I fully understand the Boynton has significant roster limitations. Currently he is fighting the Battle of the Bulge with a Swiss Army Knife. In the big picture, probably none of the following will matter. However, the Bedlam game brought some key issues to light, that I think might give us a marginally better chance to hang on for a victory or two in our remaining games.
The biggest issue, IMO, was that the whole team ran out of gas in the 2nd half. I have seen a few posts about how these guys are trained athletes, and they should be able to play the majority of the game and get their rest during Time Outs, FT shots, etc. However, you have to remember that the opposing players are in the same boat. If they have more depth and get extended time on the bench, they are going to be more fresh than our guys. For this reason, I think Demuth (more on him later) has to play. However, for the life of me, I can not understand why Luke Major did not get any minutes. At a minimum, he can give us as much as DD does. Boynton played him early in the season when Weathers and Cujo were unavailable. Why is he not playing now? The minutes have to be distributed better, and Luke Major is the only way that can happen.
On DD...He looks completely outmatched out there. Clearly Boynton saw it in the first half, since DD did not play in the second half. It's a Catch 22, because he hurts us when he is in (especially on offense), but he has to play due to depth. None of our players had any energy at the end of last night's game. Minutes have to be distributed better. Therefore, DD has to play. Probably about 5 minutes per half. In the end, since wins are going to be hard to come by, he will either gain valued experience and improve, or he will further show that he is likely to be recruited over. IMO, Boynton needs to let him sink or swim, even though it is tough for fans to watch.
PG is the other huge hole that was blatant last night. Ice looked like Weathers early in the game. Catch the ball outside the 3 point line, dribble, survey the defense, dribble to one side, get cut off, dribble back to the other side, survey the defense, etc. He wasn't doing anything other than eating up the shot clock and putting the offense in a bind. He's a freshman, so I expect him to be inconsistent, but I hope that we will see evidence that the coaches are coaching bad habits out of him. Obviously, we don't want Lindy running the point any more than necessary. If Ice can't become more of a true PG, next season might be rough also. I don't know how ready A.A. will be as a true freshman. Of course, bringing in a PG transfer/JuCo is also possible.
The biggest issue, IMO, was that the whole team ran out of gas in the 2nd half. I have seen a few posts about how these guys are trained athletes, and they should be able to play the majority of the game and get their rest during Time Outs, FT shots, etc. However, you have to remember that the opposing players are in the same boat. If they have more depth and get extended time on the bench, they are going to be more fresh than our guys. For this reason, I think Demuth (more on him later) has to play. However, for the life of me, I can not understand why Luke Major did not get any minutes. At a minimum, he can give us as much as DD does. Boynton played him early in the season when Weathers and Cujo were unavailable. Why is he not playing now? The minutes have to be distributed better, and Luke Major is the only way that can happen.
On DD...He looks completely outmatched out there. Clearly Boynton saw it in the first half, since DD did not play in the second half. It's a Catch 22, because he hurts us when he is in (especially on offense), but he has to play due to depth. None of our players had any energy at the end of last night's game. Minutes have to be distributed better. Therefore, DD has to play. Probably about 5 minutes per half. In the end, since wins are going to be hard to come by, he will either gain valued experience and improve, or he will further show that he is likely to be recruited over. IMO, Boynton needs to let him sink or swim, even though it is tough for fans to watch.
PG is the other huge hole that was blatant last night. Ice looked like Weathers early in the game. Catch the ball outside the 3 point line, dribble, survey the defense, dribble to one side, get cut off, dribble back to the other side, survey the defense, etc. He wasn't doing anything other than eating up the shot clock and putting the offense in a bind. He's a freshman, so I expect him to be inconsistent, but I hope that we will see evidence that the coaches are coaching bad habits out of him. Obviously, we don't want Lindy running the point any more than necessary. If Ice can't become more of a true PG, next season might be rough also. I don't know how ready A.A. will be as a true freshman. Of course, bringing in a PG transfer/JuCo is also possible.
