MU basketball: Defense still a work in progress.
Wojciechowski stresses tenacity
When Steve Wojciechowski played college basketball at Duke in the mid-1990s he was known as a tenacious defensive player. He antagonized opposing players and earned a reputation for being relentless at that end of the court on the way to earning the National Association of Basketball Coaches defensive player of the year honor in his senior year in 1998.
In his three years as Marquette’s head coach, Wojciechowski has tried to instill that tireless, gritty personality in the Golden Eagles.
The results have been mixed.
“Defense is so much of heart and hustle and if you max out your effort it can cover up some defensive mistakes,” Wojciechowski said. “The best defensive teams I was a part of, those guys just played their butts off every possession. They didn’t always do everything right, but they always did things hard. We’ve got to grow to that. I think we can — we’re not there yet, though.”
With just eight scholarship players during his first season, Wojciechowski’s team played with plenty of grit but didn’t have enough talent or depth to be effective in man-to-man schemes and mostly played zone. Last year, Marquette improved defensively and was able to play man-toman — Wojciechowski’s preferred defense — but high turnover numbers and the inconsistencies that come with inexperience kept the Golden Eagles from reaching their potential.
Through 11 games this season, the Golden Eagles have made big advances on the offensive end. They have cut the turnovers and are shooting the lights out, ranking 12th in the country in effective field goal percentage (57.7%), a stat that takes the added value of the three-point shot into account, according to KenPom.com.
On defense, though, progress hasn’t been as positive. Sure, the Golden Eagles are in the top 35 in the country in steal percentage (11.5). They’re also coming off their third-most efficient game, holding Saint Francis to 0.89 points per possession.
However, Marquette’s overall defensive efficiency ranks 104th in the country (sixth in the Big East) at 98.3 points per 100 possessions, heading into Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. tilt against SIU-Edwardsville at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Golden Eagles’ best performances have come against Howard and Western Carolina, but low point totals and strong efficiency numbers can come from poor shooting as much as good defensive play.
Even without advanced stats, it’s easy to recognize the struggles of Marquette’s defense. There are guards getting beat off the dribble with help late to arrive or unprepared to step up; players missing assignments; players rotating slowly or incorrectly from the weak side; teams getting open looks in the paint with defenders left looking quizzically at one another; and various other lapses.
The result has been an allowance of 72.5 points per game, including an average of 80 against major-conference schools, with Marquette going 2-3 in those contests. That 80point figure translates to 1.088 points per possession, an efficiency number that would rank in the bottom quarter of Division I.
What’s the fix that needs to come before Big East play, when Marquette will face major-conference foes for 18plus games in a row?
For Wojciechowski, it’s continuing to push and emphasize what he has all along. He has spent months drilling his team on defense, trying to help his players improve, trying to imprint on them the high level of focus and intensity that are mandatory for success.
“Work on it on the court, watch on film like we’re doing,” Wojciechowski said about his plan to improve the defense after Marquette allowed 93 points to Wisconsin, the most the Badgers have ever scored in the rivalry. “We’re capable of playing it. We’ve shown that for stretches; we’ve got to want to do it for 40 minutes. We need to continue to work harder on it and I take responsibility for that.”
For the players, it comes down to knowing what they need to do as individuals and trusting that their teammates are on the same page.