Hoop Vision Weekly
Final Four Edition.
Another midweek edition, as we take a look ahead to the Final Four and a brief look back at the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.
Also, lest we forget — three other tournaments (NIT, CBI, CIT) are coming to a close on the men's side right now, along with the NCAA Tournament and NIT on the women's side.
Well wishes to the handful of newsletter subscribers whose teams are still playing into April — you did it!
A few quick Hoop Vision programming notes:
Lots of links, resources, and looks back on the season today.
This is the 16th one of these we've sent out this year. Many more to come, but THANK YOU for your initial, continued, and devoted support. It's been one heck of a ride.
For one final time before the season ends:
Here we go...
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In this issue...
- ICYMI: Best of Hoop Vision
- Final Four - Need To Know
- Auburn
- Michigan State
- Texas Tech
- Virginia
- Hoop Vision Trivia
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LOOKING BACK
THE STUFF YOU MISSED WHILE RESEARCHING THE PREDICTED OVER/UNDER IN A VIRGINIA vs. TEXAS TECH TITLE GAME
VIDEO: Rick Byrd announced his retirement this week; his Belmont teams have led the nation in two-point shooting percentage in five of the past seven seasons; in tribute, a supercut of the best of that run to end the terrific Byrd era. (2m19s)
VIDEO: More on UVA below, but kudos to Mamadi Diakite and Jack Salt for doing a terrific job defending Purdue's speed pin downs into dribble handoffs (1m33s)
FAST FACTS: The three-point revolution has been televised. Terrible dad jokes aside, this year's NCAA Tournament has been particularly three-heavy, particularly when it comes to teams who have been sent home. A look at the breakdown since 2010 (image links to original tweet):
FAST FACTS + SCOUTING THREAD: The Elite Eight matchup of Gonzaga vs. Texas Tech gave us the nation's #1 offense vs. #1 defense, somethinig that has happened a handful of times in the past two decades (see below for full list).
And while we all now know the way it turned out, take a look back at this pre-game scouting thread for the Zags vs. Red Raiders -- more on Texas Tech in the next section of the newsletter.
FAST FACTS: Since he took over at Kentucky, John Calipari has largely paced the coaching field in regular season and NCAAT wins — be sure to zoom in to find the name you're looking for! (image links to original tweet):
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[ROUNDUP EXCLUSIVE]
FINAL FOUR: TEAM ESSENTIALS
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Of the four teams in the Final Four, three have been Hoop Vision staples throughout the season, while Auburn was a bit off our radar until their late-season resurgence.
If you're not too familiar with any/all of the teams, we threw together quick-hit "essentials" guides of Hoop Vision content from throughout the season (plus some good stuff from a few friends/peers) to get you up to speed. Each team includes a link out to the scouting video we put together for the NCAA Tournament Bible e-book — presented here exclusively for newsletter subscribers.
(Interested in the full e-book? Purchase to go deep on the concepts, personnel and schemes for all 68 teams in this year's field.)
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VIRGINIA
[VIEW SCOUTING VIDEO]
Included in exclusive scout video:
- De'Andre Hunter three-point shooting
- Continuity ball screen offense
- Ball screen defense
Other UVA greatest hits from the season:
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AUBURN
[VIEW SCOUTING VIDEO
Elements of exclusive scout video:
- Defense to Offense
- Green Light from deep
- Versatile Bigs
- 1-1-3 Defense
- Shuffle Series
- Opponents posting up 5'11 Jared Harper
Not much Hoop Vision coverage on Auburn this year (whoops!), but keep an eye out for a video release tomorrow featuring Auburn's dangerous transition offense.
If you've watched Auburn much at all this year, you have likely recognized how important a role three-pointers in transition play for the Tigers' offensive attack. The Tigers are #1 in the nation in transition threes, and Bryce Brown is an absolute stalwart in that department, a fact illustrated — and then some — in the graph below:
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TEXAS TECH
[VIEW SCOUTING VIDEO]
Included in exclusive scout video:
- "No Middle" defense + sinking to level
- "No Middle" + taking charges
- Motion Offense
Other Red Raiders greatest hits from the season:
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MICHIGAN STATE
[VIEW SCOUTING VIDEO]
Included in exclusive scout video:
- Spartans' transition offense
- Halfcourt offense WITH and WITHOUT Cassius Winston
- Xavier Tillman guarding switches
Other Sparty greatest hits from the season:
In tomorrow's transition offense mentioned above in the Auburn section, you will also get a look at how potent Michigan State can be in transition. We mentioned above how Auburn runs to get open looks from deep; for Michigan State, it's essentially the opposite. The Spartans send Nick Ward on rim runs to get early looks — and Ward has shot over 80% in transition, the highest rate in the country for any player who gets out in transition as often as he does:
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HOOP VISION TRIVIA
In this space, we’ll toss out a trivia question related to some analysis that has appeared on the Twitter account and/or newsletter in recent weeks.
Q: Two teams since 2010 have won their first two NCAA Tournament games by a combined 50+ points. One was this year's Gonzaga Bulldogs. Name the other team.
Last week's question: The two teams who saw zone most often this year (relative to opponent averages) play in the same conference. Which conference?
Last week's answer: Mountain West (Air Force, Nevada)
Reply directly with your answer (or tweet it to @HoopVision68) to be entered into the next trivia contest.
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FEEDBACK? SUGGESTIONS?
Part of the goal of launching this newsletter is to gather feedback from you. We’ll hope to engage this community in the occasional poll, contest, or something else along those lines.
If you have any feedback on what you’d like to see from this, any general thoughts on the Twitter/YouTube/Podcast coverage...or anything really, please fill out THIS FORM. |
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