(04-02-2021 02:58 PM)mrjoolius Wrote:  

(04-02-2021 02:39 PM)FauqDawg10 Wrote:  A tight rotation made sense; it's not like we were loaded with guys who had really earned minutes. We had four guys who looked like they belonged on a CAA court (maybe five, if I'm giving Wight the benefit of the doubt) and everyone else's minutes are purely for the purposes of unlocking their potential. It's most obvious with Yuri. Stone can be a good defender IMO. That's seven and you only really need one more for a rotation. I saw absolutely zero from Milkereit (full disclosure--Luke was terrible his first two years) but he's a year younger than Ayesa and undoubtedly they like guys they had in a full recruiting process more than guys they had to scramble for just to fill the roster.

I'd love for Ayesa to put in good minutes--this team desperately needs a shooter--and he may still yet have a role on this team, but I think the ship on him being a major part of the team's future has probably sailed. There are some lower-ranked prospects, like Fred Heldring and Tom Sheldon, who could get rotation minutes on a rebuilding team but who get leapfrogged when we move towards contention and that's the way it is.

I agree with a lot of what you said, with some objections. I remember "Sean" Sheldon playing impactful minutes as an upperclassman. You say Milkereit was terrible. Pretty unfair evaluation for a freshman rebounding from a serious injury. Did you notice his play improve as the season progressed? I did. I thought his comfort level and confidence got better at the end of the season. He's my returning player that I think has a breakout sophomore year.

Typo--meant to say Tom Schalk, and wound up typing two things at once because Sheldon was actually one of the guys who took his minutes!

Milkereit *was*, on the whole, terrible. He shot 24% from the floor--a small sample size, but ghastly. Too many careless turnovers, not a good passer yet, not a plus defender yet (although does demonstrate the mind for it). It was what it was. Yes, it takes a long time to come back after knee surgery, and yes, he was slightly better than terrible in our last four post-pause games.

Of course I hope you're right about the breakout. Many freshmen are terrible and some of them (like Luke!) eventually become very good players. Of course Milkereit will get better. If you're asking me whether I think he's ever gonna be one of the three or four best players on a contending team, at this moment I'm gonna predict no. But who knows? Identifying potential is an art, not a science, and we don't see these guys in practice like the coaches do. I've been wrong before and would happily admit it again if you show me this a couple years from now.