wow, what a crappy half

[ecompt]

McNeal way off and Acker had perhaps the worst minute in college basketball history.

[romey]

1 for our last 9

[ErickJD08]

A ton of TO's because they forced bad passes. I thought Burke looked good

[willie warrior]

Acker: 1 minute, 2 fouls, 1 TO, and a missed 25 footer.

McNeal: Smelling it up big time. I love his dribble spin move 6 feet from the basket with 3 guys around him--good recipie for a TO.

Williams better get these guys to play with their head out of their butt, of we go down again to a second tier team--and there goes the season.

[CTWarrior]

You can see why we don't use the bench much.  THe 9-0 run coincided with Acker being inserted into the game.  Offense stops dead when he is on the point.

[Pakuni]

Williams better get these guys to play with their head out of their butt, of we go down again to a second tier team--and there goes the season.

Really? There goes the season?
What, would MU forfeit the rest of its schedule, refuse to appear at the Big East tournament and turn down an invite to the NCAAs?

Glad nobody around here his susceptible to hyperbole.

[ecompt]

Again, we continue to let teams score at will from the perimeter. I love Butler's offense but when he's in there our opponents can do what they want offensively. The less said about Acker the better.

[romey]

Was that ugly or what?  Acker dribbles AWAY from the basket toward halfcourt and has the ball stolen for a breakaway

[esotericmindguy]

He is just awful right now, completely lost his confidence....actually really liked him last year.

[ecompt]

What is really troubling is that even though we may very well win this game, our play off the bench is beyond abysmal. Buzz has no choice but to play his starting five 35 minutes each and give Butler the remaining time.

[StillWarriors]

Lifeless game. SH doesn't have much of a threat inside and yet we still don't guard the perimeter. Hopefully we pick it up in the second half. SH is playing well lately--they won't go down easy.

[MUhoops12]

Hey look at the bright side. DJ 2-2 from the charity stripe.

[StillWarriors]

SH is playing well lately--they won't go down easy.

Shows what I know. What an ugly half for SH---way to go MU

[MUSig54]

Hard to say it was a bad bench effort when Frozena gets a bucket

[ErickJD08]

Is our bench really incapable of running a play?  Do they pick their arses all day in practice?

[Big Daddy Z]

why did this thread end?......answer beause a bunch of no it all's were crying wolf!!!!!!!

Guys...if you have no clue save it until the game is over

[ChicosBailBonds]

What is really troubling is that even though we may very well win this game, our play off the bench is beyond abysmal. Buzz has no choice but to play his starting five 35 minutes each and give Butler the remaining time.

The unfortunate part to me is that many of these reserves were more than adequate last year including in the Big East.

So what happened to make them fall off in their level of play?

[dsfire]

The unfortunate part to me is that many of these reserves were more than adequate last year including in the Big East.

So what happened to make them fall off in their level of play?

Cubillian's shoulder troubles are well-documented, which is unfortunate because a 3 point specialist off the bench would be very welcome this year (and last).  Acker is playing similar minutes and while his points are down (4.5 to 2.1) on significantly worse shooting (22% from 3 even though he's had a number of open shots) his assist-to-turnover ratio is up.  I'm not sure what caused Hazel to be benched for the three-game stretch, but all of his numbers are up significantly over last year.

Which begs the question, who are you asking about?

[IAmMarquette]

The unfortunate part to me is that many of these reserves were more than adequate last year including in the Big East.

So what happened to make them fall off in their level of play?

"Many of these reserves?" Really? The ONLY reserve who could qualify as "more than adequate" last season was Acker. Cubillan hasn't been the same since early last year (see: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/gamelog?playerId=31820&year=2008). Hazel played less last season than he does this year. Frozena was a walk on then, too. Nobody else on the current bench was even on the roster.

That makes 1 (one) reliable bench player from last season who has regressed this year (and really only since about the ND game).

It's not like we've got these studs wasting away on the bench because Buzz chooses not to play them. The fact is, right now, we don't have a bench. They don't play because we can't afford to have them in the game.

[MUfan12]

Which begs the question, who are you asking about?

He's bald, white, from Texas, and not Scott Monarch.

[The Lens]

The unfortunate part to me is that many of these reserves were more than adequate last year including in the Big East.

So what happened to make them fall off in their level of play?

Many? There's Cubbilan and Acker...who else?  

[ChicosBailBonds]

Cubillian's shoulder troubles are well-documented, which is unfortunate because a 3 point specialist off the bench would be very welcome this year (and last).  Acker is playing similar minutes and while his points are down (4.5 to 2.1) on significantly worse shooting (22% from 3 even though he's had a number of open shots) his assist-to-turnover ratio is up.  I'm not sure what caused Hazel to be benched for the three-game stretch, but all of his numbers are up significantly over last year.

Which begs the question, who are you asking about?

