Any explanation on no Kolek down the stretch?

[Elonsmusk]

Did we get any explanation as to why Kolek sat so much in the second half yesterday?  I'm 100% all in on Shaka, yet I'd like to hear what the thinking was on not having him on the floor down the stretch.

[MU82]

When asked at the press conference about Kolek sitting, Shaka said:

"He was throwing the ball to the other team. And you go on the road, in a place like this, an environment like this, you have to have a look on your face of being a gladiator. I thought we had that at times today; at other times, we didn't."

Not 100% certain what to make of the "gladiator" remark as a direct response to a question about Kolek.

Once we got to the last few minutes, after Kolek had sat for about 10 straight minutes, I'm guessing Shaka didn't want to put him in cold.

It's not the first time Shaka has done something like this -- he benched Morsell not too long ago. But given Shaka's oft-stated love of Kolek and given that neither Greg nor Kam were exactly lightin' it up, it was a little surprising.

And Ners ... it's OK to question the coach without offering a caveat first. It's what fans do, as you know better than most.

[bradforster]

Shaka said on the post game radio interview that foul trouble was a factor and Tyler "wasn't quite himself and he had a couple of turnovers that were odd and so we played Greg and Kam."  That's really it.  The coach didn't think he needed to insert Tyler back into a game when the player wasn't dialed in and others stepped up and played better ball.

[MU62]

I thought the same thing.  When he is not in there everybody is going solo.  He is the glue who gets the guys working together. 

[Elonsmusk]

When asked at the press conference about Kolek sitting, Shaka said:

"He was throwing the ball to the other team. And you go on the road, in a place like this, an environment like this, you have to have a look on your face of being a gladiator. I thought we had that at times today; at other times, we didn't."

Not 100% certain what to make of the "gladiator" remark as a direct response to a question about Kolek.

Once we got to the last few minutes, after Kolek had sat for about 10 straight minutes, I'm guessing Shaka didn't want to put him in cold.

It's not the first time Shaka has done something like this -- he benched Morsell not too long ago. But given Shaka's oft-stated love of Kolek and given that neither Greg nor Kam were exactly lightin' it up, it was a little surprising.

And Ners ... it's OK to question the coach without offering a caveat first. It's what fans do, as you know better than most.

Thanks for the additional info.  Definitely agree he's done this with Morsell a few times this season. I don't think it's quite the same though as taking such an integral part of our offense off the floor.  Shaka definitely has been incredibly bullish, supportive, and all in on Kolek all year - sure seemed like an odd time to deviate from that unwavering support/confidence.

[BrewCity83]

Thanks for the additional info.  Definitely agree he's done this with Morsell a few times this season. I don't think it's quite the same though as taking such an integral part of our offense off the floor.  Shaka definitely has been incredibly bullish, supportive, and all in on Kolek all year - sure seemed like an odd time to deviate from that unwavering support/confidence.

I agree with this.  But Kolek really didn't look like himself.  He certainly didn't have the "look of being a gladiator" on his face.  I love everything that Kolek brings to this team, and I have no doubt that he is super a competitive individual, but yesterday he looked kinda like a whiny baby.  I'm counting on him to bounce back in a big way for these remaining games so he can show us all what he's made of.

[MU82]

It would be great to sit down with Shaka, off the record, and get his take on why he benched the PG he has raved about, and then left the PG on the bench for the final 12 1/2 minutes of a tight road game.

Shaka has always been considered a player's coach and a great communicator, so his pretty forceful comments about benching Kolek struck me almost as hard as Juwan Howard struck Joe Krabbenhoft.

While on the sideline yesterday, Shaka must have seen something he didn't like, both when TK was in the game and then when he was on the bench. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out going forward.

Who knows ... maybe Shaka and Tyler have already chatted about it and hugged it out, and this will end up making both Kolek and the team better in the long run. We'll see!

[Mu8891]

82 ...

I hope you are correct, that they have
“ hugged it out “ cuz it was VERY odd to have Kolek sitting.  He runs the offense and is clearly their best ball handler.
W / out him the offense stagnated and became a game of 1 on 1.  None of the others is a PG ...  and Elliot in particular was not even playing well

[willie warrior]

That was a huge mistake by Shaka. The guy has been a HC for a lot of years already and he should know better. In the game previously he had 12 assists. Shakas lame excuses  dont wash. He fffd up big time and he should own it.

[mubb3434]

When asked at the press conference about Kolek sitting, Shaka said:

"He was throwing the ball to the other team. And you go on the road, in a place like this, an environment like this, you have to have a look on your face of being a gladiator. I thought we had that at times today; at other times, we didn't."

Not 100% certain what to make of the "gladiator" remark as a direct response to a question about Kolek.

