Next year's Starters

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

This.

But I also feel confident that if somebody shows he is better than Koby, Wojo will have no problem giving that somebody (or those somebodies) more minutes than Koby. He has consistently done so, especially the last four years.

Absolutely agree. Players develop at different rates and freshmen are sometimes better than their ranking.  John leapfrogging Heldt is a perfect example. But more often than not,  if a player was above another player on the depth chart last year,  that won't change the following year.

[HutchwasClutch]

Not sure what about my post needed lightening.  It wasn't a criticism, just a statement of fact

Ok, but talking about backup qb syndrome sounds like criticism to me.  It was meant to be light hearted, not sure why the need to straighten the record. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Ok, but talking about backup qb syndrome sounds like criticism to me.  It was meant to be light hearted, not sure why the need to straighten the record. 

Irony.

[MU82]

There is no misrepresentation of "facts."  Wojo had a very quick hook with Cain sophomore year. Was better last year.  Perhaps one reason we implode down the stretch is guys are worn out, due to Wojo's excessively quick hook for some bench guys...this grinding the startes to the bone.

Also. We understand how you feel about Wojo. We just need to have some patience. Jay Wright started slow. So did Coach K. Thanks as always for reminding us for our need to keep perspective.

BTW - Please quote 1 post where I've said, or anybody else has said:  "Wojo is the worst coach ever."  You are the only tool here that posts that cheesy and lame exaggeration.

As I've said several times, I am no longer bigly Projo. Very disappointed in the last two finishes and in losing the Hausers, and I expect more from his team next season.

I just get a kick out of those who have trouble posting on any MU hoops topic without bashing him. For example, your first three posts after Wojo landed Carton included shots at him.

You couldn't help yourself. You simply had to get a few digs in at the Very Very Most Terriblest Coach Ever.

[brewcity77]

I think Koby starts. The question is how long he starts. Wojo has frequently change is starting lineup. Bailey started as a Freshmen and was replaced by Joey. Morrow also started and was replaced by John. I think Howard did not originally start as a freshmen, but he earned his way into the starting five.

Last year that was not the case. We had 5 guys start 29 of the 30 games. Elliott and Cain each got one start when Howard and McEwen were out and Jayce got the nod over Theo on his senior night. And it was pretty clear that down the stretch, Elliott was playing better than McEwen and Cain was playing better than Bailey, but he still stuck with the same starting five, often longer into a game than seemed prudent (at SJU really stands out, but there were others).

I feel like Wojo is generally willing to tweak the starting five in the early parts of the season, but once he picks his guys, he really sticks with them, at least the last three years. In that time, we have had effectively three batches of starters:

2018: Rowsey, Howard, Anim, Hauser, Heldt (accounted for 163/175 starts)
2019: Howard, Anim, Sam, Joey, John (162/170 starts)
2020: Howard, McEwen, Anim, Bailey, John (147/150 starts)

So in the five starting positions, the guys who are tabbed as the starters accounted for 472/495 total available starts, which is 95.4% of the time. Not only that, but of those 23 non-starter starts, 7 were from Haanif (who was locked into a starter spot before he left) and 2 were senior day starts (Heldt & Johnson), so it's really 96.8% of the time that Wojo is rolling out his main guys.

He had starter flexibility in 2017. He flirted with it a bit in 2018, giving Greg and Froling some chances. Since then, however, he's been very rigid with the starters. Whoever has the job when we open play at the Fiserv is almost certainly going to be there when our season ends in March, and almost all the time in between.

[DoctorV]

Last year that was not the case. We had 5 guys start 29 of the 30 games. Elliott and Cain each got one start when Howard and McEwen were out and Jayce got the nod over Theo on his senior night. And it was pretty clear that down the stretch, Elliott was playing better than McEwen and Cain was playing better than Bailey, but he still stuck with the same starting five, often longer into a game than seemed prudent (at SJU really stands out, but there were others).

I feel like Wojo is generally willing to tweak the starting five in the early parts of the season, but once he picks his guys, he really sticks with them, at least the last three years. In that time, we have had effectively three batches of starters:

2018: Rowsey, Howard, Anim, Hauser, Heldt (accounted for 163/175 starts)
2019: Howard, Anim, Sam, Joey, John (162/170 starts)
2020: Howard, McEwen, Anim, Bailey, John (147/150 starts)

So in the five starting positions, the guys who are tabbed as the starters accounted for 472/495 total available starts, which is 95.4% of the time. Not only that, but of those 23 non-starter starts, 7 were from Haanif (who was locked into a starter spot before he left) and 2 were senior day starts (Heldt & Johnson), so it's really 96.8% of the time that Wojo is rolling out his main guys.

He had starter flexibility in 2017. He flirted with it a bit in 2018, giving Greg and Froling some chances. Since then, however, he's been very rigid with the starters. Whoever has the job when we open play at the Fiserv is almost certainly going to be there when our season ends in March, and almost all the time in between.

Thanks for proving my point better than I could.

I agree that Greg was playing better than Koby and that Jamal was playing better than BB down the stretch. Many also believed that Bailey was playing better than Joey towards the end of the previous season and it seemed that Wojo had a hard time supplanting Joey.

The start statistic you shared is sort of what I'm talking about when I say that Wojo essentially decides who his main guys are and sticks with it- tries to make it work at any cost.

I think he did it with Koby last season, especially in the last 10 games of the season, and it wasn't pretty. I also think that because he has this "idea" of Koby he will get another solid opportunity to start and play a heavy role (his defense, rebounding and experience help a lot here). I think the starting gig and heavy minutes will be Koby's to lose, unless someone like Mane comes on board

[bilsu]

Al McGuire would not change his starting 5 after the season started. He thought that was bad for team morale.
Now that does not mean a  starters minutes did not decrease.

