Are we there yet? (HV Weekly 11/13/20)
New Tennessee preview video + links on the state of college basketball.
Welcome back to the Hoop Vision Weekly!
We are less than two weeks out from the start of the season and it’s still, quite frankly, hard to focus on anything besides scheduling — and/or the ability to execute that schedule. We have more on the behind the scenes logistics of college basketball down in the links section at the bottom of this newsletter
However, we also had various forms of live basketball yesterday…
Chet Holmgren looked incredible against Emoni Bates in an ESPN televised game. (In what was a genuinely fun high school game to watch.)
Gonzaga live streamed their intrasquad scrimmage. The Zags looked really good offensively, which of course in an intrasquad scrimmage naturally means they didn’t look really good defensively. The most interesting development to me — besides this Jalen Suggs dunk — was Drew Timme and Anton Watson making plays off the bounce in the open court. We’ve seen that from other recent Gonzaga bigs.
Oklahoma State live streamed another practice on YouTube. If you’re interested in how offensive sets are installed, check out the beginning of the video.
In today’s edition of the newsletter, we have part seven of our preview series — featuring a new YouTube video on Yves Pons and Tennessee.
Tennessee Preview
With over 70% of their minutes returning from last season, Tennessee is expected to make a big jump in the SEC. The Vols are ranked 20th in Ken Pomeroy’s preseason ratings and 12th in the AP Top 25 Poll.
For this week’s preseason preview, I broke down film on Tennessee senior Yves Pons. The eight minute voiceover video below walks you through how Pons fits into Tennessee’s scheme.
Pons — the reigning SEC DPOY — is elite on the defensive side of the ball, but has some significant offensive question marks.
Video topics include:
Pons’ timing as a shot blocker and fixing defensive breakdowns
Defensive switches on the perimeter
Tennessee’s defensive rebounding and fouling struggles
Defensive coverages against Pons
Davidson’s stagger screens and how they compare to Tennessee’s motion
Pons’ go-to move in the post
Comparisons to Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield
We now have seven preseason previews available for Hoop Vision PLUS subscribers.
Part one: Villanova. Part two: Illinois. Part three: Louisville. Part four: Richmond. Part five: Creighton. Part six: Duke. Part seven: Tennessee.
By signing up for HV+, you will receive our subscriber-only “Starting Five” newsletter every Monday during the college basketball season.
Links from around the internet
As mentioned up top, it’s admittedly difficult to focus on anything other than scheduling logistics right now in the college basketball world (we’re still trying though).
With less than two weeks until the season tips off, we have reached the cut off where actual games now have the potential to be postponed or cancelled due to COVID outbreaks.
Here are some of the articles on the general state of college basketball I’ve found particularly interesting.
Andy Wittry wrote about how game contracts have changed during the pandemic in his latest newsletter — with lots of specific details and examples in there.
Utah and Fresno State are headed to court over a cancelled game. It’s a result of Fresno State attempting to hold Utah to the terms of a game contract that was signed in May.
A couple of MAAC head coaches — both on the record — sound very pessimistic about the state of college basketball.
Dan Gavitt sounds very optimistic about the state of college basketball.