Moving Without the Ball

[What Would Jesus Do?]

One of the real pleasures this season was watching Justin Jackson move without the ball. I can't think of anyone better in the Roy era, although I'm probably forgetting someone. We have certainly had guys who could move well without the ball, but I can't think of anyone who was so relentless about actually doing it.

That gave defenders fits, wore them down, and often led to buckets. It helped prevent other teams from settling in defensively.

Who do we have on our returning team who can give us that added dimension? Brandon? Theo? Seventh? How about newcomers? Jalek? Andrew?

Obviously the player has to be a legit offensive threat - otherwise opponents don't have to cover him closely. And he has to be quick. And he has to have a lot of stamina. It didn't hurt that Justin was tall, but I'm not sure that's a requirement.

 

[Tigertown_a_Rick]

I know that I'm going back a ways, but the way that Jackson moved without the basketball reminded me somewhat of how Bobby Jones used to play...Of course, Jackson was a better scorer from the perimeter than Jones, but both were outstanding defenders, and both slashed their way to the basket in a similar fashion when they took it to the hole...Although, Jones was a little bit bigger, and a better rebounder than Jackson, but they both had a similar body type...As you mentioned, it's hard to defend, and score against a guy who has a continuous motor on both ends of the floor!

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Moving w/o the ball= lost art
Wayne Ellington did it well also

 

[GoNtheDistance]

I immediately thought of Ellington as well. Donald Williams was another good one off the ball. All could come off a screen and find their shot. No coincidence that we won it all with all 3.

McCants believe it or not was also pretty good off the ball but nowhere near Jackson, Ellington and Williams.

 

[gobblercalls]

O'Koren and Lebo worked hard to get open as well. The young guys we have will do fine as soon as they understand the expectations and learn the tricks!

 

[TPFKAPFS]

MJ was in constant motion and so was Bullock! Bullock especially was in better shape than most of the peeps that tried to guard him! His shot was developed, but his strength/stamina and driving skills were already present when he arrived.

 

[dadika13]

Ellington was incredible at it.

 

[dadika13]

Remember when Miami was dumb enough to zone us with Lawson and Ellington running the show?

 

[gary-7]

One of the real pleasures this season was watching Justin Jackson move without the ball. I can't think of anyone better in the Roy era, although I'm probably forgetting someone. We have certainly had guys who could move well without the ball, but I can't think of anyone who was so relentless about actually doing it.

That gave defenders fits, wore them down, and often led to buckets. It helped prevent other teams from settling in defensively.

Who do we have on our returning team who can give us that added dimension? Brandon? Theo? Seventh? How about newcomers? Jalek? Andrew?

Obviously the player has to be a legit offensive threat - otherwise opponents don't have to cover him closely. And he has to be quick. And he has to have a lot of stamina. It didn't hurt that Justin was tall, but I'm not sure that's a requirement.

Moving without the ball is a lost art to many elite kids, and it was the first thing that stood out about Buckets coming in --- I believe I used the old-school John Havlicek reference. I'll tell ya who else did a great job with that (once we moved him off the ball) was Marcus.

And you're right... it wears defenses down, and it's an intregal part of our Passing Game offense. The guys you always have to push hardest to stay in motion are the Bigs, for obvious reasons and the fact that they have to work so hard in the trenches to muscle up for position. One of the keys to our success is we reward them. If Bigs never get the ball, they tend to become inert (like in, um, Durham).

 

[gary-7]

O'Koren and Lebo worked hard to get open as well. The young guys we have will do fine as soon as they understand the expectations and learn the tricks!

Those guys were walking clinics. I used to show my players old film of Lebo. He did everything right.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Moving without the ball is a lost art to many elite kids, and it was the first thing that stood out about Buckets coming in --- I believe I used the old-school John Havlicek reference. I'll tell ya who else did a great job with that (once we moved him off the ball) was Marcus.

And you're right... it wears defenses down, and it's an itregal part of our Passing Game offense. The guys you always have to push hardest to stay in motion are the Bigs, for obvious reasons and the fact that they have to work so hard in the trenches to muscle up for position. One of the keys to our success is we reward them. If Bigs never get the ball, they tend to become inert (like in, um, Durham).

I agree about Marcus, now that you mention it. Especially as a senior.