If you can coach you can absolutely develop guys without them playing meaningful game minutes. WE don't see the development as fans, but coaches at all levels (those worth their salt) can develop talent in practice, not by giving kids game minutes they don't earn or deserve.BleedOrange wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2024 4:11 pmhammb wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 8:33 pm I didn't get to see any of this one...apparently Akron basketball isn't worth screentime in Cleveland sports bars. I was bummed about that.
I knew as the OOC schedule was playing out we were going to find some times that our short rotation was going to bite us in MAC play. Having only 7 guys you can trust to play is ROUGH. I have zero interest in playing 9-10 guys double digit minutes every night like Huger did. I have even less interest in throwing random end of bench/walk ons on the court every time we struggle to "find a spark". I have less interest still in recruiting football players or the like to join the team (why!? we have 12 scholarship players, several of whom never play. Zero chance the football team has players better than the guys we already don't put on the court). Still, playing only 7 is asking a TON of those guys. The Towns injury sucks, but I really think Simon should try to steal some minutes with Greer at the 4. That's not the best spot for him developmentally, and he'll struggle out there defensively, but It's just rough asking Agee & Spurgin to be the only guys that get PT over 6'5.
In the end though it looks like we competed pretty well on the road shorthanded. Akron played one guy 2mins, and other than that only went 8 deep. Simon won a ton of games going 8 deep at SUU. The best teams typically won't roll more than 8 guys, maybe 9, when it comes to important games. I'll take our shortened bench over what Huger did any day of the week.
Ya can't develop a roster and your younger players with only a 7 man rotation. Guys rot, morale goes to hell, and players leave. That's what we had under Dakich, and look how that turned out.
I also had classes with a couple of the guys on those Dakich teams and he was reviled for his personality and the the way he treated them as humans. I don't believe playing time was the deciding factor in why kids left. There were plenty of kids who left that DID get playing time.
Simon had pretty limited rotations at SUU, and I suspect that will continue here. 7 is more limited than even he would like, but with Towns out it makes some sense. Win games and morale will be fine. If kids who can't earn PT leave, I've never been one to much care. And in this portal era I think retooling rosters is going to be a constant. Still, I remember Simon talking about keeping kids in the program being a major part of his philosophy, so I trust he'll do what it takes to continue that.
