Ben Johnson on why he didn’t play Asuma in 2nd half (video)

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bga1 said:
Because Ben was scared to play Asuma, we had guys out there the whole second half at the guards spot. They had turnovers (3 in a row) down the stretch that may well have come from being tired.
The other two guards Mitchell and Patterson were not having a good day- each scoring 5 points and neither run the offense with the pace that Asuma does. The pair shot 3 for 11 and Patterson had 4 turnovers.
We caught up because Garcia had an amazing half, not because of the play of the two guards that kept Asuma on the bench.

and the stubborn starting of Fox in the second half.

Ben is a stubborn coach who plays not to lose. Once again it cost him.
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I agree about him being too stubborn. My cheif knock on him in a few different facets.

The 3 Turnovers in a row, were all by Dawson.

I thought alll were close to being fouls on Osober, but they were all have been ticky tack (or well done closely by GO). One was a shove with forarmand hip that was clevey done. One was potentially reaching in as his arm was all the way around Garcia (needed a replay). The final one could have been a trip out of bounds as their feet ended up crossed over one another.
 

Minnesconsin fan said:
the crucial 5 points each for the whole game from Mitchell and Patterson really kept Asuma on the bench?
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Apparently :( Throughout most of this season, I've maintained that Asuma has played the amount of minutes that he deserved but yesterday was not one of those times. Patterson and Mike Mitchell were just flat out terrible in the Washington game. Four players played well or reasonably well (Garcia, Femi, Asuma, and Frank Mitchell) but only three of them were in the game at the critical time.
 

TwistingMyMelon said:
Apparently :( Throughout most of this season, I've maintained that Asuma has played the amount of minutes that he deserved but yesterday was not one of those times. Patterson and Mike Mitchell were just flat out terrible in the Washington game. Four players played well or reasonably well (Garcia, Femi, Asuma, and Frank Mitchell) but only three of them were in the game at the critical time.
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Agree. I haven't gotten caught up in the whole "Asuma should be starting" thing because he is logging near stater minutes as a true freshman. But that wasn't the case last night and Johnson's explanation for why doesn't really make any sense either as the guys he played instead of Asuma were not bringing much to the table.
 

formerlybis said:
The Asuma fan club on this board is well-represented. The first half was productive for him mainly because he became a primary scoring option with the benching of Garcia with 2 fouls (separate coaching issue - let's stick with the Asuma is god narrative). He played well, but the fact of the matter is the Gophers trailed by 10 at the break.

With Garcia on the floor and dominating the offense in the second half, the Gophers came all the way back. Chances are that if Asuma would have gotten in, he'd just have deferred to Garcia anyway. He is a true freshman and has trouble with a high turnover rate. I agree with CBJ's comments.

Now, about the benching of Garcia in the first half.....
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I'll make some assumptions here... Or just project my own thoughts on everyone else. I'm not a huge fan of asuma. I think he's a decent role player but at this point he's the only guy that represents hope as everyone else will be gone next year.
 

Mitchell is a shooting guard! Patterson is a dribbling guard! Both are undersized and not very athletic. When Mitchell is cold, he is really cold.

All season one of the knocks on Asuma, or one of the hopes for him, would that he become more aggressive offensively. Yesterday he did it in the first half, and then sat the entire second half? That was simply stupid!

BTW if you watched the T Wolves later, it was like a repeat coaching performance. Finch ran his admittedly short handed veterans into the ground in the fourth quarter. NAW, with his dead legs missed 5 of 6 ? 3’s at the end to in essence lose the game. Dillingham? Not to be seen except during time outs!

Some say Johnson is stubborn? Finch will out stubborn him any day of the week!
 



LongLiveMilesTarver said:
I'll make some assumptions here... Or just project my own thoughts on everyone else. I'm not a huge fan of asuma. I think he's a decent role player but at this point he's the only guy that represents hope as everyone else will be gone next year.
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I don't think having everyone gone next year except for Assuma is necessarily bad. The new coach really needs a clean slate of players, and with the portal, that can happen. Key is getting the new coach named early.
 

atsgopher said:
just digesting this 2nd part I missed the 1st half. Was Asuma the PG? Or was it the PG committee?

