Reggie Johnson not traveling to DC.....

[BM1090]

Twitter:

Manny Navarro ‏@Manny_Navarro 5m
Just told Reggie Johnson won't be making trip to DC with the team. #UM
Retweeted by Andy Glockner

Andy Glockner ‏@AndyGlockner 37s
Johnson hasn't been all that good since returning from injury, but that's still a pretty significant development for Miami.

Paint Touches ‏@PaintTouches 4m
Breaking news #mubb RT @Manny_Navarro: Just told Reggie Johnson won't be making trip to DC with the team. #UM

[bobnoxious]

WOW that most certainly is an interesting development

[BM1090]

Michelle Kaufman ‏@kaufsports 5m
Breaking news: hearing Reggie Johnson not making trip. Knee injury that may require surgery. Stay tuned. @MiamiHerald @HeraldSports

[Retire54]

Averages 21.3 mins, 6.7 points, 7.0 boards a game. Pretty decent impact I would think but they got used to playing without him early in the season.

[wardle2wade]

Lucky break.  They don't have a deep rotation.... 7 or 8 guys including Johnson.  It also means they have 5 less fouls.  Johnson's listed as 6'10 290lb center.   

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Coincidentally, "Reggie Johnson" was my alias when I was an undergrad.

[Benny B]

Averages 21.3 mins, 6.7 points, 7.0 boards a game. Pretty decent impact I would think but they got used to playing without him early in the season.

They may have also got used to playing with him late in the season, too.

I find this very intriguing... was he playing the last few weeks while injured, and if so, why?

Since returning from injury Jan 23, averaging 4.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 offense boards in 18.7 minutes... he's not lighting up the scoreboard, but that's a pretty significant gap he's leaving on a team that only goes three-deep at the 4 & 5 positions.  Swoope and Jekiri (each only 1.4 ppg in under 7 minutes) are going to need to step up unless they go small, because you're not going to get much more from Kadji (29 mpg) and Gamble (20 mpg) might not be able to give you much more than he already is.

I suppose from MU's perspective, Miami is much deeper at guard, so losing any depth in the post bodes well.

[wardle2wade]

They may have also got used to playing with him late in the season, too.

I find this very intriguing... was he playing the last few weeks while injured, and if so, why?

Since returning from injury Jan 23, averaging 4.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 offense boards in 18.7 minutes... he's not lighting up the scoreboard, but that's a pretty significant gap he's leaving on a team that only goes three-deep at the 4 & 5 positions.  Swoope and Jekiri (each only 1.4 ppg in under 7 minutes) are going to need to step up unless they go small, because you're not going to get much more from Kadji (29 mpg) and Gamble (20 mpg) might not be able to give you much more than he already is.

I suppose from MU's perspective, Miami is much deeper at guard, so losing any depth in the post bodes well.

I think our biggest benefit is that this gives them 5 less fouls.  Really need to pound the ball downlow to Gardner and drive on their big men to get them in foul trouble.

Johnson's also a senior, so it may be a break that they won't have his senior leadership.

[Badgerhater]

They may have also got used to playing with him late in the season, too.

I find this very intriguing... was he playing the last few weeks while injured, and if so, why?

Since returning from injury Jan 23, averaging 4.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 offense boards in 18.7 minutes... he's not lighting up the scoreboard, but that's a pretty significant gap he's leaving on a team that only goes three-deep at the 4 & 5 positions.  Swoope and Jekiri (each only 1.4 ppg in under 7 minutes) are going to need to step up unless they go small, because you're not going to get much more from Kadji (29 mpg) and Gamble (20 mpg) might not be able to give you much more than he already is.

I suppose from MU's perspective, Miami is much deeper at guard, so losing any depth in the post bodes well.

Find a way to hang some fouls on them inside early.

[MDMU04]

In a game where the point spread is two possessions, a team which only plays 7-8 deep losing a rotation player is a big deal.

To go deep in this tournament you need to be good. A little luck never hurts either.

[Norm]

I think our biggest benefit is that this gives them 5 less fouls.  Really need to pound the ball downlow to Gardner and drive on their big men to get them in foul trouble.

Johnson's also a senior, so it may be a break that they won't have his senior leadership.

Don't they have 5-6 seniors on the roster? Not sue what missing one senior will do in the leadership department.

[wardle2wade]

Is it possible he still plays?  No word that he's out, right?  Only word is that he's not making their charter flight since his knee needs to be looked at (possible surgery).  Perhaps he's coming in tomorrow night after a doctor appointment?

[martyconlonontherun]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/40976/reggie-johnson

Hasn't done too much recently. Had a 7/10 in the opening round but he also had 4 TOs. Wonder if he has been playing hurt? As a senior, maybe he say f-it and played despite possibly damaging his knee?

[wardle2wade]

Don't they have 5-6 seniors on the roster? Not sue what missing one senior will do in the leadership department.

True, but you never know what a Senior adds to a dynamic in the locker room or sideline.

[MisterJaylenBrownMU]

I think this hurts them in a way that PPG and RPG don't adequately show. Not only was Johnson 290 lbs, but he also had a 7'2" wingspan, which helped him keep opposing centers out of the paint. Miami's next heaviest player on the roster is Gamble, at 250 lbs. That's giving up 40 lbs of mass, at least, to DG and 25 lbs. to Otule. And if the speculation is true that Jekiri will get increased minutes (http://www.stateoftheu.com/2013/3/26/4150586/reggie-johnson-suffers-knee-injury-out-for-rest-of-ncaa-tournament), he's listed at 227 lbs and gives up a whopping 63 lbs. to DG.

I'm sure Miami will adjust by going small, fronting DG, etc. But if Marquette can execute a good game plan and get the ball on the block, DG will have a huge size advantage over anyone that Miami can throw at him.

[NotAnAlum]

Checked out the Miami message boards.  They seem to believe he is done for the year.
They also don't seem that concerned.  in fact a couple posts were claiming he didn't deserve to play.
Doesn't seem like a big advantage for us but I'll take any thing we can get.

[MUMountin]

Oh man...I was looking forward to seeing he and Gardner go at--would've been like a sumo match down low.

Bodes well for MU--makes the inside a little softer for us.  

[wardle2wade]

According to this article, Larranaga praises him for his skill setting big picks for their shooters.  The guy's a load, so that's huge if he's out.

http://tracking.si.com/2013/03/26/miami-reggie-johnson-out-against-marquette/

[bradley center bat]

Looking at the box scores since the acc tourney, he really hasn't had much of an impact.

[bobnoxious]

Not everything that helps a team shows up in the box score.....

[martyconlonontherun]

Checked out the Miami message boards.  They seem to believe he is done for the year.
They also don't seem that concerned.  in fact a couple posts were claiming he didn't deserve to play.
Doesn't seem like a big advantage for us but I'll take any thing we can get.

Yeah, it seems like a small advantage. Guy only shot 38% and was turnover prone. It hurts to lose a guy like that, but you can soften the blow with more efficient/faster players.

[Pakuni]

Checked out the Miami message boards.  They seem to believe he is done for the year.
They also don't seem that concerned.  in fact a couple posts were claiming he didn't deserve to play.
Doesn't seem like a big advantage for us but I'll take any thing we can get.

Reports are that the best-case scenario is he plays next weekend, i.e. Final Four, if Miami advances that far, but definitely out this weekend.

[denverMU]

Biggest impact is this makes them a 6 player team.  Run MU run.  MU needs to pressure and keep rotating those 10 players and get them tired.  Tired players make mistakes, foul more , and don't shoot as well.

[Newsdreams]

I disagree ha did not have an impact. His big asset seems to be rebounding he had 7 rebounds in 18 minutes in the Ill. game. He averaged 7 rebounds per game during the season plus if he set the picks for the shooters it could be a factor no huge but it could hurt them in an already small rotation of 7 to 8 players.

[MisterJaylenBrownMU]

For whatever it's worth, it doesn't look like Miami has played a single team with a player of DG's size that plays a high volume of minutes. Charles Mitchell of Maryland is 6'8 260 lbs, but he only played 12 minutes. And Derrick Nix of Michigan State is 6'9 270 lbs, but Reggie Johnson had a double-double with 3 blocks in that game. Both of those guys give up 20 or 30 lbs to DG, and no other player really comes that close.

If nothing else, this creates a nightmare for Miami's coaches to plan around, because they haven't dealt with it before and you can't simulate it in practice.