HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

During March Madness, HOOPSWORLD NBA analyst and coach Anthony Macri will open his notebook and offer an assortment of observations on players, matchups and strategies from the NCAA Tournament. Coach Macri serves as a player development consultant for the Pro Training Center and Coach David Thorpe, working with a variety of NBA and collegiate players on their skills and game understanding. During tournament time, the Coach’s Notebook will appear on HOOPSWORLD once or twice per week.

Defending Jimmer

Just about everyone has seen at this point what a challenge it is to defend a scorer as talented and relentless as Brigham Young University’s Jimmer Fredette.  However, containing him will be a key for the Florida Gators as they matchup with BYU and "the Jimmer."  Every team needs to come up with a plan for how to deal with him. Is it best to lay off and give him space?  Should you deny him when he doesn’t have the rock and crowd him when he does?  What about the use of help and double-teams?

There are as many strategies to keeping a premier scorer in check as there are coaches to scheme them.  With a player who seemingly scores at will and manages to confound opponents and teammates alike with his vision, body control, and shot-making, the Gators will need to prepare for and execute their selected strategy.

It might be counterintuitive, but the first priority in slowing down a scorer like Jimmer is on the opposite end of the floor.  Forcing him to engage mentally and physically on his defensive end is a great place to start to slow him down.  To do this, Florida must first and foremost race the floor offensively.  That prevents Fredette from getting comfortable in his spot within the BYU zone defense.  In addition, the Gators need to find places to screen the Cougar zone defense.  They should look for chances to isolate Fredette whenever possible, using screens to force him to make a decision and challenge him to avoid the physical contact.  Anything that can be done to force Jimmer to expend energy on the defensive side of the floor should be a top concern for the Gators.

When BYU crosses the timeline with the ball, Florida would do well to "play tag" with Fredette.  On any catch, the first instinct must be to crowd him and tag his hip with a hand.  While this might be technically "hand-checking," it is hard for referees to call it constantly if it is established early in the game – even refs like to keep a flow to the game.  To paraphrase Rick Pitino, they can’t call every foul.  This also crowds Fredette and does not give him the luxury of vision of both primary and secondary defenders.  It almost goes without saying that the defender should be asked to guard his yard (i.e., to prevent Jimmer from making a move directly off his hip in either direction; the term "guard your yard" reminds the defender to prevent penetration one yard on either side of original guarding position).

{AUTHOR_BOX}Florida may choose to selectively double-team Fredette in certain operational areas (on the wing especially).  However, expect the double-teams to come after Jimmer has put the ball on the deck once or twice.  The idea is to corral him and force him to get rid of the ball, and he has too many options if the double-team arrives early (before he has initiated his dribble).  Because Fredette is so crafty off the bounce, giving him room to work one-on-one is usually a mistake.

Every shot must be challenged.  Whichever Gators will have primary responsibility for guarding Fredette should be shown video of Shane Battier guarding Kobe Bryant.  He is constantly up, hands active and challenging Kobe’s vision on any shot.  This must be a point of emphasis for guarding Fredette.  He will make shots – he has all season – but the key is to constantly wear on him over the course of the game.

Finally, Florida will surely find legal times to make contact (defensive box-outs, when he goes to screen or cut, etc.).  Every chance the Gators get to chuck him (forearm to the middle of his chest, hip-to-hip contact), they must take advantage of.  Again, the idea is to punish him physically so it takes a toll over the course of a game.  There is no reason to take intentional fouls or give him free trips to the line.  However, players can be smart about the way they make contact to let him know they are aware of him and what he can do.

Slowing down Fredette will be a priority for Florida in the Sweet 16, and should BYU advance, for anyone they play.  Attacking physically and mentally will be a key because while they may not stop him, they actually can hope to contain him.
 

Have questions for Coach Macri? Be sure and drop by HOOPSWORLD on Mondays at 2PM Eastern for the Coach’s weekly basketball chat!  You can also follow Coach Macri on Twitter @CoachMacri.