3. Dominating Defense
With Cadeau, McKenney, Cason, Gayle, Burnett, and Yax, Michigan has six “plus” one-on-one defenders. Combining that with the switch-heavy tactic the Wolverines employ, it means that the defense can be extended beyond the three-point line. When you have shot erasers in Johnson, Mara, and Yax, the defense can play the pass, gamble on steals, and run three-point shooters off their spot. This is defensive control when you force opponents to take difficult outside shots, make that extra pass, or risk getting the ball back in your face if you take it to the rim.
Facing rim protectors and athletic defenders means that there'll need to be adjustments to the game plan. Teams with slashers like Wake Forest will have to live on pull ups or dishes to a nominally open wing or corner. Isolations will not be all that effective. At one point against Oakland, a Grizzlie posted Cadeau on the right block and tried to get more space by bumping him three times and launching a fade away that Mara blocked with his left hand.
When facing dominant big men, adjustments must be made, and since having your players grow taller isn’t an option, changing the game plan is the only thing left for Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes to do. He’s going to need plan B and C. And what we really want to see is that these plans won’t work either.