Answering his weekly Facebook question of the week, Arizona Wildcats' coach Sean Miller went in depth about his offensive philosophies.
When asked what percentage of the time the team plays within a motion offense, Miller said it was generally 70 percent of the time when playing against man-to-man defenses. Of course, many teams have gone to zone defenses against Arizona this season, but especially after games like the St. John's contest in New York City where the Wildcats rained down 3s against a strict zone, we've not seen much else other than man defense.
Miller added that his philosophy is to see his motion offense evolve as the season progresses. Much of that depends on how players develop in their roles. Plus opposing defenses tighten up as the season wears on, and using too many set plays can aide them in picking apart the Wildcats' offensive play calls.
What Miller says in this Arizona Athletics video was partially why the Wildcats were so successful in the postseason last year. From my vantage point, he was more hands off as the motion offense evolved to that roster's players in a positive direction. That allowed more player freedom and more player comfort. At the same time, Arizona was playing within Miller's offensive teachings.
And most importantly, it worked pretty well.