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How was Akoh defended?

PlayerRep

Well-known member
How was Akoh defended in the last 2 games, to limit his points and rebounds? Why did he pick up so many fouls? I didn't watch either game. Thx.
 
Akoh played his typical game and (with Kryslo) commanded the paint well. Sac double-teamed him, but put him on the line a lot. PSU's Edwards just big-bodied him, but the Viks also swarmed him when he had the bal. In both games the refs called the big guys (on all teams) on several offensive charges (mostly bogus) for backing in or for arm-blocks while going up for shots.

To counter PSU's pressure, Akoh and Kryslo played at half court a lot.

The big factor was actually shooting percentage: Akoh shot 6-16 on the weekend. A lot of good shots falling a tad short.
 
grizzlyjournal said:
Akoh played his typical game and (with Kryslo) commanded the paint well. Sac double-teamed him, but put him on the line a lot. PSU's Edwards just big-bodied him, but the Viks also swarmed him when he had the ball. In both games the refs called the big guys (on all teams) on several offensive charges (mostly bogus) for backing in or for arm-blocks while going up for shots.

To counter PSU's pressure, Akoh and Kryslo played at half court a lot.

The big factor was actually shooting percentage: Akoh shot 6-16 on the weekend. A lot of good shots falling a tad short.
Strange thing about Edwards, which I just noticed. With the fouls he picked up, he only ended up on the court for 8 min before he fouled out -- yet he still got 11 points. But, as Viking fans have pointed out, PSU's depth is not a myth. They played 11 guys, and seven of them scored 5 or more points (and 10 of them picked up fouls ;) ).

With that depth, I agree that PSU's answer to Akoh was to swarm him. (Again, choppy streaming, so it was hard to be sure.) But even with that, he got 11 points, only 3 below his season average. Of course, with them concentrating on Akoh, Ksrl had a nice night -- scoring almost 10 points above his season average.
 
One thing I noticed about Akoh--he can handle. I mean, for a big. Several times those outlet passes against the press went to him, and he took the ball over the timeline himself. A guy with his skills really helps against the kind of pressure they threw at us.
 
citay said:
One thing I noticed about Akoh--he can handle. I mean, for a big. Several times those outlet passes against the press went to him, and he took the ball over the timeline himself. A guy with his skills really helps against the kind of pressure they threw at us.
Funny thing, with his ball skills: IF he had a bit more flat-out speed and upped his 3-point shooting, he could almost be a guard in today's big, rebounding-guard game. :eek: ;)

His passing is also pretty good for a big man, but I'm not suggesting "point guard" here.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
citay said:
One thing I noticed about Akoh--he can handle. I mean, for a big. Several times those outlet passes against the press went to him, and he took the ball over the timeline himself. A guy with his skills really helps against the kind of pressure they threw at us.

I was going to say the same thing, I was really impressed with his ball handling skills against PSU. His ability to bring the ball up court may have forced PSU to defend him differently, which ultimately, I think thinned out PSU's full court press.

To answer PR's original question, I have a few thoughts. Both Sac and PSU have some experienced big guys that were better able to guard Akoh. His two big games against UND and NCU were both against smaller teams that physically didn't have an answer for him. In NCU's case, it sounds like they made a coaching decision to stick with their defensive identity, rather than to change it up defensively mid-game to try to slow him down. I'll be curious to see if they stick with that philosophy in the rematch.

I also think there is a scouting element that comes with big games like Akoh has been having. He's receiving attention as a scoring threat, so teams are keying on him to find ways to slow him down, where prior to those big games, there was probably less focus on defending him and more focus on Rorie and Oguine.

Last...When one guy goes off for 39 points (Oguine) there are just fewer touches for everyone else. PSU slowed Akoh down, but you could argue they did so at the expense of letting Oguine run wild. Fab also scored 15, which is a good game for him. He probably benefited from the focus on Akoh.

In terms of the actual defensive X's and O's, there are probably more qualified people than I who can offer a better explanation.

That's what I love about this team right now. There are three consistent scoring threats in Akoh, Rorie and Oguine. You've got stop all three to be affective against the Griz.

That's my free analysis. Its worth what you paid!
 
Jaredkuehn said:
... That's what I love about this team right now. There are three consistent scoring threats in Akoh, Rorie and Oguine. You've got stop all three to be effective against the Griz.

