One of my casual convos at the game last night started off discussing the Grizz. Tanking came up. When to cut the cord with the core 4: ZBo, Grindfather, Marc and Conley. Great chat as I've always thought being a GM would be the greatest job on the planet. Not easiest, but most fun.

That convo turned to the Tigers. Losing to Cincy puts an end to our At-Large pursuit. Which leads to the question, do you press on trying to get every win you can out of this year? You can continue to give Thornton, Parks, Davenport big minutes regardless of production. There is a mindset that our best team is on the floor and what we get from them will determine how far we go. The opposing idea is to forget this year. The seniors had their chances to make this season post-season worthy but it hasn't happened. Cincy, Tenn, Texas Tech, Ok State, LSU all yielded losses. Some think that means it's time to cut the cord so to speak. Is it time to play the the Freshman and Maurice in preparation for next year and beyond?

Penny stated during the post game interview with Wolo that he plans to start the Seniors every game from here on out. I don't remember exactly the context of the statement as I was furious with giving up 11 pt lead vs Cincy. Might have been in response to question, but Penny put it out there.


I believe I do my best to get more minutes for the freshmen. Their experience on the floor is very valuable. I don't think the seniors have to be shunned either. I go with the same line-up as Penny has stated he will. I do however give shorter leashes to those on the floor. Any chance I have to put a young guy on the floor, I do it. I also think this may lead to playing the hot hand. Our team has a deep, bench. All players across the board are reasonably equal. Some have talent but lack experience. Some have experience but frankly lack talent. Mixing it up and rewarding good play while giving freshmen more opportunity to play could be good long term and short term.

How would you handle the rest of the season? How would you manage starting line-up? Playing time?

I think we continue to try and win. Building a culture. Reward the players who are deserving at the time.

(02-08-2019 09:59 AM)uskjtc02 Wrote:  I think we continue to try and win. Building a culture. Reward the players who are deserving at the time.

I think the culture is the largest part of our problem on the road. Unfortunately our starting line-up is used to losing and hearing that we should be happy to be in the middle of pack within AAC. Wins don't come to you. You have to go get them. When we start down 15-1, it's time to clear the floor. Give the bench a change to spark us. This will also help freshmen gain experience. As I tried to say, I'm not sure it's a one or the other decision. Going the bench more can be good for both.

Going to bench more will definitely give guys more experience. It could help win that game that day too. If not, at least we got the experience. Riding with seniors for 25-30 minutes until they decide to kick it up a notch is getting us what we have.

I have my thoughts, but really just thought it was a good convo to have.

Play who's playing hard and focused basketball. If you come out lazy or unfocused, you sit for a good bit. Don't care whether we "need" that players ability. Instill a culture of effort and focus.

(02-08-2019 11:16 AM)jgardne Wrote:  Play who's playing hard and focused basketball. If you come out lazy or unfocused, you sit for a good bit. Don't care whether we "need" that players ability. Instill a culture of effort and focus.

Absolutely!

If you have a solid squad with good depth, you can clear the bench when the starting 5 is stinking it up. With this team you might put 5 players in that can’t score (for long stretches) or defend. In theory, I like the idea. For this year, I’m not sure that works.

I still want to win the conference tournament and I still think it is possible.

(02-08-2019 03:03 PM)memtigbb Wrote:  I still want to win the conference tournament and I still think it is possible.

It is at home. Cincy was favored by 3 against us. GP said Houston is only a 3 point favorite vs us at home as well. Very doable.

(02-08-2019 03:12 PM)gusrob Wrote:  

(02-08-2019 03:03 PM)memtigbb Wrote:  I still want to win the conference tournament and I still think it is possible.

It is at home. Cincy was favored by 3 against us. GP said Houston is only a 3 point favorite vs us at home as well. Very doable.

We can compete with anyone on our home floor

The question is two fold for me
1) managing minutes so our freshman and Maurice develop
2) managing minutes so we can ride the seniors at home in the tournament while also being able to count more on the freshman

I think balancing both is key. We have 8 games left - I think the minutes should balance out a little more. Let Tyler keep finding ways to score without shooting 3s, let ALo run point and gain confidence in his pull up, etc

Honestly, I'm really torn here.

