with scrog, you create a flat canopy so all the budites are an equal distance away from the light which you can get much closer(10inches or less if you have an aircooled light). also no budsites ar shaded by other budsites or fanleaves. this way all your buds are nice and dense you don't get all those airy little buds from the lower branches of the plant like you do with a traditional indoor grow. scrog is so easy! just do the research and when you start doing it everything will start to make sense. good luck and i hope you do get those clones from your friend. i just posted a thread about my current scrog, take a look...
http://boards.cannabis.com/showthread.php?t=52326