With a new coach comes changes. When John Beilein left Michigan to become the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Juwan Howard took over the reigns in Ann Arbor, many wondered what the differences would be. We've seen quite a few (new offensive sets, higher tempo, etc.). On defense, a stark difference is how the Wolverines are covering ball screens — with drop coverage as opposed to hedging with the man who is defending the screener.
Sunday was the first chance a Howard team went up against rival Michigan State, who runs a ball screen heavy offense. U-M had problems last year against it, playing it differently than this year. Before we go any further, we must give credit to MSU senior point guard Cassius Winston, the 2018-19 Big Ten Player of the Year. He is superb with the ball in his hands, particularly when he receives a screen. MSU junior forward Xavier Tillman is very good at the screen-and-roll game, and reaps the rewards of having an elite guard like Winston to find him.
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Hedging Ball Screens
Last season under Beilein, U-M used its big-men, in this case Jon Teske, to hedge the ball screens, meaning that he lunges out in front of the screen, hoping to disrupt the ball-handler, forcing him to stop in his tracks. Then, he has to get back on his original man, the screener. While this is happening, the man guarding the ball must fight over the top of the screen to recover and get in front of the ball- handler.
As you can see in the play above, Teske hedges the screen, doing a decent job. He forces Winston to stop his momentum going left and picks up his dribble while Zavier Simpson is able to get back on Winston. Ignas Brazdeikis is helping Teske by dropping down to guard Tillman while Teske recovers. The problem is, Winston is able to find Matt McQuaid, Brazdeikis' man, on the wing for a three-pointer. Brazdeikis over-helped and the Spartans made him pay, as he wasn't able to get back in time to guard McQuaid.
The over-helping was the problem in the last matchup between U-M and MSU in the Big Ten Tournament, and gave open shots to McQuaid and other Spartans' shooters. McQuaid finished the game with 27 points, shooting 7-for-13 from beyond the arc.
