Andre's been in a funk too long. It's time for a radical solution.
Andre’s sophomore year he lead the team in just about everything. In most categories he lead by a lot. He lead the team in points, shots, minutes, assists, turnovers, free throws, FG & FT %age etc. To Tubby’s credit, his highly structured and technical offense consisted of - give the ball to Andre. I bet something good happens. Quite often it did.
Neither Pitino nor our current Point Guard Mathieu have had the benefit of seeing up-close that kind of dominant play that can come from the hands of Andre. They were not here to witness it first hand. They don’t know how to use the talent that Andre has. Andre may not know how to use his talent where he is playing now in the wings. He has been shoved to the side and he sort of floats around waiting for the ball to come to him and then see what happens. Besides, he doesn’t appear to me to be a catch-and-shoot kind of guy. His sophomore year we did not have a true point guard. Andre accepted the challenge. He was the guy. He played the point with a great deal of confidence and success. It was a challenge he accepted and met very well.
This year we have no true Power Forward. Another excellent Andre stat from his sophomore year - he was 2nd on the team in defensive rebounds behind Mbakwe. This was a team that also included Rodney Williams and Austin Hollins. They each had a bunch of offensive rebounds but Andre had more defensive rebounds. So we know he can mix it up down low. Here’s where my solution gets a little 'out of the box'. It may partially be a result of seeing the very nice tip-in by Andre while mixing it up down low against Georgia St. Andre does not seem to be at home on the wings. We have a bunch of cupcake teams coming up on the schedule. Again, this year - no true Power Forward. Andre’s Sophomore year - no true Point Guard. SO - WHY NOT? Give the challenge to Andre to play Power Forward. It might take him out of his element and at the same time out of his funk. Try it against a few cupcakes. It doesn’t have to be all the time. Johnny Green was great when he played Center for Michigan at 6’3” a few decades ago. I think Andre would accept the challenge of playing Power Forward and it might give him a whole new perspective on the game. He has a lot of talent. Let Morris and King and Buggs and maybe even Martin play the 3 when Andre is at the 4. Get Andre away from the wings for a while. Maybe even isolate him down low. You can always move him back as we get closer to B1G. Give Andre the challenge of playing Power Forward. I bet something good happens.
