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Bench

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Hasta la Viska
Club Member
The bench had 3 points last night. This is Tad's first year he hasn't really had a legit scoring threat off the bench. His first year it was Roberson, and last year it was Askia. Hopefully Xavier Johnson starts to come on. Last night he had 4 fouls in 8 minutes. Ouch.
 
He plays fast and aggressive. One he gets a little smarter about how to do that he is going be quite a slasher for us I think.
 
I dont think theres any doubt Johnsons gonna be a great player for us i could see him averaging around 15 ppg and 5 rpg next year, this year is all about him getting acclimated
 
Black&Yella said:
I dont think theres any doubt Johnsons gonna be a great player for us i could see him averaging around 15 ppg and 5 rpg next year, this year is all about him getting acclimated
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I haven't seen anything from him this year to say he'll get 15 and 5 next year. Maybe around 10ppg.
 
The bench is a huge concern. The only bench player to play double-digit minutes was Adams with 10. XJ played 8, SHT 8, Talton 8 and Eli 5. No Tad Boyle team has ever had a somebody play 80% of the available minutes. This year Ski is playing 82.9%, Dre 82% and he has fouled out in 3 of the 10 games and The Mayor is playing 79.5%.

The bench needs to step up or once conference play hits it could get ugly.
 
Wouldn't be a bad idea to have 'Skia come off the bench again. His energy can be a game changer, but he's also a bit streaky.
 
ScotchBuff said:
Wouldn't be a bad idea to have 'Skia come off the bench again. His energy can be a game changer, but he's also a bit streaky.
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I agree with you - have him playing significant minutes off the bench would be a real asset to the team. The question would be the new line-ups? Chen to the 2 and start XJ at the 3?
 
jgisland said:
The bench is a huge concern. The only bench player to play double-digit minutes was Adams with 10. XJ played 8, SHT 8, Talton 8 and Eli 5. No Tad Boyle team has ever had a somebody play 80% of the available minutes. This year Ski is playing 82.9%, Dre 82% and he has fouled out in 3 of the 10 games and The Mayor is playing 79.5%.

The bench needs to step up or once conference play hits it could get ugly.
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So this begs the question... are we built for a run?
 
absinthe said:
I agree with you - have him playing significant minutes off the bench would be a real asset to the team. The question would be the new line-ups? Chen to the 2 and start XJ at the 3?
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We can't afford to take XJ off of the bench. That leaves us with Simba as the only "big" off of the bench. In a perfect world, it'd be Jeremy Adams, but he has zero confidence. I'm doing my part, as I've tried to become the Jeremy Adams whisperer at games by yelling out support to him.
 
sliderNcider said:
So this begs the question... are we built for a run?
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What kind of run are we talking about?

This team's got enough to win the Pac-12 tourney.

This team's got enough to advance to the Sweet 16.

This team's also got enough issues that it could fail to win road games in conference play, get upset in the 1st game of the P12 tourney, and miss the Dance altogether.

Sometimes we forget how young this team is. Testament to how good Tad is. Other teams as young as the Buffs are Baylor and Kentucky. Both of them have more talent than we do but we're a better team so far this year.
 
sliderNcider said:
Will we have enough gas in the tank... I mean
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It might help that our conference is kind of front-loaded with road trips instead of back-loaded like last year's was.

5 of last 7 are at the Keg.

Also, looking at the schedule it's very clear that CU is catching attention. CU @ UA was picked up by the ESPN networks to open the conference season and they chose 7 of our games. FSN picked up 2 others, so only half our games are on P12N.
 
Goose said:
We can't afford to take XJ off of the bench. That leaves us with Simba as the only "big" off of the bench. In a perfect world, it'd be Jeremy Adams, but he has zero confidence. I'm doing my part, as I've tried to become the Jeremy Adams whisperer at games by yelling out support to him.
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Good point. Guess now would be the time to question whether we should have redshirted Stalzer or Talton instead of Gordon?
 
ScotchBuff said:
Good point. Guess now would be the time to question whether we should have redshirted Stalzer or Talton instead of Gordon?
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You know my favorite move about the redshirting of Gordon? It sends a very clear message that Tad expects to be our coach for the 2016-17 season.
 
Buffnik said:
You know my favorite move about the redshirting of Gordon? It sends a very clear message that Tad expects to be our coach for the 2016-17 season.
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:lol: No fair bringing reason and forward thinking in to this discussion.
 
Everything Tad has done and continues to do tells me he is in this and committed to building a champion here. He is putting the pieces in place.
 
I really don't think the crux of the problem is lack of spark off the bench. Yes, we don't have the talent and depth of most teams in the top 32. The biggest issue is our inability to execute offensively in the half-court. People are holding the ball too long and not passing enough, especially into the post.

Our guards, especially, are not doing a good job running the offense. Boyle implied this in the beginning of the season "they are learning that when they feed Scott, good things happen". Ski needs to learn to build other players into the offense more, and not settle for contested 3's or drives. Even though he made some big shots early in the year, this isn't going to prove effective over the long run. This was a lesson that it took Jordan a while to learn.

As far as the bench players, I think it was a very bold move for Tad to redshirt two forwards. He is essentially admitting we are going to lose more games this year and take our lumps, against teams like Kansas where we just don't match up.