On one hand it sounds bad reading comments, but we got schooled in the first on paper. Harris torched us. In the 2nd both offensively and defensively, what we did worked.

Then I read your 2nd paragraph. Thinking I want to know where the disconnect happens.

Was it the answer was bad (but really covering for the kid) and that is actually why he didn’t play? Garcia was great and they did a fine job getting him the ball while I was watching. Harris onky dropped a few from the field, and was was against fantastic D.
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Asuma should have played in the second half. He was the only one who really played well in the first half. He should have e been playing a lot more all year, and if he had he would be even better now. He is a skilled offensive player, more than anyone but Dawson, but never gets enough time. And defensively, he can consistently keep his man in front of him and restrict easy drives to the basket.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I get what you are saying but it was odd that Asuma's minutes were slashed in the second half the way they were. For him to not even be part of the rotation in the second half made zero sense. He has been logging 25 minutes a game which is great for a true freshman, yesterday he only got 15 due to sitting out nearly the entire second half.

I'm more forgiving with coaches then a number of posters on this board who choose to blame everything on the coaches at all times.....but Johnson messed up yesterday in keeping Garcia on the bench for the rest of the first half after his second foul and for not using Asuma at all in the second half until the very end of the game. Of the two though, the decision to sit you senior leader for a massive chunk of the first half while the team was struggling to score was the bigger mistake. Have to be able to trust a player with Dawson's experience to play smart and not foul (the way he did in the second half).
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Everyone seems to be in agreement about the overly dogmatic 2-fouls-and-you-sit rule. It wouldn't matter if it was basically any other player. There is no replacing Garcia.

On the not playing Asuma in the second half, I put this in the second-guessing because of outcome category. The team on the floor erased a 10-point deficit. CBJ said he was riding the wave. You don't mess with a hot streak. Plus, the offensive strategy was to let Garcia go into Teen Wolf mode (maybe Teen Hedgehog with that hair). No set of guards on the roster were going to change that. And Asuma is - usually - far more susceptible to turning it over than Patterson, Odukale, or Mitchell. I understand CBJ's logic in this instance. The outcome was negative, and that invites the armchair QB criticisms.
 




MNVCGUY said:
I get what you are saying but it was odd that Asuma's minutes were slashed in the second half the way they were. For him to not even be part of the rotation in the second half made zero sense. He has been logging 25 minutes a game which is great for a true freshman, yesterday he only got 15 due to sitting out nearly the entire second half.

I'm more forgiving with coaches then a number of posters on this board who choose to blame everything on the coaches at all times.....but Johnson messed up yesterday in keeping Garcia on the bench for the rest of the first half after his second foul and for not using Asuma at all in the second half until the very end of the game. Of the two though, the decision to sit you senior leader for a massive chunk of the first half while the team was struggling to score was the bigger mistake. Have to be able to trust a player with Dawson's experience to play smart and not foul (the way he did in the second half).
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I'm guessing he played it conservative with Garcia because we were playing Washington and there was little chance we'd lose the game, so no reason, in his head, to take that unnecessary risk. Blew up in his face, obviously.
 

formerlybis said:
Everyone seems to be in agreement about the overly dogmatic 2-fouls-and-you-sit rule. It wouldn't matter if it was basically any other player. There is no replacing Garcia.

On the not playing Asuma in the second half, I put this in the second-guessing because of outcome category. The team on the floor erased a 10-point deficit. CBJ said he was riding the wave. You don't mess with a hot streak. Plus, the offensive strategy was to let Garcia go into Teen Wolf mode (maybe Teen Hedgehog with that hair). No set of guards on the roster were going to change that. And Asuma is - usually - far more susceptible to turning it over than Patterson, Odukale, or Mitchell. I understand CBJ's logic in this instance. The outcome was negative, and that invites the armchair QB criticisms.
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Who needs a full roster when you can ride the wave. Just play the five guys you trust. They won't get tired and you can just keep riding the wave. Who can question Ben? All he does is win.
 

formerlybis said:
Everyone seems to be in agreement about the overly dogmatic 2-fouls-and-you-sit rule. It wouldn't matter if it was basically any other player. There is no replacing Garcia.

