Time to Start Wigg

[jsb]

Wasn’t Wigginton on some pre-season All-Big 12 first team lists? Now we have a 12 page thread arguing about if he should start or even play.

Crazy how things can change so quickly for people. This tells me we all just need to be patient and let it play out.

Have some faith that Lindell will turn it around here soon and find some consistency. Last year wasn’t a fluke.

There are lots of idiots and anyone that thinks he shouldn't play is stupid.

But the question about if he has earned a starting spot? That's valid. Who in the starting lineup deserves to get booted with the way Lindell has played? There's lots of talk about Lindell lacking confidence and maybe moving out of the starting lineup would help with that, but what if booting Tyrese or Talen does the same thing to them?

 

[Thompsonclone]

There are lots of idiots and anyone that thinks he shouldn't play is stupid.

But the question about if he has earned a starting spot? That's valid. Who in the starting lineup deserves to get booted with the way Lindell has played? There's lots of talk about Lindell lacking confidence and maybe moving out of the starting lineup would help with that, but what if booting Tyrese or Talen does the same thing to them?

I think that’s a valid argument as well. I don’t have any issues with that debate. I can’t say that Lindell has earned his starting spot back so I have no complaints with people saying he should come off the bench. I have my opinion that it might help him but you never know for sure so I don’t argue with people over that. Only reason why I’ve been so vocal in this thread is because of the, “he should shut it down for the rest of the season” hot takes.

Just think those people who want him gone need to be careful what they wish for because we could really need him next after Babb and Shayok graduate and who knows what THT will do. I would love if he came back and started alongside THT, Nixon and Haliburton and I think everyone should want that too.

 

[MJ271]

This thought that Wigginton doesn’t make the extra pass is crazy to me. I’ve seen him do it multiple times this year. As for forcing it, I don’t really agree with that either. He’s just missing the open 3’s that he made last year and that makes people start digging and trying to find reasons why he’s struggling. Seems like when a talented player struggles, fans always come up with reasons like they are forcing it or aren’t willing to be a good teammate. It can be as simple as him just missing a lot of time and not knocking down his shots yet. He looked awesome against OSU. Why? Because he made shots. He missed those same shots against KU.

I completely agree. His turnover late against Kansas was literally because he was making the extra pass for his team to get a better shot. If he was shooting anywhere close to what he shot form the field last year while keeping up the rest of his play, we'd be having discussions about whether he's the best player on the team. Instead, we're doing this.

 

[Yellow Snow]

My personal opinion?

We are making a big deal about nothing. WAAAAAAAAYYYYY overreacting to whether he starts or not.

If he has a good game... well "Prohm should be starting him. If Prohm had a brain LW would start".

If LW has a poor shooting night, we say "This dude needs to get his **** together before he should be in there".

It can't be both... I remember a few games where Georges and Naz were chuckers and it cost us. Perspective people....

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Thompsonclone]

I think a lot off the excessive criticism of Lindell comes from fans who think he disrupted the flow or chemistry of the team when he came back because we started to lose more than we did in the non-conference.

I don’t think that’s fair because we had some bad performances without him too. Couldn’t close the deal against Arizona, struggled against Iowa and Drake. We played some bad teams so we should have won those games.

You get Lindell back and you’re now only 5-3 with him so let’s blame him for it. No, we just started playing some good teams so it’s no surprise that we lost a few close games. Our best wins this year have been with Wigginton being able to play. (Kansas, Texas Tech).

Look, I’m far from happy with how Lindell has played but some people need to relax a little bit. Has he been freshman Lindell? No. Does this mean he’s an awful player who shouldn’t play a single minute? Absolutely not.

He’s going to get it going soon. I have no doubt about that and even if he doesn’t, this Wigginton can still play 20-25 minutes and help you win some games.

 

[brokenloginagain]

I'm sure blum or haaland or hines or someone will go into greater detail, but I looked up the preseason all b12 first teams...and the final b12 teams (1-3 + honorable mention).

Its actually quite common for a preseason 1st team pick to not even make honorable mention or 1st or 2nd team. Its happened about 5-6 times in the last 10 yrs or so. the coaches don't exactly get it that right, that often.

Like I said, I'm rooting for LW - he's super talented and can take our team to the next level. But he's also a guy that's beyond struggling right now. He choked at the line against KSU and wasn't even close at the line at KU. Its hard for me to watch - I feel for the kid.

