Broncos will face aggressive offense
By Ryan Donough
Santa Clara will square off against a very unique type of offense next Monday evening when they take on Vance Walberg and the Pepperdine Waves.
Walberg's offensive system, which has been dubbed the "Princeton offense on steroids," is an up-tempo style of play where long-range shooting is not only acceptable, but encouraged.
Walberg's system is so intriguing that Memphis Tigers Head Coach John Calipari actually invited Walberg to share his offense while studying the Tigers' practices for a weekend.
At the time, Walberg was a junior college coach at Fresno City College, and outsiders thought Calipari was crazy for listening to him. Calipari adopted the offense, and Memphis has since made two Elite Eight appearances and is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation.
Before meeting with Walberg, Calipari was known for running a slow-paced offense that relied on half-court sets. Against the recommendations of his mentor and former NBA Coach, Larry Brown, Calipari instituted Walberg's system.
During his time at Fresno City College from 2002-2006, Walberg compiled a 133-11 record and would consistently score over 100 points a game. He terms his creation AASAA (Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack).
The system could pose problems for a Bronco squad that relies heavily on a half-court offense and clock management. Santa Clara currently owns the West Coast Conference's best scoring defense, holding opponents to just 62.8 points per game. The Waves own the WCC's best scoring offense, producing an average of just over 78 points per game.
The idea behind Walberg's system is to constantly play at an up-tempo pace. Players don't set screens, and the play is dominated by one-on-one match-ups.
As the offense advances, they spread the floor with four players on the perimeter beyond the three-point line. Two players are in the corners and the other two are at the top of the key, evenly spaced from one another. The fifth player on the floor, the center, is located in the middle of the key and constantly flashes to whichever perimeter player holds the ball.
After the offensive unit is spread out, the point guard drives the lane through the gaps created by spacing in the defense. If a defender comes to help on the point guard, he kicks the ball out to the corner, where that player will either drive to the basket for an easy layup or shoot the three.
If neither shot is available, the point guard will rotate around the perimeter and the ball will come back outside as the offense is reset.
This style of play requires smaller, more athletic personnel who can take a player off the dribble and make a play one-on-one. However, with Walberg in only his second year as head coach of the Waves and nine new players on the roster, Pepperdine has yet to fully adjust to this dynamic offense. According to Walberg, the players need to be more versatile, interchangeable parts within the system.
"At this point now, I don't think we have the personnel to run this sort of a system because it relies on having more perimeter-oriented players, which we don't have right now," said Walberg.
"Key or Three," as Walberg calls it, has helped him win several high school section championships and makes it difficult for a defense to stop the scoring as quick shooting and speed dominate the system.
"An advantage is that it is a continual attack," Walberg said. "Some of the disadvantages are that we are spaced out, so rebounding is affected."
Head Coach Kerry Keating has faced this type of offense before as an assistant coach for UCLA against Memphis in the NCAA Tournament two years ago.
"Obviously you have to stop dribble penetration and contest shots," Keating said. "You also need strong transition defense."
Contact Ryan Donough at (408) 551-1918 or rdonough@scu.edu.