The original post is an early candidate for dumbest post of the year already. First off Coach put these guys in a position to win that game but the players did not execute when it mattered the most. I hate ripping on players but let's call a spade a spade here, we left potentially 4 points out there missing the front end of 1 and 1 free throws with Conditt and Wigginton. Then Wigginton was the guy that was guarding the player that drove right by him and hit what was the game winning shot without much of a challenge. That's just poor execution there, make at least the front end of those 1 and 1 situations and play some better defense on KSU's last possessions and we wouldn't have had a melt down here Saturday night.
Also, what do you consider an "experienced" lineup? This team is very heavy with underclassmen that are still gaining experience. It would be dumb to play Haliburton and THT less just because they are freshmen when both are probably 2 of the top 5 players on the roster talent wise. If you went with the "most experienced players" here is your lineup:
Talley - SR (is he really any better than our underclassmen?)
NWB - SR
Shayok - SR
Jacobson - JR (many here already have been calling for him to play less)
Young - JR is now redshirting so take your pick of Wigginton, Lewis, and Lard who are sophomores
Haliburton deserves to be out there and he's probably one of our best defenders right now too. He's leading this team in steals at 2.1 a game, after him its THT at 1.4 and NWB 1.3 Shayok 1.1. All those guys have deserved the minutes they are getting. Let's look at 3pt%, well Haliburton is leading us there too at .468 and shooting .557 from FG too, THT you can argue if he's not hitting his shots needs to sit more for someone else but there are times he gets hot and you just have to keep him in there.
I hope Wigginton gets it figured out soon but right now he's struggling with his shot and his defense was less than stellar both at Baylor and against KSU and you can make the case we have played worse with him on the floor than without him so far. The good thing is the mistakes this team are making are execution issues that can be corrected and are coachable moments that can be worked on in practice. Prohm can't shoot the free throws for them or defend players in key situations. Just like in football this year, players need to pay attention to key details and execute as many times the margin of error is small and the team that makes the least mistakes puts themselves in better position to win close games. I love what I heard on the radio after the game when Heft mentioned the first thing Conditt said after taking off the headset was "man I've gotta hit that FT." He knows that was miss was a key moment and it was refreshing to hear that from a freshman he knows it and probably is something that is going to motivate him to work on.
The only move I questioned in the closing minutes of the game is why wasn't Conditt in instead of Jacobsen defensively? He is more athletic and more of a rim protector, I get it he's inexperienced and not as good of a FT shooter but it's not like Jacobsen is a great FT shooter himself at .672. and we went on our run when Conditt was in the game.
Also, what do you consider an "experienced" lineup? This team is very heavy with underclassmen that are still gaining experience. It would be dumb to play Haliburton and THT less just because they are freshmen when both are probably 2 of the top 5 players on the roster talent wise. If you went with the "most experienced players" here is your lineup:
Talley - SR (is he really any better than our underclassmen?)
NWB - SR
Shayok - SR
Jacobson - JR (many here already have been calling for him to play less)
Young - JR is now redshirting so take your pick of Wigginton, Lewis, and Lard who are sophomores
Haliburton deserves to be out there and he's probably one of our best defenders right now too. He's leading this team in steals at 2.1 a game, after him its THT at 1.4 and NWB 1.3 Shayok 1.1. All those guys have deserved the minutes they are getting. Let's look at 3pt%, well Haliburton is leading us there too at .468 and shooting .557 from FG too, THT you can argue if he's not hitting his shots needs to sit more for someone else but there are times he gets hot and you just have to keep him in there.
I hope Wigginton gets it figured out soon but right now he's struggling with his shot and his defense was less than stellar both at Baylor and against KSU and you can make the case we have played worse with him on the floor than without him so far. The good thing is the mistakes this team are making are execution issues that can be corrected and are coachable moments that can be worked on in practice. Prohm can't shoot the free throws for them or defend players in key situations. Just like in football this year, players need to pay attention to key details and execute as many times the margin of error is small and the team that makes the least mistakes puts themselves in better position to win close games. I love what I heard on the radio after the game when Heft mentioned the first thing Conditt said after taking off the headset was "man I've gotta hit that FT." He knows that was miss was a key moment and it was refreshing to hear that from a freshman he knows it and probably is something that is going to motivate him to work on.
The only move I questioned in the closing minutes of the game is why wasn't Conditt in instead of Jacobsen defensively? He is more athletic and more of a rim protector, I get it he's inexperienced and not as good of a FT shooter but it's not like Jacobsen is a great FT shooter himself at .672. and we went on our run when Conditt was in the game.