I have been deliberately trying to be less directly critical than I was in my last go 'round with administering the site. I was thinking about some of the issues you brought up earlier today, but didn't initiate a post about it. But since you brought it up....
I think the rotations, gameplans, and player minutes are going to have to be radically adjusted. We currently have only 7 players who have played in every game, and only 7 players who average more than 8 minutes who have played in more than half our games. We have three players averaging 32 minutes per game or more, and five players averaging more than 25. That pace simply can't be sustained. Some players are going to have to be added to the mix and/or play more minutes-- that's clear.
Complicating this issue is the fact that some players need to have certain complementary players on the floor at the same time-- you don't want to have four or five non-scorers on the court at the same time, and you need to have at least one natural floor leader on the court at all times. For instance, I think King and O'Leary wouldn't work so well together in the frontcourt, but the combos of King and Thomas or King and Osborne would be OK. Likewise, I think Johnson and O'Leary or Thomas work better together than Johnson and Osborne-- especially if Johnson is reigned in from shooting from more than 10 feet from the basket. I think White, Crisman, or Thomas must be on the court at all times because of their court leadership, and Doyle and Osborne need to develop in that role.
Another thing that has to be developed is backing Thomas off from the 4 to the 3-- or even the 2-- on some rotations against certain teams. I don't think we've ever seen White, Doyle, Thomas, Osborne and King out on the floor at the same time (maybe a minute or two against Miss. St.?), let alone White, Thomas, O'Leary, Osborne and King. I have no idea what this would look like in a real game, but you have to believe these and other sets have been looked at in practice. It would be hard for me to imagine that this could be even more unworkable than four guys playing 30-37 minutes against a much taller, more versatile, better-rested team that's annihilating us on the boards on our own court as NIU did.
I mostly agree about your assessment of the team in terms of talent, especially if Christian Thomas is allowed to play more minutes in a more natural role (at the 3 or even the 2). Unfortunately, this means the coach is going to have to trust King and/or Johnson to play up to 8 minutes a game. Maybe this means they don't play against frontcourt starters, but most frontcourt starters are off the court for 12-15 minutes a game. Maybe it requires Doyle to experiment a little at the point. The bottom line is, it appears to me, that we don't have nearly enough versatility in the gameplan for players who look like they have enough talent and ability to be much more versatile. The rigidity in the gameplan is constraining the ability to create mismatches, and insisting that some players have to work much harder in unfamiliar, unnatural roles.
It's too bad we're this far into the season before we have the chance to make these adjustments. The best place to test this in actual game situations with all the players healthy was the tournament in Portland. The collapses in the Tennessee Tech, Tulane, and Portland State games should have pointed out the need for adjustments. Now we have only one more game before the MVC slate begins.
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