 

[Thompsonclone]

I'm sure blum or haaland or hines or someone will go into greater detail, but I looked up the preseason all b12 first teams...and the final b12 teams (1-3 + honorable mention).

Its actually quite common for a preseason 1st team pick to not even make honorable mention or 1st or 2nd team. Its happened about 5-6 times in the last 10 yrs or so. the coaches don't exactly get it that right, that often.

Like I said, I'm rooting for LW - he's super talented and can take our team to the next level. But he's also a guy that's beyond struggling right now. He choked at the line against KSU and wasn't even close at the line at KU. Its hard for me to watch - I feel for the kid.

Alabama State: 13 points on 5-11 shooting and 5 rebounds.

Eastern Illinois: 15 points. First game back so no complaints there.

@ Oklahoma State: He played really well I thought. (17 points)

Kansas: Didn’t shoot it well but it hit two big 3’s in that one.

@ Baylor: Was solid. 11 points. 3-8 from the floor.

Kansas State: Not good

@ Texas Tech: Bad FG% but made some big plays in that game that helped us get the win.

Oklahoma State: Played great. 0 turnovers, 4-7 from three. 3 assists.

@ Kansas: Played hard but overall not his game.

He’s only been bad in 3 games IMO. (KU twice, KSU.) 6/9 games he’s been solid or good. Beyond struggling means he’s playing almost as bad as he possibly can and I don’t think that’s true.

If I had to rate his performances on a scale of 0-10 with 10 being he’s been dominant this season and a 0 being he’s been awful and shouldn’t get any minutes, I’d give him a solid 6. Room for improvement and he’s been good in 2/3 games, bad in 2/3 games and solid in 2/3 games.

 

[brokenloginagain]

Alabama State: 13 points on 5-11 shooting and 5 rebounds.

Eastern Illinois: 15 points. First game back so no complaints there.

@ Oklahoma State: He played really well I thought. (17 points)

Kansas: Didn’t shoot it well but it hit two big 3’s in that one.

@ Baylor: Was solid. 11 points. 3-8 from the floor.

Kansas State: Not good

@ Texas Tech: Bad FG% but made some big plays in that game that helped us get the win.

Oklahoma State: Played great. 0 turnovers, 4-7 from three. 3 assists.

@ Kansas: Played hard but overall not his game.

He’s only been bad in 3 games IMO. (KU twice, KSU.) 6/9 games he’s been solid or good. Beyond struggling means he’s playing almost as bad as he possibly can and I don’t think that’s true.

If I had to rate his performances on a scale of 0-10 with 10 being he’s been dominant this season and a 0 being he’s been awful and shouldn’t get any minutes, I’d give him a solid 6. Room for improvement and he’s been good in 2/3 games, bad in 2/3 games and solid in 2/3 games.

those are nice stats for a 2/3-star rookie rotation player, I thought we were discussing our potential nba 1st rounder who was preseason 1st team all b12. my bad.

 

[Thompsonclone]

those are nice stats for a 2/3-star rookie rotation player, I thought we were discussing our potential nba 1st rounder who was preseason 1st team all b12. my bad.

We are but I’m just trying to put things into perspective that a player who isn’t currently living up to his expectations, can still be a very important piece to a team.

 

[NATEizKING]

"Aside from that, I know a guy logging lineup data in conference games and the starting four guards in 186 possessions are scoring 0.972 points per possession and allowing 0.853PPPp for a net efficiency of 0.119. When you sub Wigginton in for Horton-Tucker, that four-guard lineup has played 186 possessions and is scoring 1.229 PPP and allowing 1.0PPP for a net of .210. So, perhaps he hasn’t been that bad on the whole"

-Kirk Haaland

 

[Cyclonepride]

those are nice stats for a 2/3-star rookie rotation player, I thought we were discussing our potential nba 1st rounder who was preseason 1st team all b12. my bad.

Are we to ignore the fact that he is returning from injury, and has half the games of everyone else on the floor (particularly when our team has a totally different makeup this year)?

He's doing fine, and he will get better and better, and if this team is going to hit its ceiling, then we need Lindell to be playing like we know he can (as Prohm said).

 

[Cycsk]

My personal opinion?

We are making a big deal about nothing. WAAAAAAAAYYYYY overreacting to whether he starts or not.

If he has a good game... well "Prohm should be starting him. If Prohm had a brain LW would start".

If LW has a poor shooting night, we say "This dude needs to get his **** together before he should be in there".

