Asuma when Ben will finally start Isaac

[Otis]

There is no reason Asuma should not be starting. He looks like the most poised player in the court for the Gophers, plays unselfishly, and doesn’t turn the ball over.

Unfortunately, as we saw with Payne, Ben is too dumb? Too blind? Too stubborn to do the obvious.

First reason he should be fired. This group would be interesting if they had effective coaching.

 

[howeda7]

I assume it's misplaced deference to the "veterans" but whatever it is, there's no excuse for it. He's your 2nd best player. Really your best player since Garcia has checked out. He should start and play 30 minutes.

 

[TD12]

I agree! It is time to start playing some of the other guys too, the current starters are not getting it done

Asuma
Fox
Garcia
Grove
Williams

 

[TD12]

St Thomas has better guard play than the gophers…..

 

[MUgopher32]

It’s so crazy.

And we can’t even claim throwing older guys a bone

Because these older guys have no eligibility left, have been here for .5 seasons and stink.

There’s nothing to develop or be loyal to except Asuma. It’s insane coaching.

 

[formerlybis]

I assume it's misplaced deference to the "veterans" but whatever it is, there's no excuse for it. He's your 2nd best player. Really your best player since Garcia has checked out. He should start and play 30 minutes.

He played 40 minutes last night and is averaging 25 for the year, and more lately. Even if he's not on the court at tip-off, he is essentially a starter.

 

[FinnGopher]

He played 40 minutes last night and is averaging 25 for the year, and more lately. Even if he's not on the court at tip-off, he is essentially a starter.

We agree.
I put less stock in who starts than in who plays at crunch time.

Unfortunately who plays at crunch time for the Gophers is woefully under skilled than the opponents.

However, even the annoumcers, throughout this season, have seen Asuma as a bright spot in a rather dull picture.

 

[bga1]

I agree! It is time to start playing some of the other guys too, the current starters are not getting it done

Asuma
Fox
Garcia
Grove
Williams

Fox is such a weird player, but the heart and effort he played with last night was amazing. The squad you outline there might be pretty good offensively but might be really bad on the defensive end.

 

[bga1]

We agree.
I put less stock in who starts than in who plays at crunch time.

Unfortunately who plays at crunch time for the Gophers is woefully under skilled than the opponents.

However, even the annoumcers, throughout this season, have seen Asuma as a bright spot in a rather dull picture.

I understand this logic. However, starting is an honor that is or should be given to players that are doing the things the coach needs to set the right tone. It also is often times that the first five minutes has a lot to do with how the game plays out. You can't win it in those 5 minutes but a team with limited talent, like ours, sure can lose a game in the first five minutes.

 

[howeda7]

This team's biggest issue is that they can't score. Start the best offensive five:

Asuma
M. Mitchell
Patterson
Garcia
Fox

Play 8 trust 7: Okudale, Edmonds, Rigsby/Betts

 

[Otis]

This team's biggest issue is that they can't score. Start the best offensive five:

Asuma
M. Mitchell
Patterson
Garcia
Fox

Play 8 trust 7: Okudale, Edmonds, Rigsby/Betts

Unfortunately, we don’t have a coach proof lineup to mask Ben’s ineffectiveness.

And

As fans from last year we were expecting:

Hawkins
Mitchell
Christie
Garcia
Payne

With Fox and Asuma coming in off the bench.

God, I hate the portal for basketball.

 

[MNVCGUY]

He played 40 minutes last night and is averaging 25 for the year, and more lately. Even if he's not on the court at tip-off, he is essentially a starter.

Same thing happened with Payne last year. He was playing starter minutes but because he was coming off the bench there were a number of posters here that really struggled with it.

That said, with this current team Asuma is one of the few guys that is actually fun to watch so he should be on the court as much as possible.

 

[FinnGopher]

I understand this logic. However, starting is an honor that is or should be given to players that are doing the things the coach needs to set the right tone. It also is often times that the first five minutes has a lot to do with how the game plays out. You can't win it in those 5 minutes but a team with limited talent, like ours, sure can lose a game in the first five minutes.

Well, Asuma is a good player, but him not playing the 1st 5 minutes is not going to make a difference on this particular team.

 

[bga1]

Well, Asuma is a good player, but him not playing the 1st 5 minutes is not going to make a difference on this particular team.

Maybe. But if you want to send a message about how the team will be run - it might be. Asuma sets up an offense the way it is supposed to be set up. Patterson is a dribbler. When you have Patterson and Garcia in the offense at the same time, you have two ball stoppers who try to make plays for themselves. Mike Mitchell is a guy that you have to make catch and shoot opportunities for. Fox is a guy that makes all of his baskets off of cuts to the hoop. Femi can't score on his own (but defends great). You need an offense starter and facilitator who does not need to handle the ball forever.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

St Thomas has better guard play than the gophers…..

Do you think St. Thomas would have taken Ohio State to 50 minutes and suffered a one-point loss? I don't. And it was Fox and three guards who did most of the heavy lifting.

 

[Go4POV]

I agree! It is time to start playing some of the other guys too, the current starters are not getting it done

Asuma
Fox
Garcia
Grove
Williams

Grove is redshirted. Would be foolish to burn his redshirt season for a season that is already essentially lost.

 

[DarthGopher]

Same thing happened with Payne last year. He was playing starter minutes but because he was coming off the bench there were a number of posters here that really struggled with it.

That said, with this current team Asuma is one of the few guys that is actually fun to watch so he should be on the court as much as possible.

Asuma / Mitchell could be like a Harris / Leonard tandem if the coach could pull his head out long enough to get the right players aligned. Voshon could handle the ball, but he was more deadly off the catch and shoot. Harris could go off for 25 in a game, but his magic was facilitation and being a floor general. Sometimes Voshon did run point and sometimes Harris did pop 20+, but they could do that because they excelled at their roles to where they could interchange a bit without missing a beat.

We have zero flow to the offense far too many times. That comes down to personnel decisions. There was a moment late in the OSU game where Fox took off dribbling down the court trying to run a fast break dribbling through several defenders. I love me some Fox, but that is not the time for him to try to hero ball it and morph into a point guard. He nearly lost it. I can't remember if they scored on that possession or not, but it is those attention to detail things CBJ's teams just do not seem to possess. Anything under 5 minutes and your PG needs to find whoever has the ball and take over ball handling duties. That is their #1 objective. Find whoever has the ball and steady the ship. Every possession matters in close games.