AxnJxn

Two points: (1) your assumption that he would knock down FTs is just that. The stats don't really back it up (I would call them inconclusive at best, but 65% on a small sample size isn't really ideal in that situation), and his shooting outside of 5 feet, and I think everyone would all agree on this, is painful to watch. (2) What's the one thing you don't want to do in those last 40 seconds last night? Foul. Trey did that not once, but twice last night, and that was on top of a pretty bad offensive foul that helped land him on the bench in the first place. I would agree that he's usually one of our smarter players, but he wasn't last night. I don't think we even have to agree to disagree, and I think you know I respect your opinion, and I agree with most of what you are saying. This really all comes down to trust. You trust him completely (and clearly CMW does as well), I have some concerns about his recent play. In the end, we simply don't have a better option behind him.

He's a better ball handler than TJD or Kopp. I mean, I'm being hyperbolic here, but my point is you can't just say get the best ball handlers in the game, which is what both of you have been saying - there are other things that need to be considered, like FT shooting, bball IQ plays, etc. TBF, if we had this convo a week ago, I would likely agree with having TG in there. He just doesn't seem himself lately with respect to playing smart basketball (agree that it's highly uncharacteristic, but it is what it is), and I was concerned when he came in last night. He then proceeded to commit a really bad foul that could have been costly, and then fouled out right after that. As for him only playing 12 minutes, you're really kind of proving my point here. IIRC, he was sitting because of foul trouble, and one of those fouls was an offensive foul that was, frankly, not a smart play. I will agree that we don't seem to have better options, which is also a bit problematic, but that ain't changing before tomorrow night.

You're only looking at ball handling at the end of the game - that's been your sole reason to have him in the game. When I note that he's at best an unknown at the line, you're making a pretty big assumption that he's going to knock down FTs, with really nothing to back that up other than a gut feeling, when his play on the court, especially his shooting, is contrary to that. You also want guys who are going to make smart plays in that situation, and you're not mentioning that at all. That's what I mean by single minded. Let me put it like this - if the only thing we're considering is ball handling, why not put in Lander?

It's not one game - I wouldn't have a problem if it was just one game - and no one has a problem with Race sitting. I agree that Trey is one of our smarter players, he just hasn't been showing that lately IMO, and we simply don't seem to have a better option, unlike Race/JG. Yep, and I think I've been pretty clear that this is just my opinion only, and it's coming from my couch. I'm just concerned with Trey's play, and that certainly seemed to be valid last night - that foul on an easy layup could have cost us the game, and he fouled out right after that. Both of those were terrible plays in that situation.

This is what I mean by single minded. I mean, you agree that Wyoming had to foul there, right? If he's one of the primary ball handlers, he's likely to be shooting FTs, so ball handling isn't the only consideration in that situation. I also don't get why you keep saying he's a good FT shooter when he's 13-20 this year - at best, it's an unknown. I could also add that he can't hit anything outside of 5 feet, and it certainly seems like the pressure of the tournaments may be getting to him a bit. 'Course, that observation is from my couch, so there's that. I didn't see excellent play against UM and ILL. I thought he was solid in the latter, not so good in the former, and he was pretty bad against Iowa as well as last night.

I didn't realize Kopp was already in the game there, so my bad. I really like TG and love his game when he is playing well, I simply don't trust him to do that right now. He was pretty bad in the BTT, he didn't play well earlier in this game, and he can't throw it in the ocean from outside right now, so I'd be very concerned about him going to the FT line at the end of the game. As for using that lineup at the end of every game, our Achilles' heel all year has been closing out games, so there's that. In the end, it doesn't matter - CMW obviously trusts him, and that's all that really counts.

You can't afford to be that single minded at the end of the game, though. You also need good foul shooters, and guys who are going to make smart plays. I never said I wanted Kopp handling the ball, but I would have preferred to see him in the game in some capacity, because they have to foul there - he's a leader on the court, a good FT shooter, and generally a smart player. What's stopping us from having XJ, Rob, PS/Trey, Kopp, and TJD in the game? You have at least 3 ball handlers, your best FT shooter, and generally our higher IQ players in there.

I have no idea how you can say his poor play isn’t relevant when handling the ball, when he has a really bad offensive foul earlier in the game while handing the ball.

Yah, that was mentioned before, i just don’t agree. Rob is a better option for handling the ball IMO, Kopp is normally a great FT shooter, and Trey is simply not playing smart ball - he had two bad fouls in the 40 seconds or whatever he was in at the end.

i didn’t say anything like that - we don’t have any issues sitting Race because we have a better option right now. Is that negating his career and season? I just didn’t think Trey was a good option there.

