WVU Scout, Game 2

[Chris_Nelson]

I spent quite a bit of time in the first scout talking about ways to attack the press and three of West Virginia's sets, so I won't go back and go through those again. I will say that one thing Iowa State did do well that I talked about in the first scout was when it was available against the press, they in bounded the ball over the top of the WVU defender which led to some transition opportunities. ISU also did a good job of pushing the ball after securing a defensive rebound and made WVU pay for sending so many guys to the offensive glass. They also had the guard that Carter was not defending bring the ball up the court the majority of the time.

Here are some things K-State must do well to give themselves a chance to grab a road victory:

Handle Sagaba Konate on both ends

• Konate is a much better player on both ends of the floor than I gave him credit for in the first scout, and he has continued to get better. Offensively, he is still pretty much a right handed finisher, but he is strong and athletic enough to get to the left shoulder. He can also step out and shoot a jumper out to 18 feet. He could make it tough for KSU to play small as much as they would like because the staff has been reluctant to put Wade on the other team's best post player to keep him fresh and out of foul trouble.

• Defensively, Konate causes real issues because he can erase anything at the rim. The officials this year have been pretty consistent with not calling a foul when the big jumps straight up and the offensive player jumps into his chest. The KSU guards must penetrate to dish or kick out for a three. The other option is to shoot a pull up jumper or floater.

Barry Brown (and other guards) can't try to do it all his own

• Both against the press and in the half court Barry has to be ready to make the next pass. My guess is they will hedge hard on ball screens. In the first game, he tried to split the double team several times and turned it over leading to easy WVU baskets on the other end. Against the press he needs to look to advance the ball up the floor with the pass when is doubled.

• In the first match-up, I believe both he and Stokes tried too hard to win the one on one battle with Carter. Stokes in the 2nd half on several occasions tried to drive right at Carter with little success.

Make open shots

• I know this sounds obvious, but it is something that can be even more of a struggle against West Virginia. You will hear a lot of coaches tell their guys to take shots within the offense. One reason for that is those are the shots the guys take every day in practice so they are more comfortable taking them. Against WVU it can be difficult to run your sets, and you just have to play basketball. This means guys will get shots that aren't in the rhythm or flow of the offense. Also, their pressure can wear on you physically and mentally which makes shooting more difficult, and at times you may feel pressure that really isn't there.

Be ready for the 1-3-1 zone

• K-State struggled mightily against it in the Big 12 tournament last year and with their struggles against the zone against KU, I would be surprised if we didn't see it on Saturday. The Wildcats did attack it well the couple of possessions they saw it in the first game in Manhattan. The guards will have to penetrate to get inside the zone and look to dish/kick out. Using ball screens can help with that as well.

Look at a couple of sets not talked about in the first scout

• This set starts with 2 guards out high, 2 guys on the wing, and a post at the free throw line. Carter starts the offense by passing to the post at the free throw line. Both guards out high cut to the basket. The 2 wings then set down screens for the guards. If not open immediately, one may cut off the post for a hand-off.
  • K-State gave up 2 layups to Carter out of this set in the first game. One was on the initial back cut and the other came on the down screen where Brown trailed him and he curled it right back to the basket.
• This set starts with both posts on one side of the floor and two guards on the other side. From there I have seen them give a couple of different looks.
  1. If Ahmad is the 2nd cutter, the first guard cuts off a staggered double screen set by the posts. Ahmad then follows the same path but curls off the first screen back to the block looking for a post up.
  2. If Ahmad is the 1st cutter, he cuts off the staggered double screens. The 2nd guard then sets a cross screen for the post closest to the baseline, and then comes off a down screen from the 2nd post.

Final Thoughts

If KSU defends well and doesn't have a lot of open court turnovers leading to easy baskets for WVU, they should give themselves a chance to win this game. Mawien has typically struggled with physicality so I would expect him to struggle on Saturday. That means at least 3 of the 4 between Wade, Brown, Diarra, and Sneed must play well. And obviously anything K-State could get from Stokes would be a bonus.

Bolden and Allen hurt K-State in the first matchup. Huggins has said he wants to play Bolden more, while Allen has been in the doghouse so he is a bit of a wildcard for Saturday. Bolden is not the defender that Miles is, but is a better shooter. K-State will have to meet him on every catch. The Wildcats have to put a longer defender on Allen. He is too strong and too good in the mid-range for the KSU guards. X or even Wade at times, depending on who else is on the floor, have to be the guys defending him.

 

[Matt Hall]

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