In Reply to: A question …. posted by mikeo on November 15, 2024 at 10:21:42
But it had some not so obvious (at least in terms of physical measurements) strengths as well - it was super quick. It's center - 6'5" Fred Slaughter - was a double state champion in track and field in his native Texas - he won both the shot put and, surprisingly, the 100 yard dash. he was the strongest of the Bruins but also, once he pulled the ball off the glass for the defensive rebound, he was often the first Bruin downcourt to finish the fast break.
Keith Erickson was an athletic freak. He could do so much - was Wilt Chamberlain's beach volleyball partner and played a number of years in the NBA with the Lakers.He could jump.
Walt Hazzard broke Wilt Chamberlain's high school records at Philadelphia's Overbrook High School. He was an amazing passer, a skill level seldom seen in the college game before him. And he was the toughest guy on the court.
Gail Goodrich was a great guard in his own right and a super shooter and scorer,
And Jack Hirsch - at just 6'3" - was the ultimate junkyard dog, the guy who did everything for his team.
Coach launched his celebrated full court press for this group. The media - especially in the East - was always falling all over itself to criticize the press because it didn't result in a lot of turnovers. But that wasn't the purpose of Coach Wooden's press. It was intended to control the pace of the game, the make opponents have to play out of their comfort zones, to wear them down over the course of a game and create more possessions than the opponent was comfortable with. Two things - conditioning and the more opportunities occur, the greater the odds that the more talented team is going to prevail.
My other favorite team was the '95 champions. With them it was obvious from early on that this was the one team that could prevail no matter how the game was played. It could go big with Georg Zidik in the post or it could sub in Moose Bailey and JR Henderson and go small (if you considered JR - at 6'9" - small) - certain with those two guys on the court to go with the two O'Bannons and Tyus - that lineup was super quick. But that team's march through the tournament - once they got past Missouri in whatever that game was - illustrated - they beat two teams with super huge centers as Zidek rose to the occasion and they beat two faster opponents with Ed O'Bannon simply refusing to allow his team to lose.
Two different approaches but those were really two of the most exceptional teams ever. Hard to draw conclusions from those two brilliant lineups and apply them to our team today. Or to most teams ever.
Certainly great talent can trump great size. But great size - if - as Phil notes - the bigs' athleticism is up there along with their size - is more reliable than outside shooting. Safer. Great shooting - especially with the three point shot - can top great size on a given night. But great shooting often takes nights off.
The point Phil keeps making is that great size - in the paint - is something that comes to the fore in our new conference. More than most other conferences. Speed kills - but it requires good execution also. And until Kyle and Mara demonstrate they can hold their own inside against strong and dominant posts, rebounding and interior play, both ends of the court, remain a question hovering over this season