Floor Time for Braves (Guards)

[AE Braves Fan]

SM - 32
AW - 30
DD - 26
DSE - 26
JE - 6 mins at the 3, 6 mins at the 4 when TB is out.
WL - 0+

Unless they get hurt or we blow out teams, I see no way SM/AW play less than 30 minutes a game. And that's how it should be, IMO.

[LittleBrave]

Once again, you have to work within what you have. I have said it dozens of times, but it is next to impossible to get true centers to play in the MVC. With a huge lack of quality big men extending all the way up the NBA and the fact the MVC calls fouls for everything it's not going to happen. Hence why there are NUMEROUS MVC guards playing in the league, and why there are next to no big men playing. The MVC is a guards league. JL is playing the hand he's dealt. The quicker fans figure that out, the happier they'll be.

Maybe Andrew Davis will be the center the Braves need in a couple years. He seems pretty long and with 20-30 more lbs., you never know. I'm not sure how athletic he is. From what I've read, I think we picked up a good big for the future if he can pick up the rebounding slack.

[LittleBrave]

SM - 32
AW - 30
DD - 26
DSE - 26
JE - 6 mins at the 3, 6 mins at the 4 when TB is out.
WL - 0+

Unless they get hurt or we blow out teams, I see no way SM/AW play less than 30 minutes a game. And that's how it should be, IMO.

Unless AW get tough on defense, I don't want to see him play 30 minutes. I think Coach Les said that whichever guys play the most solid D, they will get the minutes. We'll see if he sticks to this. You had to question A-Dubb's shot selection last year too.

[mrcoachdude]

SM - 30
AW - 28
DD - 22
DSE - 22
JE - 14
WL - 4 + whatever minutes can be used if someone is not well, injured or game situations...

[jeffsu]

SM - 30
AW - 28
DD - 22
DSE - 22
JE - 14
WL - 4 + whatever minutes can be used if someone is not well, injured or game situations...

Thinking quite similarly...

SM -- 30 mpg
AW -- 29 mpg
DD -- 23 mpg
DSE -- 21 mpg
JE -- 12 mpg
WL -- 5 mpg

[AZ BU Fan]

How do BU's bigs compare to WSU, Creighton, UNI, Drake or the other teams in the Valley? I won't argue that the MVC is/isn't a guards league, but if our bigs aren't as good as the other Valley teams' bigs, BU will be in for another long year. I don't consider TB a big BTW...

Without defensive stoppers in the middle, all the opposition guards that seem to blow by BU's perimeter defenders with relative ease, will continue to torment the Braves...either resulting in easy interior baskets, fouls on BU interior players, or switching/rotating by BU defenders to cover up for the BU perimeter defenders' lapses (which leads to missed defensive assignments, kick outs for open shots, or ball reversals for open 3's).

To play tougher perimeter defense and get better rebounding by perimeter players, I suspect BU guards' minutes will have to drop to keep them physically fresh/able to play the defense and provide the rebounding needed.

I also hate to say this, but we BU fans sometimes tend to overrate the quality of BU players vs other Valley players. It will be interesting to see what the preseason picks are for Valley players as to how outsiders see the quality of the BU line up. I know they are not always right, but it would be more encouraging if SM, DD, DSE (and TB/WE) are picked in the preseason for potential/recognition.

[Out of Balance]

How do BU's bigs compare to WSU, Creighton, UNI, Drake or the other teams in the Valley? I won't argue that the MVC is/isn't a guards league, but if our bigs aren't as good as the other Valley teams' bigs, BU will be in for another long year. I don't consider TB a big BTW...

Without defensive stoppers in the middle, all the opposition guards that seem to blow by BU's perimeter defenders with relative ease, will continue to torment the Braves...either resulting in easy interior baskets, fouls on BU interior players, or switching/rotating by BU defenders to cover up for the BU perimeter defenders' lapses (which leads to missed defensive assignments, kick outs for open shots, or ball reversals for open 3's).

To play tougher perimeter defense and get better rebounding by perimeter players, I suspect BU guards' minutes will have to drop to keep them physically fresh/able to play the defense and provide the rebounding needed.

I also hate to say this, but we BU fans sometimes tend to overrate the quality of BU players vs other Valley players. It will be interesting to see what the preseason picks are for Valley players as to how outsiders see the quality of the BU line up. I know they are not always right, but it would be more encouraging if SM, DD, DSE (and TB/WE) are picked in the preseason for potential/recognition.

You get it/ you got it Good ?'s and post

[amckillip]

How do BU's bigs compare to WSU, Creighton, UNI, Drake or the other teams in the Valley? I won't argue that the MVC is/isn't a guards league, but if our bigs aren't as good as the other Valley teams' bigs, BU will be in for another long year. I don't consider TB a big BTW...

Without defensive stoppers in the middle, all the opposition guards that seem to blow by BU's perimeter defenders with relative ease, will continue to torment the Braves...either resulting in easy interior baskets, fouls on BU interior players, or switching/rotating by BU defenders to cover up for the BU perimeter defenders' lapses (which leads to missed defensive assignments, kick outs for open shots, or ball reversals for open 3's).

To play tougher perimeter defense and get better rebounding by perimeter players, I suspect BU guards' minutes will have to drop to keep them physically fresh/able to play the defense and provide the rebounding needed.

I also hate to say this, but we BU fans sometimes tend to overrate the quality of BU players vs other Valley players. It will be interesting to see what the preseason picks are for Valley players as to how outsiders see the quality of the BU line up. I know they are not always right, but it would be more encouraging if SM, DD, DSE (and TB/WE) are picked in the preseason for potential/recognition.

