Pelphrey preaching discipline
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ young basketball team is taking a crash course in defending the Princetonstyle offense the Razorbacks will face Thursday night when California-Davis visits Walton Arena.
The Aggies (1-2 ), from the West Coast Conference, are among the college teams running the patient passing offense perfected by Pete Carril when he won 514 games as Princeton’s coach for 29 seasons from 1967-1996 and led the Tigers to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.
The deliberate strategy stresses disciplined teamwork in the half-court with constant motion and passing to create open shots on the perimeter or at the basket through backdoor cuts.
“The spacing is tremendous with what they create,” Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey said after watching tape of California-Davis. “I think our guys will be blown away at how hard they cut, how much ground they cover when they do that.
“ I hope not, but they’ll probably even be surprised at how well these guys shoot the basketball from all five spots on the floor.”
California-Davis, which played three games last weekend in a tournament at Ames, Iowa, is led by 6-8 junior guard Joe Harden, a transfer from Notre Dame who is averaging 15. 3 points and 10. 3 rebounds.
The Aggies have four starters between 6-9 and 6-7, and their shortest starter is 6-3 senior guard Vince Oliver.
In California-Davis’ opener at Iowa State, they had the Cyclones down by 14 points late in the game before losing 61-58. They led Wisconsin-Milwaukee by 24 points at halftime before losing 81-75, then beat Loyola Marymount 64-55.
“We’re going to have to be very, very disciplined,” Pelphrey said. “It’s going to be a cerebral game from a defensive side of it... a big, big challenge for a young basketball team.”
The Razorbacks suffered numerous defensive lapses in their opener against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night but rallied to win 91-87 in overtime after trailing by nine points with less than six minutes left in regulation.
Improving on defense has been a focal point in practice the past week along with making adjustments for California-Davis.
“You talk about pressure defense and putting pressure on the basketball and getting out on the wings, this offense loves that,” Pelphrey said. “The farther you go out and chase them, the more comfortable they’re going to feel. You’re just giving them more space to pass and cut.”
The key for the Razorbacks is to not get out of position defensively, but still apply enough pressure to speed up California-Davis’ tempo more to Arkansas’ liking.
“That’s the point of the game, trying to get them playing like us,” said junior forward Michael Washington, who had career highs of 30 points and 14 rebounds against Southeastern Louisiana. “We can’t just play like them.”
Freshman guard Rotnei Clarke said the Razorbacks understand the challenge defensively presented by a Princeton-style scheme.
“That offense is always going to be tough to guard, and it’s going to make us work because they take it all the way down to the end of the shot clock,” Clarke said. “You’ve got to respect any of your opponents, and we’re definitely going to respect these guys.
“ They can play. They’re a really big team, and they know what they’re doing.”
As South Alabama’s coach, Pelphrey went against Samford, which also runs the Princetonstyle offense. His Jaguars were 4-0 in such matchups.
Pelphrey said he doesn’t pretend to know everything about the Princeton-style offense, but he appreciates and respects its concepts and how California-Davis runs it.
“This is a good basketball team,” Pelphrey said. “This will not be a blowout. It will be a battle of styles and what system can win out.”
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