Maybe they're on to something.
For the University of Massachusetts, Saturday's basketball game at Rhode Island has little apparent meaning. With a victory, UMass finishes 10th in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Losing their final regular season game would leave the Minutemen 11th. But UMass (11-17, 6-9 A-10) seems to have a new lease on life, courtesy of a new style that is really an old style.
"I've wanted to play this way all season, but I wanted to make sure we wouldn't wear guys down," coach Derek Kellogg said after Wednesday's 77-62 victory over George Washington.
In that game, Kellogg unleashed his team. The pressing, trapping and fast-breaking approach very much resembled last year's Minutemen, who ran their way to the NIT final.
It may not be enough to win at Rhode Island (22-8, 11-4), which is locked into a second-place finish. But with the Atlantic 10 tournament beckoning next week, the Minutemen feel like their old selves again.
They were happier and more confident Wednesday, reminiscent of the team that won 25 games last year. Point guard Chris Lowe was visibly elated at being unshackled again.
A senior entrusted to run a new offense, Lowe has often looked like a student receiving high grades in geometry, only to be given the course final in calculus. A pressing, baseline-to-baseline style is what he does best.
Kellogg's search for a solid fifth starter also appeared to end. Freshman David Gibbs, a quick and athletic guard who fits the new style, had two assists, two steals and eight points in his first career start.
Kellogg has always wanted to play at a fast pace, but within the structure of the dribble drive motion offense he installed.
This adjustment shows a flexibility within his coaching approach. If UMass flourishes this way, though, the obvious question might be why Kellogg didn't go to it sooner, or simply carry it over from Travis Ford's era.
He had his reasons. Kellogg worried that Tony Gaffney, who played 20 minutes a game last year but is averaging 34 this season, might have been worn out by five months of this tempo.
Lumbering forward Luke Bonner is also ill-suited to a pressing game, and he's a key man this year.
Bonner is averaging 22 minutes, up from 11 last season. Kellogg said the faster pace might cut Bonner's minutes slightly, but that he'll be able to contribute just as much with shorter, quality bursts.
On Wednesday, Bonner kept up just fine. He played 27 minutes, and was at his best at the end.
"How many minutes I get is about the least of what I'm thinking about now," Bonner said. "I don't care. I just want to win."
That is the company line for a team that wants to think its new style, which is really an old one, renders all those losses irrelevant.
"It's been a long season," Gaffney said. "But hopefully, we're clicking at the right time."
For the University of Massachusetts, Saturday's basketball game at Rhode Island has little apparent meaning. With a victory, UMass finishes 10th in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Losing their final regular season game would leave the Minutemen 11th. But UMass (11-17, 6-9 A-10) seems to have a new lease on life, courtesy of a new style that is really an old style.
"I've wanted to play this way all season, but I wanted to make sure we wouldn't wear guys down," coach Derek Kellogg said after Wednesday's 77-62 victory over George Washington.
In that game, Kellogg unleashed his team. The pressing, trapping and fast-breaking approach very much resembled last year's Minutemen, who ran their way to the NIT final.
It may not be enough to win at Rhode Island (22-8, 11-4), which is locked into a second-place finish. But with the Atlantic 10 tournament beckoning next week, the Minutemen feel like their old selves again.
They were happier and more confident Wednesday, reminiscent of the team that won 25 games last year. Point guard Chris Lowe was visibly elated at being unshackled again.
A senior entrusted to run a new offense, Lowe has often looked like a student receiving high grades in geometry, only to be given the course final in calculus. A pressing, baseline-to-baseline style is what he does best.
Kellogg's search for a solid fifth starter also appeared to end. Freshman David Gibbs, a quick and athletic guard who fits the new style, had two assists, two steals and eight points in his first career start.
Kellogg has always wanted to play at a fast pace, but within the structure of the dribble drive motion offense he installed.
This adjustment shows a flexibility within his coaching approach. If UMass flourishes this way, though, the obvious question might be why Kellogg didn't go to it sooner, or simply carry it over from Travis Ford's era.
He had his reasons. Kellogg worried that Tony Gaffney, who played 20 minutes a game last year but is averaging 34 this season, might have been worn out by five months of this tempo.
Lumbering forward Luke Bonner is also ill-suited to a pressing game, and he's a key man this year.
Bonner is averaging 22 minutes, up from 11 last season. Kellogg said the faster pace might cut Bonner's minutes slightly, but that he'll be able to contribute just as much with shorter, quality bursts.
On Wednesday, Bonner kept up just fine. He played 27 minutes, and was at his best at the end.
"How many minutes I get is about the least of what I'm thinking about now," Bonner said. "I don't care. I just want to win."
That is the company line for a team that wants to think its new style, which is really an old one, renders all those losses irrelevant.
"It's been a long season," Gaffney said. "But hopefully, we're clicking at the right time."
