Seton Hall's Quincy McKnight, Butler's Aaron Thompson
Defense Still Part of the Winning Formula
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to
BIGEAST.com
Let’s face it, in the Land of College Basketball, offense appears to be the king.
It’s offense that leads the highlights on the nightly wrap-up shows. It’s another 30-point performance by Markus Howard or Myles Powell that dominates the conversation the next day. It’s watching Creighton fire three-ball after three-ball in true Bluejays’ “let-it-fly” style that is adored by the 17,000-plus fans that witness each Creighton home game.
Defense? When’s the last time some TV talking head led with a great steal, a clutch rebound or a majestic blocked shot? OK, maybe a little more lately on that blocked shot thing, thanks to Seton Hall’s Romaro Gill. But you get the point. It seems defense will always be the ugly stepchild to offense.
But try winning a championship without it.
Not going to happen. And while it may not attract the attention or grab the headlines like an explosive offense performance, it is still as important to the game as it always has been. Just as Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing, who knows a thing or two about how vital defense is because, you know, all he did was win four consecutive BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year awards during his days at Georgetown and win a national championship by terrorizing teams from the paint.
“It’s still vital,” the Head Hoya said. “If you look at teams that win, you have to be able to score but if you can’t get stops, two, three, four, five stops in a row, it’s going to be tough to win. Defense is always going to be important.”
Exhibit A, the Butler Bulldogs. LaVall Jordan’s team hangs its success this season on its stingy defensive play and used it to reach No. 5 in the AP rankings earlier this month, the highest ever for a Butler team. And they also own one of the top defenders in the conference in junior guard Aaron Thompson.
“Aaron’s impact on our team is great on both ends of the court,” Jordan said. “He’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen on the ball and he’s got a high (basketball) IQ and he uses it on both ends of the floor. He has the ability to anticipate on defense and he’s a strong kid. Defensively he studies scouting reports and other team’s personnel and tendencies. He’s just a student of the game (and) certainly he’s important to our team.”
Thompson’s play this season has also made a fan of an opposing BIG EAST coach.
“He’s probably one of the better on-ball defenders that this league has so it’s hard to screen him and he’s never out of position,” DePaul head coach Dave Leitao said. “I think he’s a tremendous individual in terms of what his impact on a team can be on both ends of the floor without having to be one of the league leaders in scoring and all the other things people judge players by.”
Thompson’s superb defensive play has earned him a spot on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year midseason team. He was joined on that elite squad by Seton Hall’s Quincy McKnight, another of the conference’s premier defenders and a big key to the Pirates’ success this season.
“I think we kind of get our identity defensively from Quincy,” Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard said. “He brings the toughness, grit and a workmanlike attitude to the defensive end. He’s always going to guard the best player but I think more than anything he brings a mentality to our team that we’re going to be a great defensive team. It all starts with him. It’s just his attitude and his toughness.”
Leitao has a defensive stalwart of his own in junior forward Paul Reed. The 6-9 Reed is accomplished on both ends of the court, being a Top 10 scorer in the conference. But it’s his defensive presence that has made DePaul a tough out each game night as he ranks first in rebounding (11.3 rpg), second in blocked shots (2.9) and is tied for fourth in steals (1.9). Talk about a well-rounded player.
“Defenders defend in a lot of different ways and Paul’s way of doing it is to block shots and be in passing lanes and get steals and he does a phenomenal job at it,” Leitao said. “He’s amongst the league leaders in all those categories. So you tip your hat to him, especially because of the position he plays. To be able to get those steals when he’s on the backline and to be able to defend and block shots and alter shots is a very unique thing.”
One player who did not land on the Naismith list was Providence’s sophomore gem David Duke. A catastrophic oversight, in the opinion of Friars’ head coach Ed Cooley, who puts his guard in the same class as both McKnight and Thompson.
“I think we have three of the better guards in the country that can guard the ball,” Cooley said. “How David is not on that list is an absolute joke. But part of it, too, is their team’s success. I think when you’re getting some of these individual awards, team success ties into that. Both McKnight and the kid from Butler deserve that because of the way their team is winning. But David is an elite-level defender with his length, his strength, his quickness (and) his toughness. I’m proud to say those three dudes are in our league. They’re very hard to go up against, they can defend just about any position and it’s something to be said about our conference. When you’ve got those level of defenders in your league it makes for some tough nights when you’re playing against those guys.”
And maybe, just maybe, Thompson, McKnight, Reed or Duke will lead the highlight shows some night soon after yet another stellar defensive performance.
Fingers crossed.