Louisville basketball: 3 goals for Steven Enoch entering 2019-2020 season
By Alan Thomas
Improve setting, slipping, and hedging screens in the pack line defense
Outside of Jack Salt and Zion Williamson, there weren’t many guys that could hold a candle to the mass that is Steve Enoch.
Jack Salt could set and slip screens with the best of them, and Zion could sure hedge them.
In order to set a screen effectively, you have to plant the toe and heel almost simultaneously, with the toe landing milliseconds beforehand.
Enoch had a bad habit of getting caught in between objectives, as his screen setting would be light-footed.
I’d like to see him bring his shoulders in a bit more as well, solidifying his position in the screen. If you don’t stick the landing, then it makes it easy to hedge or easy for an official to call a moving screen.
Everyone is enlightened to the fact that Enoch can be dangerous when left open behind the arc. This was on full display last season.
My hope is that Steve is able to slip screen a tad quicker. At 250 lbs, this is easier said than done, however, I think the anticipation of the slip can get a player in trouble as well.
If the defender knows a slip is coming, he may move in between both players in an attempt to disrupt the passing lane. If Steve can land a screen while using his push-off foot to free himself up, he could accomplish both fooling the defender and giving the player the screen is for more options.
Perhaps the most obvious dimension of coach Chris Mack’s pack-line defense the physicality part of it. In order to be successful, each player must exude toughness and perseverance.
Prime example: hedging ball screens. Steven Enoch lacked 100 percent urgency when it came to the coverage of the ballhandler in a pick situation last season in my opinion. A lot of it had to do with fatigue, which Enoch has addressed this offseason and is working hard to overcome.
When hedging a screen, the defender must be able to anticipate (even if it’s the last second) ball screens in order to level up the ball handler.
Steve is a big fella. If he is able to jump above or in front of the screen, he could actually stand to gain the advantage over the offensive player by forcing his dribble backward instead of the way that the screen was intended to carry the ball handler.
In the pack line, or any defense really, turning your head occasionally to survey the offensive movement can go a long way.
I’d love to see Enoch’s urgency in a ball screen situation speed up by even a split second. It makes all the difference.