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We have 4* recruit with CSIII that can shoot, but you refuse to develop and use him. He started last year. Why?

(02-04-2023 10:59 AM)north beach monarch Wrote:  We have 4* recruit with CSIII that can shoot, but you refuse to develop and use him. He started last year. Why?

I can’t understand it. On a team that lacks experience I don’t get how we don’t play a big wing who can shoot and has been in college for 4 years. I think he plays better defense than some of these guys also. Actually I know he does.

(02-04-2023 02:27 PM)Prideofalion Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 10:59 AM)north beach monarch Wrote:  We have 4* recruit with CSIII that can shoot, but you refuse to develop and use him. He started last year. Why?

I can’t understand it. On a team that lacks experience I don’t get how we don’t play a big wing who can shoot and has been in college for 4 years. I think he plays better defense than some of these guys also. Actually I know he does.

I definitely would have played Smith in the first half of the JMU game when we were struggling to score.

I dont see the advantage of Smith over Stines or Baker, both younger options giving you similar things. .

Cant make a case over Baker. Maybe Stines but the only thing he might be better at is hitting wide open 3s.

(02-04-2023 03:28 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  I dont see the advantage of Smith over Stines or Baker, both younger options giving you similar things. .

Cant make a case over Baker. Maybe Stines but the only thing he might be better at is hitting wide open 3s.

Baker is not a good option right now, he looks and plays like a freshman. Baker and Stines starting. Come on man. Jones is punishing Charles by not even playing him when we were down 3 players. That’s what he does to these guys. CS looked into transferring out of here but was stuck. If Jones is the coach Baker will be on the bench by his junior year, if he’s here.

Baker is playing fine, supported by his metrics.

What has Smith ever done to earn playing time? And Ive heard that from people at practice

Baker is not a great shooter, 30% from the field and 30% from 3, 40% FTs, not a great rebounder. Charles is shooting over 40% from the field and from 3. He should have been in the Madison game.

What has Baker done? I heard that too

(02-04-2023 03:51 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Baker is playing fine, supported by his metrics.

What has Smith ever done to earn playing time? And Ive heard that from people at practice

Don’t play the I heard it from practice card……..lol

(02-04-2023 03:56 PM)north beach monarch Wrote:  What has Baker done? I heard that too

I don’t think it’s about what he has and hasn’t done. He’s only a freshmen and has the tangibles of a good player, i believe it’s also good to show other recruits that are coming here, that Jones is playing freshmen and you won’t be on the bench and redshirt like previous years.

(02-04-2023 03:57 PM)north beach monarch Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 03:51 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Baker is playing fine, supported by his metrics.

What has Smith ever done to earn playing time? And Ive heard that from people at practice

Don’t play the I heard it from practice card……..lol

Why not? You earn playing time by how you practice. There are no Iversons on this team where practice doesn’t matter.

(02-04-2023 05:03 PM)Monarchist13 Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 03:57 PM)north beach monarch Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 03:51 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  Baker is playing fine, supported by his metrics.

What has Smith ever done to earn playing time? And Ive heard that from people at practice

Don’t play the I heard it from practice card……..lol

Why not? You earn playing time by how you practice. There are no Iversons on this team where practice doesn’t matter.

I’ll respectfully disagree with this comment. A player should receive playing time in relation to his game performance. And the players contribution to the teams over all performance.

I will agree that the quality of practice will often times correlate with the quality of play. But many times it does not, and that must be factored into the equation.


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If Smith played well in games, that may be a good point. this is a player this fanbase ripped all last year, what has changed? He doesnt perform up to the standards as others in practice and thus, is behind in the pecking order.

Baker earned playing time in practice and has shown promise in the games…rebounding, defense, ball handling. Hes the best shooter on the team tho his numbers may not show it yet in a small sample size.

If Smith hasnt done much in practice or the games, why does he deserve to play?

(02-04-2023 07:14 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  If Smith played well in games, that may be a good point. this is a player this fanbase ripped all last year, what has changed? He doesnt perform up to the standards as others in practice and thus, is behind in the pecking order.

Baker earned playing time in practice and has shown promise in the games…rebounding, defense, ball handling. Hes the best shooter on the team tho his numbers may not show it yet in a small sample size.

