Are We In the Valley of Death - I Think Not

[Flying Hellfish]

So you seriously believe that Collins is currently able to play 15 or 20 effective minutes a game right now where he can score, rebound, and be a valuable contributor defensively...and that Les is fully aware of this and still chooses not to play Collins?

Why exactly do you think Les would do this? Because he enjoys the losing? Because he doesn't like David Collins as a person? Other reasons?

When I see that a guy isn't playing much and it's not because of grades or some other violation of team rules, I generally assume it is because of the fact that he isn't better than the other players that get minutes in his place. I don't see why there has to be a huge conspiracy built around it. Collins doesn't appear to be playing very well right now...I'm sure Les sees that in abundance in practice...and I think we've all seen it in his limited minutes he's gotten in games over the past 6...I don't see why giving him more minutes to look lost and ineffective should be the answer for a team that is still trying to win basketball games at this point...

Your argument would make sense if he had stunk it up all year but that just isn't the case. What would he have to do in practice after the 17-min, 3-4 shooting, 7 boards game to get him TWO minutes the next game and not many more minutes after that? Did he suddenly forget how to play basketball in practice? Is he all of a sudden extremely lazy? Disrespectful? Breaking team rules? What did he do?

And I don't think there's any sort of conspiracy with Les & Collins, etc. I just think he's a bad coach who doesn't have the slightest idea of who to play at any given time. Without Buescher the Elder, he's lost.

[ph]

When I see that a guy isn't playing much and it's not because of grades or some other violation of team rules, I generally assume it is because of the fact that he isn't better than the other players that get minutes in his place. I don't see why there has to be a huge conspiracy built around it. Collins doesn't appear to be playing very well right now...I'm sure Les sees that in abundance in practice...and I think we've all seen it in his limited minutes he's gotten in games over the past 6...I don't see why giving him more minutes to look lost and ineffective should be the answer for a team that is still trying to win basketball games at this point...

There can be a difference between playing better in practice and offering a better contribution in games.

Now if it is an obvious effort issue, then bench him.

But, say what if MS has been studying DC for the last 3 months. The light finally clicked on for MS, and boom. Now DC is completely ineffective vs MS. Does that mean DC should not see any game time? Did our opposition have 3 months to study DC?

When we continually get burnt by little guys making easy lay-ups, it would be nice to block their view of the rim by a 7 footer. When our bigs cannot finish around the rim, it would be nice to have a 7 footer that can dunk in instead. We go dead for at least 10-15 minutes a game. It would be nice to insert at least part of an exclamation point, then.

[thefish7]

I don't think Les is a bad coach, but I do think he at least appears to be a bit over-impressed with the 4-guard set and it's utility.

[ph]

I don't think Les is a bad coach, but I do think he at least appears to be a bit over-impressed with the 4-guard set and it's utility.

Remember the early Les years, where we had to "suffer" through heavy Brandyn Heemskerk minutes because he's a 7 footer and makes teams adjust on O due to that presence, and sets decent screens? We probably would of killed for a 4 guard O with no true center then....

[ER3]

I remember suffering through Les's infatuation with Chris Mroz

[Braves4Life]

I don't think Les is a bad coach, but I do think he at least appears to be a bit over-impressed with the 4-guard set and it's utility.

Let's remember that he's still a very young and relatively inexperienced coach. No doubt he's made, making, and will make mistakes as he continues to learn. I'm sure he has learned a valuable lesson in recruiting after this past year's failures and unexpected losses (that's not to say he didn't pick up some real potential gems in Egolf, Maniscalco, and Thompson).

That said, I have absolutely no doubt that Les is the man for this job. He is truly what BU basketball and Bradley University is all about. I hope he can right this ship and accomplish everything that he, and we, want and expect