Line up/ minutes distribution with Luke

[ATL MU Warrior]

Spot on.  I had hoped JJJ would have progressed a bit more by now, but for the time being he's a great athlete looking for a game.

The issue with JJJ is that he is only assertive/decisive on one end of the floor. 

When he gets the ball on offense, he's looking to score.  That leads to a fair number of poor shots and shots that don't really come within the offense.   

When he's playing D, he gets himself stuck in no man's land a lot.  He's not really helping inside, and he's not really aggressively guarding the guy in the perimeter.  He's just kind of hanging out in between.  He needs to learn to commit to doing one or the other, which will hopefully come with time.

[NersEllenson]

What have you seen out of JJJ that he deserves more minutes than Derrick right now?

To answer your question - Not a lot.  Both Derrick and JJJ are the bottom two in O-Rating, Derrick's being slightly better.  But, JJJ has a lot more potential, upside, and offensive game than does Derrick.  Additionally, JJJ is longer, plays passing lanes better than Derrick and those two qualities have value in a zone defense.  Derrick's Value Add D-Rating is the worst on the team - despite those who grasp for any straws they can to say he is the "best option we have," "and plays such good defense within the zone."

Again, Derrick is getting close to 30 minutes a game to produce.  He gets all the opportunity in the world to get into a rhythm.  JJJ?  Burton? Cohen?  Rarely have they gotten large chunks of playing time, in extended stretches, to see what they can produce once in a flow.

If Wojo wants to talk about "building the foundation" of the program, then he should put a little more emphasis on developing the future of the program.  Derrick Wilson playing 30+ minutes a game isn't going to lead you anywhere (other than perhaps the NIT - when this team could be NCAA caliber good).

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I suppose I can see this with respect to Deonte but nothing tells me that Jujuan is anything but a backup this year for Carlino and/or Duane.

I agree with this. Even in my "hopeful" projection, I still had JjJ getting bench minutes, not starters minutes.

[g0lden3agle]

To answer your question - Not a lot.  Both Derrick and JJJ are the bottom two in O-Rating, Derrick's being slightly better.  But, JJJ has a lot more potential, upside, and offensive game than does Derrick.  Additionally, JJJ is longer, plays passing lanes better than Derrick and those two qualities have value in a zone defense.  Derrick's Value Add D-Rating is the worst on the team - despite those who grasp for any straws they can to say he is the "best option we have," "and plays such good defense within the zone."

Again, Derrick is getting close to 30 minutes a game to produce.  He gets all the opportunity in the world to get into a rhythm.  JJJ?  Burton? Cohen?  Rarely have they gotten large chunks of playing time, in extended stretches, to see what they can produce once in a flow.

If Wojo wants to talk about "building the foundation" of the program, then he should put a little more emphasis on developing the future of the program.  Derrick Wilson playing 30+ minutes a game isn't going to lead you anywhere (other than perhaps the NIT - when this team could be NCAA caliber good).

The way I see it Derrick is the game management PG that isn't going through growing pains out there, he is a known quantity and he is what he is at this stage of his career. 

He brings stability at a position that is not there in almost any other player on the team.  It seems like it's the safer option to have him out there vs. having too many players going through growing pains at the same time. 

I would think that if Duane starts to get more consistent out there you will see other players getting into Derrick's minutes, as his stability wouldn't be as much of an asset if Duane can handle more load comfortably.  You would then begin bringing JjJ/Burton/Cohen in for more minutes and getting through their growing pains.

All that being said, the addition of Luke is going to be a radical change in the makeup of this team.  I am almost trying to start over next week and treat that game against ASU as game one of a new season where we actually have the personnel for our front court to play their more natural positions.  It will be interesting to see how lineups change.

[Texas Western]

My theory is that having a true rim defender at the back of the zone will mask a lot of Deonte and JjJ's deficiencies on defense. It will allow them to play more aggressive, go for steals, and play right in the other teams face because they don't have to worry as much about being beat and they don't have to worry as much about fouling. On offense, having a true post will force defenses to concentrate inside rather than on the perimeter, will give someone to seal off lanes for drives to the hoop, and give them someone to dump the ball off to if they can't finish a drive.

There are a lot of ifs in this statement. But if the theory proves true, then I could see Deonte and JjJ's play improving because Luke is on the floor and ergo Derrick's minutes reducing. That's why I put two minute distributions. One for performances so far, and one for performances that I hope to see.

I agree with this theory. I would like to see JJJ realize his potential as he possesses natural talent that can't be taught .

