Last week, Coach Kelvin Sampson spoke with the media, and one thing that stood out to me was his praise of the UH ball screen defense. Of course, some things need to be improved this early in the season, but defending against the ball screen has been very good. Sampson demands that all five players are active during ball screen defense, and you can see them communicating and helping each other.
There are two things you can be sure of when it comes to UH basketball and defensive schemes. UH will monster trap the post every time, and UH will trap ball screens. Those two things are what I love most about this defense. When monstering the post and trapping the ball screen, the UH defense is proactive and forces offenses to adjust. It’s an attacking defense that takes teams out of their offensive rhythm, forcing them to make decisions early and often on nearly every possession.
Here are some examples from the Oregon game.
Tramon Mark will get screened here, and J’Wan Roberts will jump the ball. Roberts didn’t force the ball to stop, but he didn’t have to. He forced the guard to change directions back to Mark, closing in on the trap. As soon as the guard flips back, J’Wan finds his man, and the rest of the defenders have locked down every passing lane through the defense. The only option was to pull it out and reset it. Not every defensive win is a turnover: this one forced Oregon out of their offense, and by the time they could regroup, half of the shot clock was gone.
This possession starts way outside the three-point line. Oregon tries to set a ball screen with Jamal Shead fighting over the top. Jarace Walker steps out and stops the ball while Shead attacks parallel to the screen. You push the ball-handler into the sideline, getting him to pick up the ball so you can stop the ball movement. You also cut off the passing lanes.
Once Barthelemy gets past the midcourt logo, Shead’s hedging and footwork push the ball to the right. It’s subtle, but the pressure is key to this defense. Shead cuts off the middle of the floor but stays between the ball and the basket.
Jarace is perfectly positioned with a foot inside the screener to prevent the ball-handler from splitting the screen or making a pass inside. When Jarace sees Shead’s move, his quick vertical step helps him slide, and he gets right to the ball-handler, pressuring him to pick up the ball. That forces the quick decision while shrinking the window for a pass. The Oregon guard panicked and threw a soft pass across his body, allowing Arceneaux, stepping up to defend the roller, to pick it off easily.
Arceneaux’s help gets him the steal, but the work on the trap creates the opportunity.
This time, Oregon gives a double high post look. The Ducks wanted to get to the seam, giving the point guard a few options: kick to the corner, pass back out to the 3-point line to the original screener, or hit the center on a lob to the rim after the second pick. But Jarace Walker stopped the ball on the first screen and altered the entire play. He eliminated all but one option, so the PG went there: the first screener, the 7-footer Bittle.
By the time Bittle caught the ball, Jarace had already gotten back into the lane between the ball and the goal. Bittle could shoot it or try to lob to the post rolling to the rim. Jarace was able to get back in front of the center, giving the Coogs coverage on the front and backside. Only a perfect lob beats that coverage.
This defense speeds a team up and then forces them to make decisions. The more you make players think, the more mistakes they will make. After 30-40 possessions, this defense usually breaks teams in the 2nd half. Houston makes every possession a battle, and most teams are not accustomed to working that hard on the offensive end of the floor. It mentally and physically challenges players, forcing them out of their comfort zones.
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