02-13-2009, 02:56 PM
Several posters noted that the Bucs, especially Mike Smith, looked tired against Stetson.
That caused me to ponder this question: Is it particularly important for a coach to develop and use a deep bench in the A-Sun?
Consider this: The A-Sun plays its tournament a week earlier than many leagues, so that means it has quite a few games compressed into a relatively short period of time. Also, the league operates on a lot of short turnarounds--Friday/Sun and Sat/Mon games.
Does that put a premium on developing a deep bench? And is Rick Byrd's use of his bench a big reason Belmont has won three straight A-Sun NCAA bids?
Belmont isn't quite so deep this year, but in recent years, I seem to remember Byrd playing nine or 10 guys double-figures minutes in most every game. I haven't researched this, but I'm guessing that even Justin Hare usually played only 28 to 32 minutes.
Bucs have a lot of games where the Big 3 play 36 minutes or more. Bartow, of course, is hamstrung a bit by not having Davis and Hubbard available. But still, I wonder if he needs to be playing all nine guys double figure minutes and keeping CP/KT/MS in the 32-34 minutes range.
The more I watch college hoops, the more I think postseason success often is determined by which team is most fresh--both physically and mentally. Using the bench, and handling the practice schedule smartly, probably are key factors in that.
That caused me to ponder this question: Is it particularly important for a coach to develop and use a deep bench in the A-Sun?
Consider this: The A-Sun plays its tournament a week earlier than many leagues, so that means it has quite a few games compressed into a relatively short period of time. Also, the league operates on a lot of short turnarounds--Friday/Sun and Sat/Mon games.
Does that put a premium on developing a deep bench? And is Rick Byrd's use of his bench a big reason Belmont has won three straight A-Sun NCAA bids?
Belmont isn't quite so deep this year, but in recent years, I seem to remember Byrd playing nine or 10 guys double-figures minutes in most every game. I haven't researched this, but I'm guessing that even Justin Hare usually played only 28 to 32 minutes.
Bucs have a lot of games where the Big 3 play 36 minutes or more. Bartow, of course, is hamstrung a bit by not having Davis and Hubbard available. But still, I wonder if he needs to be playing all nine guys double figure minutes and keeping CP/KT/MS in the 32-34 minutes range.
The more I watch college hoops, the more I think postseason success often is determined by which team is most fresh--both physically and mentally. Using the bench, and handling the practice schedule smartly, probably are key factors in that.