outside shooters.
“Are we better in the open court? Yeah,” UD coach Brian Gregory said. “And that’s an area we need to keep improving at, and we have gotten better at it.”
Gregory knows the Flyers are vulnerable if they have to survive on the perimeter, but opponents give up something with that strategy, too.
“If a team sends four guys back (on defense), you’re not going to score in the open court,” Gregory said, “but they’re not going to get any offensive rebounds.”
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By Kurt
January 8, 2009 9:55 PM | Link to this
It all comes down to confidence. You watch these guys right now and they are apprehensive..passing up a 12 foot shot trying to get a 2 foot shot and everyone knows it. If they (CJ, Williams, Little) can knock a shot or two down, they can relax and the offense will click. If they continue to play tentative, the A10 teams will all jam the lane and this team will struggle to score and we’ll quickly go from an NCAA lock to hosting an NIT game again after a 14-1 start.By Kurt
January 8, 2009 10:08 PM | Link to this
Part II..got distracted by the OU-Florida game. The 1-4 set we are running does not lend itself to a lot of easy shots when you have Warren and Huelsman handling the ball 18 feet from the basket when neither are a threat from that distance. Like both of them, but hopefully we have a plan to run a set more conducive to their talents i.e. spread it out, give them room to operate inside and kick out if the D collapses. A few more iso’s for CW would be nice too! OK, done with any complaints. 14-1 is beyond my expectations so let’s enjoy it, and GO FLYERS!!By sec 312
January 9, 2009 8:26 AM | Link to this
Agree Kurt, something about Huelsman taking a hand off on a weave 20 feet away…scares me!! C. wright just has to get more touches…does he ever post on the block?By UD Hoops
January 9, 2009 11:01 AM | Link to this
Within the A10 there are only a handful of teams that are strong enough defensively to guard UD to the level of Miami and George Mason. Those would be Xavier, maybe GW, maybe Temple or St Joes. If UD plays with the confidence and intensity that you mentioned Kurt,then this team will win within the conference. As for some of the stories on this site, I wish DDN and Gregory and our program would stop commenting on how tough the A10 is. Last year, yes, it was well deserved. But this year it is awful after X and UD. It is easy to point out a couple of decent wins by UMass and Temple in the nonconference. But come on. How many BAD losses, and cumulative losses are there after us and X? You cannot possibly say the A10 is tough after looking at each teams non-conference records. It’s great to have pride in your conference, but keep quiet when its having a down year.By Joe Pyne
January 9, 2009 11:45 AM | Link to this
I have zero confidence in this Flyer team. Even with the 14-1 record I think that UD will again be left out of the NCAA. UD has a fine defense but lacks the ability to score from anywhere outside the paint. Joe Lunardi lists UD in his current version of Bracketology as an 11 seed and as a bubble team. This shows that the media thinks UD is far from being a “lock”. I really believe UD will implode on the road during conference play. Just the way I see it coming.By cat69
January 9, 2009 12:12 PM | Link to this
I think UD Hoops is selling the A10 short on defensive ability. I mostly agree with his choices, but would add Rhode Island, maybe Richmond and Charlotte as reams that can give you fits on defense. And even as crappy as St. Louis seems to be, they somehow always play the Flyers tough. To win in the conference, especially on the road, UD is going to need some surprise offense from an unexpected source every game, whether it’s the guards, or Chris Johnson or Searcy or Fabrizious or someone else off the bench. And Huelsman needs to get tough and step it up too - he’s looked too wimpy too often this year. BG may say he doesn’t expect a lot of ‘O’ from Kurt, but the team needs it.By tds70
January 9, 2009 5:45 PM | Link to this
Flyers will have a good away test this Saturday. Game is at Springfeld and they are trying to fill the 7,000 seat arena there ” Met Mutual Arena ” with a Fill the house promotion in Springfield with Basketball Hall of Fame etc. They had a press conference with Hall of fame people and a Press Conference etc. Anyone having tickets to the game gets free admission to the Hall of Fame in the AM . They have a couple of other functions planned also. They have billed this as one of their premier games, as Dayton has been successful this season so far etc. etc. The atmosphere should be hostile so lets see what happens. Go Flyers!By Hank
January 9, 2009 6:46 PM | Link to this
Joe Pyne, You seem overly obsessed with the media’s opinion of the Flyers. Certainly it matters as it pertains to getting to the tournament, I’ll give you that. But anybody who knows anything about this year’s Flyers knows that the media has paid absolutely no attention to them or the rest of the A-10. The media, mostly ESPN, only has the attention span to focus on, so-called, BCS schools. They don’t care about anybody else except to answer the question of who the next Cinderella will be. So, to somehow use the media’s lack of attention to the Flyers as some indication for how good the actual team is is probably foolish.By Bob
January 10, 2009 9:42 AM | Link to this
UMass has had our number lately. Hopefully, we can get our offense jump-started with some transition baskets. We have had some difficulty finishing at the rim in a variety of situations…dribble drive penetration, stickbacks, and even fast break layups. I still feel our half court offense will improve if we are patient, making the extra pass and looking for that good rhythm jump shot. Yet, we must still apply the pressure offensively by driving to the basket so the kick out passes find the open man, or we get to the foul line. Go Flyers, just win the next game.