On the not playing Asuma in the second half, I put this in the second-guessing because of outcome category. The team on the floor erased a 10-point deficit. CBJ said he was riding the wave. You don't mess with a hot streak. Plus, the offensive strategy was to let Garcia go into Teen Wolf mode (maybe Teen Hedgehog with that hair). No set of guards on the roster were going to change that. And Asuma is - usually - far more susceptible to turning it over than Patterson, Odukale, or Mitchell. I understand CBJ's logic in this instance. The outcome was negative, and that invites the armchair QB criticisms.
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Avg TO per game

Mitchell. 1.1
Patterson. 1.2
Asuma. 1.3
Odukale. 2.1

Shooting %. Same order as above

36.6
35.6
44.2
42.4

3pt %

35.6
27.6
39.6
25.8
 



Gopheritnow said:
Avg TO per game

Mitchell. 1.1
Patterson. 1.2
Asuma. 1.3
Odukale. 2.1

Shooting %. Same order as above

36.6
35.6
44.2
42.4

3pt %

35.6
27.6
39.6
25.8
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1738530242211.png
These are better stats because it gives you rates rather than raw numbers - I filtered for conference only. Mitchell and Patterson take much better care of the ball than the other two. They really didn't yesterday, but that was abnormal. You need Odukale for D.

Asuma is a better shooter, for sure, but he doesn't shoot much (see usage rate) and wouldn't have with Garcia doing his thing.

No one would have said a word had MN won.
 


formerlybis said:
View attachment 35561
These are better stats because it gives you rates rather than raw numbers - I filtered for conference only. Mitchell and Patterson take much better care of the ball than the other two. They really didn't yesterday, but that was abnormal. You need Odukale for D.
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Asuma is +17 for the year. Patterson is the worst on the team at -44. Patterson is strong with the ball and he kills the offensive flow. No one counts the number of bad offensive trips because he kills the clock dribbling. Patterson's scoring per FGA attempt is absolutely abysmal. 222 shots 231 points. Asuma is not a world beater but he is 104 shots for 128 points nearly 1.2 points per shot.
Mitchell also has been way off this year. Asuma could help the team a lot by actually playing PG but Ben perches him in the corner on offense so that his favs can dribble around and hunt shots.

No argument on Odukale, he is badly needed on the floor for his stellar defense. However, on offense Ben plays him out of position. He should be a post up guard and rarely handling out top.
Ben plays him at the point and on the perimeter a lot where he barely needs to be guarded. That allows players to shade towards Garcia for the double team with impunity.
formerlybis said:
Asuma is a better shooter, for sure, but he doesn't shoot much (see usage rate) and wouldn't have with Garcia doing his thing.

No one would have said a word had MN won.
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The core problem for Ben is that he rarely wins. He turned a roster with decent depth on it into a roster with a bench full of malcontents last year by pulling this same stunt. He coaches scared and begins to tighten and tighten as the year goes along, the losses mount and the job pressure rises.
He is the first coach I have ever heard of who had a bench who didn't even want to play the last few minutes a few years back. His roster management is beyond awful.
 
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AKA. I don't really know what I am doing or going to do most games.
 

Tucker32 said:
Asuma should have played in the second half. He was the only one who really played well in the first half. He should have e been playing a lot more all year, and if he had he would be even better now. He is a skilled offensive player, more than anyone but Dawson, but never gets enough time. And defensively, he can consistently keep his man in front of him and restrict easy drives to the basket.
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He is averaging 25 minutes a game. He is getting plenty of time to get his offensive game going he is just inconsistent like most true freshmen are.
 

Bad Gopher said:
I'm guessing he played it conservative with Garcia because we were playing Washington and there was little chance we'd lose the game, so no reason, in his head, to take that unnecessary risk. Blew up in his face, obviously.
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Yeah, not uncommon to sit a player with 2 fould in the first half, but as we were digging a hole and clearly not able to get things going of offense you have to trust him to play smart and get him back in there.
 

