THE ASSISTANT COACH'S OBSERVATIONS

After watching the first two games of the NCAA basketball tournament a few things became apparent:

1) You had better make free throws.
West Virginia missed crucial free throws that would have won the game in regulation or sealed the victory in overtime. Memphis is in trouble.

2) You had better be able to play a zone defense.
Washinton State learned the hard way that if you are not as athletic as the team you are playing then are in trouble. WSU does not play zone and I think this hurt them. Not saying that they would have won this game but it might have changed the tempo. The Cougs wanted a slower tempo and a zone defense at strategic moments might have slowed the Tarheels down. It also might have made them shoot outside shots instead of layins.

3) Great coaching prevails in the end.
What a great play diagrammed by Xavier coach Sean Miller late in the game with 2 seconds on the shot clock. He knew that West Virginia would switch all screens in their match up zone so he had his best inside scorer set a backpick for his shooter who flared to the opposite wing. The result...a skip pass, miscommunication and a three pointer as the shot clock expired. Great coaching gets Xavier a big win.

4) You better be able to shoot it especially from behind the arc.
Just ask the defensive minded Cougars who shot 31 percent from the field and made only 12 percent from 3 point land on its way to a 20 point loss. North Carolina on the other hand shot 48 percent and 33 from behind the arc. You have to be able to stroke it to make a run at the title.

5) Posting in the middle of the key is difficult to stop.
Bob Huggins got a lot of mileage out of having his best player Joe Alexander catch the ball at the top of the key and then having his post duck into the middle of the key. The defender has to make a choice on which side to defend and Alexander would either stroke the 3 or pass away from the defense. Great philosophy.

6) The 15 foot bank shot is underrated.
After watching Joe Alexander hit shot after shot using the backboard and then tying the game with a clutch 15 foot bank shot I became a fan, of both Alexander and the bank shot. The bank shot is difficult to block, you don't have to worry about velocity and it is easy to teach. I'm sold.