A lot has been made of SDSU’s defense during their NCAA Tournament run. National analysts have been lauding the Aztecs commitment to D for a few weeks now.
It’s easy to look at the box scores, see the Aztecs hold everyone under 70 points and 22% from 3-point range, and say their defense IS great. But what MAKES it great? We can boil it down to three things:
Trust, versatility, and effort.
Most college basketball offenses have a few points of emphasis. The Aztecs are designed and drilled to take them all away. One thing a lot of teams rely on is passing. A ball handler will try to dribble into the lane and if he doesn’t get an easy path to the basket, try to draw defenders to him and kick the ball out to an open shooter on the perimeter for an open 3-pointer. Here’s where trust comes in.
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Let's Go, Aztecs
The Aztecs play tremendous help defense without overcommitting to any single player. When a ball handler tries to get to the paint SDSU will have a player defending off the ball step in quickly to shut down the driving lane. But, while most teams will bring that defender all the way in to deny any more progress, the Aztecs only move a step or two. That off-ball defender is trusting that simply showing his presence will give his teammate enough help to stay in front of the ball handler, forcing a pass instead of allowing a drive to the basket for a layup.
By doing this it also keeps that off-ball player a lot closer to his assignment. The entire SDSU roster has length and quick feet. By relying on their teammates to do their jobs they’re able to clog up passing lanes and without losing the ability to close out on shooters and contest what would normally be an open look because they only have to make up three steps instead of four or five. They did that brilliantly against Alabama and star freshman Brandon Miller, frustrating him into a 3-for-19 shooting night.
If the drive and dish approach isn’t working opposing offenses can try creating mismatches. The most common tactic for that is setting screens and forcing defenders to switch assignments, perhaps forcing a center out on a much quicker guard. That doesn’t work against San Diego State because of their versatility. Aztecs defenders can guard literally any position on the floor. For example, center Nathan Mensah, all 6’10” of him, has successfully defended point guards.
San Diego State recruits players who have that kind of ability but, even more importantly, they find guys who are willing defenders. Playing defense is about pride. It’s about an attitude, a physicality where you crave contact and doing the dirty work. Defense is not sexy. It doesn’t earn you national player of the year votes or put you in the NBA Draft Lottery.
What it does is win a heck of a lot of basketball games.
The Aztecs have a roster full of players who want to succeed in the system. It started with Steve Fisher and has hit another gear under Brian Dutcher. By believing in the process, and committing to being part of something larger than themselves, they’ve put themselves in position to go down in history as National Champions.
