Brad Underwood Stressing Defense-First Mentality in 2016-2017

The Cowboys may not begin the season a polished offensive product, but one thing is for certain- Any Brad Underwood team is going to get after it on the defensive end from day one. Offense has taken a backseat to defense since practice started several weeks ago, and Underwood spoke to the importance of chemistry on the defensive end.

“Defense is a vital part of every team’s success,” Underwood told the press this weekend, “But it’s probably much more important and much harder to attain on the defensive side so the focus has been on the defensive end. We’ve got to become better at creating maximum effort so the night’s that ball doesn’t go in, we still give ourselves a chance to win.”

The Cowboys finished No. 57 in the nation last year in scoring defense at 67.1 PPG and was abysmal in turnover percentage (No. 210), so there’s certainly room to improve on that end of the floor. An incredibly important facet for the Cowboys defensively will be the ability to crash the glass and limit opponents’ shots, despite their lack of size.

Late in the Travis Ford era, the Cowboys often failed to box out and suffered far too many defensive breakdowns. Something tells me this year’s squad will be much improved defensively, as they begin a new era of Cowboy basketball.

Winning starts with great defense, and you know we’re going to play some defense in GIA. #okstate pic.twitter.com/pWxAUC6PUM

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) October 9, 2016