Once we got to the last few minutes, after Kolek had sat for about 10 straight minutes, I'm guessing Shaka didn't want to put him in cold.

It's not the first time Shaka has done something like this -- he benched Morsell not too long ago. But given Shaka's oft-stated love of Kolek and given that neither Greg nor Kam were exactly lightin' it up, it was a little surprising.

And Ners ... it's OK to question the coach without offering a caveat first. It's what fans do, as you know better than most.

Kam was lighting it up. 7-11 from the field and 4-6 from 3 will make it hard for any coach to take you out!

[MUfan12]

A lot of you must have the access that Herman did on official visits to speak so definitively about this.

Shaka and Kolek have a great relationship. I'm confident this was done to send a message, and that it was further communicated. Tyler, like most of the team, have looked like they need a kick in the ass since Nova.

[GoldenEagles03]

82 ...

I hope you are correct, that they have
“ hugged it out “ cuz it was VERY odd to have Kolek sitting.  He runs the offense and is clearly their best ball handler.
W / out him the offense stagnated and became a game of 1 on 1.  None of the others is a PG ...  and Elliot in particular was not even playing well

You want a Wojo repeat? Hug it out.

You want something new? Kolek should show accountability. 

-Something like, "You know what, coach is right. I wasn't good. I wasn't helping my team. Time to be better and help the team win on Saturday."-

And truthfully it should piss them both off that he wasn't at his best. It is good that Shaka is holding him accountable, because that's how you get better.  Not by hugging it out.

Hug it out when the seasons over and there is nothing more you can do. Until then, get better, hold yourself and others accountable, and show up to get better.

[Miss Katie’s]

It would be great to sit down with Shaka, off the record, and get his take on why he benched the PG he has raved about, and then left the PG on the bench for the final 12 1/2 minutes of a tight road game.

Shaka has always been considered a player's coach and a great communicator, so his pretty forceful comments about benching Kolek struck me almost as hard as Juwan Howard struck Joe Krabbenhoft.

While on the sideline yesterday, Shaka must have seen something he didn't like, both when TK was in the game and then when he was on the bench. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out going forward.

Who knows ... maybe Shaka and Tyler have already chatted about it and hugged it out, and this will end up making both Kolek and the team better in the long run. We'll see!

Agree with all of this.  Even if Kolek didn’t “look like a gladiator” and was “throwing it to the other team”, 12 1/2 minutes is a very long time.  There must have been something else going on, which we will probably never know, that led the coach who has spoken so positively of him to not even put him back in at crunch time of such a tight game.   

Hopefully they did discuss it and will do whatever is necessary to move forward positively and without issue.  We need Kolek in the game as much as possible. 

[tower912]

Mind games.

[MU82]

Kam was lighting it up. 7-11 from the field and 4-6 from 3 will make it hard for any coach to take you out!

After Kam came in and Kolek went out with 12:27 to play, Kam made two shots. One was a 3 on a nice assist from Lewis to tie it at 65 with 9:47 to play; the other was the desperation, meaningless 3 that he banked in with less than a second to go. In between, he missed 2 shots, had zero assists or rebounds, and let his man get past him a few times. He most definitely was not "lighting it up" after he got in the game in the second half.

Shaka chose to keep Kolek on the bench because he wanted Kolek on the bench. It wasn't as if the incredible play of Kam or Greg forced him to keep Kolek on the bench.

You want a Wojo repeat? Hug it out.

You want something new? Kolek should show accountability.

Can't a guy hug it out and show accountability? Are the concepts mutually exclusive?

Publicly anyway, Shaka's always been a hug-it-out kind of coach. I like to think one reason he has been successful is that he has demanded accountability from his players, too.

[Big Papi]

We have no idea why Kolek was benched but he was benched.  Morsell has been benched during games.  So has Omax and others.

Maybe he wasn't feeling well.  Maybe he didn't do what Shaka wanted him to do.  Who knows.  I do know that Shaka wants to win and he wants to build a culture and has a better relationship with is players than any of us.  Nothing to see here until the next game.

