The Final Switch

Brown turns the table on Holy Cross

We may have had the perfect ending to the three-game round robin that was the Brown Bears Invitational, as the previously winless Bears defeated Holy Cross, 68-49, Tuesday.

And it was also the perfect conclusion to what turned out to be a three-part series on switching man-to-man defenses.

The round robin tourney ended up even, with all three teams going 1-1, as Hampton beat Brown, Holy Cross beat Hampton, and Brown defeated Holy Cross.

And the switching angle basically finished all knotted up as well, as Holy Cross, which took advantage of Hampton’s frequent switches Sunday, had a hard time scoring against a Brown defense that does not switch often, especially off the ball. And Brown, of course, lost the tourney opener to Hampton, as it struggled to handle Hampton’s switches.

But Tuesday the difference in the game was how well Mike Martin’s Bears defended Holy Cross playing more of a straight-up style man-to-man, handling screens more with determination and physicality than anything else.

Holy Cross head coach Dave Paulsen said as much after the game.

“Mike’s a really good coach, and they’re solid and they’re sound,’’ Paulsen said, noting the difference in the defensive tactics of Hampton and Brown was one of his prime concerns going into this game. “One of things we talked about on Sunday was adjusting to the switches, and now adjusting to like Brown’s physicality, and I think it had us on our heels.’’

I mentioned in my post on Hampton’s win over Brown, that I can see some of the benefits of switching all screens, but that I was not ready to embrace it for the teams I coach. Perhaps the biggest reason I feel this way, other than communication concerns, is the residual negative effect switching has on a team’s physicality. I prefer my defenders fight through screens, especially off-the-ball screens, rather than just pass their offensive players off to a teammate with a wave or a verbal cue. I believe it makes my players more determined and tougher in all aspects of the game.

Perhaps it was no coincidence then that Brown, which was beaten badly on the boards by Hampton, out-rebounded Holy Cross, 37-29. In fact, the smallest, thinnest guy on the court Tuesday, Brown’s point guard, JJ Jenkins, had eight rebounds for the Bears, more than any Crusader. Keep in mind he did this despite breaking a finger during the game, while already playing through a broken nose. Oh, yeah, he also had a tooth knocked out earlier this season.

Moms, don’t let this influence how you weigh in on the matter, but those things are less likely to happen when you switch everything.