That's my free analysis. Its worth what you paid!
Well, that's pretty well true of everything on a fan board ... but I'd say you have a good handle on the situation.

On the flip side, I absolutely love the way the Griz play team defense. They are now ranked #28 by NCAA stats in steals per game (8.3). [Oddly enough, Portland States is still #1 at 11.9 spg.] While Rorie and Oguine lead that list for the Griz, five different guys (add in Pridgett, Morehead and Akoh) are averaging one or more steals per game. Those numbers provide support for the "eyeball test," which says that the Griz are outstanding at working together, closing lanes, and contesting shots.
 
Jaredkuehn said:
citay said:
One thing I noticed about Akoh--he can handle. I mean, for a big. Several times those outlet passes against the press went to him, and he took the ball over the timeline himself. A guy with his skills really helps against the kind of pressure they threw at us.

I was going to say the same thing, I was really impressed with his ball handling skills against PSU. His ability to bring the ball up court may have forced PSU to defend him differently, which ultimately, I think thinned out PSU's full court press.

To answer PR's original question, I have a few thoughts. Both Sac and PSU have some experienced big guys that were better able to guard Akoh. His two big games against UND and NCU were both against smaller teams that physically didn't have an answer for him. In NCU's case, it sounds like they made a coaching decision to stick with their defensive identity, rather than to change it up defensively mid-game to try to slow him down. I'll be curious to see if they stick with that philosophy in the rematch.

I also think there is a scouting element that comes with big games like Akoh has been having. He's receiving attention as a scoring threat, so teams are keying on him to find ways to slow him down, where prior to those big games, there was probably less focus on defending him and more focus on Rorie and Oguine.

Last...When one guy goes off for 39 points (Oguine) there are just fewer touches for everyone else. PSU slowed Akoh down, but you could argue they did so at the expense of letting Oguine run wild. Fab also scored 15, which is a good game for him. He probably benefited from the focus on Akoh.

In terms of the actual defensive X's and O's, there are probably more qualified people than I who can offer a better explanation.

That's what I love about this team right now. There are three consistent scoring threats in Akoh, Rorie and Oguine. You've got stop all three to be affective against the Griz.

That's my free analysis. Its worth what you paid!

:thumb:
 
IdaGriz01 said:
Jaredkuehn said:
... That's what I love about this team right now. There are three consistent scoring threats in Akoh, Rorie and Oguine. You've got stop all three to be effective against the Griz.

That's my free analysis. Its worth what you paid!
Well, that's pretty well true of everything on a fan board ... but I'd say you have a good handle on the situation.

On the flip side, I absolutely love the way the Griz play team defense. They are now ranked #28 by NCAA stats in steals per game (8.3). [Oddly enough, Portland States is still #1 at 11.9 spg.] While Rorie and Oguine lead that list for the Griz, five different guys (add in Pridgett, Morehead and Akoh) are averaging one or more steals per game. Those numbers provide support for the "eyeball test," which says that the Griz are outstanding at working together, closing lanes, and contesting shots.

This will also likely be the case for the Cats. Havent watched them a ton but have seen them play some and I dont think they have a single man option for Akoh. If they commit to stopping him, which I think will take a dedicated double team, someone else will punish them. If they dont Akoh will punish them. If we keep up the defensive intensity I think we will win this by at least two or three possessions before MSU is forced to foul and the lead may then extend to 10 or so points.
 
Thanks. It seems that the consensus is that these teams doubled and "swarmed", but that didn't stop Akoh, just slowed him a bit. And the D may have caused him to miss some more shots, or maybe he shot a bit more poorly than usual. And others on the team had big games, either on their own or because of the attention to Akoh.
 
PlayerRep said:
Thanks. It seems that the consensus is that these teams doubled and "swarmed", but that didn't stop Akoh, just slowed him a bit. And the D may have caused him to miss some more shots, or maybe he shot a bit more poorly than usual. And others on the team had big games, either on their own or because of the attention to Akoh.

I think that's true. He did miss quite a few bunnies in those 2 games. Stats would've been a bit better if a couple go in each game. He's solid and think he will be a force this weekend, and the rest of the season. Good, solid interior player to go with the guard play.
 
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