Mike Brey Talks Team Defense, “Point Of Pickup”
One of the defensive areas Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey has suggested the team was toying with is “point of pickup.”
What exactly is “point of pickup?” Blue & Gold Illustrated asked Brey on Monday if he could expand on the topic.
“We’ve backed it up a bit,” the head coach said. “When we started this season, we had Demetrius picking up and pressuring the ball at half-court, and sometimes three-quarter court. Now our point of pickup is back a little bit with our heels on the three-point line.
“It is so hard to guard people with this new rule when they decide to drive. I think your chances are better when you pick them up at the three-point line than about 10-feet out from there.”
That’s an interesting contrast from the non-conference season, when the staff seemed excited about the idea of utilizing Jackson with some pressure defense in combination with the new lowered shot clock.
“We’re kind of building a wall a little bit more instead of contesting passing lanes,” Brey said. “So our defense has been more guarding a smaller area.
“From Demetrius’s standpoint I think it’s helped him. It doesn’t exhaust him as much, and it also keeps him in a better position to keep people in front of him and out of the lane.”
It remains to be seen how much Notre Dame’s defense can improve by season’s end. One of the most glaring weak points is forcing turnovers — the Irish only force a turnover on 15 percent of their defensive possessions, which ranks 327th in the country according to Kenpom.com
Brey attributes that back to the team’s “point of pickup.” The reward for not forcing those turnovers is cleaning up the defensive glass, which Notre Dame has noticeably excelled at in the last two games.
“The way our defense is playing right now, we’re not really our pressuring or contesting,” Brey said. “So we’re not going to cause turnovers for the most part. So you sure as heck can’t give up second shots.
“You should be in position to rebound because I’ve got you back in a smaller area. And I love what Zach Auguste has done on the backboard. He’s embraced like, ‘I am going to rebound the ball.’ Our guards and Bonzie have been rebounding too though, that’s something Rex [Pflueger] can help with. Keeping a group to one and done is key.”
As much criticism as the defense gets, it’s still important to remember that Notre Dame has the No. 1-rated offense in the country. So while the Irish may not play an aggressive, swarming defense, this team does keep opponents off the free throw line as they also improve on the defensive glass.
And just limiting both second-chance points and charity stripe opportunities should be good enough on most nights — when coupled with the best offense in college basketball.