Weāre what, 20 games into the season? Itās about time.
Iām guessing heās talking about Donnal specifically, who should have been benched long ago. Zak and Derrick wonāt be getting benched. Iām hoping we do see more of Teske. Also, heās gone away from MAAR quite a bit in recent weeks, maybe we can get a good look at Watson and see what he can do. We should get a lot of transition opportunities against Illinois and that seems to be what he can do pretty well.
My guess and prayer is that he is talking about benching Walton.
It doesnāt need to be a big checklist:
- sit down on defense.
- push the ball hard even if it does not result in a fast break attempt
- do not push the ball to our three point line and stop, rather push the ball to at least five feet beyond the three point line, and set up the offense if nothing develops.
- keep your head up and stay alert at all times
Failure to do these 4 things results in getting benched. Period. These are normal things to doā¦
If we continue to go away from MAAR, I really really hope itās more minutes for X and Duncan as opposed to Ibi
While I agree Duncan is the better player right now, Watson has some ability. We know what Duncan can do, I want to see more of Watson and not just a minute here and there.
Until I see otherwise, Ibi is only going in the game to play the three.
Me too, but if we still have tournament aspirations, then Duncan will be getting those minutes. Im with @buckets12 though, wouldnt mind more of MAARās minutes going to X, with Walton sliding to the 2. Iād like to see X leading the fast break, with Dwalt flying to the corner 3.
Good point, Ivāe been saying it since before the season started. Walton would be a great SG with a guy who can get people open. Simpson is getting better but his lack of shooting makes teams play zone against us and until he starts hitting those, itāll be tough to play him a lot of minutes. Although, Illinoisās defense is awful so he should definitely have some open looks. I hope he can start knocking them down.
Agree that some extended run for Ibi would be nice, but I would much rather have seen that at the end of non-conference play than in must-win conference games on the bubble. I still remember JB going with Lonergan one game over Ibi out of nowhere and shaking my headā¦I just dont trust him to produce anything positive at a crucial point in the season
I know this, but if Walton comes out and Watson comes in, Irvin will be playing SG.
Yeah, I was shocked to see that. I just want to see what our young guys can do. So many freshman around the big ten alone are playing well and I still feel Watson/Simpson/Watson can do. They have talent and I just think they need some minutes to get comfortable. We canāt wait to play these guys until theyāre finished products.
I just hope folks realize that playing the youngāuns more minutes might result in an extra loss or two this season. If you support giving more minutes to the bench because the starters arenāt getting it done, just do me a favor and support that move even if the kids have some growing pains.
It was an important step for Mo to be the primary option down the stretch of a close game. He might be in that spot quite a bit next season. It didnāt work out against Wisconsin, but itās a move that needed to happen for his growth and for the program to raise its potential for this and future seasons.
Of course, the natural rebuttal can always be that Irvin or Walton coulda missed those shots against Wisconsin, too.
ā¦and in a game where the 2 is carving us up, I can see Beilein being reluctant to create two problems with one substitution. Maybe Ibi can play the 3 and defend the two but I havenāt seen that yet. I can only hope the freshmen are making progress in practice.
I agree, Wagner needed that game. Heās got a ton of skill but being āthe manā is quite a bit different. We are 12-7 currently, you couldnāt convince me that if Watson and Teske had played 5-7 minutes a game this far that our record would be different. Teske especially, the last month Donnal has done next to nothing.
If the opposing SG is doing what he wants against MAAR/Walton/Irvin, why not give Watson an attempt at defending him?
Tough to argue against an unknown. Almost as tough as it is to argue for Donnal, the whipping boy.
Yeah, itās real tough watching him play. Got hot a few times last year but man, kid just doesnāt have it. No way Teske is worse than how Donnal has played. The lack of ever touching a weight in his 4 years is what bothers me so much.
Id like to see more of Teske. Heās looked decent in spots and canāt be any worse than Donnal.
I just hope all-around we start holding guys accountable for their lack of effort and defensive failures (rotations, hand up, not blocking out, poor communications, etc). He said veteran, not seniors, so I have to believe itās a warning shot to practically ALL the guys that play. And hopefully X and Teske are licking their chops at some opportunities.
No doubt itās a warning to everyone. Zak and Derrick are just far more important to our success than Donnal. Their offense can keep them on the court for the entire game. Donnal on the other hand, just needs to be sat and the development of Teske needs to be underway. Only play Donnal if Wagner/Teaske get into foul trouble.