If Smith hasnt done much in practice or the games, why does he deserve to play?

If that’s the case, I agree he doesn’t. Gotta move the chess pieces in such a way as to improve the chances of winning.


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(02-04-2023 07:20 PM)ODU1986 Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:14 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  If Smith played well in games, that may be a good point. this is a player this fanbase ripped all last year, what has changed? He doesnt perform up to the standards as others in practice and thus, is behind in the pecking order.

Baker earned playing time in practice and has shown promise in the games…rebounding, defense, ball handling. Hes the best shooter on the team tho his numbers may not show it yet in a small sample size.

If Smith hasnt done much in practice or the games, why does he deserve to play?

If that’s the case, I agree he doesn’t. Gotta move the chess pieces in such a way as to improve the chances of winning.


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I would love to see the stat lines that I’m apparently not seeing in the justification to play Smith. I’m not sure what the infatuation is, when he is 4th (at best) in the depth chart for the position that he will play. This is overall folly, and I equate it to the “why doesn’t Brady O’Connell play” from the past couple of years.

(02-04-2023 10:09 PM)Nukesquad Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:20 PM)ODU1986 Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:14 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  If Smith played well in games, that may be a good point. this is a player this fanbase ripped all last year, what has changed? He doesnt perform up to the standards as others in practice and thus, is behind in the pecking order.

Baker earned playing time in practice and has shown promise in the games…rebounding, defense, ball handling. Hes the best shooter on the team tho his numbers may not show it yet in a small sample size.

If Smith hasnt done much in practice or the games, why does he deserve to play?

If that’s the case, I agree he doesn’t. Gotta move the chess pieces in such a way as to improve the chances of winning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would love to see the stat lines that I’m apparently not seeing in the justification to play Smith. I’m not sure what the infatuation is, when he is 4th (at best) in the depth chart for the position that he will play. This is overall folly, and I equate it to the “why doesn’t Brady O’Connell play” from the past couple of years.

Same. I haven’t been that impressed either. I prefer Baker.

(02-04-2023 11:10 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 10:09 PM)Nukesquad Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:20 PM)ODU1986 Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:14 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  If Smith played well in games, that may be a good point. this is a player this fanbase ripped all last year, what has changed? He doesnt perform up to the standards as others in practice and thus, is behind in the pecking order.

Baker earned playing time in practice and has shown promise in the games…rebounding, defense, ball handling. Hes the best shooter on the team tho his numbers may not show it yet in a small sample size.

If Smith hasnt done much in practice or the games, why does he deserve to play?

If that’s the case, I agree he doesn’t. Gotta move the chess pieces in such a way as to improve the chances of winning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would love to see the stat lines that I’m apparently not seeing in the justification to play Smith. I’m not sure what the infatuation is, when he is 4th (at best) in the depth chart for the position that he will play. This is overall folly, and I equate it to the “why doesn’t Brady O’Connell play” from the past couple of years.

Same. I haven’t been that impressed either. I prefer Baker.

I just want to see something different. What did Stines shoot this weekend? 1 for 15. How many of those shots didn’t hit anything? And Smith has better size. Maybe if the coach just acted like he was trying different things it would be more acceptable to suck this badly.

(02-05-2023 08:05 AM)Prideofalion Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 11:10 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 10:09 PM)Nukesquad Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:20 PM)ODU1986 Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:14 PM)Stat Geek Wrote:  If Smith played well in games, that may be a good point. this is a player this fanbase ripped all last year, what has changed? He doesnt perform up to the standards as others in practice and thus, is behind in the pecking order.

Baker earned playing time in practice and has shown promise in the games…rebounding, defense, ball handling. Hes the best shooter on the team tho his numbers may not show it yet in a small sample size.

If Smith hasnt done much in practice or the games, why does he deserve to play?

If that’s the case, I agree he doesn’t. Gotta move the chess pieces in such a way as to improve the chances of winning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would love to see the stat lines that I’m apparently not seeing in the justification to play Smith. I’m not sure what the infatuation is, when he is 4th (at best) in the depth chart for the position that he will play. This is overall folly, and I equate it to the “why doesn’t Brady O’Connell play” from the past couple of years.

Same. I haven’t been that impressed either. I prefer Baker.

