PROVO — Mark Pope’s first-year system churned like the plan created by Roger Reid.
In a matter of months, Pope created a winning system for BYU, a team that just finished ranked No. 18 nationally.
One of the most impressive aspects of Pope’s first year was the efficiency his team operated with on both ends of the court. It reminded me of the system deployed by Roger Reid back in the 1990s.
But while Reid’s teams deliberately held the ball longer, forcing opponents to play defense, his system excelled at executing screens, picks, interior passing, out of bounds plays and tough defense. Pope’s 2019-2020 team scored more points and relied more from 3, but the organized attack and choreography among players had a familiar feel.
The Reid-Pope comparison about defensive effort rings true.
Reid (152-77, .667) had a remarkable run for almost a decade and nobody since has had as many postseason successes, especially at conference tournaments. Reid’s teams made five NCAA appearances, won three regular-season titles and two conference tournament championships back in the day when New Mexico, UTEP, UNLV and Utah were his prime challengers.
Reid had a knack for getting easy shots for his big men, be it Gary Trost, Steve Schreiner, Russell Larson, Ken Roberts or many others. They consistently made layups most of the time.
Pope’s team had the highest efficient field goal percent in the country at 58.1 when the national average was 49.6. The Cougars also had the highest 3-point field goal rate and were second in 2-point field goal percent.
Pope’s team just finished a remarkable season, leading the nation in 3-point shooting at nearly 42%. Yoeli Childs finished among the top 10 nationally in points per possession at 1.08. (USU’s Sam Merrill was No. 3 at 1.11 and Saint Mary’s Jordan Ford No. 5 at 1.13). According to Sports Reference.com, Pope had the third-best team in school history when compared to the strength of schedule and other figures. Two others better were in 2010 and 2011 with Jimmer Fredette. Reid’s 1992 team ranks No. 7.
To help with Reid-Pope efficiency comparisons, I approached two of Reid’s players who just happen to have been courtside at nearly every game this season. Mark Durrant is KSL Radio game color commentator and Kevin Nixon’s son Dalton played a valuable role on the team this season before his foot injury against LMU. Both are qualified to analyze the theory, as is Marty Haws, father of guard TJ Haws.
The idea is, that using efficient chemistry, teamwork, organized playmaking and a tough defense can produce a program like BYU. Pope deployed a pick-and-roll action, triggered by a very capable guard in Haws.
“I actually think there’re a lot of similarities between Roger Reid and Mark Pope,” said Durrant.
“First, there is a real focus on defense and defensive effort. Offensively, both Mark and Roger were able to identify the best ways that BYU could compete in the current basketball environment.
“For instance, our strength at the time was our big men. There was less of a focus on the 3-point shot at that time in college basketball. With a structured, disciplined play oriented offense that sought to get big men good shots, that led to a very efficient team. Mark, on the other hand, has recognized that college basketball is not 3-point dominant and has created an offense in which his shooters, which is the strength of his team, were able to get a lot of good looks at the basket, thereby shooting a higher percentage from 3 and excelling in an area that is so important in college ball today. They had different approaches to the game, but conceptually similar and both effective.”
Since the KenPom analytic era began in 2004, BYU is the first team to have two players ranked in the Top 5 for 3-point field goal shooting with Alex Barcello third (49.1%) and Jake Toolson (46.9%) No. 5.
One could argue Pope took this aspect of modern ball and made it as effective as anybody in his first season design for the Cougars.
Kevin Nixon says he finds the comparison intriguing. It was Kevin Nixon who helped BYU and Reid beat UTEP in Fort Collins, Colorado, for the WAC championship with a made shot beyond the halfcourt line in the early ’90s.
“This is really interesting to me. There are a lot of similarities and differences actually. Both coaches win a lot of games and have a lot of talent,” said Kevin Nixon.
“The similarities in the players are that both teams had so many weapons, inside and out. How they used those weapons is different. Roger had great shooters that he was able to get great open looks for because his teams ran such precise offenses and really mastered the execution of those offenses.
“Mark runs quite a few offenses, but the great perimeter looks are a direct result of guards reading the defense and making the right reads or choices vs. the defense. Roger’s offenses had a knack for running the right play, effective screens, perfect timing, great cuts. Mark’s offenses have constant movement and great decision-making. This wore teams down on their defensive end.
“The common denominator in all of it? Both generations of teams can shoot the snot outta the ball! Why were Gary Trost and Jared Miller and Russ Larson so effective inside? They were great post players that had 2-3 unstoppable moves, but ... they also had room to work because Nick Sanderson, Mark Heslop, Nate Call, Randy Reid, myself and others could really shoot it. Why is ‘Yo’ so effective inside? First and foremost, he is an absolute freak of athletic nature, but he also has incredible footwork that allows him to be unstoppable inside. He also has room to work because TJ, Jake, AB, Connor, Dalt, Zac, Kolby, and Yo himself can all shoot the rock.”
Kevin Nixon said Reid was successful on defense because he demanded it. “He had a squad full of dudes that only wanted to win. We all know that playing defense was going to get us 25 wins each year, that our offense could only take us so far.
“Coach Pope’s teams are the same. Mark demands excellence on the defensive end. And he has ‘winners’ on that squad. They want to win and know that offense is only half of the equation. I think Roger and Mark both had shooters/scorers that weren’t necessarily “defensive-minded,” but became much better defensively. This allowed ultra-efficient offenses to combine with tough-minded defenses to win a lot of basketball games. Both coaches had athletes, but not a roster full of them. Efficient offenses and high basketball IQ’s help in that area. On defense, if you aren’t as athletic as the teams you play, you better be tougher than them. Roger had that and so did Mark.”