Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Depth, Full Court Pressure, Gives Blue Raiders 2022 Identity
1/12/2022 3:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
A full court pressure system has paid big dividends for the Blue Raiders this season
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Walk through the halls of the Murphy Center in the months before basketball season, and the sound of communication, play calls, squeaky shoes and the occasional popped balloon would ring out from beyond the main court in the Monte Hale/Jimmy Earle Arena.
Poke your head inside the main court, and you would see the pace of practice intensify, as the Blue Raiders picked up with full court pressure, sometimes in man, sometimes in zone, but always with intensity and loud communication between the players.
The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team's emphasis on full court pressure was evident to anyone who watched them during that preseason period, or early games against the likes of Brescia College or Bethune-Cookman. But now that Conference USA play is underway, the full benefits of the Blue Raiders' pressure have borne fruit in 2022, to tune of 133 steals and 252 forced turnovers through the team's first 15 games, both of which ranked in the Top 30 of all Division I teams entering this week's slate of games.
"This year we're just pressuring the ball more," forward Eli Lawrence said. "Trying to speed teams up to force them to turn the ball over in the front court, rather than the back court. More full court pressure."
Lawrence entered the week with a team-leading 22 steals on the season, good for 11th in the conference at 1.47 steals per game. And while the Blue Raiders don't feature an elite individual ball hawk, the scheme they use defensively has clearly paid dividends across the roster. Six different players have at least 10 steals this season, while nine players have at least five steals entering their game against FAU on Thursday.
"We have a saying we use, strength in numbers," Lawrence said. "Depth plays a big role in that. Defensively, we're locked in and dialed in. It's hard for teams to score on us, and we feed off of turnovers."
Depth is something that's been hard to come by in Nick McDevitt's tenure in Murfreesboro, as roster holes predating his hire and injuries have limited his rotation options. But now, entering the season with a full scholarship roster, even injuries to Jalen Jordan and Jared Coleman-Jones haven't altered the way he wants his team to play.
The full court defense played by Middle Tennessee this season is exhausting by design, both for the Blue Raiders' opponent and themselves. Often featuring multiple different looks each game, even the simplest look, usually featuring either Donovan Sims or Camryn Weston applying constant pressure as the opposing ball carrier advances up court, can wear down their opponent over time.
The goal, in addition to speeding up the opponent into making mistakes, is also to ensure the Blue Raiders' depth can have the better legs at the end of games, as well perhaps force opposing coaches to dig deeper into their bench than they might like to do.
"We felt like we had enough quality players where we felt like we could play 9 or 10 deep, and that's generally what we're doing," McDevitt said. "Just trying to make other teams uncomfortable on the offensive end."
The result of that is a rotation that doesn't have anyone play the lion's share of minutes on court — not a single Blue Raider averages at least 30 minutes a game — but one that lets a lot of players get some time to shine, like Weston, who said he expected to play this high tempo style of defense when he joined MT from Southeastern Community College.
"It's great, because everybody knows how to speed people up, everybody knows how to get up top, in the backcourt, frontcourt, whatever," Weston said. "If we can all exchange positions, speed people up, and turn people over, we can just change people out off the bench and not be tired. Everybody gets their legs and their breath."
McDevitt pointed out that the defense necessitating a deep rotation has also helped his team acclimate to a new offense faster, pointing out after his team's win over Coastal Carolina last month that his guys know they'll get minutes without having to make an unrealistic amount of shots while they're in the game, resulting in more relaxed play.
The key now, however, is to finish out the games that Middle Tennessee has found themselves in that maybe they weren't a year or so ago. A COVID pause certainly did not help matters in the team's two losses last weekend, but a return to the Murphy Center, where the Blue Raiders have yet to lose this season, for three straight games certainly presents an opportunity to continue to turn teams over and stake a claim as one of the best team defenses in C-USA.
