Wonder if Bamba saw Wagner take control in the 2nd half only to be benched…
Worst part of the entire game. Watching Donnal loaf around when we have a kid this talented sitting for absolutely no reason just hurts.
One reason might be defense.
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Donnals d was awful. Which we have known for quite awhile being his fourth year in the program. Donnal got destroyed one on one the entire time he was in, didn’t score a point and turned it over twice. How many more games is he going to be allowed to have where it looks like he doesn’t even like basketball. He is clearly at his ceiling and wagners is still rather high, foul trouble out of the picture, Wagner should be on the floor 30 minutes a night. The other 10 minutes, I’d let Donnal and teske battle that out. I like what I’ve seen from teske much more than from Donnal.
Wagner has a post game and is very effective when he gets his opportunities. Donnal does not. Wagner has some great passes out of the post too so it doesn’t bog up the offense. All donnal can do it roll on screens and that limits what he can do. It just amazes me we expect MAAR and Donnal to change years into their scholarships instead of letting the young guys try to prove themselves. It’s frustrating but this team can still be good I just feel we aren’t using our pieces to maximize our potential.
I knew JB was going to say in his press conference the reason Wagner barely played in the final 8 minutes was because Donnal is the better defender. Makes me sick.
If JB believes Donnal was the better option over Wagner those 8 minutes and that Irvin should have the green ligh, then our coaching philosophies are vastly different.
I just continuously see that Donnal does the same stuff over and over and sometimes plays well. Wagner is better in so many ways it makes me sick as well we have to watch Donnal loaf around. We need everything Wagner brings to the game and if he messes up one or twice who cares, playing Donnal more and we have lost vs the two good teams we’ve played. We must see more of Wagner.
The statement that Donnal is a better defender is just flat out not true.
I don’t think Mo’s defense is better. If you want to say that Mo’s offensive upside outweighs his defensive downside, I’ll listen to that certainly. I think that Coach is more comfortable having Mo out there on defense as long as DJ is also on the floor.
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Yeah it is
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At the very least, their defense is the same. What I’ve seen this year, in no way is Donnals defense better, no way.
Honestly, I’m not sure how you could have watched all 7 games and think Wagner is a better defender. Donnal had a poor game yesterday, he made mistakes and missed some rotations, but he’s been far more consistent defensively.
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I just disagree. I’ve watched every game twice(at least) and they both get to the spots. Wagner contests the shots better IMO he just doesn’t slide his feet he kind of like is walking and bumps the offensive player and gets called for fouls that shouldn’t be called. I’m not saying wagners defense is better but in no way is it worse. I’ve seen way to many times Donnal let guys walk right past him for uncontested shots. The point of all of this is, Wagner needs to be on the court 30 minutes a night.
I’d love to get Wagner 30 minutes a game but one of the biggest reasons we can’t do that is his tendency to foul. Right now he’s averaging 8 fouls per 40 minutes meaning at this rate we could only get him 25 minutes a game before he fouled out anyway. In comparison Donnal is only averaging 3.6 fouls per 40.
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If you’re getting called for fouls consistently, then that’s a problem. On the plus side, we won’t see those bumps whistled once conference play begins. Those points of emphasis always go away in the B1G every year.
Exactly and Wagner will get smarter on defense as he plays more. What he did on offense yesterday, Donnal couldn’t dream of doing. This teams needs more offense, it’s just obvious to me we need Wagner out there much more. Obviously he’s fouling right now but he can get over that. The fouls he’s getting called for won’t be called in big ten play.
I think Donnal is much better at denying post up players positioning. Neither Wagner or Donnal seem very good at stopping face to the basket drives. In other words, Wagner would get destroyed if he had to guard Wagner. Wagner would destroy a defending Donnal too. Donnal is capable of wedging guys out of position and his rotations and anticipations are better.
I am not sure how my analysis/ opinion applies to the VT game. I am just speaking about them in general. I would have to rewatch.
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Dylan is right. You are wrong.
If wagners post defense is bad, he sure as hell isn’t going to get better by defending Donnal in practice. It’s going to happen by defending guys who have post moves.
Yea. So what?
Maybe he goes against Davis?
Maybe the coaching staff replicates post up play in drills?
Wagner is also inferior with his rotations in general. Hopefully he can turn a corner soon. I think he can…
I do agree with you that Wagner was playing very well yesterday and you might be right that Wagner would have been the better option yesterday but Donnal has been valuable for us this year and last.
DOnnal seemed kind of lifeless out there last night so maybe there is room for criticizing JB on not recognizing it…But I think most here are rejecting the notion that Donnal is a worse defender than Wagner up to this point. …
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I never said Donnal wasn’t valuable to the team. He’s just not better and in no way should be playing more than Wagner.