By Mikael DeSanto
Sports Assignment Editor
St. Bonaventure University women’s basketball head coach Jesse Fleming sees defense as an important part of his team’s play.
Under Fleming this season, the Bonnies (4-4) have allowed less than 60 points in six of their eight regular season games.
The first-year coach said that the system he runs is one that should be familiar to Bonnies fans.
“It’s the same as [the one] that we have probably run here the last 10 years. It’s the same system that we ran when I was here before,” Fleming said. “We are going to build a wall around the paint; that is something we have always talked about. It is early help and it is being able to lock in, play hard and guard your kid. But I think at the end of the day, if there is one thing, it is building a wall around the paint.”
But Fleming said that while he hasn’t changed much due to his involvement in the formation of the system while he was an assistant coach at the university, there is a subtle difference from the defense the program ran before his tenure.
“I had a lot of input the first time around in the defense,” Fleming said. “It will change game-to-game on scouting. I think we might guard ball screens a little differently than Coach (Jim Crowley) has in the past. I think schematically we are probably pretty similar than what we did in the past.”
Fleming said he feels his team has done well with his defensive schemes, but he knows that there is always room for improvement.
“I still think we are not where we need to be as a transition defense,” Fleming said of Tuesday’s game. “It is the hard balance of playing seven kids and still going up and down, getting them reps, playing transition [defense], so I think that the weakest area of our game right now is that communication. But in the half-court I think we are pretty hard to score against, I think we can rebound the ball a little bit better to finish the play, but our first shot defense is pretty solid.”
Though some improvements must be made going forward, Fleming is confident in the process the team has undertaken so far this season.
“I think we just keep drilling it, I think we just keep drilling boxing out, we have to drill our transition [defense],” Fleming said. “We put them in disadvantage situations where they are forced to communicate and cover up for each other. I think that is the way that you do it.”
Fleming said pressure is a major part of the way the defense operates, as it opens up more opportunities for the players and leads to better performances overall from them.
“You want to be able to, especially this defense because we are not denying the wings, get your pressure from the ball and know that your teammates are behind you,” Fleming said. “Like I said, building that wall, so that should give you confidence [and] pressure, always be big on the ball and try to get some deflections, but I think it all starts with that on-the-ball pressure. That is our first line of defense.”
Graduate forward Gabby Richmond and junior forward Matea Britvar are major factors for Fleming’s defense, playing one of the most necessary roles, according to him.
“We expect them to guard the post one-on-one a lot, where we don’t have to bring a lot of help once the post gets the ball,” Fleming said. “So those two having the ability to guard one-on-one, and they also do a great job in the ball screen where a lot of teams can get attacked in their posts, having to guard a ball screen. I think they have nine years combined experience in the system, so I think they are a real key to what we are doing defensively.”
The Bonnies will take on Eastern Michigan today at 11 a.m. in Michigan.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
