My (optimistic) theory is that Cole wasn’t physically ready to play. The one time I saw him get bumped on a drive (the one time he didn’t use that killer crossover), he was easily knocked off stride and lost his dribble.
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It’s fairly simple why Baird played. The game was on the road in a very hostile environment. It’s very possible, even likely, that Cole would have made several mistakes. He may have made some plays, but the bad would have most likely out weighed the bad considering the situation. Baird came in and did absolutely nothing wrong and let the rest of the guys do their thing as the superior players.
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So is “I saw him play 20 minutes and it’s obvious who is better”
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I think it can be very fair to question minutes and rotations, even as fans. Some of the two-big stuff for example was questionable at times. But obviously, we gotta trust the coaches, and yes practice is a huge factor that we unfortunately get to see none of.
Its perhaps fair to say that in that 20 minutes, you (YpsiTuckyBoy) saw things that indicate that Bajema has more potential than Nunez or someone else (based on Cole’s nice stroke and good handle for a 6’7" guy). But Nunez is older, more experienced, etc. and probably more ready for minutes than a freshman who needs to learn more and become more ready physically. To say that one has more potential is probably fair. To say that one guy should be getting more minutes than the other, in this case based on 20 minutes of gametime, isn’t fair.
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It was said that he gained 20-25 pounds before he got here. So he weighed 150lbs in his later high school years, which is a normal weight, but rail thin at 6’7.
I mean, a ton of D1 coaches and scouts watched Bajema and Nunez play. One was a top 100 recruit with a bunch of good offers and the other had like (I honestly don’t even know if Nunez had any respectable D1 offers). Did that much change in 1 or 2 yrs?
And you still haven’t offered real insight as to why you feel Nunez even showed a shred of being able to be on the floor in B1G play.
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That’s not the argument I’m trying to make. I don’t think Nunez was a rotation caliber player. Any minute he played should have been used by a rotation caliber player, of which I am not including Cole Bajema.
Cole played at a tiny private school in Washington state and did not play on the shoe circuits. He also weighed probably 170 pounds on a 6’7 frame. That screams to me a player that would have no business playing a big ten game.
And fwiw Nunez had 1 less high major offer than Cole
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Wasn’t Caris levert 165 and 6’6 as a freshman?
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For some reason I knew someone would say that. Yes he was and they had every intention of redshirting him then he showed he was going to be a 1st round pick.
Exception proves the rule.
My theory is that Cole didn’t play more because he hadn’t yet picked up the offense or the defense. His skill level was obviously not the problem. Not knowing where he was supposed to be on the floor would have caused problems on both ends.
We saw one player he wasn’t counting on blossom into an important role as the season went on and get asked back for a fifth year no one was expecting, Davis or the coaches. We saw Johns carve out a bigger role for himself. I think Juwan would have been happy if Cole had done that too.
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OK game is on the line, and you have the choice between Nunez or Bajema to hit a wide open jumper to win the game. Who do you want to take the shot?
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No question it would be Cole, but neither was out there in that situation.
I think based on what we saw, we all liked Cole’s game more. But he was never put in a position where making a mistake would hurt the team or where either team was running their offense.
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We agree, but i would suggest that every shot put up by either was one they thought they were expected to make if they wanted more playing time.
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Fair enough 
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Heard the same thing.
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Let’s hope for some good news tomorrow or else the pressure on the Christopher commitment will be scary
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If he’s announcing already that would seem to point towards Seton Hall since he knows their campus and they’re the perceived leaders
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Seems like seton hall but literally other than 2 articles from Evan Daniels, no one has even spoken to Aiken. On all the various message boards I look at of his finalists, the writers have said hes impossible to get ahold of. For that reason, he seems like someone that could surprise.
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I wouldn’t read anything into the timing. No matter what he was going to make a commitment without visiting anywhere. There is no telling when the campuses will be open for visits again.
If anything, I think the timing is kind of interesting immediately after DDJ announces his transfer. On the other hand, the fact that a NY media guy is reporting it could mean Seton Hall is the choice. Who knows.
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Well hopefully Smith isn’t close to a decision.
Wonder who some other top immediately eligible PG options are after Christopher and Smith.