TG 65.0% PS 64.3% I mean, technically you are correct, but I wouldn't exactly call that a great point on such a small sample size for both (PS 28 FTs, TG 20).

Agreed on PS, but Trey has not shown that he's a good FT shooter this year, or a good shooter in any way, shape, or form. I guess it's a pick your poison sort of thing - Trey might be able to handle the ball better than PS, but he also had two really dumb fouls in the last 40 seconds, and hasn't been playing smart basketball for a few games now, for whatever reason. 'Course, PS also had at least one dumb foul, too. I've no idea what's going on with Trey and Race, but I hope they figure it out quickly.

Completely agree. I try not to be negative, but if we weren't playing in that game last night, I would have turned it off in the first half. I could rationalize that it was great defense, but it was just bad basketball by both teams.

You have XJ and PS in the game (I think - I don't remember exactly who was in at that time, but I remember PS getting caught in a double team, which was almost another costly mistake), and they have to foul as soon as someone touches the ball. Ball handlers aren't as important as good FT shooters in that situation, and I don't want Trey shooting FTs for a number of reasons. He's simply not playing smart basketball for whatever reason, and it showed down the stretch last night. TBF, I'm not sure I trust anyone on this team down the stretch other than possibly XJ or TJD.

I disagree. At that point in time, you just want to maintain the lead, and you know they are going to foul. This was with something like 40 seconds left, btw, and we were up 8. Trey also, for some reason, fouled the guy on a layup, and created a 3 point play. You've got a guy who is simply not playing smart basketball lately and isn't all that good from the line in the game in that situation. I'd rather have Kopp in there, and just contest the perimeter.

A win is a win in the tournament, and it’s nice to check off another thing that we haven’t done in what seems like forever, but man, that was some pretty bad basketball overall. Race is playing like he has covid, and Trey is making a lot of really dumb mistakes recently. Some head scratching lineups, too, like putting Trey in at the end of the game when they were fouling us. Kid was something like 13-20 coming into the game. Anyway, on the plus side … did I mention that a win is a win yet? TJD was great, XJ was solid, and it looks like we’re going to ride or die based on JG’s energy. Here’s hoping we clean some of this up before Thursday.

A win is a win in the tournament, and it’s nice to check off another thing that we haven’t done in what seems like forever, but man, that was some pretty bad basketball overall. Race is playing like he has covid, and Trey is making a lot of really dumb mistakes recently. Some head scratching lineups, too, like putting Trey in at the end of the game when they were fouling us. Kid was something like 13-20 coming into the game. Anyway, on the plus side … did I mention that a win is a win yet? TJD was great, XJ was solid, and it looks like we’re going to ride or die based on JG’s energy. Here’s hoping we clean some of this up before Thursday.

A win is a win in the tournament, and it’s nice to check off another thing that we haven’t done in what seems like forever, but man, that was some pretty bad basketball overall. Race is playing like he has covid, and Trey is making a lot of really dumb mistakes recently. Some head scratching lineups, too, like putting Trey in at the end of the game when they were fouling us. Kid was something like 13-20 coming into the game. Anyway, on the plus side … did I mention that a win is a win yet? TJD was great, XJ was solid, and it looks like we’re going to ride or die based on JG’s energy. Here’s hoping we clean some of this up before Thursday.

He’s been hitting them at a pretty good clip in the last dozen or so games.

I love Race, but he somehow looks exhausted 2 minutes into the half and is playing like garbage. Just give JG minutes instead.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but is there a single player on our team that has played in an NCAAT game? Hoping that first half was a lot of jitters, because it sure wasn’t good basketball.

Was telling my wife about Milton the Monster last night, and she had no idea what I was referencing. Needless to say, I decided it wasn't worth the time to go into Tom Slick.

While I totally get what CMW is saying here, I think some understanding of how social media plays a part in a college athlete's success would help, too. With the ability to earn NIL money now, social media, branding, "influencing", and all of that is becoming more and more a way to earn some dough, even in the less profitable sports. For example: Trent Howell, head of marketing at SmartyStreets, said female athletes who use their social media channels to share information about the company, attend and promote company events, appear as talent in marketing materials, and wear “SmartyStreets swag” will receive payment per activity, earning up to $3,000 per semester. I'm guessing someone as known as TJD can make a significant amount more with similar activity. I've personally moved away from social media a great deal myself, because it definitely has a toxic side to it, but it can be profitable to college athletes if used correctly. I think the key is to figure out how to promote while ignoring the really extreme negative things that will be thrown at you at the same time. It's a very different world out there these days.

I'm very surprised at Franklin this year. I really thought he was going to blow up based on what he was showing last year. I haven't watched much of UVa to know if it's a system thing, or he just hasn't put in the work to take that next step, or something else.