Having a huge player standing under the basket swatting basketballs like King Kong swatting at airplanes used to be an effective defense. Big athletic players that could shoot outside 10 feet showed up. We learned forts in fixed locations didn't stop an invading army. Armies went around fixed fortifications. Lurch standing under the basket can be neutralized with a long and quicker player.
On offense, if they can't turn and face the basket, they will throw up an awkward off-balanced shot. Scouting will reveal their tendencies and when and where to bring pressure.
In youth basketball, there was a kid bigger and taller than everyone else. He was tearing everyone up as a one man team. I taught my forward on the side he favored to wait for them to pass the ball inside and slide over to double team him to prevent him from turning to the left. A guard covered the forward left open. The kids loved having a secret play and bought into it completely. The coach countered by making the entry pass from the baseline where the help was coming from. I put my most athletic kid on the big guy and taught him how to front the post player. After several steals, they stopped going inside. It doesn't apply to college basketball, but the
point is coaching staffs with hours of film can take away what a team wants to do and create an advantage for your team.
purdue loves the giant players. They just recruited a 7'-3" kid. I'll take a 6'-11" kid that can run the floor and can handle the ball.