My only criticism of Boyle is that he has decided to play both Talton and Stalzer. One should have redshirted because right now they are just splitting limited minutes which is slowing both of their learning curves. Playing them is an "investment" which isn't helping the team in the short term, so it makes no sense to extend their minutes right now.

I consider it an open question as far as whether it was good strategy to give Stalzer a scholarship in addition to Talton. I would have asked Stalzer to walk on, until he demonstrates his ability to contribute something that other team members can't.

Finally, I don't think the measure of whether XJ becomes a dominant force is whether he scores 15ppg. That is like judging a QB solely by his completion percentage--a qb can have perfect accuracy and still not be winning games. It really depends on how he fits into the offense and defense and runs the floor, etc. He has already made some huge plays that helped win games.
 
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I'll agree with one of your first points -- in some of the games last year the team amazed me with their passing. Especially the extra pass or two for a wide open shot. Need to get back to that.

Consider this about the guards, Tad likes to use 3 guards on the floor at the same time. Makes some sense to have #'s at guard. Those 8, 10, 12 minutes a game add up over the course of a long season.

I also think that "the jaguar" does more for the team than just score. He's shown flashes in rebounding and defense. I think XJ's offense will develop as the season goes on, and as he gains more confidence.
 
I don't remember, but can u guys remind me how ski and the Mayor looked last year about ten games in compared to Xavier?
 
FightCu1414 said:
I don't remember, but can u guys remind me how ski and the Mayor looked last year about ten games in compared to Xavier?
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Ski played like he has so far this season. Streaky. Too fast at times. A big source of energy for the team

The Mayor I want to say played similarly to XJ his first few games. Showed the raw talent and athleticism but needed to work out how to use it at this level. Both got it under control around the start of conference play.
 
FightCu1414 said:
I don't remember, but can u guys remind me how ski and the Mayor looked last year about ten games in compared to Xavier?
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They were both playing over 20 minutes a game and after the Air Force game when Tad spoke to them about stepping up Dinwiddie really went on a tear scoring in double digits in the next 9 games. Ski had some up and down games but played pretty decent. I think it is fair to compare what Scott is doing this year to what Dinwiddie did last year, Scott may even is probably a little ahead. And XJ is doing about what Ski did.
 
FightCu1414 said:
I don't remember, but can u guys remind me how ski and the Mayor looked last year about ten games in compared to Xavier?
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It took Spencer until his 6th game before it clicked for him. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56288/year/2012/spencer-dinwiddie

Ski was up and down his entire freshman year. At the end, we remember the big games in the Dance but tend to forget that he didn't score a single point in the Pac-12 Final against Arizona. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56286/year/2012/askia-booker

XJ is averaging 5.5 points and a little under 4 rebounds a game. He's also seeing 18 minutes a night. That's not bad. XJ's just in a bit of a freshman funk right now. It's a harder adjustment for a forward than it is for a guard. He's averaging 3.3 fouls a game. That's the biggest thing he needs to figure out. The foul trouble is getting into his head and he's not playing loose. That's really evidenced by him shooting under 50% from the charity stripe.
 
Keep in mind that 3 of the 5 guys we have coming off the bench are freshmen. SHT is SHT, and Adams is still dealing with some confidence issues. As the year goes on, these things will work themselves out. The depth is fine, it's just a little raw right now. Boyle is working these guys into the rotation and getting them some minutes. I'm not concerned.
 
Goose said:
We can't afford to take XJ off of the bench. That leaves us with Simba as the only "big" off of the bench. In a perfect world, it'd be Jeremy Adams, but he has zero confidence. I'm doing my part, as I've tried to become the Jeremy Adams whisperer at games by yelling out support to him.
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i totally agree and understand your concern w/ jeremy... i'm a big fan of adams, he's just had the toughest luck in terms of his body since coming to CU... first the concussion, then discovering the diabetes. Then this summer, i forget, but 1 knee was a big problem and now that the season has started, his other knee is giving him problems... what i would give to see him healthy.....
 
aeroxx said:
I consider it an open question as far as whether it was good strategy to give Stalzer a scholarship in addition to Talton. I would have asked Stalzer to walk on, until he demonstrates his ability to contribute something that other team members can't.
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You lost me here, Stalzer looks like a kid who's played big-boy basketball the games speed isnt beyond him, he's playing more minutes and doing so at a higher level than Talton is.
 
Buffnik said:
It took Spencer until his 6th game before it clicked for him. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56288/year/2012/spencer-dinwiddie

Ski was up and down his entire freshman year. At the end, we remember the big games in the Dance but tend to forget that he didn't score a single point in the Pac-12 Final against Arizona. http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/56286/year/2012/askia-booker

XJ is averaging 5.5 points and a little under 4 rebounds a game. He's also seeing 18 minutes a night. That's not bad. XJ's just in a bit of a freshman funk right now. It's a harder adjustment for a forward than it is for a guard. He's averaging 3.3 fouls a game. That's the biggest thing he needs to figure out. The foul trouble is getting into his head and he's not playing loose. That's really evidenced by him shooting under 50% from the charity stripe.
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Good point about Booker.

Agree about the fouls getting into XJ's head, but in regards to his foul shot, I'm not convinced it's going to get much better until the form is reworked. It makes me cringe every time I see it.
 
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