Custer minutes

hiltonmagic25

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Nov 26, 2013
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Anybody know if he is a kid who accepts his role right now? Hard for him to get on floor with as well as monte and naz are playing. But seriously if Matt Thomas doesnt start knocking down wide open threes that he has been missing don't you give him some of his minutes? Just throwing that out there! Let's keep it rolling!
 

IcSyU

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Nov 27, 2007
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Custer needs to pack on about 20 pounds of muscle to stand a chance at being effective in conference play.
 

hiltonmagic25

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Nov 26, 2013
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You are right. Athletically could get eaten up. What's matt thomas adding though? He had a good outing against Okie St in conference play and that's about it right?
 

Spam

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May 21, 2008
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Our deep bench has essentially disappeared. We're now down to 7 and a half men, with even Thomas no longer getting the 18-19 minutes he had been getting since the beginning of last season.

The guys who do get the minutes, however, are phenomenal thankfully.
 

Cyclonepride

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The deep bench is there, but Fred hasn't had to use it (because the top seven are phenomenal, and the eighth is very capable).

We've also been in a ton of very close games, so I'm not sure why anyone would expect the 9th or 10th option to see much time.

I'm hopeful that we can blow open a couple and get Clayton and Daniel some minutes, because I think both are good enough that they would see quite a bit of time on the average team.
 

mncyclone11

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Nov 18, 2009
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An eight man rotation is about perfect in college basketball especially when you have so many players that can play multiple positions. Most teams hope the 3 guys comming off the bench are not much of a drop off from your starters. We are fortunate enough that two of the guys coming off our bench may play even better than starters depending on the match up.

Even Calipari has gone away from the platoon situation in his close games to keep his 7 or 8 best players on the floor. He mentioned in an interview this weekend that some of his guys have to expect their minutes to shrink because they are not keeping up.
 

Sigmapolis

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Fred hasn't historically rotated more than 6-7 men, and this year isn't any different. I think we do have more depth--Thomas and Edozie would be acceptable B12 players if we needed them--but, for several reasons, Fred is not likely to play any more than the current set:

-30 to 35 minutes per night isn't too much on 19-22 year olds at the absolute peak physical condition of their lives
-you might as well have your best out there, and the starters plus McKay and some Nader really are playing the best of anybody at the moment
-we have avoided, thankfully, and much bugs from either injury or foul trouble
-continuity and chemistry says let those 6-7 get really used to playing with each other to get better together
-we have not been in a situation where we could lengthen the bench with a lead and let some of the younger players (Custer in particular) play some
-Custer is stuck behind all-world PG MM on the depth chart, which is not an easy place to be, and he's seemingly not ready to be more effective than even the Naz, BDJ, and Niang PG by committee that is our current backup situation
-even freshman Morris is a really hard act to be following
-he seems a good shooter and a hard worker, so maybe a Naz-style transformation into a 1.5 3&D player could be possible for him
-He's just behind the eight-ball with Morris around... We will see if Fred wants a transfer or JUCO this offseason. That should give a pretty big indicator on Custer's future track and potential.
 

Cycl1

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Our biggest margin of victory has been 6 points. Those aren't the margins needed to see the 9-12 spots play. He will get time this season. Just not if we are losing by 2 with 4 minutes left.
 

Cy4Lifer

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Dec 21, 2010
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Our deep bench has essentially disappeared. We're now down to 7 and a half men, with even Thomas no longer getting the 18-19 minutes he had been getting since the beginning of last season.

The guys who do get the minutes, however, are phenomenal thankfully.

I like the sound of 8 1/2 men better, or is it 8 is enough?
 

CyFan61

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Oct 25, 2010
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Oh hey. We won, but let's still start a thread so we can whip on a player.

Asking a question about what a player is adding, when he's played 7, 8, and 8 minutes in the last three games, is not whipping on a player at all. It's a legitimate question
 

Bewilderme

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Apr 11, 2006
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I don't have a problem with Thomas' game right now. Would like to see fewer pump fakes when he gets the ball outside the arc, and more of his driving floater game. That seems to be his best option. He was pretty good on D last night when he was in. The rest will come - it seems Fred has faith in that.
 

mcblogerson

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Jan 19, 2009
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Don't worry Custer should get some time on saturday. Besides he's an undersized freshman PG, I doubt there were any illusions on his part that he wouldn't see the floor much this year.

Edozie is a luxury we haven't had in a long time. If the bigs get in foul trouble, there's a proven commodity just waiting to come in and bang in the paint.

Thomas has been inconsistent with his shooting. I haven't seen a team lay off him on D though, so his stats aren't great but he is pulling a defender out to the 3 point line. Every shot he misses seems to bounce off the inside of the rim, so it's not like he's chucking up bricks.
 

IcSyU

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Nov 27, 2007
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Last night Thomas' assist to Naz was a thing of beauty.

His problem is he's a volume shooter similar to Naz and he isn't going to see the minutes to have that luxury any time soon. So far we've played the very physical teams in conference play and it isn't a secret that he's not suited for that type of game.
 

ISUKyro

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Oct 28, 2006
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Our biggest margin of victory has been 6 points. Those aren't the margins needed to see the 9-12 spots play. He will get time this season. Just not if we are losing by 2 with 4 minutes left.
We have a winner!

We should have all noticed the bench got shorter once we got into conference play.
I love Edozie and I really look forward to what Custer will be able to do. Not to mention the potential in a couple of years for the Greek!

Let's hope we can get a blowout sometime soon so some of those guys can get back on the floor.
 

erikbj

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Aug 31, 2006
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I think it has to be hard on Matt, he gets 1-2 shots per game. If he misses them, he knows his night is basically over now. Lot of pressure on him, in a short window. BUt the beauty is, if he can start making a couple at the beginning of a game - fred will let him stay out there.

Look at late game situations recently, Dustin and BDJ have been on the bench, even Georges was sitting late against USC. If you are playing well, you will get the minutes.

As for Custer, he doesn't have the body to hold up in the Big12 this year. It is a man's game and he needs to put on 15 lbs to hold up and be able to get to his spots.
 

WastedTalent

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Oct 22, 2012
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Asking a question about what a player is adding, when he's played 7, 8, and 8 minutes in the last three games, is not whipping on a player at all. It's a legitimate question

If he's played 7, 8, and 8 minutes in the last 3 games, then what does it matter what he's adding. It's not like he's playing 20 some minutes every game, and noticeably making the team worse. You said he's playing spot minutes, giving somebody a breather, and giving the other team a different look.

I would almost bet Hoiberg tells Matt to shoot when he goes in, or calls a play for Matt to shoot, because he knows there's a chance he can make a few each night. If he misses, then so be it, he goes back to the bench, and someone still got a breather.
 

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