This season the Massachusetts men's basketball team will have a brand-new coach and a brand-new offense. However, the key to a successful season will be their ability to play old-school defense.
Last year, under coach Travis Ford, UMass focused on creating an up-tempo offense with the gameplan that the Minutemen would outscore their opponents to win games. That tactic didn't take UMass to the NCAA Tournament, but rather to the NIT championship game.
This year will be different under new coach Derek Kellogg. He wants UMass to start winning games with strong defense.
"I'm hoping from watching them last year and this year that [fans] say this year [the Minutemen] are better defensively," Kellogg said. "I'm hoping they say that they know where they are on defense, they're pressuring the ball and those things."
The most talked-about addition Kellogg brought to UMass from his tenure as an assistant at Memphis is the dribble-drive motion offense.
The offense relies on the point guard breaking his defender down off the dribble then either attempting to score himself or finding the open man. However, Kellogg wants UMass to emphasize defense, which he feels is crucial to lasting success.
"It's a long-term project of building this program," Kellogg said. "We're going to build it through tough, solid defense and our dribble-drive motion offense.
"I've seen what I'm trying to do work at the highest level and we are going to build through that blueprint," he added.
The switch in philosophy is partly due to coaching style, but also because of personnel. UMass lost three seniors: Gary Forbes, Etienne Brower and Dante Milligan to graduation. Those players were first, third and fifth on the team in scoring, respectively, and Kellogg acknowledges it is going to be difficult to replace that production, not to mention their experience.
"We don't have the offensive firepower that we had last year," Kellogg said. "Three fifth-year seniors [graduated] and experience in college basketball is as important as anything. If you've got experience, sometimes you can face a team with McDonald's All-American's or better players and beat them. We are lacking experience and guys that have played a lot of minutes."
Kellogg also noted that only three players, senior point guard Chris Lowe, senior forward Tony Gaffney and junior guard Ricky Harris, played substantial minutes last year. It will be the job of those players to lift their game to the next level while mentoring the younger players.
Another reason for the emphasis on defense is the Minutemen's lack of size in the frontcourt. Three games into the season the Minutemen lost seven-footer Luke Bonner for at least a month, and 6-foot-7 forward Matt Hill for the season.
"While [Bonner] has some limitations, he is important to us because he's a senior who knows how to play, he wants to win and knows his responsibilities," Kellogg said. "He's a guy you can rely on to be in the spot he's supposed to be in when he's supposed to be there."
Gaffney, at 6-foot-9, is now the only big man left with any real playing experience. Kellogg must rely on 6-foot-9 freshman Tyrell Lynch to start and hope that he matures quickly. Behind Lynch, the only players over 6-foot-4 are freshman Travon Wilcher and sophomore Matt Glass, but neither is accustomed to playing down-low.
The lack of size will put more pressure on perimeter defenders, such as Lowe and Harris to keep the ball out of the paint, where opponents could punish UMass.
"We're just not deep enough or big enough," Kellogg said. "If teams get in the lane they are going to hurt us. We're going to get into foul trouble, we're going to give up easy shots."
On offense, the Minutemen are built to rely on the play of their starting guards Lowe, Harris and Anthony Gurley to put points on the board. However, it's Lowe who will be under the most pressure to keep the team competitive.
Lowe is the most experienced player on the team and widely recognized as being the most talented Minutemen. He was voted to the Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team after averaging 11.8 points, 5.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game last year. More than anyone else, his level of play will determine how good UMass will be this year.
"The reason why we were so good at Memphis in this style of offense is because our point guards really bought into the system and our style of play," Kellogg said. "I knew [Lowe's reputation] coming in and now I'm trying to get him to take his game to next level for what we are asking of him."
As the point guard, he will have to become the Minutemen's best player on defense in addition to running the new offensive system.
"We're asking a little bit more from him defensively. I want him to be a better point guard on defense than before. I want him to be a leader," Kellogg said. "[On offense] I think he's caught between when to drive to score his own basket and when to drive to serve his team. I want him to serve his team first and worry about scoring next. He's learning; it just takes time."
Something else to watch for on offense is if the new three-point line affects the Minutemen.
This year the college line was moved further back one foot - to 20-feet 9 inches. It may not seem like much, but it will be interesting to see whether their shooting percentage declines as shooters adjust to the new distance. Especially since the Minutemen attempted 25.8 threes per game last year and have 71 tries in three games this season.
UMass' guard trio will have to be in top shape as they are likely to play heavy minutes due to injuries and shallow depth behind them. Kellogg talked about how critical conditioning will be for the Minutemen.
"You are caught between a crossroads of how much do I condition them in practice so that they still have legs for the game, and am I doing enough so that when there is 10 minutes left in the second half they still have gas in the tank," Kellogg said.
Kellogg inherited a difficult out-of-conference schedule - highlighted by Kansas and Vanderbilt - one that he made even more challenging by scheduling a game at Memphis. UMass lost to the NCAA title runner-up Tigers, 80-58, on Nov. 17 and will face defending champion Kansas Dec. 13.
Kellogg has realistic expectations, understanding it is unlikely the Minutemen are ready to defeat a top-tier program, but feels the experience of playing the best teams pays off down the road.
"To realistically go in [against top teams] and beat them, that's a tough task," Kellogg said. "Now, can you go in there, play tough and maybe put a scare into them? Well that's the goal."
Since being hired, the former Minuteman says some of the nostalgia has worn off, but Kellogg is excited for the upcoming season.
"There is nowhere else I would rather be coaching than in this gym right now," Kellogg said, while holding practice at the Mullins Center Thursday. "I'm enjoying being around the guys, but the nostalgia of 'hey! coach is home!' and all that other stuff has worn off.
That's fun until you really start the season, but now the fans want you to win."
How the Minutemen handle the new offense and situation down-low will determine how much they do.
Scott Feldman can be reached at sfeldman@student.umass.edu.
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