Collins

[bu fan 9]

Do people understand now why DC is not playing he look lost to day.

[ER3]

soft...lost...passive...zero basketball instincts...

take your pick...

[MacabreMob]

I think DC might develop and be able to give us a good 5-15 minutes a game next year.

Then again - he could just say forget it and fall off the map.

I hope he stays and keeps working hard to learn and develop.

[Big Mike]

What did you think would happen when he got into the game......20 pts and 10 rbs in 4 mins? The guy played good at the start of the season....his confidence is shot right now.....I am not giving up on him.....he will be fine when he gets back to feeling like he is part of the team again and not jerked out of the action at the 1st mistake..........we won today just be happy with that!

[ER3]

What did you think would happen when he got into the game......20 pts and 10 rbs in 4 mins? The guy played good at the start of the season....his confidence is shot right now.....I am not giving up on him.....he will be fine when he gets back to feeling like he is part of the team again and not jerked out of the action at the 1st mistake..........we won today just be happy with that!

I'm extremely happy with the win...it was a great effort by the team...
I'm also extremely tired of people wondering game after game why it is that #4 doesn't get minutes...I'm tired of the sarcastic cheers he gets at Carver every time he gets into a game...as if Les is the only one on the planet that doesn't understand the equation "7-footer = superstar".
What did I expect from him today? Well, I would expect that if he really doesn't like sitting at the end of the bench and if he cares at all about getting minutes the rest of the year, then he could show that by playing with a little energy or fire when he does get his rare opportunities. Get a rebound, catch a pass, run the floor, something, anything... Instead, he came in and tiptoed around for 4 minutes and handled the ball like it was a wet grape every time it came his way...

[Big Mike]

So I guess DC will get better by sitting on the bench....he needs support by the fans but I guess some of us don't undeerstand D1 ball enough to see whats going on! Lets only support the players who have a good game.....is that how we should do it?

[BUconnorD]

I love DC, he's a good player and is built to play at a D1 level. But he's not ready.
Yea he played pooorly today, but he does need some more time. I think Jim Les needs to put him in
a) more often
b) for more time

he seems to only play when were's up by 20

either way...Sam Singh is all we need in the middle!

[ER3]

So I guess DC will get better by sitting on the bench....he needs support by the fans but I guess some of us don't undeerstand D1 ball enough to see whats going on! Lets only support the players who have a good game.....is that how we should do it?

DC needs to do something to earn minutes....he isn't doing that in games or practice...
I support him when he is in the games...I want him to do well...but when he gets a rare opportunity to prove that he deserves more of an opportunity, and he coasts his way through it, I'm not going to make excuses for the guy.
This isn't biddy basketball...If DC is going to get better, it needs to happen in practice or in the off-season...Because we are not in the position where we can waste meaningful game minutes on a 7-footer that looks disinterested and lost when he does get a chance to do something in garbage time.
Maybe an off-season of working out and clearing his head will bring him back as an improved, more confident player...but he is toast right now.

[Big Mike]

Most seem to forget ZA's jr season....he was always out of posistion on both ends of the court and would foul out in a short amount of time.....yet he seemed to get better his Sr season....DC will do the same IMO.....he is a part of my Bradley Braves and I will support him to the fullest! He will be needed next season and depending on fouls in the Valley tourney he might be needed yet thie season same as TCS! I am not good enough to evaluate a plyer in 4 minutes!

[bu fan 9]

He needs some FIRE.There is no reason why he is not playing hard when he gets in.

[BradleyBrave]

I love DC, he's a good player and is built to play at a D1 level. But he's not ready.
Yea he played pooorly today, but he does need some more time. I think Jim Les needs to put him in
a) more often
b) for more time

he seems to only play when were's up by 20

either way...Sam Singh is all we need in the middle!

He's 22 years old. If DC isn't ready now, he's never going to be.

[bigdaddystuck]

I agree that players like DC need to get some game experience to see how they handle it, but the decision on how much is going to be based off of practice. My guess is that he isn't showing much in practice and therefore does not get many chances in a game. I felt that he did nothing today to change JL's opinion...granted 4 mins is not a ton of time, but he looked like his feet were nailed to the floor. A little fire, aggression, get pissed off, whatever he needs to do to get himself psyched up, he needs to do it when he does get the mins.

[MacabreMob]

He needs some FIRE.There is no reason why he is not playing hard when he gets in.

DC isn't from the inner-city of "Anywhere-USA".... he's from Canada.

[shaunguth]

He needs some FIRE.There is no reason why he is not playing hard when he gets in.

There is also no reason for a starting center to shoot 25% from the field, missing two layups, and only points coming on a dunk!

[Dallas Brave]

Do people understand now why DC is not playing he look lost to day.

I have to disagree with saying that David Collins isn't playing based on what people saw in today's game. Today's 3 minutes was the first time he has seen the floor since he played all of two minutes 3 games ago against MSU.

I'm not saying he deserves to play more ... I haven't seen him in practice. But I did see him play in person against Iowa and Vanderbilt and he contributed in meaningful ways in both of those games. No, he didn't remind me of the second coming of Bill Russell, but he was playing as good as any of the other Bradley big men (not counting TW). Something happened around the Wright State game and JL has dramatically scaled back DC's time and I have think DC has zero confidence when he goes out for his 2-3 minute stint every third game or so.

It's too bad this year hasn't work out for DC. It may be in DC's best interest to transfer after the season and sit out a year. Then he will have a senior year at a program that he is better suited for. It sure doesn't seem as though he fits into JL's future scheme with the way JL is using him. A kid's college playing career only happens once and you don't want to see anybody waste the opportunity at a program where they aren't fitting in. Personally, I think DC has a lot more to offer than what we have seen out of him the second half of this year.