"Canisius scorer Billy Baron breaks down the pick and roll"

[FU73]

From SI.com's College Basketball Chalkboard on Billy Baron:

The nation’s third-leading scorer as of Friday morning at 24.9 points per game, Canisius’ senior guard utilizes a high ball screen to fuel most of his team’s offense. The Golden Griffins call a few set plays, but largely it is Baron with the ball in his hands, diagnosing how a team will defend that pick-and-roll, and proceeding accordingly.

“That’s big, that’s like the engine right there,” Baron said. “Personally, I feel that’s my biggest strength, is working that pick and roll. Not necessarily because I’m the quickest guy in the world or anything like that. I just know what moves to make, what reads to make. I know what’s going to happen.”

Baron broke down just how he knows what he knows — the various reads and keys and reactions involved in playing off a simple screen and how he maximizes what he sees.

The setup. First, Baron watches film of the other team to assess its tendencies, particularly against the screen-and-roll. The off-ball defender is likely to hedge the screen to one degree or another, which is the next cue for how Baron will approach a game.....

college-basketball.si.com/2014/02/21/the-chalkboard-canisius-scorer-billy-baron-breaks-down-the-pick-and-roll/

[stagparty]

Well, what do you know --- some teams don't just simply chuck up 3's. I'm impressed.

[toryluv1]

Thats terrific ..a real strategy to score..gosh maybe one day we can learn something like that.

[JoeStag]

One of the things we need to run a better Pick and Roll is that we need a Big Man who can Handle/Pass/Shoot. Evanovich and MOS were very good at that working with Needham and Han. I expect Degnan to be very effective in that role next year, and I think Smith could be effective setting picks. Right now our pick and roll/pop has been limited to Rose and Barrow, which has worked to some level of success, but we really need that passing Big Man too.

[nashvillestag]

The thing about Baron that makes him such a threat in this aspect of the game is that he is tremendously gifted in all areas that you need to be in order to have the desired success on a majority of the possessions. The fact that he is a great ballhandler, passer and shooter is the foundation he needs. But what really makes him lethal is the intelligence and "basketball sense" that he possesses, a trait that obviously comes out here in this article that shows how much he (and I'm sure his dad) analyzes what has to be done. And of course you do have to have a big man or two that are proficient in areas that complement his actions, and obviously the Griffs do. As far as the Stags, yes Degnan might become that big man we need because he does have the ability to set a pick with his big body, plus he has shooting range if he pops, and the ability to score inside if he rolls. But college ball can sometimes be a different story than on the scholastic level, so really we are going to have to wait and see how this all pans out when he gets here. As far as the guard in the future that can run this effectively, I am guessing Nelson might become the man because (again at least in high school competition) he has the necessary ability to get the job done. Just something to think about as we look to the future.