I'm asking about all three, Hazel, Cubes and Acker.  I realize Cubes has the shoulder injuries which is very unfortunate.  Hazel I think is better this year than last, but obviously Buzz doesn't like the match-ups or the way he is playing in practice.  That's fine.  Acker is a mixed bag as you mentioned.

The situation is the situation.  As ecompt clearly stated, not much you can do about it now because we've gone the entire season with basically a 6 man rotation.  The time to play other guys would have been earlier to give them the ability to contribute later on.

Let's hope our guys can hang in to the end because 6 is all we have.  They'll have to really suck it up down the stretch in terms of fatigue and endurance.

[Lennys Tap]

Sorry to pile on Chicos, But to say that MANY of our current reserves were more than adequete in Big East play last year is way off base. Hazel never played and was widely regarded as a total waste of a scholarship. He has improved greatly this year but remains a distant 3rd option behind Burke or the "small" lineup. Coobie injuries led to a horrendous shooting slump that began last year and continues. When he is unable to hit wide open 3's he is not a more than adequate Big East back up. In fact, he's a major liability. That's been the case for at least a year and a half. You are right on Acker. He is the one reserve who finished in our top 8 last year shot the ball pretty well. He has had his moments, especially against ND where he out-quicked McAlarney. Unfortunately, he is tiny and a minus defensively against anyone other player with relatively good size or quickness. I think CT Warrior was on to something when he suggested it was easier to hide poor players in TC's system. What with the isolation, pick and rolls, etc. there were more one and two man games under TC.  Buzz's motion offense includes everyone (even Burke as the season wears on) and players with major holes in their games are exposed. Consider these three exposed.

[romey]

why did this thread end?......answer beause a bunch of no it all's were crying wolf!!!!!!!

Guys...if you have no clue save it until the game is over

Okay Big Daddy, at half time of the game would you not have agreed that it was a crappy half?

The thread ended, because the second half started and they turned it around.  Does that mean the first half was no longer crappy?  No.  Never claimed to be "a NO it all either" but thanks.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Well, Lenny, I guess I felt that 2 of our 3 reserves did a good job last year in the Big East....I guess it's semantics to say "many".  Does 2 of 3 count as most?      The other two are at Kansas and Indiana right now, or they would be playing off the bench as well, but that's water under the bridge.

Nevertheless, 2 of the 3 more than held their own last year throughout the year which is the very reason why so many people are saying "what happened" this year. 

As an example, Acker never played less than 15 minutes a game in the Big East Tournament of NCAA tournament, averaging ~5 points per game.  In those same games, Cubes averaged double digits in minutes, played some solid defense (his shooting was horrid down the stretch last year).

I just hope our team doesn't gas it in the end because there is no bench to go to at this point. 

[Lennys Tap]

Sorry again, Chicos, but to suggest that Cubillan or Acker "more than held their own" is simply not accurate. You could argue that Acker  was a net neutral but there's no fair analysis that rates Cubillan anything other than a significant negative. TC kept giving him minutes in hopes he'd regain his stroke. Buzz continued that early but had to eventually sit him because he was hurting the team.

Like you, I hope our thin bench doesn't hurt us in the future. But unfortunately there is a HUGE dropoff on this team after the starting 5 + Butler. To give away games (and hurt our seed) by GIVING minutes to people who haven't earned them strikes me as the height of foolishness.

[CTWarrior]

I think we're looking at Acker last year with rose-colored glasses.  There was a significant drop-off when he came in the games last year, too.  It is definitely more pronounced this year. 

Look at last night.  Acker comes in late first half and boom, 9-0 run and we;re down at the half.  I know it was garbage time and it didn't really matter, but we were outscored by 12 after the last TV timeout when we had mostly bench players in.  12 points in less than 4 minutes! 

Our bench would probably be better if they played more, but the drop-off is so precipitous that it probably isn't worth it if you do the cost/benefit analysis.

In the end, there are only three scenarios where it becomes a factor.

1.  Big East tournament.  I can't see this team winning 3 games in 3 days or 4 games in 4 days playing 6 guys.
2.  If any of the 3 amigos, Hayward or Butler get hurt.
3.  Major foul trouble for 2 of the main 6.

The only guy I would argue that should see more time (based strictly on what he does while in the game) is Hazel.  It seems to me we should be able to find him 5-8 minutes a game.

[Lennys Tap]

Agree with your post CT. The people who say the bench improves if they play more are probably right. When those same people point out our big 4 would be fresher with more rest they are probably right again. But the gap between the big 4 and the Acker/Cubillan combo is soooo wide that these two factors are insignificant in comparison.  To throw away games in the hope that our bench experiences some sort of epiphany is foolish. I'm aware that some have a stake in seeing Buzz fail and will criticize any choice he makes. But this is a no brainer. Buzz is playing the hand he was dealt, choosing the vastly better of two imperfect solutions.