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Return of the scramble defense?

George Mason Basketball: Return of the scramble defense?

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Friday, May 08, 2009

Return of the scramble defense?

Coach Larrananga has always been a defensive guru and it has been the epicenter of his success for years. Older Mason basketball fans will remember the scramble defense as it is exciting to watch when executed properly and recently Larranaga has been hinting that is will be used more this season. Basically the scramble defense is an in-your-face type of approach and it emphasizes putting constant pressure on the ball handler. It's a man-to-man defense with trapping principals designed to take your opponents out of their offensive rhythm. As you can imagine it generates many steals and it was Mason's bread and butter in the late 90s. Recent post players Will Thomas, Jai Lewis, and Darryl Monroe weren't quite fitted for this type of defense as their games didn't involve leaving the paint often, so as a result we haven't seen the scramble much in recent seasons. Mason basketball legend George Evans made a killing in the scramble defense as a versatile forward and some might crucify me for this but I believe Ryan Pearson's game draws a slight resemblance. The talent and athletism are there on the roster for next season but experience is an issue and it will take time for the players to gel together when executing the scramble. But in any sense it's obvious Coach L now has the athletes needed to run this type of defense reguarly and irritate opponents all year long in the CAA.

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