[Texas Western]

The issue with JJJ is that he is only assertive/decisive on one end of the floor. 

When he gets the ball on offense, he's looking to score.  That leads to a fair number of poor shots and shots that don't really come within the offense.   

When he's playing D, he gets himself stuck in no man's land a lot.  He's not really helping inside, and he's not really aggressively guarding the guy in the perimeter.  He's just kind of hanging out in between.  He needs to learn to commit to doing one or the other, which will hopefully come with time.

These are good observations. The coaches need to teach him how to properly play defense . There will be a big return on investment if they can.

[Texas Western]

To answer your question - Not a lot.  Both Derrick and JJJ are the bottom two in O-Rating, Derrick's being slightly better.  But, JJJ has a lot more potential, upside, and offensive game than does Derrick.  Additionally, JJJ is longer, plays passing lanes better than Derrick and those two qualities have value in a zone defense.  Derrick's Value Add D-Rating is the worst on the team - despite those who grasp for any straws they can to say he is the "best option we have," "and plays such good defense within the zone."

Again, Derrick is getting close to 30 minutes a game to produce.  He gets all the opportunity in the world to get into a rhythm.  JJJ?  Burton? Cohen?  Rarely have they gotten large chunks of playing time, in extended stretches, to see what they can produce once in a flow.

If Wojo wants to talk about "building the foundation" of the program, then he should put a little more emphasis on developing the future of the program.  Derrick Wilson playing 30+ minutes a game isn't going to lead you anywhere (other than perhaps the NIT - when this team could be NCAA caliber good).

I agree with your assessment about being able I play in the flow. My sense is that Wojo is  not yet at the point where he is thinking about next year. So JJJ and Deonte are going to have to step their games up in the limited time they do get.

[MU82]

It probably will not be good for their long-term association with the program for Deonte and JJJ to average so few minutes over the entirety of this season.

I don't want this to devolve in a "will they transfer" speculation post, but ... when highly rated players who for most of their lives have been told how great and "special" they are no longer feel they are being valued, it's natural for them to think about potentially greener pastures.

[g0lden3agle]

It probably will not be good for their long-term association with the program for Deonte and JJJ to average so few minutes over the entirety of this season.

I don't want this to devolve in a "will they transfer" speculation post, but ... when highly rated players who for most of their lives have been told how great and "special" they are no longer feel they are being valued, it's natural for them to think about potentially greener pastures.

I really hope we'll see these two take more of Derrick's minutes as Duane becomes more of a known quantity out there.

[hdog1017]

Hopefully Juan's minutes get cut to zero. 

[GGGG]

Hopefully Juan's minutes get cut to zero. 

Ridiculous.  Juan has been extremely valuable to the team this year.  High energy.  Great defense.  Can he a shot if needed.

[GGGG]

It probably will not be good for their long-term association with the program for Deonte and JJJ to average so few minutes over the entirety of this season.

I don't want this to devolve in a "will they transfer" speculation post, but ... when highly rated players who for most of their lives have been told how great and "special" they are no longer feel they are being valued, it's natural for them to think about potentially greener pastures.

And my reaction to that is...fine.  Coaches shouldn't be handing out undeserved minutes out of fears that someone will transfer.  

I think Derrick's minutes will be slightly decreased with Luke because you can simply put a taller front line out  there with Luke, Taylor and Juan.  In some ways, everyone's minutes will be decreasing slightly.  However the idea that they will be reduced to 10 pg is wrong - based on nothing but wishful thinking by people who can't swallow their pride.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Here's how I see it. If we continue to play the trapping 2/3 zone, as I believe we should since it maximizes the current roster's talent, there are really three positions. The Center below the basket, the two baseline wings that are interchangeable, and the top two that are interchangeable. Looking at it like that, I think this is the best minutes distribution.

Center
Fischer: 26
Taylor: 14

Zone Baseline Wings
Burton: 26
Anderson: 24
Jajuan: 20
Taylor: 6
Cohen: 4

Zone Top Two
Duane: 32
Carlino: 28
Cohen: 10
Dawson: 10


Total Minutes by Player
Duane: 32
Carlino: 28
Fischer: 26
Burton: 26
Anderson: 24
Taylor: 20
Jajuan: 20
Cohen: 14
Dawson: 10
Derrick: 0

Realistically, Dawson seems like he's nailed to the bench for good, so in that case I'd spread his 10 mpg among Cohen, Burton, and Jajuan.