You can classify TB however you want, but in the MVC, he's a big. The dude's 6'6"(only one inch shorter than both MS's) with a wingspan a little over 7'. That's a big.

And unfortunately it's nto as simple as comparing. Just because someone else has better bigs, doesn't mean we're going to be worse. And vice versa. In the MVC the bigs impact can be minimized by good passing and ball distribution, and this is what our Sweet 16 team did (despite convenient memories, we started 3 guards... DRuff, Tony, and JJ). While taking advantage of mismatches when we had them. We're actually in a better scenario now where AW is a legitimate 6'6" as well, which will easily allow him to come most any 3 in the valley.

I'm not saying big is bad, but its not a luxury we have. I hope JP, AT, WE develop, but at this moment I don't think there is anyway TB can start at the 3 with other people filling the roles of 4/5.

Now, Next year is an entirely different Story....

WL, DSE, TB, JP, WE

[BUfan14]

You can classify TB however you want, but in the MVC, he's a big. The dude's 6'6"(only one inch shorter than both MS's) with a wingspan a little over 7'. That's a big.

And unfortunately it's nto as simple as comparing. Just because someone else has better bigs, doesn't mean we're going to be worse. And vice versa. In the MVC the bigs impact can be minimized by good passing and ball distribution, and this is what our Sweet 16 team did (despite convenient memories, we started 3 guards... DRuff, Tony, and JJ). While taking advantage of mismatches when we had them. We're actually in a better scenario now where AW is a legitimate 6'6" as well, which will easily allow him to come most any 3 in the valley.

I'm not saying big is bad, but its not a luxury we have. I hope JP, AT, WE develop, but at this moment I don't think there is anyway TB can start at the 3 with other people filling the roles of 4/5.

Now, Next year is an entirely different Story....

WL, DSE, TB, JP, WE

I agree with you on all points here amckillip. Next year could very will be the year we go big, and I think we can do it for small stretches this year, but for the most part our guards are our strength so let's go with them. I don't see with all our talent at guard, how we cannot play 3 at a time to get them all time this year. Talent is more important than height, which is often confused with talent by some it seems. When can play two bigs at times when needed, but I think we will be most successful playing 3 guards and TB the majority of the time. Plus guys like AW and JE are tall enough to play the 3 well.

I see the minutes for spots 1-3 (120 minutes) as

SM-30
AW-30
DD-25
DSE-20
JE-10
WL-5

I see spots 4-5 (80 minutes) as

TB-30
WE-25
JP-10
AT-8-I'm hoping after all the strength he has supposedly added he gives us something this year
MK-7
AD-very few if any minutes this year, good future, but big men usually don't contribute right away

I see 11 guys playing well and contributing for us this year. Everyone on the roster is talented, and I think this is going to be a great year!

[shaunguth]

I see the minutes for spots 1-3 (120 minutes) as

SM-30
AW-30
DD-25
DSE-20
JE-10
WL-5

I see spots 4-5 (80 minutes) as

TB-30
WE-25
JP-10
AT-8-I'm hoping after all the strength he has supposedly added he gives us something this year
MK-7
AD-very few if any minutes this year, good future, but big men usually don't contribute right away

I see 11 guys playing well and contributing for us this year. Everyone on the roster is talented, and I think this is going to be a great year!

That's pretty close to what I was thinking....

28 - SM
28 - AW
25 - DD
22 - DSE
14 - JE
7 - WL

28 - TB
22 - WE
12 - JP
8 - MK
6 - AT

[Dallas Brave]

The more I look at this year's team, the more I like it. It happens every year, but somehow it feels legit this year Also, I don't see how WL gets much playing time unless there are at least two injuries to our gurads. He is r/s this year IMO. Barring injury, it will be tough to sqeeze JE in for more than 5 minutes a game.

If the guards have a weakness, it is 3 pt shooting. SM and AW are the only for-sure 3 point shooters ... DSE might develop into one this year. The best argument for having TB play an under-sized 4 rather than a natural 3 is his jump shot from beyond 12 feet. If he still has aspirations to play pro ball, I hope he has worked on his outside shot this off-season.

[amckillip]

The more I look at this year's team, the more I like it. It happens every year, but somehow it feels legit this year Also, I don't see how WL gets much playing time unless there are at least two injuries to our gurads. He is r/s this year IMO. Barring injury, it will be tough to sqeeze JE in for more than 5 minutes a game.

If the guards have a weakness, it is 3 pt shooting. SM and AW are the only for-sure 3 point shooters ... DSE might develop into one this year. The best argument for having TB play an under-sized 4 rather than a natural 3 is his jump shot from beyond 12 feet. If he still has aspirations to play pro ball, I hope he has worked on his outside shot this off-season.

JE played over 10 minutes a game last year...

And Dodie is the best 3-pt shooter on the team, look at his %'s... He lead the team in 08-09...

[shaunguth]

SM and AW are the only for-sure 3 point shooters ... DSE might develop into one this year.

DD was our best 3-point shooter in 2008-09. His percentage that season was also better than SM's percentage last season.

[amckillip]

DD was our best 3-point shooter in 2008-09. His percentage that season was also better than SM's percentage last season.

HAH, Beat you!

[real fan]

Some of the posters did not see how much better Jake played towards the end of the season or they would be giving him more minutes, also I have heard so many good things about Walter Lemon that I doubt a red-shirt is being considered , it would be a great thing to be able to do but with 2 guards coming in next season I think he plays this year.