Colleges

Guarding the trey, Gators have way

Florida regains its winning form by aggressively defending the 3-point line.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published March 31, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS - During Florida's 17-game winning streak, coach Billy Donovan insisted there were some glaring problems with his squad.

At the time, it was hard to see his point.

But when Florida went on a three-game losing streak in mid February, several problems became evident.

One of the biggest concerns? The perimeter defense.

"That's the great equalizer in college basketball," sophomore guard Taurean Green said. "If you defend the 3-point line you are going to have a good chance of winning any night."

And if you don't, you could have some serious problems.

In its three consecutive losses after the 17-0 start, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama hit a combined 26-of-57 shots from 3-point range (45.6 percent).

"We were allowing too much penetration and any time you help from the wing, it leaves 3-point shooters open," junior guard Lee Humphrey said. "The next day after Alabama, we went to practice and went back to the basics."

Donovan and his staff believed correcting the perimeter defense required playing through it.

"When you win 17 games in a row, you don't know what it is or how it is you're going to lose or what causes you to get beat," Donovan said. "We had to go through that streak to understand what it was that was going to get us beat and what causes us to lose. It was the 3-point line. ... It was guys overholding on the wrong guy, giving the 3-point shooter a really good look. Once they started to understand what causes you to lose, then you can work harder to correct it when the basketball game is going on. Being young, we had to go through that."

After an 82-77 loss to Alabama, the Gators' understanding of what needed to be done began to translate into action on the court. In the two games immediately following that game, Georgia shot 4-of-21 from 3-point range and Kentucky was 6-for-24.

In the Gators' nine consecutive victories, Florida has held opponents to 52-of-196 from beyond the arc - a stunning 26.5 percent.

"Everyone talks about their big men in the middle, and rightfully so, but the way they are defending people on the perimeter is a huge part of why they have been so successful in the tournament," CBS analyst Billy Packer said.

Humphrey and Green have been a key to the turnaround. One strategy Florida has focused on is bringing the guards farther out on the perimeter. The premise is simple: even if they get beaten on the dribble in increased man coverage, they have enough quickness and foot speed to recover. That has allowed the Gators to defend more aggressively beyond the arc. And because they are backed by two of the best big men in the nation, Al Horford and Joakim Noah, the guards and forwards don't have to worry as much about helping inside.

"I feel like staying on your man has been the big difference," sophomore Corey Brewer said. "When you stay on your man, and Al and Jo are blocking shots like they're blocking them, it helps a lot."

Film study also revealed that the Gators, lauded for their unselfishness as a team, were being a little too unselfish.

"We were helping our off-guy too much and we were giving up wide open 3s," Brewer said. "With shot blockers like we've got, there's no reason to help. We just let them go on in there to Al and Jo. It's probably going to come back out anyway. You could say it was a case of us trying too much to help. When a guy gets beat, you want to be there to give him help. But we were giving way too much help, then giving up too many 3s."

By leaving the guards out farther, it also has allowed Horford and Noah to become more aggressive when opponents drive inside.

Against Villanova, one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, Florida held the Wildcats to 4-of-23 in Sunday's Elite Eight game.

"They somehow had the ability to contest every shot," Villanova guard Allan Ray said. "There were just very few open looks."

"The way they are playing defense right now, they have the ability to completely alter a game," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "They just bring their guards up in you and force you to take bad shots."

Florida's opponent on Saturday, George Mason, is shooting nearly 36 percent from 3-point range, and Lamar Butler (69-of-185) is the school's all-time leading 3-point shooter. Donovan knows his team will have another challenge because there's no guarantee that the success in the past nine games will translate into 10.

"So much of the 3-point line is based on a team's actions," Donovan said. "What they are playing, where the ball is on the floor. ... Georgetown gets their 3-point shots a lot different from Villanova. Villanova gets theirs a lot different from George Mason. The biggest thing with George Mason is they are really well-balanced, they have great shooting and great low-post players."

[Last modified March 31, 2006, 01:09:18]