Defense in College Basketball

Chris strikes back for the college boys in his defense of NCAA defense.

Let's get this out of the way before we start: everyone knows that, day in and day out, NCAA defenders are hustling twice as hard as their NBA counterparts. This is a fact that both sides of the argument will concede. Yet, NBA fan boys will try to distract you with tales of Rodman facing up with Jordan in the 80s or how good Kobe can be when he actually decides to try on defense. But, at the end of the day, impressive as the performances behind these tales are, they are just that: tales, anecdotes of an uncharacteristically high level of play which are as scarce on the court as Marbury in the Knicks locker room.

But setting the tired "hustle" argument aside, there are more reasons why NCAA defense is better to watch than NBA. The claim made previously is true: it is rare to see a match up between two players who have "learned all of the nuances of professional basketball" in the NCAA. Which is exactly why I like it. The formula for effective scoring in the NBA is simple - beat your man, and either pull up for a jumper or get to the rack. Effective NBA defense is the just the balance of the equation - stop your man... and hope like hell your teammates are doing the same. The so-called "nuances of professional basketball" could be learned playing one-on-one. The college game emphasizes help defense and rewards teamwork and strategy. I'm not trying to say this always works out well - just look at Loyola-Maryland's fated "triangle and two" against Davidson and Steph Curry for evidence - but when it does, the precise coordination of five players acting in symphony is beautiful to watch. How often does an entire NBA arena rise to its feet in support of a defensive stand? The fact of the matter is this actually happens during the first half of regular season games in Durham and East Lansing. Seriously. Sure the student section has something to do with it, but it's also indicative of the attitude towards the game at the college level: either live as a team, or die, as individuals.*

*Coach Tony D'Amato, Any Given Sunday, 1999

NCAA vs. NBA: Defense

By me. Yes, I really do believe that NBA defense is better.

Most college proponents will immediately tell you that defense is the main flaw of the professional game but this could not be farther from the truth. “No one tries on defense in the NBA… the college kids actually care,” complain college proponents. Don’t get me wrong… the lack of defensive effort in the NBA – especially early in the season – can be appalling. That said, without getting into how some guys don’t try in college either or how the NBA has more skilled shot blockers, the defense in the NBA is better because while it is sometimes lackadaisical, it can also be one of the most beautiful spectacles in basketball. In college, a truly great defender and an equally skilled offensive player rarely match up, and when they do, you are looking at two players who are still years from learning all the nuances of professional basketball. On the other hand, in the NBA, you can routinely catch the best defenders in the world plying their trade against the best scorers in the world. I’d rather watch an NBA game where a team’s main offensive weapon is being guarded by Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Raja Bell, Kobe (when he’s made up his mind to stop someone good), Bruce Bowen (not so much anymore) or Shane Battier than a college game where the best scorers can be bogged down by collapsing zones. I love watching these guys harass pretty boy scorers and chase them around screens and then close out hard on their jump shots. If you like players who hustle on every play and can’t dribble well enough to break any zone thrown at them then why not just watch the WNBA? If you want to see the best perimeter defender in the world, watch Ron Artest. We’re raising a generation of kids to think that “good defense” is taking charges under the hoop and seamlessly switching between 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones, and the best way to learn defense is to practice sliding back and forth. The truth is that actual good defense is about relentlessness, subtle technique, and simply wanting it more than the next guy. I’d rather watch one guy play world-class defense than watch 5 guys hustle.

But let’s get into more details since not everyone is as excited about perimeter defense as me. I do believe there’s a time and a place for everything – including zone defense – and that is college. (Zones should be banned below – and arguably even in – high school for teaching purposes.) Zones introduce a nice element of strategy to the game and it’s interesting to see coaches utilize them (even if they do tend to shackle low post talent… but we’ll get into that later when discussing offense). Overall, though, zone defense makes it easier to inferior teams to bog down brilliant offensive talent and it leads to an overabundance of three-pointers – even more so because the three-point line is too close in college. Even if they banned zones in college, I’d prefer watching NBA defense as a whole. Granted some NBA teams might play porous defense at times but the best teams in the league play the best team defense you will ever see. Kevin Garnett blocks shots, defends in the post and on the perimeter, hedges pick-and-rolls to perfection, and generally motivates his teammates to play harder. Watching Boston’s (or Lakers/Cavs) team defense, in my opinion, is superior to watching anything in college and it’s even more impressive when you take into account illegal defense, the charge circle (which college should adopt), and better players.

NCAA vs. NBA: The Great Debate

Don’t get me wrong, March Madness is my favorite tournament in all of sports. From the initial 32 game frenzy to the timeless “One Shining Moment”, the tournament simply has it all. Tournament aside, college basketball players try harder over the course of the season and the atmosphere at your average college game puts an NBA game to shame. And yet, I’d rather watch Wizards-Grizzlies than a random match-up of two top 25 NCAA teams. Many would call it hoops blasphemy but I think the NBA is vastly superior. Therefore, over the course of the next week, we here at IAmNotAWitness, are going to argue for the sake of arguing over which version of Naismith's incredible game is better. We're going to break it down by topic. My buddy Chris will be the main proponent of NCAA ball and I'll take the NBA but, as always, reader submissions/testimonials are welcome. The first topic is defense and should be posted shortly.