"Our biggest thing is executing down the stretch, playing the game the right way for 40 minutes," Lawrence said. "Recently, we've been playing good for 30 or 35 (minutes). The last five is where we kind of slip away. So we've got to get back to executing and playing good offense once we create those turnovers."
Poke your head inside the main court, and you would see the pace of practice intensify, as the Blue Raiders picked up with full court pressure, sometimes in man, sometimes in zone, but always with intensity and loud communication between the players.
The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team's emphasis on full court pressure was evident to anyone who watched them during that preseason period, or early games against the likes of Brescia College or Bethune-Cookman. But now that Conference USA play is underway, the full benefits of the Blue Raiders' pressure have borne fruit in 2022, to tune of 133 steals and 252 forced turnovers through the team's first 15 games, both of which ranked in the Top 30 of all Division I teams entering this week's slate of games.
"This year we're just pressuring the ball more," forward Eli Lawrence said. "Trying to speed teams up to force them to turn the ball over in the front court, rather than the back court. More full court pressure."
Lawrence entered the week with a team-leading 22 steals on the season, good for 11th in the conference at 1.47 steals per game. And while the Blue Raiders don't feature an elite individual ball hawk, the scheme they use defensively has clearly paid dividends across the roster. Six different players have at least 10 steals this season, while nine players have at least five steals entering their game against FAU on Thursday.
"We have a saying we use, strength in numbers," Lawrence said. "Depth plays a big role in that. Defensively, we're locked in and dialed in. It's hard for teams to score on us, and we feed off of turnovers."
Depth is something that's been hard to come by in Nick McDevitt's tenure in Murfreesboro, as roster holes predating his hire and injuries have limited his rotation options. But now, entering the season with a full scholarship roster, even injuries to Jalen Jordan and Jared Coleman-Jones haven't altered the way he wants his team to play.
The full court defense played by Middle Tennessee this season is exhausting by design, both for the Blue Raiders' opponent and themselves. Often featuring multiple different looks each game, even the simplest look, usually featuring either Donovan Sims or Camryn Weston applying constant pressure as the opposing ball carrier advances up court, can wear down their opponent over time.
The goal, in addition to speeding up the opponent into making mistakes, is also to ensure the Blue Raiders' depth can have the better legs at the end of games, as well perhaps force opposing coaches to dig deeper into their bench than they might like to do.
"We felt like we had enough quality players where we felt like we could play 9 or 10 deep, and that's generally what we're doing," McDevitt said. "Just trying to make other teams uncomfortable on the offensive end."
The result of that is a rotation that doesn't have anyone play the lion's share of minutes on court — not a single Blue Raider averages at least 30 minutes a game — but one that lets a lot of players get some time to shine, like Weston, who said he expected to play this high tempo style of defense when he joined MT from Southeastern Community College.
"It's great, because everybody knows how to speed people up, everybody knows how to get up top, in the backcourt, frontcourt, whatever," Weston said. "If we can all exchange positions, speed people up, and turn people over, we can just change people out off the bench and not be tired. Everybody gets their legs and their breath."
McDevitt pointed out that the defense necessitating a deep rotation has also helped his team acclimate to a new offense faster, pointing out after his team's win over Coastal Carolina last month that his guys know they'll get minutes without having to make an unrealistic amount of shots while they're in the game, resulting in more relaxed play.
The key now, however, is to finish out the games that Middle Tennessee has found themselves in that maybe they weren't a year or so ago. A COVID pause certainly did not help matters in the team's two losses last weekend, but a return to the Murphy Center, where the Blue Raiders have yet to lose this season, for three straight games certainly presents an opportunity to continue to turn teams over and stake a claim as one of the best team defenses in C-USA.
"Our biggest thing is executing down the stretch, playing the game the right way for 40 minutes," Lawrence said. "Recently, we've been playing good for 30 or 35 (minutes). The last five is where we kind of slip away. So we've got to get back to executing and playing good offense once we create those turnovers."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballFacility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
