Player Rotation - Get Real Fran

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WinOneThisCentury

Well-Known Member
I know it's coach speak, especially now, but you can't have a rotation of 11 players. Guess what, it's ok if players transfer, if it's because they can't crack the top 8-9, and the players ahead them are sophs/juniors. That's good for a program if you can recruit...it means your 8 top players are pretty good. I know Fran's saying everyone has a shot here...but I hope we don't have a rotation of 11. The only way that works is if we are pressing full court man to man for 40 minutes...and I doubt that's happening.

I think you have to get down to 8-9 so you can develop cohesiveness not only offensively, but defensively. I think that was part of the problem last year, guys didn't develop that confidence and communication that comes with the repetition of knowing who's on the floor.
 


I get your point, but I also get Fran's point. We have 10 guys( Ellingson is not included yet) that are roughly the same talent. As Fran said, we have hard-working guys who are not blue chip. So, it comes down to if it is better to have 8 average players play or 10? Who do you exclude? Take out Sapp, or Trey, or Dom or Gabe, or Josh? Sit three of those guys and push them to transfer? That will make us better? I have my doubts.
 


Hmmm...do you think guys get better if the play more minutes? I do. My top 9 are:

Gesell
Jok
Oglesthree
White
Utoff
Sapp
Gabe
Woodberry
Most likely Uhl or Dickerson (depending on match ups)
 


That's all well and good but the bottom 3 on your list are the 3 guys you have never seen play. Is that list in order? If so, do you feel if one of the 3 players you haven't seen is actually good enough to crack the rotation, do you feel Woody should be bumped out?
 


That's easy to say when you haven't seen the new guys play. But what if BE is the best 3 pt shooter on the team? What if TD is too good on offense to keep off the court and AC is too good at defense?

Playing that many people would be a fine line between keeping everyone happy and keeping no one happy. The first half of last year it looked like Fran walked that line great. After that our team chemistry looked terrible. Hopefully it wasn't related to minutes and the whole year looks like the first half of last year.
 




Ok...but i'm looking at history. Did everyone feel the rotation last year was optimal? I think you have to play your top 5-6 more minutes...always have. Hopefully we can keep them fresh by not playing them huge minutes in certain games...hopefully we have a few easier games.

That being said...the last couple spots and the rotation are obviously based on who wins them...thanks for pointing out the freshmen haven't played. You have an incredible eye for the obvious.
 


WinOneThisCentury said:
Ok...but i'm looking at history. Did everyone feel the rotation last year was optimal? I think you have to play your top 5-6 more minutes...always have. Hopefully we can keep them fresh by not playing them huge minutes in certain games...hopefully we have a few easier games.

That being said...the last couple spots and the rotation are obviously based on who wins them...thanks for pointing out the freshmen haven't played. You have an incredible eye for the obvious.
Click to expand...

You mean obvious like pointing out that you would put the players you've seen play over the players you haven't? :)
 


Alright. Well I don't think there is any chance Woody loses his spot in the order. Gabe either for that matter. It'll be interesting to see how the season unfolds because looking at the current roster I don't see any elite players, nor do I see glaring weaknesses. There is a lot of comparable talent on this roster so depending on how everyone meshes (newcomers included), that will be key to their success.
 


What the players show in practice and games will determine how deep we go. We will start going 10 or 11 deep but our bench could shorten by Big 10 season. We don't yet know if players progress or step back or how the newcomers will do. It's all speculation at this point.
 


The issue last season is Iowa didn't have 11 deep talent, but Fran played it like he did and in the end it was that move that cost us..
 




PCHawk said:
You mean obvious like pointing out that you would put the players you've seen play over the players you haven't? :)
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Ummm...I said their would be a 9 player rotation...then listed 8 players (in no particular order morons) and said the 9th would come from Trey or Uhl depending on Match Ups.

I'm going back over to the football forum...they've obviously taken few fastballs to the head over there.
 


WinOneThisCentury said:
Ok...but i'm looking at history. Did everyone feel the rotation last year was optimal? I think you have to play your top 5-6 more minutes...always have. Hopefully we can keep them fresh by not playing them huge minutes in certain games...hopefully we have a few easier games.

That being said...the last couple spots and the rotation are obviously based on who wins them...thanks for pointing out the freshmen haven't played. You have an incredible eye for the obvious.
Click to expand...

I liked it a lot when we were 19-6 and ranked #10!
 


WinOneThisCentury said:
Ok...but i'm looking at history. Did everyone feel the rotation last year was optimal? I think you have to play your top 5-6 more minutes...always have. Hopefully we can keep them fresh by not playing them huge minutes in certain games...hopefully we have a few easier games.

That being said...the last couple spots and the rotation are obviously based on who wins them...thanks for pointing out the freshmen haven't played. You have an incredible eye for the obvious.
Click to expand...

I liked it a lot when we were 19-6 and ranked #10!
 


WinOneThisCentury said:
Ummm...I said their would be a 9 player rotation...then listed 8 players (in no particular order morons) and said the 9th would come from Trey or Uhl depending on Match Ups.

I'm going back over to the football forum...they've obviously taken few fastballs to the head over there.
Click to expand...

Ah come on man, at least leave your ball.
 


Can we at least wait until November before we start throwing basketball coaches and schemes under the bus? That'd be a novel concept, I know!
 


SpiderRico said:
I liked it a lot when we were 19-6 and ranked #10!
Click to expand...

yep...then the wheels came off when good teams are supposed to start getting better and peaking for the tournament. So in the grand scheme whatever we were doing didn't work so well when it mattered most. Now, we can do the same thing, and hope it's different this time around...but my fear is that you get the same result.

I'm just not sure I've seen a top team take a deep run playing 11 guys. I honestly can't recall that...does Kentucky, Duke, or North Carolina do that? They would have the talent for it.
 


WinOneThisCentury said:
yep...then the wheels came off when good teams are supposed to start getting better and peaking for the tournament. So in the grand scheme whatever we were doing didn't work so well when it mattered most. Now, we can do the same thing, and hope it's different this time around...but my fear is that you get the same result.

I'm just not sure I've seen a top team take a deep run playing 11 guys. I honestly can't recall that...does Kentucky, Duke, or North Carolina do that? They would have the talent for it.
Click to expand...

This season at UK, Calipari is going to go with a platoon system. He has two teams of 5 guys, and he is going to keep them together and play both units half the game, roughly.

He is so serious about this that he has hired a bb sabremetician who can help highlight full game numbers of all ten players to the NBA scouts....so that all then can achieve their goals of playing in the NBA. Cal has hired a fulltime guy just to help players get drafted....amazing. Cal really believes that his job is to get them a job, in the NBA, and education is secondary because that is what kids go to college to do....be able to get a job.
 




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