The West Virginia Way
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/142/1/The-West-Virginia-Way.html
Craig Joseph
By Craig Joseph
Published on 02/23/2006
Atomic Sports columnist Craig Joseph analyzes the new national power in college hoops: West Virginia. He takes a look at the 1-3-1, Kevin Pittsnoggle and the deep ball. Does WVU have what it takes to make a March run?
At this time last year Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnoggle were names becoming newly synonymous with what would become one of the biggest underdog teams to streak through March Madness in West Virginia.
Since then, Pittsnoggle’s name has turned verb (“He got Pittsnoggled!”) , and Gansey has sparked a WVU program’s drive for national recognition in a way unknown to the Mountaineers since the days of Jerry West.
On Saturday WVU attempted to defeat a #1 seed for the first time since beating North Carolina in 1958. Prior to the game, coaches, players and spectators all knew it was going to be UConn’s power inside versus WVU’s perimeter shooting. In the end, Connecticut‘s command of the paint proved to be overwhelming for West Virginia’s undersized 1-3-1 defense, just as it has to many other teams this year.
Though they lost, if anything, this game shows the Mountaineers that they can once again contend with the best sixty-four teams in the country through March. And with 4 of 5 starters leaving at years end, their time is now or never.
In order for West Virginia to still be a topic of discussion a month from now, they must:
1) Improve rebounding. Standing last in the Big East in with just under twenty-eight rebounds per game, the Mountaineers must find someway to create a presence under the boards. They only average 8 offensive rebounds per game, which is problematic for a shooting team, especially if they are shooting poorly, as they can’t create second shot opportunities. Pittsnoggle must be more physical on the defensive glass, and may think about stepping off the perimeter more on offense in hopes of creating additional second chances. At 6’11’’, ‘Noggle is one of the best outside shooters in the Big East, but he must utilize his size and increased strength.
2)Follow their shots. This was not just a problem in the Connecticut game, it has been all year long. With their style of offense, at times the Mountaineers have all 5 players on the court outside the arch. Of course, this leaves no one under the bucket to rebound. Too often WVU is transitioning to play defense before the ball even strikes the rim. And it’s not just one player, everyone on the court in blue and gold needs to do a better job of creating opportunity off of the glass.
3) Improve shot selection. WVU lives and dies by the 3-ball, leading the Big East with 687 attempts this season. When they don’t make threes they don’t win, as shown by losses to Pitt, Marshall and Seton Hall in the last month. Not to say that West Virginia’s shot selection is poor, it just could be better, especially in big games. Against UConn there were multiple instances of off-balance or fade away 3-pointers put up by WVU, including 2 in the closing minutes with the game on the line. With the 3-point shot being the cornerstone of a sharp shooting WVU offense, high percentage, fundamental deep-balls from Gansey, Beilein, Herber and Pittsnoggle will be key to Mountaineer success in March.
4) Keep driving hard. Against UConn starting guards Joe Herber and J.D. Collins created off the dribble and penetrated well against a very tough defense. During the losses to Pitt and Seton Hall, Herber looked as timid as a youngster shooting the ball for the very first time. He needs to continue to drive with the confidence he exuded tonight and not be afraid of contact. With as much as WVU shoots the ball, defenses have no choice but to step outside to create pressure on the shooter. This leads to frequent over-pursuit by the defense, creating potential driving lanes. The ability to drive the ball early in the game will set up WVU’s kick-out based offense, which in turn will create more backdoor cut opportunities and a greater Mountaineer inside presence. Driving hard will also create chances at the foul line, which more often then not dictates the outcome of close games (just ask Joe Herber, who’s missed free-throws cost WVU a win at Texas earlier in the season).
You won’t see anything fancy from the Mountaineers as March Madness closes in. Coach John Beilein’s methodology is simple; play physical, scrappy defense and confident, team oriented offense. Oh, and don’t be afraid to shoot the ball…. a lot.
Craig Joseph is a contributing writer to Atomic Sports Media. He can be reached on craig.joseph@atomicsportsmedia.com.
Since then, Pittsnoggle’s name has turned verb (“He got Pittsnoggled!”) , and Gansey has sparked a WVU program’s drive for national recognition in a way unknown to the Mountaineers since the days of Jerry West.
On Saturday WVU attempted to defeat a #1 seed for the first time since beating North Carolina in 1958. Prior to the game, coaches, players and spectators all knew it was going to be UConn’s power inside versus WVU’s perimeter shooting. In the end, Connecticut‘s command of the paint proved to be overwhelming for West Virginia’s undersized 1-3-1 defense, just as it has to many other teams this year.
Though they lost, if anything, this game shows the Mountaineers that they can once again contend with the best sixty-four teams in the country through March. And with 4 of 5 starters leaving at years end, their time is now or never.
In order for West Virginia to still be a topic of discussion a month from now, they must:
1) Improve rebounding. Standing last in the Big East in with just under twenty-eight rebounds per game, the Mountaineers must find someway to create a presence under the boards. They only average 8 offensive rebounds per game, which is problematic for a shooting team, especially if they are shooting poorly, as they can’t create second shot opportunities. Pittsnoggle must be more physical on the defensive glass, and may think about stepping off the perimeter more on offense in hopes of creating additional second chances. At 6’11’’, ‘Noggle is one of the best outside shooters in the Big East, but he must utilize his size and increased strength.
2)Follow their shots. This was not just a problem in the Connecticut game, it has been all year long. With their style of offense, at times the Mountaineers have all 5 players on the court outside the arch. Of course, this leaves no one under the bucket to rebound. Too often WVU is transitioning to play defense before the ball even strikes the rim. And it’s not just one player, everyone on the court in blue and gold needs to do a better job of creating opportunity off of the glass.
3) Improve shot selection. WVU lives and dies by the 3-ball, leading the Big East with 687 attempts this season. When they don’t make threes they don’t win, as shown by losses to Pitt, Marshall and Seton Hall in the last month. Not to say that West Virginia’s shot selection is poor, it just could be better, especially in big games. Against UConn there were multiple instances of off-balance or fade away 3-pointers put up by WVU, including 2 in the closing minutes with the game on the line. With the 3-point shot being the cornerstone of a sharp shooting WVU offense, high percentage, fundamental deep-balls from Gansey, Beilein, Herber and Pittsnoggle will be key to Mountaineer success in March.
4) Keep driving hard. Against UConn starting guards Joe Herber and J.D. Collins created off the dribble and penetrated well against a very tough defense. During the losses to Pitt and Seton Hall, Herber looked as timid as a youngster shooting the ball for the very first time. He needs to continue to drive with the confidence he exuded tonight and not be afraid of contact. With as much as WVU shoots the ball, defenses have no choice but to step outside to create pressure on the shooter. This leads to frequent over-pursuit by the defense, creating potential driving lanes. The ability to drive the ball early in the game will set up WVU’s kick-out based offense, which in turn will create more backdoor cut opportunities and a greater Mountaineer inside presence. Driving hard will also create chances at the foul line, which more often then not dictates the outcome of close games (just ask Joe Herber, who’s missed free-throws cost WVU a win at Texas earlier in the season).
You won’t see anything fancy from the Mountaineers as March Madness closes in. Coach John Beilein’s methodology is simple; play physical, scrappy defense and confident, team oriented offense. Oh, and don’t be afraid to shoot the ball…. a lot.
Craig Joseph is a contributing writer to Atomic Sports Media. He can be reached on craig.joseph@atomicsportsmedia.com.