GW's defensive approach forcing opponents into trashy habits
The defensive scheme Mike Lonergan once called a gimmick is now becoming a calling card for George Washington men's basketball team.
Gimmick, perhaps, but based on the results, don't call the 1-3-1 rubbish. That an opposing coach resorted to using trash cans during practice to help his players understand the zone speaks to the effectiveness of the seldom-used strategy.
The Colonials (11-3, 1-0) enter Tuesday's Atlantic 10 home opener against Saint Louis (8-6, 0-1) riding a five-game winning streak. Keeping perimeter players off-balance accounts for a chunk of the success. GW ranks among the top 30 teams nationally in 3-point field goal defense (28.2 percent), but the zone's effect on both teams goes beyond numbers.
Not a particularly big or beefy team this season, Lonergan says the 1-3-1 "buys us some time" when it comes to dealing with foul trouble or avoiding certain one-on-one-defensive matchups. Perhaps more importantly, because so few teams at the college or high school use this specific concept, opponents take time away from their usual practices habits to prep for the Colonials. GW reached the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2007.
"It's hard to prepare for because a lot of kids growing up don't play it so when they go over it in practice it's not the same," Lonergan said during the A-10's teleconference this week. "We work on it a lot."
Unlike Syracuse's exclusive use of a 2-3 matchup zone, GW bounces in and out of their defensive looks. Yet it's the 1-3-1 that keeps opposing coaches up at night.
"The difficulty of it is you try to get a scout team to do that," Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said. "If it's not something you have in your 'bag of tricks,' then you try to teach them doing something they're not comfortable with in a [short] period. That is hard."
The Hawks' adjustment period took longer than desired in Saturday's meeting in Philadelphia. GW controlled throughout and led by 20 points deep into the second half before fending off a late rally for a 64-60 win. St. Joseph's shot 42 percent from the field and went 5 of 17 (29.4 percent) on 3-pointers.
"We practiced against [1-3-1] in some different ways. We put the defensive team stationary out there so the players could get a feel for where the bodies would be. We did it against trash cans to give them an idea where gaps could develop," Martelli said.
Lonergan's defensive approach in recent seasons is one born out of necessity and cultivated since his playing days.
"When I was in college with [Catholic head coach] Jack Bruen we ran it a little bit. I actually got to play up top even though I was very small," the honest coach said with a laugh. "I thought it was a lot fun, gave us a lot of freedom with it."
Lonergan didn't take over the Foggy Bottom program in the spring of 2011 with the definitive plan of using the 1-3-1 a little or a lot. Having aggressive wing options like Patricio Garino, one of the national leaders in steals, and Kethan Savage has turned the scheme into a staple.
"We were young and weak physically a couple of years ago so we started playing it to guard against foul trouble and different things," the coach said. "It's worked pretty well.
"Some games we can stick with it. Some games it hurts us. You have to be very disciplined in it. Sometimes our guys are out of position in and it taking chances."
The zone allows freshman and 3-point threat Yuta Watanabe to stay on the court for extended minutes while keeping the slender 6-foot-8 forward away from the rugged action inside.
"Some teams went at him physically and he had trouble guarding, especially inside. Playing him in the 1-3-1 takes advantage of his length. His lack of strength doesn't hurt as much especially if we put him up top. It hides some of our weaknesses," Lonergan said.
One weakness had been bench scoring. As of late, the key word is had. Watanabe has scored at least 10 points and played at least 23 minutes in four straight games. The Japanese product is also becoming a blueprint for what Lonergan now looks for with the 1-3-1 in mind.
"We're trying to recruit some longer, athletic guys so it's become a little bit of our niche," Lonergan said, "so I hope we can keep having success with it."