Cain had some nice shooting games, but overall he was not better than Bailey,

[Viper]

(Assuming Carton is immediate-eligible and Mane comes on board)
Roll w/3guards...Carton, Mane and McEwen. Backups Torrance, Elliott and Dex. B/U PT based on match-ups, foul trouble or how McEwen is playing.
Front court, Theo and Garcia. Lewis, Cain, Bailey and O off the bench.
If McEwen opts to grad transfer (assuming he has the degree), no worries.

[IrwinFletcher]

In the final game of the year vs. STJ, Koby started and played 11 minutes and GE played 26 (and played very well 11/5/2).  Who knows if that was a one-off or if Wojo finally saw the light, we will never know, but maybe the transition was going to be made.

Starters don't really matter, how many minutes each guy gets is what matters.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

In the final game of the year vs. STJ, Koby started and played 11 minutes and GE played 26 (and played very well 11/5/2).  Who knows if that was a one-off or if Wojo finally saw the light, we will never know, but maybe the transition was going to be made.

Starters don't really matter, how many minutes each guy gets is what matters.

It was a coach doing what a coach does.  Playing the player who was better that day.  It has nothing to do with who starts next year.

[MU82]

In the final game of the year vs. STJ, Koby started and played 11 minutes and GE played 26 (and played very well 11/5/2).  Who knows if that was a one-off or if Wojo finally saw the light, we will never know, but maybe the transition was going to be made.

Starters don't really matter, how many minutes each guy gets is what matters.

Yep. See: Williams, Erik; Smith, Reggie; many many many other examples over the years, not just at Marquette and not just college basketball.

It was a coach doing what a coach does.  Playing the player who was better that day.  It has nothing to do with who starts next year.

Yep. Coaches want to win basketball games.

[bilsu]

In the final game of the year vs. STJ, Koby started and played 11 minutes and GE played 26 (and played very well 11/5/2).  Who knows if that was a one-off or if Wojo finally saw the light, we will never know, but maybe the transition was going to be made.

Starters don't really matter, how many minutes each guy gets is what matters.

It took GE a while to get back form his injury. There were flashes of him being good in prior games. I do not think you can conclude that Wojo saw the light. What Wojo saw was one player playing well against St. John's and another plyer not playing well. That does not necessarily mean anything for the future as who is going to start..

[IrwinFletcher]

It was a coach doing what a coach does.  Playing the player who was better that day.  It has nothing to do with who starts next year.

Agree.  However, Wojo didn't do that very often with Koby.  The last game he played 11 minutes.  the game before he played 34 against DePaul and the game before that, vs SHU, he played 16.  You have to go all the way back to January 1 to find a game where he played under 20 minutes and in that game he had 4 fouls in that time.

So I think the leash that Wojo had given Koby, had shrunk considerable in that last week. And Naturally, this doesn't mean anything for next season, but what it could indicate is that the second guard position is wide open right now and ready for anyone to jump up and grab it.

[MUDPT]

Last year that was not the case. We had 5 guys start 29 of the 30 games. Elliott and Cain each got one start when Howard and McEwen were out and Jayce got the nod over Theo on his senior night. And it was pretty clear that down the stretch, Elliott was playing better than McEwen and Cain was playing better than Bailey, but he still stuck with the same starting five, often longer into a game than seemed prudent (at SJU really stands out, but there were others).

I feel like Wojo is generally willing to tweak the starting five in the early parts of the season, but once he picks his guys, he really sticks with them, at least the last three years. In that time, we have had effectively three batches of starters:

2018: Rowsey, Howard, Anim, Hauser, Heldt (accounted for 163/175 starts)
2019: Howard, Anim, Sam, Joey, John (162/170 starts)
2020: Howard, McEwen, Anim, Bailey, John (147/150 starts)

So in the five starting positions, the guys who are tabbed as the starters accounted for 472/495 total available starts, which is 95.4% of the time. Not only that, but of those 23 non-starter starts, 7 were from Haanif (who was locked into a starter spot before he left) and 2 were senior day starts (Heldt & Johnson), so it's really 96.8% of the time that Wojo is rolling out his main guys.

He had starter flexibility in 2017. He flirted with it a bit in 2018, giving Greg and Froling some chances. Since then, however, he's been very rigid with the starters. Whoever has the job when we open play at the Fiserv is almost certainly going to be there when our season ends in March, and almost all the time in between.

I think 2 of those GE starts in 2018 were  home to STJ and at DP when Markus was injured.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Agree.  However, Wojo didn't do that very often with Koby.  The last game he played 11 minutes.  the game before he played 34 against DePaul and the game before that, vs SHU, he played 16.  You have to go all the way back to January 1 to find a game where he played under 20 minutes and in that game he had 4 fouls in that time.

So I think the leash that Wojo had given Koby, had shrunk considerable in that last week. And Naturally, this doesn't mean anything for next season, but what it could indicate is that the second guard position is wide open right now and ready for anyone to jump up and grab it.

Koby played like absolute garbage that game. Wojo was fed up with a lot of players and Elliott was playing well.

Koby would have gone right back to starting in the BET in my opinion.

[IrwinFletcher]

Koby played like absolute garbage that game. Wojo was fed up with a lot of players and Elliott was playing well.

Koby would have gone right back to starting in the BET in my opinion.

Again, I completely agree.  But I think the leash on Koby was much much shorter and he may have only played 10-15 minutes if he was playing like garbage yet again.