This past week, Florida basketball offered the media access to a practice and a chance to quiz coach Todd Golden. When Golden was questioned about what statistical advancements in defence are necessary to make a leap, one of his responses stood out as very intriguing. What he said was as follows:
Indeed, I believe that the primary concerns that will occupy our minds will be our two-point field goal percentage and the need for us to improve as a rim-protecting squad in the grand scheme of things. We really need to improve in that area because it involves both protecting the rim and ensuring that they don’t get as many rim shots. Our ball-screen defence has to get much better, in my opinion. Finally, we need to improve our ability to defend without drawing a foul. I believe that if we can significantly enhance those three areas, we’ll be able to take the necessary action.Our transition defence is solid, and we did a decent job of guarding the three last year, but I believe the other three areas will really dictate how much of a jump we actually make.
When you go back and examine the statistics, Golden’s remarks regarding Florida’s pick and roll defence become extremely intriguing. Given that Florida’s rim protection was obviously lacking, Golden’s remarks made perfect sense when he brought up the subject. He made a lot of sense when he commented on Florida’s fouling because the team’s fouling statistics were quite obvious.
The desire to improve pick and roll defence from year to year and observations made during practice with the new players that point to the necessity for the squad to make significant progress in this area are probably the main contributing factors. As we begin to hear about scrimmages and eventually move into the 2024–25 season, Golden’s remarks on the pick and roll defence are very intriguing, especially in light of the stark statistics that support the other remarks he made. You can never discuss protecting the pick and roll enough in college basketball because it is so important.
