Collins’ Classroom: Defense Doesn’t Travel

I’m back, folks. For the three of you out there that noticed my absence, I have been traveling Australia and New Zealand for the past four weeks, spending time with family and on the road. Rest assured, I have watched every Wildcats game since my last article and I finally have time to write about it. While spending time away from home was spectacular and life-changing for me, the same cannot be said for Northwestern’s men’s basketball team. The ‘Cats are 2-3 away from Welsh-Ryan, and followed up their extended road trip with a home loss to Ohio State in a game they easily could have won. As a result, Chris Collins’ bunch has a lot of work to do to re-enter tournament conversations. I’ve tried to include clips from a spread of different games while also keeping this relatively concise given the amount of ground there is to cover. (Note: Like DePaul, I don’t have access to any Virginia or South Carolina tape because the games aired on CBSSN)

Defense

The postgame press conference after Northwestern’s win over Jackson St. made some headlines when Collins said that the team spent the entire week prior practicing defensive fundamentals, echoed by Martinelli and other players. There’s a reason why, though: It’s because the ‘Cats have been simply awful defensively against any team with a pulse. The most troubling trend hasn’t been anything scheme-related, but rather due to a lack of effort. I’ve created a collection of clips, just from the Ohio State game, of exceptionally easy baskets for the Buckeyes as a result of guys not hustling downcourt, giving up ridiculously simple back cuts or getting lazy on switches, putting undersized guards in awful spots inside.

For a team with a thin margin for error on the defensive end already, it’s unacceptable for there to be this much apathy and a lack of focus that results in 10 to 15 free points for a competent opponent. Arrinten Page tends to be the culprit here, although nobody is fully absolvable of blame. What’s so frustrating is that the ‘Cats are more than capable of putting together the kind of defensive possessions we’re used to seeing from them.

Besides for Angelo getting turned around by the crafty Bruce Thornton at the point of attack, everyone is attached on a string to one another in this defensive possession. Martinelli and Page wall up to allow for ‘Gelo to re-enter the play, and not one Ohio State player gains an advantage over his defender the rest of the possession, on the ball or off. I especially love Page’s action here. He never gets pulled out of the paint, his eyes stay on his man at all times and he is threatening in the middle with that athleticism by staying low and balanced. Also, keep an eye on K.J. Windham, who does an awesome job at denying Devin Royal and then fronting him in the post to prevent the entry to the stronger wing. Windham has since been benched (mostly for paltry defensive play), but the skills are still evident.

I plan to go much further into this next week, but Jordan Clayton has been the catalyst for all of the Northwestern success defensively, as infrequent as it has been. He defends at an all-conference level (I promise this is not an exaggeration whatsoever) and makes everyone around him better. He and Ciaravino are the only truly plus defenders on the roster, and need to be on the floor often for NU to improve on that end of the floor. And unlike last year, neither are negatives — both are, in fact, contributing solidly — on the offensive end, which raises the Wildcats’ ceiling if they can get more out of Jayden Reid and the bench mob.

It’s worth noting that while Martinelli is obviously irreplaceable offensively, he has been profoundly awful on the defensive end to a surprising degree, as he’s been a pretty average defender thus far in his career. The team’s defensive rating is a startling 22 points better with Martinelli on the pine, dropping from a below-average 110 to an elite 87. Obviously, he has to be on the floor as one of the most talented scorers in the league, but it means that the pieces around him need to be impactful defensively to mitigate his deficiencies. Lineups with Martinelli, Clayton and Ciaravino are thriving because of the latter two’s perfect fit alongside the former, while lineups with the purported “big three” of Martinelli, Page and Reid have overall struggled, and been significantly worse with either Clayton, Gelo or both not on the floor to help out for three below-average defenders sharing the court.

Offense

The offense has been very good, albeit with some glaring issues in late game situations, no matter the opponent. The offensive rating is 117.4 in their six games against power conference teams. One area where they have struggled is getting consistent production from their starting point guard. Reid was held to single digits in five consecutive games prior to scoring 13 against Valparaiso, and has shot above 50% from the field in just three of 11 games. The assist numbers are high, but the turnovers have taken a jump, too, after he began the season with just seven in his first five games.

One way the ‘Cats can unlock him is by setting up more action where Reid starts getting downhill without the ball in his hands. The first play against Valpo is a super simple design. Reid receives the pass super high, to create plenty of room. It’s a simple give-and-go with Martinelli, who is a perfect partner for Reid on this design; his defender is never going to peel off and step in Reid’s way because of Nicky’s offensive gravity. Martinelli gives a simple hip check to bump Reid’s defender and the defense ends up in a chaotic rotation that leads to an easy layup for Mullins on the back side.

The second play is more or less the same, but defended much better by Oklahoma State. Instead of the kick out as soon as two feet enter the paint, Reid continues his dribble to the other side of the rim, opening up a passing lane to Max Green, who creates a wide open layup for Martinelli (and a jaw-dropping miss).

Reid is so dynamic in the open floor and has undeniably given Northwestern a jolt in their transition offense. His problem has been effectiveness in the half court, where he isn’t scoring efficiently and has a propensity for bad turnovers. Simple designs like this are perfect for him because it turns a half court set into more of a transition opportunity for the speedy guard. Here, Reid gets a head full of steam and his defender is picked off. The help defender has to decide whether to let Reid get to the next line of defense or leave Martinelli, an impossible decision, and shooters or slashers on the weak side create commotion when the ball is kicked back out.

Coach Collins Clip of the Week

We are still waiting on our first vintage Chris Collins freak-out at a referee, but he showed plenty of emotion ripping his team for lackadaisical effort and focus on the defensive end throughout the last month.

Reading lips, Collins is yelling at Jayden Reid, “JR” out of his mouth. He is angry because Reid doesn’t step in to help on a back screen off the ball. While he seems almost congenial in his yell towards Reid, he betrays his emotions with the utter dejection head in hand, world-weary sigh and the closing of the eyes to stop watching what he’s almost being forced to watch. It’s cheating the idea of this segment a bit, but look at assistant coach Shane Southwell’s posture. Chin to palm, fingers splayed across the face — the look of a college student on the tail end of their third 90-minute lecture of the day. Not the ideal look for one of your assistants in a one-point game in conference play. But such is the way the season has gone for Northwestern so far.