1. I want to play the kids (ALo, Harris, Jones) as much as possible to get them valuable minutes.
2. I want to reward the Seniors who have contributed so much (the JuCo brigade, Martin), they deserve it.

But really, the most important goals to me IN ORDER are:

1. Continue to develop THIS YEAR'S team to have the best chance to win what looks like 4 games in 4 days.
2. Develop the brand for future '19 / '20 recruiting
3. Develop the individual players of the remaining players (in order: Jones, Harris, ALo)

---

We've got to try to dance this year, we may not get those 4 games in 4 days, but that has to be goal one. Development can happen starting in April.

My $0.02, reasonable minds can certainly disagree.

I think the staff needs to figure out how to manage lineups to win games. There were some issues last night. A-lo should not have been in down the stretch. Especially when they had the chance with FT's and play stoppage to go offense-defense. When Cincy is at the FT line, you have to put Tyler in the game. A-lo simply lets Cincy play us 5 on 4.

Growing pains. So I think the staff needs to manage the roster as a learning experiment to help their own growth curve. Manage to win now.

We started the season with one chance to go to the Ncaa Tournament.


We now have one chance to make it, it is the same chance and only chance we had to begin the season WIN THE AAC TOURNAMENT IN MEMPHIS.

1- this team has not made POST SEASON the last 4 years

2- Last years team lost to ECU they also lost by 30 to USF at Home, the returning players were always going to be the nucleus of this team. We have better freshmen than Tubby would have had but that is faint praise

Our Freshmen are good but not great, good freshmen do not make the ncaa tournament as an at large team.

Penny has done one thing poorly, he did a poor job managing expectations. Some Tiger fans were so naive that they believed that this team had a chance at an at large type season. They are now lashing out at the team and coach because they were wrong. Their comments are more about them than they are about this team.

Nothing wrong with Penny having high expectations. That was Tubby’s problem. He thought we shouldn’t have these expectations. Therefore we were only getting worse u def him. With Penny’s high expectations we will only get better.

Starting or not, Harris and Lomax are among the leaders in minutes. They are getting valuable experience.

Like so many freshmen before them, would suspect a major jump in performance next year. Simply will contribute to the massive overall talent increase.

(02-09-2019 07:06 AM)BinghamptonNed Wrote:  We started the season with one chance to go to the Ncaa Tournament.


We now have one chance to make it, it is the same chance and only chance we had to begin the season WIN THE AAC TOURNAMENT IN MEMPHIS.

1- this team has not made POST SEASON the last 4 years

2- Last years team lost to ECU they also lost by 30 to USF at Home, the returning players were always going to be the nucleus of this team. We have better freshmen than Tubby would have had but that is faint praise

Our Freshmen are good but not great, good freshmen do not make the ncaa tournament as an at large team.

Penny has done one thing poorly, he did a poor job managing expectations. Some Tiger fans were so naive that they believed that this team had a chance at an at large type season. They are now lashing out at the team and coach because they were wrong. Their comments are more about them than they are about this team.

not sure about all that

They actually did have a shot at an at large. Finish top 3 in the league and you pretty much get an at large. That was possible. Win those 2 on the road last week (in which we were favored) and we're on the bubble already. We were up to mid 50's in NET and Sagarin.

Penny did not do a poor job managing expectations. He's a competitive guy and he was and is pushing the team to max their potential. And the fans needed a boost after the last 4ish years.

And I haven't seen many lashing out at the coach - with the exception of trolls. I certainly am not. Just recognizing some of the growth opportunities, like rotation management.

(02-09-2019 07:06 AM)BinghamptonNed Wrote:  We started the season with one chance to go to the Ncaa Tournament.

Well, technically, every team starts the year with an at large chance.

It was probably unlikely, but I didn't think an at large was no chance.

It is now I suppose.

Love Penny's high standards. His high expectations have kept him working to achieve what he has achieved in his lifetime. Our players need some of that. Our players need lofty goals and have to the learn how to put in the work to make them obtainable. Penny is without a doubt the right man for the job based on this alone. Our seniors are working harder than they ever have. It shows.

I think Penny should obviously keep pushing the same culture he has all season. That still doesn't dictate how you run the roster.

