Coach Talk - The Memphis Tigers

The Memphis Tigers bring their explosive offense to Madison Square Garden tonight against Jeff Capel's Oklahoma Sooners. I know, I know - you want to watch Derrick Rose and Joey Dorsey. If you want to get a little deeper into the game, here is what to watch for from Coach Calipari's offense.

According to Cal, he has basically combined the Drive & Kick schemes popularized by Vance Wahlberg (now at Pepperdine) with basic Princeton offense principles. Don't be fooled - this isn't a bunch of eggheads cutting backdoor. Memphis has one of the most athletic teams in the country & uses floor spacing and backdoor cuts to put maximum pressure on the defense.

Wahlberg, who met with Calipari a few years ago and sold him on this offense, once described his offensive philosophy as "attack, attack, skip, attack." The key word - attack.

Memphis will try to constantly attack Oklahoma's defense, especially off the dribble. The basic offensive alignment is one post, two wings in the corners (to space the floor - they will work up from the corner to the wing to get the ball), a point guard and a trailing post who will take the opposite side of the ball. The floor spacing is designed to put each defender on an island, creating a bunch of 1 on 1 situations.

The first option is for the point guard to get a lay-up. Simple, huh? If Rose can get into the paint, he will look to finish, dish to Dorsey on the block, kick it outside for the three (thus the Drive & Kick aspect) or you might even see him throw the ball off the glass to the other side of the basket to Dorsey. It might look like a bad lay-up, but it is really a "glass pass".

If Rose cannot get a lay-up, there are several options for what will happen next. He might run a dribble hand-off with a wing. He might drive at someone closely guarded to set up the Princeton backdoor. He might pass it to the wing and then run right in front of that man - called a blur screen (which isn't actually a screen - it is simply running in front of the defender). Whatever happens, the next option is basically the same as the first one - attack off the dribble to put pressure on the defense.

Here is what you won't see tonight from Memphis - screens. Crazy, huh? There are no screens in Coach Cal's system. But how do you get open? This is where Calipari utilizes the Princeton backdoor principles. If the defense overplays to deny the ball - backdoor. If the defense sags - pass and attack him off the dribble.

Another thing you won't see much - post-ups. Dorsey will not spend much, if any, time battling on the block to get a post-feed. Instead, he will usually play just off the block, forcing his defender to be out of the paint and offering more spacing to get to the basket.

What Memphis really wants to do when it is running its basic offense is drive, kick, drive, kick, drive, lay-up or 3-pointer. Coach Cal does not want mid-range shots - he is looking for lay-ups, threes or, better yet, fouls. Memphis will get into the bonus early in the halves, shooting lots of easy free throws and racking up points.

Why? Because it is hard to guard the ball. Referees call action on the ball much tighter than away from it. At some point, Oklahoma will have to put a hand on Rose or Douglas-Roberts and it will be a foul. Remember this - possessions that end with free throws are the highest scoring possessions in basketball. Coach Cal knows this.

The problem with this offense - if you can guard the ball, you can give this offensive style fits. UCLA shut down Memphis' potent offense in the Elite Eight two years ago. Memphis struggled to get to the paint and then struggled to get open looks.

The offense thrives on freedom, but freedom has its problems. You will see some bad shots, some careless possessions and a fair share of turnovers from the Tigers. Calipari has resigned himself to some of these, but it would drive the Bobby Knights and Gary Williams of the world crazy.

What about a zone? Good luck - Memphis will drive into the paint, then kick it out to its numerous shooters. The best idea might be to play a sagging man in the hopes of keeping the Memphis guards out of the paint and take your chances with the Tigers' shooters. You can also try to get gimmicky with a 1-3-1 or trapping zone to throw off the Tigers' rhythm.

This is a high-scoring, fast-paced offensive system. It isn't fun to guard and isn't easy to stop. Frankly, it is one of the most innovative concepts in basketball today.

From time to time this year, I'll put on my coaching cap and go a little deeper into the game's X's and O's. I hope this helps you enjoy the game tonight.

Coach C