Sam Singh

[ph]

When Ruffin returns that will eliminate someones minutes, probably mostly SM but I have a feeling he will play quite abit and at either the 1 or 2, if he get more minutes then he did before Ruffins injury that is going to have to eliminate someone elses minutes.

If you play DR at the one, SM at the 2, do you move JC to a 3 and then have Wilson at a 4 or does AW share minutes at the 3 with JC?

DR coming back will be great for this team and will help with the distribution of minutes, and will give JL more options. I just hope he doesnt fall back in love with the smaller players at the 4 and use Salley at the 5.

DR returning will hopefully only mean the guards can go from really, really heavy minutes to somewhat more manageable minutes, and staying fresh longer. Adding one player into an even mix will not reduce everyones minutes to say only 20/game 4 guards in 120 minutes of positions (1-3) is still a fairly large 30 minutes per guard per game.

In the 1-3 spots we are currently only playing 3 guards + TCS, so our guards have to average way more than 35 a game.

30m /game is still on the high side for a fast paced pressure D, but much, much more manageable with a better chance to stay healthy than recent games where the 3 guards were all playing 37+

[houstontxbrave]

Tyrone Cole-Scott is the odd man out after Ruffin's return. Sam should still be logging 25-30 minutes a game spelling DR at the 1, but also AW and JC. The big man rotation should stay the same.

Not to disrespect TCS but I really hope his minutes eliminate, and that JL doesnt go back to a small line up with trying to get by with Wilson/Warren at a 4 and Salley at a 5 and play a rotation of JC, Ruffin and SM at the guard positions.

But all of this is cart before the horse. We need Wednesday real bad. We can worry about Ruffin when he is healthy and ready... hopefully for sometime v ISU next week

[BradleyBrave]

Not to disrespect TCS but I really hope his minutes eliminate, and that JL doesnt go back to a small line up with trying to get by with Wilson/Warren at a 4 and Salley at a 5 and play a rotation of JC, Ruffin and SM at the guard positions.

But all of this is cart before the horse. We need Wednesday real bad. We can worry about Ruffin when he is healthy and ready... hopefully for sometime v ISU next week

Agreed. It's time to go 4 deep at guard, and 4 deep up front. DR, JC, AW, and SM in the backcourt with SS, TW, RA, and MS up front.

Sorry DC. I'd play you over Salley, but he's obviously doing something that you're not. What it is, I am not sure.

[Beninator]

Sorry DC. I'd play you over Salley, but he's obviously doing something that you're not. What it is, I am not sure.

Not trying to be sarcastic here, but are you serious?

[BradleyBrave]

Not trying to be sarcastic here, but are you serious?

Yes I am serious. Based on game performance, and the team's +/- when each is in the game, I have no idea what Salley brings to the table. He's average on defense, weak on offense, not very smart, and is a terrible foul shooter. Again, it must be something to do with effort/execution/attitude in practice, because you cannot find a reason that Matt Salley should play over David Collins. But also as I have said, I thought our bigs rotation was great on Saturday, and am of the ilk that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Beninator]

Yes I am serious. Based on game performance, and the team's +/- when each is in the game, I have no idea what Salley brings to the table. He's average on defense, weak on offense, not very smart, and is a terrible foul shooter. Again, it must be something to do with effort/execution/attitude in practice, because you cannot find a reason that Matt Salley should play over David Collins. But also as I have said, I thought our bigs rotation was great on Saturday, and am of the ilk that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Let me first say that I will be the first to admit that Matt Salley has his flaws. I have never seen someone miss so many chip shots as Matt Salley. Toward the begining of the season I would agree with you that DC should start over MS. But at the current time, I cant find a reason to give DC significant minutes over Salley. I am saying this because based on recent performances, DC has looked incredibly soft and lost on the floor. I think that DC should get some minutes.(maybe 4-5 minutes per game to fill in until he shows something)imo If DC shows something during the limited pt then adjust the time upward. I hope DC does show something as I think that this team could turn around their record with solid contributions from DC. I have said earlier on this board that I think that Rashad Austin has the potential to be a better player than MS by years end so I am definately of the mode that if it aint broke we dont fix it. But like it or not, I think that Matt Salley is our better alternative at the current time. :-|

[houstontxbrave]

Yes I am serious. Based on game performance, and the team's +/- when each is in the game, I have no idea what Salley brings to the table. He's average on defense, weak on offense, not very smart, and is a terrible foul shooter. Again, it must be something to do with effort/execution/attitude in practice, because you cannot find a reason that Matt Salley should play over David Collins. But also as I have said, I thought our bigs rotation was great on Saturday, and am of the ilk that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I honestly think he plays because JL trusts him to be where he wants him on both ends of the court. And he probably likes his physical presense. I just do not think JL trusts Collins.

[ph]

I honestly think he plays because JL trusts him to be where he wants him on both ends of the court. And he probably likes his physical presense. I just do not think JL trusts Collins.

Jim said (on his show tonught) that right now, DC is currently only set to get PT in the event of foul trouble or injury

[houstontxbrave]

Jim said (on his show tonught) that right now, DC is currently only set to get PT in the event of foul trouble or injury

Did he get pressed on why Collins' minutes have gotten to this point?

[Da Coach]

He talked for a while about DC's minutes, but didn't really say anything new. He continued to say that minutes in games are based on performance in practice, and that he didn't really believe in the theory that some players are just not good practice players, but are "gamers".