[GooooMarquette]

I don’t know what happened either. And I have no idea what the “gladiator look“ that people are talking about even looks like. But if Kolek catches fire the rest of the way, maybe Shaka did the right thing sacrificing the Creighton game. If he doesn’t, well…

And for the record, Tyler had all of three assists yesterday. Justin and Darryl each had five. A wash, at worst…

[Pakuni]

I don’t know what happened either. And I have no idea what the “gladiator look“ that people are talking about even looks like. But if Kolek catches fire the rest of the way, maybe Shaka did the right thing sacrificing the Creighton game. If he doesn’t, well…

And for the record, Tyler had all of three assists yesterday. Justin and Darryl each had five. A wash, at worst…

I don't believe Shaka sacrificed the game by sitting Kolek. Shaka sat Kolek because he didn't believe  - rightly or wrongly - he was the best option. It seems we're trying to read too deeply into what was a simple lineup decision.
Fact is, Kolek's playmaking against teams not named Georgetown has been less effective of late, and he's looking for his shot too much.
During the seven-game win streak,Kolek attempted 43 shots and dished out 57 assists.
In the six games since, he's taken 49 shots and dished 24 assists. Take out the Georgetown game, and it's 44 shots to 13 assists.
I'm thinking those aren't the kind of numbers Shaka wants from his point guard. Especially one who's got the lowest shooting percentage and lowest eFG% on the team.

[Elonsmusk]

I don't believe Shaka sacrificed the game by sitting Kolek. Shaka sat Kolek because he didn't believe  - rightly or wrongly - he was the best option. It seems we're trying to read too deeply into what was a simple lineup decision.
Fact is, Kolek's playmaking against teams not named Georgetown has been less effective of late, and he's looking for his shot too much.
During the seven-game win streak,Kolek attempted 43 shots and dished out 57 assists.
In the six games since, he's taken 49 shots and dished 24 assists. Take out the Georgetown game, and it's 44 shots to 13 assists.
I'm thinking those aren't the kind of numbers Shaka wants from his point guard. Especially one who's got the lowest shooting percentage and lowest eFG% on the team.

Except Shaka has been belaboring Kolek to shoot MORE.  This has been said multiple times. Obviously teams have adjusted and are doing everything to take away our pick/roll, and Kolek getting into the paint - which has affected assist numbers.

There was no doubt something more beyond Tyler struggling a bit in this game, that resulted in him being benched the last 12.  Maybe it was a body language thing..Shaka sending the message that despite any struggles you don't let it affect your body language/mindset.  The bench is known to be the best "instructor."

[Pakuni]

Except Shaka has been belaboring Kolek to shoot MORE.  This has been said multiple times. Obviously teams have adjusted and are doing everything to take away our pick/roll, and Kolek getting into the paint - which has affected assist numbers.

So, in other words, Kolek's playmaking has been less effective of late?
I don't for a second believe Shaka is demanding that his least efficient shooter to shoot more. I sure hope he doesn't.
The fact that Kolek is seeing less court time as his shots have risen and assists have fallen should tell you what Shaka really thinks.

[MU82]

We have no idea why Kolek was benched

Well, we do have a little bit of an idea, because the coach of the team publicly said:

"He was throwing the ball to the other team. And you go on the road, in a place like this, an environment like this, you have to have a look on your face of being a gladiator. I thought we had that at times today; at other times, we didn't."

I have no idea what the “gladiator look“ that people are talking about even looks like.

I don't either ... but in this case, "people" is Marquette men's basketball coach Shaka Smart. Or at least he was the first people to talk about it.

[Elonsmusk]

So, in other words, Kolek's playmaking has been less effective of late?
I don't for a second believe Shaka is demanding that his least efficient shooter to shoot more. I sure hope he doesn't.
The fact that Kolek is seeing less court time as his shots have risen and assists have fallen should tell you what Shaka really thinks.

Well..don't know what to tell you, but Shaka has been telling him to shoot more.  And Kolek's minutes aren't down from when we won the 7 in a row.  15 minutes was his season low.  Next lowest were 19/20 in Games 2, 6, 7.

[willie warrior]

We have no idea why Kolek was benched but he was benched.  Morsell has been benched during games.  So has Omax and others.

Maybe he wasn't feeling well.  Maybe he didn't do what Shaka wanted him to do.  Who knows.  I do know that Shaka wants to win and he wants to build a culture and has a better relationship with is players than any of us.  Nothing to see here until the next game.

Kolek wants to win as much as Shaka. You are wrong that there is nothing to see here. That benching was a huge mistake. Did he bench zlewis after his missed bunny? No.
Kolek has to be in there to run the offense.
There is plenty to see here and it was a big f@#k up by Shaka.

[Uncle Rico]

Kolek wants to win as much as Shaka. You are wrong that there is nothing to see here. That benching was a huge mistake. Did he bench zlewis after his missed bunny? No.
Kolek has to be in there to run the offense.
There is plenty to see here and it was a big f@#k up by Shaka.

We’re waiting patiently

[avid1010]

I thought MU's offense was fine.  I didn't like Morsell bringing the ball up at the end of the game when they could play aggressive with fouls to give.  He looked uncomfortable from the start on that possession.  That said...MU scored plenty...that wasn't the issue.