Bully over Duke

[Kronic42]

I think it has come to a point that we need to start considering bully to start over Deen. I'm not saying next game just bench duke straight up, but give him the Almar treatment and starting taking some minutes away. Duke is frankly a liability when he isn't shooting well. Bully has shown to be one of the best on ball and overall best perimeter defenders in the valley. I think this also raises the question of given the new juco rules, giving Deen an extra year as I understand it (correct me if im wrong). If he continues to play like this and we can assume that bully will only get better, as well as the incoming recruiting class, I don't see a realistic scenario where Duke is coming back as a player. I hope that this doesn't happen and Duke can get going again but when Meta started full time he has stepped up, maybe the same move with Deen and Bully can yield a similar result.

[Landof10thcoaches]

Bench the big 3 !!!!!

[daveineureka]

I would not go that far as Jaquon starting over Duke. Jaquon has shown quite a bit improvement during the year. If it was me he has earned more playing time obviously. I would have him playing about 25 minutes until I hope Deen comes around and plays better. Just my opinion.

[Bradley3342]

I would not go that far as Jaquon starting over Duke. Jaquon has shown quite a bit improvement during the year. If it was me he has earned more playing time obviously. I would have him playing about 25 minutes until I hope Deen comes around and plays better. Just my opinion.

Ditto Dave

[Tommy]

I think it has come to a point that we need to start considering bully to start over Deen. I'm not saying next game just bench duke straight up, but give him the Almar treatment and starting taking some minutes away. Duke is frankly a liability when he isn't shooting well. Bully has shown to be one of the best on ball and overall best perimeter defenders in the valley. I think this also raises the question of given the new juco rules, giving Deen an extra year as I understand it (correct me if im wrong). If he continues to play like this and we can assume that bully will only get better, as well as the incoming recruiting class, I don't see a realistic scenario where Duke is coming back as a player. I hope that this doesn't happen and Duke can get going again but when Meta started full time he has stepped up, maybe the same move with Deen and Bully can yield a similar result.

No, just no.

[Bballjunkie]

Hard to say to start because we don't know what's going on at practice. I would probably start duke, burch , Zeke at the 3. Davis at 4 and Hannah at 5. This will make us more explosive and athletic. Bully gets a lot more minutes. Dillion situational. Meta , almar and Thomas split minutes . Cut down on substitutions and let players play. When almar comes in plays the 4 or 3 like last year to utilize his size and shooting .

[tomahawk chop]

The best way to get players to wake up is by not starting them. Then it comes down to how hungry they are to get back out on the court. This does not mean they will not get a lot of minutes but they need to get the message this is not acceptable play on their parts.

[LittleBrave]

The best way to get players to wake up is by not starting them. Then it comes down to how hungry they are to get back out on the court. This does not mean they will not get a lot of minutes but they need to get the message this is not acceptable play on their parts.

If it's a matter of our veterans not being hungry or lacking effort, I'd agree with this.

I certainly didn't see a lack of effort or leadership last game - just 3-4 guys in a complete rut at once! I still have faith in Zek, Duke, and Darius. I admire Duke for still channeling positive energy throughout the game to his teammates even tho he was struggling mightily. That is leadership.

They will eventually break out of this. They need to be set up in an offense to succeed, and the sets and motion look horrible the last 2 games, making baskets much harder to come by. They all have been forcing shots the last 2 games and taking tough shots. Too much 1-on-1 from my perspective. It's gotta be frustrating for them.
As hard as it is to do, we have to ride this wave and stand behind the guys who have given so much to this program. With that said, for what the program has given to them, their expectations are (and should be) higher.

Half (or more) of the blame goes on the coaches IMO for not putting them in positions to succeed the past 2 games and not making enough adjustments for the plans that obviously are not working.

[BUFAN1]

If it's a matter of our veterans not being hungry or lacking effort, I'd agree with this.

I certainly didn't see a lack of effort or leadership last game - just 3-4 guys in a complete rut at once! I still have faith in Zek, Duke, and Darius. I admire Duke for still channeling positive energy throughout the game to his teammates even tho he was struggling mightily. That is leadership.

They will eventually break out of this. They need to be set up in an offense to succeed, and the sets and motion look horrible the last 2 games, making baskets much harder to come by. They all have been forcing shots the last 2 games and taking tough shots. Too much 1-on-1 from my perspective. It's gotta be frustrating for them.
As hard as it is to do, we have to ride this wave and stand behind the guys who have given so much to this program. With that said, for what the program has given to them, their expectations are (and should be) higher.

Half (or more) of the blame goes on the coaches IMO for not putting them in positions to succeed the past 2 games and not making enough adjustments for the plans that obviously are not working.

What game were you watching? the last 2 have been completely abysmal from an effort standpoint and especially from our 3 senior stars - Duke, Zek, and Darius.

Appreciate your optimism!!

[LittleBrave]

What game were you watching? the last 2 have been completely abysmal from an effort standpoint and especially from our 3 senior stars - Duke, Zek, and Darius.

Appreciate your optimism!!

I have to stay optimistic b/c this team has the potential to be great - have only seen flashes this season.
Could it be that the output from the 3 senior stars leads you to think that the effort was abysmal? I saw fight and effort from all 3 vs. UNI - can't defend them in the previous game. But effort doesn't always put the ball in the hoop. Maybe I WAS watching a different game!

[Bacci'sAftertheGym]

No, just no.

i like this.
in the UIC game I agree the big 3 basically gave up 10 minutes into the game. They looked like they didn't even want to be there and lack of effort was the main reason we lost.
Regardless of how cold he's shooting, Duke will never be benched without a serious "violating team rules" infraction. Which we know he isn't that type of guy.
IMHO CD shoulders a fair burden on the UIC loss too. He's got to be our spark on defense and affect the outcome of games with his length like Maly did. He's not Maly, but he's CD and he's gotta be a leader.
In the UNI game I think the effort was there and the vets were being leaders. I think it was all mindset. Couldn't get over the loss at home and it caused them to miss shots they normally make. Couldn't shake out the cobwebs.
Stretches like this the role players become huge. Burch was playing the best we've seen him all year at UNI. Bully, great. Dillon could be helping a ton but he's lost his aggression in the last few and he'll get it back. Almar is coming back strong. Meta is always improving.
BW will pull it all together when it counts, like he always does.
I'm not worried

[Southside]

Very few easy baskets the last couple games. Too much standing around on offense and the TOs are a major problem. We have a lot of depth, but still no go to scorer, especially when Duke is cold. Great teams need an Alpha, I'm not sure this team has one.