I just want to see something different. What did Stines shoot this weekend? 1 for 15. How many of those shots didn’t hit anything? And Smith has better size. Maybe if the coach just acted like he was trying different things it would be more acceptable to suck this badly.

Pride we saw AGAIN what the problem is with starting Baker. He and Steins are the reason for slow starts. Baker was horrendous on defense. His shooting in games is spotty at best, and he can’t create. When he’s on the floor there’s no flow or chemistry. He didn’t return after the first 4 minutes and didn’t start second half. I think he needs to get minutes to rest the starters this year and see how he does next year.
The clinking the switch Jeff mentioned, he knows was getting Baker and Steins together off the court and Emo and SC in. Then the game turned around. We have 6 players plus Stanley when healthy we can count on, Stein, Baker and Charles should get minutes to rest the starters. I like Baker but he’s not ready, and should be brought along slowly.

(02-05-2023 08:40 AM)north beach monarch Wrote:  

(02-05-2023 08:05 AM)Prideofalion Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 11:10 PM)monarx Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 10:09 PM)Nukesquad Wrote:  

(02-04-2023 07:20 PM)ODU1986 Wrote:  If that’s the case, I agree he doesn’t. Gotta move the chess pieces in such a way as to improve the chances of winning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would love to see the stat lines that I’m apparently not seeing in the justification to play Smith. I’m not sure what the infatuation is, when he is 4th (at best) in the depth chart for the position that he will play. This is overall folly, and I equate it to the “why doesn’t Brady O’Connell play” from the past couple of years.

Same. I haven’t been that impressed either. I prefer Baker.

I just want to see something different. What did Stines shoot this weekend? 1 for 15. How many of those shots didn’t hit anything? And Smith has better size. Maybe if the coach just acted like he was trying different things it would be more acceptable to suck this badly.

Pride we saw AGAIN what the problem is with starting Baker. He and Steins are the reason for slow starts. Baker was horrendous on defense. His shooting in games is spotty at best, and he can’t create. When he’s on the floor there’s no flow or chemistry. He didn’t return after the first 4 minutes and didn’t start second half. I think he needs to get minutes to rest the starters this year and see how he does next year.
The clinking the switch Jeff mentioned, he knows was getting Baker and Steins together off the court and Emo and SC in. Then the game turned around. We have 6 players plus Stanley when healthy we can count on, Stein, Baker and Charles should get minutes to rest the starters. I like Baker but he’s not ready, and should be brought along slowly.

I’ve seen nothing that tells me that Stines and Baker should take all of those minutes. The stats and my eyes tell me Smith has played better. All I’m saying is switch it up some. In limited attempts Smith is shooting 40 percent from three. Both other players are under 30 percent. Like not even close. Stines has been throwing up air balls for 3 straight games at least. Not only that, Smith has better size and more experience than both players. I’m not saying bench the other two, but when one of them or both of them in some cases are doing absolutely NOTHING, SWITCH IT UP. The starting lineups have been trash. The roster management has been complete garbage all year long.

Starters
Imo
Jenkins
Grayson
Long
Fields

That’s the best lineup. I can understand starting Williams and bringing fields off the bench for foul purposes. No problems there. Jenkins/Long/TSG with the heaviest minutes.

Bench
Williams/Fields
Baker/Stines/Smith. You need 20ish mins out of this group.
Stanley/Wade. Not sure about Stanley’s status going forward.

Smith just doesn't do enough to help the team. If he receives a perfect pass and can shoot a wide open jumper, he can make the shot. He doesn't shoot good on the move or in the structure of movement within an offense. He turns the ball over 20% of the time despite being a secondary ball handler at best. He has taken zero free throws on the season. He doesn't rebound. He doesn't pass. Smith has the 2nd worst offensive rating on the team (ahead of Stines to be fair). This has been going on for 2 years now.

If there was a significant difference between Smith and Stines/Baker, I could understand it. But, Smith might produce slightly more than Stines and slightly less than Baker. Those guys are freshman and sophomores that can improve. Smith has been in college for 4 years and will likely be elsewhere next year. At least there is a possibility that Stines and Baker come back next year and contribute. It doesn't make sense to play Smith unless he his clearly better than the other 2.

I don't get the infatuation with random bench players every year.