Quentin Hillsman stepped back and took a hard look at his Syracuse program over the last few seasons. The head coach saw the Orange finish three straight seasons in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament and fall short of its ultimate goal of the NCAA tournament.

Hillsman felt the program needed a change, and he decided to completely overhaul his defensive system. After primarily employing a 2-3 zone during Hillsman’s tenure, SU will switch to a variety of pressure defenses this season.

‘One thing that you guys are going to see more is us playing a lot further up the floor on defense,’ Hillsman said during Syracuse’s annual media day Oct. 14. ‘We have already installed two or three pressure defenses. We really want to get out and extend the floor, play faster and use our athletes.’

Entering his sixth season at the helm, Hillsman has an experienced and athletic group ready to build on back-to-back 25-win seasons and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008. The head coach believes the change was needed for the program to take the next step. It could be the difference in SU’s key games in the Big East and against tougher nonconference competition that will decide its postseason fate.

The 2-3 zone was effective last season. The Orange held opponents to 35.3 percent shooting last season — good for 17th in the nation — and led the nation in rebounding margin.

But it also slowed down the game, and Hillsman said it was tough for SU to score 70 points in games. In all 10 losses last season, the Orange failed to eclipse that mark.

Hillsman hopes the newly installed pressure system, which includes matchup presses and a variety of zone schemes, will lead to easy baskets in the open floor. Though the team is still learning, the same length and athleticism that made the zone tough on opponents should translate to the different presses.

La’Shay Taft said the preseason training regimen is different from last season in preparation for the change. The sophomore guard said the team is running more — from mile runs to sprints — and practices have been more up-tempo to mirror the pace the Orange wants to play at.

Thus far, Taft is confident the team will be ready to run the new system effectively.

‘Everybody has been adjusting to it,’ Taft said. ‘I mean it takes time for certain people, but everybody’s getting there. Everybody’s been working hard, so we’re getting there.’

Though Hillsman knows breakdowns will lead to easy layups for opponents as his team learns the presses, the head coach feels it will also create scoring opportunities for the Orange.

With an inexperienced backcourt, Hillsman knows the team will struggle at times in its half-court offense. And to win enough games to get back to the NCAA tournament, Syracuse has to find a way to consistently score 70 or more points.

He expects the press to offset some concerns on offense by increasing the tempo and leading to easy baskets for his team in transition.

‘I think that now we need to push it up, and the less possessions we have to get in the half court and play half-court basketball, the better that we’re gonna be,’ Hillsman said.

With SU’s athletic ability and veteran presence, this year is the perfect time for Hillsman to add the press, said Debbie Antonelli, a national women’s college basketball analyst for ESPN, CBS and Fox Sports Net.

‘If he’s gonna start pressing and trapping and taking more of what I call high-risk, high-reward approach to his defense,’ Antonelli said, ‘then I think he’s gonna build a lot of confidence with that, and he’s gonna make his team even tougher to defeat.’

For Antonelli, the ability to give teams multiple looks is crucial if SU wants to return to the NCAA tournament. Against the 2-3 zone, Antonelli said teams could dictate the pace and walk the ball up the court, which forced Syracuse to have a good night on offense if it wanted to win.

Now, the Orange can adapt its game plan to its opponent, and Antonelli believes it will show by the end of the season.

‘He’s really going to enjoy coaching this team and this particular group of kids in that style because they will produce results,’ Antonelli said. ‘They’re that talented and that athletic and long, and if they commit to that, that would get me excited about seeing Syracuse basketball.’

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on November 7, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu