I'll trust Wojo

[wadesworld]

That's one of the dumbest things I have read on Scoop to date.

At the end of game - the PG takes care of the ball, one of the frequent outcomes or even a stratgey is to foul in hopes of a missed free throw,

You must not read Scoop very often then.  That would be like saying a player who shoots 30% from the field but never turns the ball over and has a 4:1 assist:turnover ratio isn't a "basketball caretaker" or whatever term was used, because when the player shoots it doesn't go in often.  Taking care of the basketball is one skill.  Shooting the basketball is another.  Derrick is good at one (taking care of the ball) and not good at the other (shooting).  Free throw shooting falls in the category of shooting the basketball, not taking care of the basketball.

[MU82]

You must not read Scoop very often then.  That would be like saying a player who shoots 30% from the field but never turns the ball over and has a 4:1 assist:turnover ratio isn't a "basketball caretaker" or whatever term was used, because when the player shoots it doesn't go in often.  Taking care of the basketball is one skill.  Shooting the basketball is another.  Derrick is good at one (taking care of the ball) and not good at the other (shooting).  Free throw shooting falls in the category of shooting the basketball, not taking care of the basketball.

I understand what you're saying but ...

A PG can play all 40 minutes and have the basketball in his hands for every single possession without ever taking a FG attempt. That is his choice, or maybe the coach's choice.

But a PG who has the basketball in his hands for all 40 minutes, including the final minutes of a close game, WILL be fouled. Going to the line is not his choice. His coach can't "decline the penalty" like an NFL coach would. If the PG is out there to take care of the lead and he can't make the free throws that would protect the lead, it does tarnish the "caretaker" label at least a little, no? Isn't that common sense?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don't think there's much difference at all. Haters see the former, slurpers the latter. Semantics.

I see your point but I disagree. "Encouraging a guy to transfer" to me implies that the player being "encouraged" is being sat even though he's better than the players above him. The second option implies that the player is being sat because he's not as good as the players above him.

[BossplayaOtto]

I understand what you're saying but ...

A PG can play all 40 minutes and have the basketball in his hands for every single possession without ever taking a FG attempt. That is his choice, or maybe the coach's choice.

But a PG who has the basketball in his hands for all 40 minutes, including the final minutes of a close game, WILL be fouled. Going to the line is not his choice. His coach can't "decline the penalty" like an NFL coach would. If the PG is out there to take care of the lead and he can't make the free throws that would protect the lead, it does tarnish the "caretaker" label at least a little, no? Isn't that common sense?

Gotta side with MU82 on this one. IMO a "caretaker" should be someone you feel comfortable handling the rock or at the very least passing the ball to in late, close game situations. Someone that can protect the lead.

[Nevada233]

You can practice FT all you want, no pressure. A game environment is a whole different situation.

+1000

[Lennys Tap]

I see your point but I disagree. "Encouraging a guy to transfer" to me implies that the player being "encouraged" is being sat even though he's better than the players above him.

Why would a coach whose paycheck, record and reputation are based on winning games sit a guy who's better than the guy he's playing?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Why would a coach whose paycheck, record and reputation are based on winning games sit a guy who's better than the guy he's playing?

My point exactly

[willie warrior]

If Crean could figure out how to work around DJames free throw shooting, Wojo can figure out how to work around Derrick's.    The easy fix is to let Carlino and Duane handle the ball in the last 2 minutes of a game.   The question for me is whether or not coaches start fouling Derrick when he is 40 ft away from the ball.   I assume that Luke can shoot FT's and will be either inbounding or coming up as an outlet for inbounding plays.     Derrick inbounding to Carlino/Duane/Luke, sprinting up the floor and letting the other 3 bring it up makes sense.   The really tricky part is that Juan is shooting poorly right now from the line.  Hiding 2 bad FT shooters is tougher.     I thought that was going to change now that we have a coach that practices free throws.   

Making a comparison between DJames and Derrick is ridiculous. DJames, although not a good FT shooter is better than Derrick, and James dominates Derrick in every other skill. James would be in the game at nut time.

[willie warrior]

No doubt improving his free throw percentage is very important as we move forward.  Both Derrick and Juan need to be on the floor at crunch time when we have a lead for our team to be most successful.  And to do that they need to get up into the 60% range.  I guess we're blessed that Matt has a very good handle and hits free throws with regularity.  I also have a lot of confidence in Duane at the line but I still worry some about his late game handle.  Those guys allow Derrick to be in a support role.  There was one late game possession against UT where Derrick made a very quick catch and pass during the fouling strategy period.  Ball was in his hands no more than a second.  I also like it that Wojo has challenged him to step up in this area of his game.  I'm confident that he got the message.  I hope he can deliver.

Correction---neither "needs" to be on the floor at crunch time. FT's, FT's, FT's!!!