[Dallas Brave]

He talked for a while about DC's minutes, but didn't really say anything new. He continued to say that minutes in games are based on performance in practice, and that he didn't really believe in the theory that some players are just not good practice players, but are "gamers".

This is the part that is hard for me to fully understand.

I'm all for players working hard in practice, showing a good attitude, being part of the team, etc... But, this team only has two players who should be playing the 5 spot. They are DC and SS. So, its not like TW or JC or one of the guards should be taking game minutes away from DC because of practice effort. The players fight for minutes within their position. Only SS should be taking minutes from DC.

The team has two centers. One of them should be on the floor most of the time during regular play of a game. Obviously, if we are behind several points with limited time left in a game, we're going to load up with the 3 point shooters, but in the course of normal play, either SS or DC should be on the court. SS can't go 40 minutes ... therefore DC should be playing when SS isn't.

I don't fully subscribe to this "game minutes for practice effort" thing. How does a coaching staff develop a game plan for an upcoming game if they don't know what type of lineup they are going go with???? It can't get decided each week based on practice effort, especially when there is more than one game in a week.

[Dallas Brave]

This is the part that is hard for me to fully understand.

I'm all for players working hard in practice, showing a good attitude, being part of the team, etc... But, this team only has two players who should be playing the 5 spot. They are DC and SS. So, its not like TW or JC or one of the guards should be taking game minutes away from DC because of practice effort. The players fight for minutes within their position. Only SS should be taking minutes from DC.

The team has two centers. One of them should be on the floor most of the time during regular play of a game. Obviously, if we are behind several points with limited time left in a game, we're going to load up with the 3 point shooters, but in the course of normal play, either SS or DC should be on the court. SS can't go 40 minutes ... therefore DC should be playing when SS isn't.

I don't fully subscribe to this "game minutes for practice effort" thing. How does a coaching staff develop a game plan for an upcoming game if they don't know what type of lineup they are going go with???? It can't get decided each week based on practice effort, especially when there is more than one game in a week.

The other point I'll make while I'm on my soap box is that the "game minutes for practice effort" makes it sound like the full burden of playing is on the shoulders of the players. There is some responsibility on the coaches to take a longer view of things and work at developing the players into the best "team of players" and that takes multiple games to develop. Maybe small ball was a failed attempt at the long-view and the coaches attribute that lineup to players earning it via playing time rather than it being the coaching strategy.

I love JL as the coach and hope he is at BU for a long, long time ... but there has to be more to his approach for developing a line up and and a game plan then just who is practicing well in any given week.

[Toyota12]

DC minutes

I think what Jim said was that in practice our bigs go at each other in drills and game situations... He said that is where game minutes are earned and if can not impress our staff
against Salley,Austin,Wilson,Singh...Why should he get to play on game night in front of 9000 people?

[Beninator]

I think what Jim said was that in practice our bigs go at each other in drills and game situations... He said that is where game minutes are earned and if can not impress our staff
against Salley,Austin,Wilson,Singh...Why should he get to play on game night in front of 9000 people?

You are correct Toyota. We have a window to win some games this season albeit a small window. The rotation for our bigs last Saturday gives us the best chance for a win. Bottom line, DC hasnt shown anything when he has game minutes and DC hasnt shown anything in practice.

[Dallas Brave]

I think what Jim said was that in practice our bigs go at each other in drills and game situations... He said that is where game minutes are earned and if can not impress our staff
against Salley,Austin,Wilson,Singh...Why should he get to play on game night in front of 9000 people?

I think I can answer that.

The reason he needs to be on the floor is because his team needs him out there. We are 17 games into the season and winning the battle of the boards is critical for this team to win games. Here is BU’s record based on how the team did on the boards:

8-2: record when BU out-rebounds opponent
0-2: record when BU ties opponent for rebounds
0-5: record when opponent out-rebounds BU

There are 80 minutes to be allocated to the 4 and 5 spot each game. I simply don’t believe that DC’s effort is so poor in practice that he should not get any playing time in the games. And it hurts this team that he is not out there for 15+ minutes a game.

Sam Singh played 0 minutes in the first game against UNI. Two weeks later he plays 16 minutes. I don’t believe that the dramatic difference between these two games was because Sam happened to practice better in the week leading up to the second game. I’m hoping that the coaching staff made some adjustments and Sam’s playing wasn’t arbitrarily determined because he had a couple of good practices.

The team is 8-9. We are not going to get an at-large bid to the NCAA this year. Our only hope is to regroup with the purpose of winning the MVC tournament which this team is capable of doing. In order to have a chance to win the tournament, we must put a team on the floor that can rebound and establish an inside presence. Being able to win the battle of the boards leads to a lot of secondary benefits like more open outside shots, better minute distribution among our guards (to keep the legs fresh), fewer second chances for the opposing team, etc… DC must be played each game to keep developing him with the tournament in mind.

DC is not perfect … if he was, he wouldn’t be at BU. So you can’t simply bench the guy because he makes some mistakes. If absence of mistakes was necessary to stay on the floor, every player would be benched. He has to play to get better and this team needs him as indicated by the W-L records above. Maybe I would be barking up the wrong tree if he hadn’t played enough early on to see the contribution he can make, but he has and we have seen it.