Agreed. As an athlete you have to have that attitude.I like Ulis' attitude and any freshman who comes to town believing he can impact the team. I usually hear that from incoming quarterbacks. Arrive like you're going to win a starting spot and compete when you get here.
It’s a very unique and really unprecedented situation in which we have a pretty full roster set to return and also bringing in a 5 man class.Definitely. And plenty of guys don't handle it well and transfer.
Coaches don't always get it right but I do believe that they play the guys that give them the best chance to win. And that's usually based on what they see in practice and game minutes. All of the players see the same thing. If they're being honest with themselves, they get it.
The prior season to this one we went 9 deep and redshirted two able bodied players that would have been in the rotation Nunge and CJ (CJ had a minor injury early on but would have played if they wanted him to). Very limited injury issues or concerns that season.It sounds like the incoming players are connecting and getting to know each other. I hope they’re all studs, develop great chemistry, push the starters hard in practice and talk about how the 5 of them are going to play together the next 3 (or 4) years and win it all. I like moxie.
For now I can’t even imagine worrying about minutes next year. Connor, CJ, Nunge, Pemsl, Bohannon, Garza (offseason) have all had health and injury issues in the past. I’m not saying they are all injury prone. I’m saying guys get sick/hurt and miss time. It’s happened 4 years running.
I’m with you on this.This is not the year to force young guys on the court to keep them happy. Assuming everyone coming back is healthy, we have 8 legitimate Big 10 players ready to rotate, with maybe a 9th if Pemsl does end up staying. To me, you might have room to rotate in one of the guards for 7-10 minutes and maybe the center if Pemsl transfers. I believe Fran would do himself a service by redshirting at least 3 freshmen, if not 4, just so he is not tempted to force minutes to them and overextend his rotation.
We have a veteran team that is deep. The newcomers should understand that. If they do not earn a roster spot in the early season, they should embrace a season playing scout team against one of the most talented rosters in the nation.
I didn’t say “there is no concern about minutes.” You said that. I said “FOR NOW I can’t even imagine worrying about minutes next year.”The prior season to this one we went 9 deep and redshirted two able bodied players that would have been in the rotation Nunge and CJ (CJ had a minor injury early on but would have played if they wanted him to). Very limited injury issues or concerns that season.
Our picture this year is even tighter and more difficult than that. Saying there is no concern about minutes is wishful thinking.