Ben Howland's Offense

[Big4Dawg]

I've seen it mentioned that he has a slower paced offense. Found this in a USA Today article (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2015/02/21/college-basketball-former-ucla-coach-ben-howland/23569565/):


Howland went to more of a fast-break, up-tempo offense in his final season, and the Bruins went from 69 points a game the year before to 74 per game, winning the Pac-12 regular season with a 13-5 record.

They were routed in their NCAA tournament opener by Minnesota, and Howland was out.

He's sorry he didn't play faster sooner.

"It's something I should have done much earlier in my career," he says. "That is a regret, because I thought it really helped us. (Arizona coach) Sean Miller told me this fall it was really tough for them to deal with how much we pushed the ball. We beat them three times that year. That's something ? pushing the tempo ? that I'll always do moving forward. It really helped."

Sounds like he learns from his past and we will have an exciting offense.

[Big4Dawg]

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/why-ben-howland-is-an-ideal-hire-for-rebuilding-mississippi-state-183420098.html

Another good article.


One thing Mississippi State will never have to worry about is Howland's work ethic or attentional to detail. He was maniacal in those areas to a fault in his past jobs.

At Northern Arizona, players recall him checking their fingernails before practices and suggesting they dress in layers on the road to avoid catching a cold. At UCLA, Howland handed out down-to-the-minute itineraries before road trips and draped blankets over the clocks at Pauley Pavilion so players didn't know what time it was during practice.

If someone was a few minutes late to catch the team bus, Howland would leave him behind. If someone didn't dive after a loose ball to his satisfaction, Howland would roll a ball from underneath the basket and have two players scramble after it and wrestle for possession.

The problem with that obsessive attention to detail is that it tends to wear on players and staffers after a few years.

Kevin Love once told me during his lone season at UCLA, "It might drive you a little crazy sometimes, but at the end of the day the guy's going to help you win." Other players who followed Love weren't as willing to put up with it.

[smootness]

Yeah, I hope he'll have softened just a tad on a little of the over-the-top stuff. And it seems he has.

But I really don't have a problem with much of that. It does wear on players, but it also helps to know exactly what is expected of you.

[Big4Dawg]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAiHZhQZksQ

Skip to 3:30 to hear him talk about the kind of job he wants.

[lachepas565]

He went from middle of the pack in possessions per game to 30th in the nation in his final year per KenPom

[BeardoMSU]

Hopefully our tailors will get him wearing something other than double-breasted jackets***

[dparker]

Hopefully our tailors will get him wearing something other than double-breasted jackets***

Maybe he can get some of those Velour Suits RR wore. :)

[smootness]

One thing I found very interesting in reading more about Howland is the fact that he coached somewhat differently everywhere he went. Said at Northern Arizona, he based his offense around 3-point shooters. At Pitt, he found tough, rugged guys and just beat teams up physically. And at UCLA, he got big-time recruits and played a slightly less physical style while still focusing on defense, and his offense was more structured.

It seems like he's able to work with whatever will lead to most success wherever he is, and he does it at a very high level. My guess is that here, he will get more long, athletic types and continue to try to push the ball more. And obviously we should be very good defending and rebounding.