It can't be both... I remember a few games where Georges and Naz were chuckers and it cost us. Perspective people....

Just my 2 cents.

I don't think the fans are that fickle. It may just be that one or the other is more vocal depending on the most recent performance. This forum is hardly monolithic about Wigginton and certainly not vacillating like you imply.

 

[CyCloned]

There are lots of idiots and anyone that thinks he shouldn't play is stupid.

But the question about if he has earned a starting spot? That's valid. Who in the starting lineup deserves to get booted with the way Lindell has played? There's lots of talk about Lindell lacking confidence and maybe moving out of the starting lineup would help with that, but what if booting Tyrese or Talen does the same thing to them?

You have to give him some time on the floor, because we all know he is capable of being really good. On the other hand THT and TH are pretty capable, and are actually putting up good numbers for the most part. If Prohm starts him against Miss it will be because he has shown he deserves to start in practice. The cold hands, and start him just to change things up stuff is just silly.

 

[brokenloginagain]

We are but I’m just trying to put things into perspective that a player who isn’t currently living up to his expectations, can still be a very important piece to a team.

agreed. He's a huge part of our team, and I'm a huge fan, I'm optimistic and rooting for him. I just think his play is a long ways away from where it needs to be, and if it doesn't improve, I don't know where the heck he's supposed to go nba-wise if he's not with us next year.

Last night I watched one of our greatest all time players go 0-3 in 3 minutes of nba action, including an airball and getting stuffed at the rim. The NBA is just a completely different animal.

 

[SolarGarlic]

Last year was last year. Hard to figure out what exactly is going on with LW, but he has not played well, period. Some of you guys just think that there is going to be some magic moment and he will suddenly be making shots, defending, etc. I sure hope he does for his and the team's sake, but so far he has hurt the team in close games way more than helped. Maybe he is trying too hard, or still hurt, or just is not confident in his shot, but it has mostly been ugly stuff. His FT attempts at crunch time at KU were not just misses, they were bricks. The whole thing remind me of Mike Warren.

He shot 40% from 3 over an entire season. He doesn't need a magic moment.

He was rattled late at KU. That's undeniable. But his outside shot has been close, and we saw him have a good day shooting at home against OSU just two days prior. I don't think he's trying too hard or that he's still hurt. I think he's still rounding into form after missing a month of basketball and playing a new role. He's already made some huge plays in Big 12 season. Now it's about consistency. I've been very impressed with his improved passing ability. You're not watching the games if you haven't seen that.

 

[CyCloned]

He shot 40% from 3 over an entire season. He doesn't need a magic moment.

He was rattled late at KU. That's undeniable. But his outside shot has been close, and we saw him have a good day shooting at home against OSU just two days prior. I don't think he's trying too hard or that he's still hurt. I think he's still rounding into form after missing a month of basketball and playing a new role. He's already made some huge plays in Big 12 season. Now it's about consistency. I've been very impressed with his improved passing ability. You're not watching the games if you haven't seen that.

His passing has improved. Still getting into bad positions with the ball, missing a lot of shots and not playing great defense. I'm sure he is way more disappointed in how things have gone this year than any fan. Would love for him to shoot 40% from 3 for the rest of the year. Kid will come around sometime soon, just hard to watch and wait.

 

[VeloClone]

I never really understood the "don't lose your job to injury" view. If either due to effects of the injury or just the opportunity it affords someone else, if the other guy that comes in helps your team win more, that's who you play. As a coach you owe it to the entire team to play the guys appropriate minutes that help you win games. The injured player should get plenty of opportunities to earn that spot back when healthy, but I don't think you just throw him back into the starting lineup once he's healthy if the guy that came in for him is playing better.

I agree with this. Sport is full of examples of good players getting their first chance due to a starter going down to injury and the starter losing their starting position for good because of it. Tom Brady for example.

I'm not suggesting that he should lose the starting position for good, but I don't think just because he was a starter before doesn't mean the best player at the time he comes back shouldn't start.

Frankly I have a feeling that his offense has been okay - his defense may be where Prohm wants to see improvement.

 

[UnCytely]

Can't speak for Prohm, but it would be hard to keep him from starting after what he did tonight.

 

[isuno1fan]

Still shouldn’t start

 

[Cyforce]

This thread always makes me laugh.
First he needed to start because he sucked off the bench. Now he needs to start because he played great off the bench.