IMO, keep your huge expectations. When seniors don't measure up.....and per history they will have that moment....don't hesitate to throw the freshmen on the floor. It can be motivating to seniors, giving them a chance to refocus. It can be educational for freshman. Experience is the best teacher. It doesn't keep us from continuing to push towards our goal of winning AAC tournament.

I error on the side of growing for the future. You can't possibly tell me the seniors haven't had their chance to shine. I love them. This isn't a shot at them. They have overachieved in my mind. They've worn Tiger blue well. IMHO not prepping for next year some is a mistake. Barring a JuCo transfer, I.Maurice will be our only senior next year.

That all being said, it's just a fun food-for-thought convo. Penny knows about the inner workings of the team. He knows best and he has clear cut goals. Turning to the freshman might actually take their development in the wrong direction. It may also cause a split in the locker room. If it isn't a detrimental act, I say play the freshmen more.

(02-09-2019 09:38 PM)Tiger87 Wrote:  

(02-09-2019 07:06 AM)BinghamptonNed Wrote:  We started the season with one chance to go to the Ncaa Tournament.


We now have one chance to make it, it is the same chance and only chance we had to begin the season WIN THE AAC TOURNAMENT IN MEMPHIS.

1- this team has not made POST SEASON the last 4 years

2- Last years team lost to ECU they also lost by 30 to USF at Home, the returning players were always going to be the nucleus of this team. We have better freshmen than Tubby would have had but that is faint praise

Our Freshmen are good but not great, good freshmen do not make the ncaa tournament as an at large team.

Penny has done one thing poorly, he did a poor job managing expectations. Some Tiger fans were so naive that they believed that this team had a chance at an at large type season. They are now lashing out at the team and coach because they were wrong. Their comments are more about them than they are about this team.

not sure about all that

They actually did have a shot at an at large. Finish top 3 in the league and you pretty much get an at large. That was possible. Win those 2 on the road last week (in which we were favored) and we're on the bubble already. We were up to mid 50's in NET and Sagarin.

Penny did not do a poor job managing expectations. He's a competitive guy and he was and is pushing the team to max their potential. And the fans needed a boost after the last 4ish years.

And I haven't seen many lashing out at the coach - with the exception of trolls. I certainly am not. Just recognizing some of the growth opportunities, like rotation management.

We had a chance for an at large until recently.

I really really doubt we win the AAC tourney, even at home.

We are just too inconsistent imo and it's going to likely take 4 wins in a row.

(02-13-2019 10:57 AM)MemphisTigerPawr Wrote:  

(02-09-2019 09:38 PM)Tiger87 Wrote:  

(02-09-2019 07:06 AM)BinghamptonNed Wrote:  We started the season with one chance to go to the Ncaa Tournament.


We now have one chance to make it, it is the same chance and only chance we had to begin the season WIN THE AAC TOURNAMENT IN MEMPHIS.

1- this team has not made POST SEASON the last 4 years

2- Last years team lost to ECU they also lost by 30 to USF at Home, the returning players were always going to be the nucleus of this team. We have better freshmen than Tubby would have had but that is faint praise

Our Freshmen are good but not great, good freshmen do not make the ncaa tournament as an at large team.

Penny has done one thing poorly, he did a poor job managing expectations. Some Tiger fans were so naive that they believed that this team had a chance at an at large type season. They are now lashing out at the team and coach because they were wrong. Their comments are more about them than they are about this team.

not sure about all that

They actually did have a shot at an at large. Finish top 3 in the league and you pretty much get an at large. That was possible. Win those 2 on the road last week (in which we were favored) and we're on the bubble already. We were up to mid 50's in NET and Sagarin.

Penny did not do a poor job managing expectations. He's a competitive guy and he was and is pushing the team to max their potential. And the fans needed a boost after the last 4ish years.

And I haven't seen many lashing out at the coach - with the exception of trolls. I certainly am not. Just recognizing some of the growth opportunities, like rotation management.

We had a chance for an at large until recently.

I really really doubt we win the AAC tourney, even at home.

We are just too inconsistent imo and it's going to likely take 4 wins in a row.

Like the Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier led UConn teams that got hot at the right time?