Quentin Hillsman unveiled his bold new plan to ‘change everything on defense’ at Syracuse’s annual media day Oct. 14. The head coach spoke enthusiastically about the pressure defense he implemented, saying it was what had him most excited about the upcoming season.

But he also tempered his excitement in the same breath, predicting trouble ahead.

‘You go home and watch practice and get happy and very excited,’ Hillsman said during media day. ‘That is temporary because it all changes when you get three referees on the court, the clock, the announcer and sometimes it all goes the opposite way.

‘We’re going to have to be patient with it, stick with it and be very committed to the way we are going to play.’

That patience and commitment was finally tested last weekend as the difficulty Hillsman anticipated came to fruition for Syracuse (6-2) in its first true test this season at the Hukilau Invitational in Laie, Hawaii. After cruising through its first six games, the Orange’s defensive system faltered at the tournament in two losses to Arizona (7-1) and Brigham Young (7-2). The Wildcats and Cougars both shot better than 40 percent from the field and 3-point range against Syracuse en route to scoring 80 and 83 points, respectively.

Hillsman made the change on defense in hopes that it would spark his program to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008. But after losing to two teams that joined SU in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament last season, the Orange failed to prove it’s ready to get over the hump.

Syracuse started the season strong, blowing out weaker opponents behind its new defensive scheme. The Orange used its press to generate easy scoring opportunities off turnovers and break open games.

Still, even the players saw the drawbacks to the fast-paced defense following SU’s season-opening 81-42 victory over Long Beach State, in which it forced 31 turnovers.

‘You get more steals, although you might be winded after a couple possessions,’ SU guard Elashier Hall said. ‘But I think it’s fun because you get steals and we get each other going, and you get hype off of steals and putbacks.’

Beyond fatigue, Syracuse showed signs of its vulnerability on defense Nov. 19 against a Lafayette team coming off a 40-point loss to Princeton. The Leopards remained poised against SU’s full-court press in the first half, calmly passing the ball up the sidelines rather than dribbling into traps.

Lafayette also exposed deficiencies in Syracuse’s 2-3 zone — one thing that didn’t change despite the team’s new focus on the press.

In the half court, Lafayette whipped the ball around the top of the key to get the Syracuse zone moving. The Leopards attacked the gaps with cuts and set ball screens to free up forwards for wide-open mid-range shots time and time again.

Heading to the locker room at halftime, Syracuse was only up 31-30 against the inferior opponent.

‘You look at this game, and I think that they had two 3s probably out of 10, but they made a lot of little 15-foot shots,’ Hillsman said after the game. ‘And they kind of shrunk our zone down and got little open elbow jump shots and shots in the high post.’

The Leopards’ inability to hit from beyond the arc and handle the pressure in the second half doomed them as SU went on to win by 20.

But the Orange wasn’t as fortunate against Arizona and BYU. Both teams used the same formula built on ball movement to break down Syracuse’s press and zone.

As the season goes on, Hillsman will be challenged to keep his players fresh, which may require him to take his foot off the gas at times.

‘I think coach Q will know better than anyone when to use it and when to take it off,’ national women’s college basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli said before the season. ‘The good thing for him is that he has a veteran group that understands that zone defense, and he can always fall back to that and use it when the season gets really grueling in February.’

It’s an option Hillsman acknowledged while standing at the podium on media day.

He knew then that the transition to the new system wouldn’t be seamless. And he knew the players would hit a wall at some point. Eight games into the season, Syracuse has already hit that wall.

‘We can always fall back into some zone defenses and some different schemes if necessary,’ Hillsman said. ‘I think I am going to have to be patient with us making some mistakes on defense. We’re going to give up some baskets pressuring up the floor.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on December 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu