DCWildcat
07-18-2007, 04:28 PM
Coaches vary immensely in the degree to which they modify their style of play based on the opponent. Coaches like Roy Williams, Ben Howland, Bill Self, and Tubby generally play the same style, regardless of opponent. Others, like Dook coach, Tim Floyd, Rick Barnes, and Mark Few are willing to radically deviate from their norm to gain an advantage over an opponent.
From past behavior, it seems that Billy G. tends more toward the latter. At A&M, Gillispie won games playing in the 90's, and playing in the 50's. It's tough to determine if he'll do that here, though--he may continue that because he's been so successful with it. Or, he may have only implemented it to counteract the talent disadvantage A&M often had against its elite opponents.
While the question of whether or not Billy G will radically adjust his style within-season is an interesting question in its own right, it also raises the question of how it will impact recruiting. A team that generally plays the same every game generally just needs to target the same kind of recruits over and over. But for a coach who switches it up frequently, that might not be the case.
Gillispie's gone after an interesting and diverse group of recruits. Take a look at point guard. Gillispie's targeted DeAndre Liggins, Rotnei Clarke, and Courtney Fortson. From what I've seen of them, they break down as follows:
Liggins: tall, long, skinny, medium-athleticism, good ballhandling, below average perimeter shot, great passer and basketball IQ
Clarke: average height, short-armed, average build, somewhat unathletic, below average ballhandling, outstanding perimeter shot, average passer and good basketball IQ
Fortson: short, long, well-built, highly athletic, very good ballhandling, average perimeter shot, below average passer and basketball IQ
Those attributes aren't relative to each other, they're relative to an average high school point guard class. Yet the players differ strongly on almost every skill, and run the gamut from low to high on each.
This example suggests that Gillispie may be interested in building a highly versatile team of dissimilar players, perhaps to facilitate a team capable of drastically changing its style of play on a moment's notice. On the other hand, it may simply indicate what Gillispie said when he was hired--that he would target the best of the best players, the ones who are super talented and easily seen as such. Maybe he's going after these three guys not because they're different, but because they all just happen to be very good.
Only time will tell.
From past behavior, it seems that Billy G. tends more toward the latter. At A&M, Gillispie won games playing in the 90's, and playing in the 50's. It's tough to determine if he'll do that here, though--he may continue that because he's been so successful with it. Or, he may have only implemented it to counteract the talent disadvantage A&M often had against its elite opponents.
While the question of whether or not Billy G will radically adjust his style within-season is an interesting question in its own right, it also raises the question of how it will impact recruiting. A team that generally plays the same every game generally just needs to target the same kind of recruits over and over. But for a coach who switches it up frequently, that might not be the case.
Gillispie's gone after an interesting and diverse group of recruits. Take a look at point guard. Gillispie's targeted DeAndre Liggins, Rotnei Clarke, and Courtney Fortson. From what I've seen of them, they break down as follows:
Liggins: tall, long, skinny, medium-athleticism, good ballhandling, below average perimeter shot, great passer and basketball IQ
Clarke: average height, short-armed, average build, somewhat unathletic, below average ballhandling, outstanding perimeter shot, average passer and good basketball IQ
Fortson: short, long, well-built, highly athletic, very good ballhandling, average perimeter shot, below average passer and basketball IQ
Those attributes aren't relative to each other, they're relative to an average high school point guard class. Yet the players differ strongly on almost every skill, and run the gamut from low to high on each.
This example suggests that Gillispie may be interested in building a highly versatile team of dissimilar players, perhaps to facilitate a team capable of drastically changing its style of play on a moment's notice. On the other hand, it may simply indicate what Gillispie said when he was hired--that he would target the best of the best players, the ones who are super talented and easily seen as such. Maybe he's going after these three guys not because they're different, but because they all just happen to be very good.
Only time will tell.