BDJ

[rholtgraves]

He needs to start and play 30 minutes a game. Long needs to come off the bench

For the season BDJ PER is 24.7 first on the team.
conference it is 21.8 second on the team to McKay

 

[Mtowncyclone13]

oh boy get ready for this one...

 

[2forISU]

Please communicate with Freddy concerning your idea.

 

[ianoconnor]

 

[CoKane]

No. I'm fine with the way things are now. There isn't much of a reason to bench someone who has scored in double figures in his last 3 games. We probably wont see anyone get benched for the rest of the season unless the screw up off the court, which is a complement to how high of a level we have 6 guys playing at.

 

[CyTwins]

BDJ has been pretty efficient shooting the ball but Naz spaces the floor better which helps with McKay out there

 

[isudizzle13]

 

[CyArob]

I despise thread titles where it's just the name, or initials in this case.

 

[cyclones12321]

The only reason i dont disagree is i really liked the spark naz gave off the bench last year

 

[Wesley]

I despise thread titles where it's just the name, or initials in this case.

You must be despising quite a bit lately.

 

[MartyFine]

[video=youtube;n2A194yTWoQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2A194yTWoQ[/video]

 

[rholtgraves]

Defense and rebounding at severely lacking lately and Long provides basically nothing in those areas. He is a perfect kind of instant offense guy to have on the bench.
Teams don't make final fours unless they can play D and rebound.

 

[VeloClone]

Who finishes the game on the floor matters much more than who starts the game on the floor.

 

[Wesley]

Who finishes the game on the floor matters much more than who starts the game on the floor.

Put another way, who plays well start of the second half is needed. Some of our games are lost with five minutes left in the game.

 

[VeloClone]

Put another way, who plays well start of the second half is needed. Some of our games are lost with five minutes left in the game.

Put another way, who plays more minutes in a game matters much more than who starts a game.

 

[CYdTracked]

It won't matter who is starting unless this team as a whole starts putting more effort in on defense

 

[EatemupISU]

He needs to start and play 30 minutes a game. Long needs to come off the bench

For the season BDJ PER is 24.7 first on the team.
conference it is 21.8 second on the team to McKay

Those stats don't tell the whole story on BDJ. Yes, he can score but to do so he often jettisons the ball movement and team concept we need. He shoots too many contested jumpers early in the shot-clock instead of trusting the offense to find a better look.

Also, not sure this can change but I think his demeanor and body-language is a detriment. I think Jay Cutler is a good comparison. He has loads of ability but lacks the intangible aspects of leadership that you need during crunch time. Naz brings a lot of leadership, positivity, and "it" factor that doesn't show up in the box-score.

That said, I think Fred will continue coaching and hope he will listen. Him playing 30 effective minutes by March would mean this team has taken big steps forward.

 

[cyfan92]

It won't matter who is starting unless this team as a whole starts putting more effort in on defense

I whole-heartedly agree with this. Our guards as a unit seem to get caught ball watching and are just looking for someone else to make a play so that they can run and gun. The bigs are not boxing out on shots causing offensive rebounds and long possessions for the opponent.

These are all easy to say from my couch or keyboard and I 100000% back this team. However the reason for my heart-break on these stupid road losses is because you watch this team for 20-30 minutes look unbeatable. Then for the rest of the game look like the US Paralympic team would run them out of the gym.

In the tournament we are extremely hard to prepare for in a short turnaround and that is why I still think we are going to go far. The BIG 12 regular season title was what these guys talked about all off-season and it just sucks that the guys can win it, just need to see the results

 

[isudizzle13]

Defense and rebounding at severely lacking lately and Long provides basically nothing in those areas. He is a perfect kind of instant offense guy to have on the bench.
Teams don't make final fours unless they can play D and rebound.

Rebounding I get, but defensively, I don't think you can compare the two. They defend different positions. I think Naz's defense has been fine. He's usually chasing around the opposing teams most frustrating player (Forte III, Hield, Foster when he wasn't suspended, etc.).

 

[cycloneworld]

Are people still honestly debating our offense? Clearly, that's not been an issue.

Let's focus on defense and the rest will take care of itself. BDJ does well rebounding the ball but I'll take Naz's defensive intensity. As isudizzle said, Naz is usually chasing the opposing team's best player.