MNVCGUY said:
He is averaging 25 minutes a game. He is getting plenty of time to get his offensive game going he is just inconsistent like most true freshmen are.
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His minutes are very inconsistent. His role is inconsistent. That is not how develop a player. His play would not be as inconsistent as it may still be if he had played a lot more early in the year, with a defined role.
 

Tucker32 said:
His minutes are very inconsistent. His role is inconsistent. That is not how develop a player. His play would not be as inconsistent as it may still be if he had played a lot more early in the year, with a defined role.
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This.
 

Tucker32 said:
His minutes are very inconsistent. His role is inconsistent. That is not how develop a player. His play would not be as inconsistent as it may still be if he had played a lot more early in the year, with a defined role.
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Mnvcguy sees this, just won't admit it.
 

Tucker32 said:
His minutes are very inconsistent. His role is inconsistent. That is not how develop a player. His play would not be as inconsistent as it may still be if he had played a lot more early in the year, with a defined role.
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Agree to disagree I guess. He has logged over 20 minutes in all but 4 of the 22 games he has played in and the first time that happened wasn't until December. He is consistently logging over 20 minutes a game, sometimes over 30 but rarely under.

aws.sports-reference.com

Isaac Asuma 2024-25 Game Log | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2024-25 Game Log for Isaac Asuma
aws.sports-reference.com aws.sports-reference.com
 

MNVCGUY said:
Agree to disagree I guess. He has logged over 20 minutes in all but 4 of the 22 games he has played in and the first time that happened wasn't until December. He is consistently logging over 20 minutes a game, sometimes over 30 but rarely under.

aws.sports-reference.com

Isaac Asuma 2024-25 Game Log | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2024-25 Game Log for Isaac Asuma
aws.sports-reference.com aws.sports-reference.com
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On a talented team, that would be excellent for even a good frosh. This is not a talented team. This is a team with no future. Unfortunately, it is also a coach with no future at this level- so he cares less about development and more about slugging out a few more wins with his oldsters.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Agree to disagree I guess. He has logged over 20 minutes in all but 4 of the 22 games he has played in and the first time that happened wasn't until December. He is consistently logging over 20 minutes a game, sometimes over 30 but rarely under.

aws.sports-reference.com

Isaac Asuma 2024-25 Game Log | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2024-25 Game Log for Isaac Asuma
aws.sports-reference.com aws.sports-reference.com
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The issue is the minutes are all over the place during the game, with no defined role. You can’t just look at total minutes and call it good.
 

Tucker32 said:
Asuma should have played in the second half. He was the only one who really played well in the first half. He should have e been playing a lot more all year, and if he had he would be even better now. He is a skilled offensive player, more than anyone but Dawson, but never gets enough time. And defensively, he can consistently keep his man in front of him and restrict easy drives to the basket.
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He should have started the 2nd half. Same with Mitchell.
 

Tucker32 said:
The issue is the minutes are all over the place during the game, with no defined role. You can’t just look at total minutes and call it good.
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He is usually one of the first subs into the game and when he is in there he works in tandem with the other guards often as the primary point guard but not always depending on who is out there with him.

Not like he is being asked to guard a center or post up near the basket. He has a defined role. The only argument is whether or not he should be starting or not. And a case for that could certainly be made but he is a true freshman getting a lot of playing time.

And don't get me wrong. I am all for him playing more down the stretch as Patterson can be extremely frustrating to watch and Asuma is one of the few players that actually has the chance to be back on the squad next year under the new coach.
 

MNVCGUY said:
He is usually one of the first subs into the game and when he is in there he works in tandem with the other guards often as the primary point guard but not always depending on who is out there with him.

Not like he is being asked to guard a center or post up near the basket. He has a defined role. The only argument is whether or not he should be starting or not. And a case for that could certainly be made but he is a true freshman getting a lot of playing time.

And don't get me wrong. I am all for him playing more down the stretch as Patterson can be extremely frustrating to watch and Asuma is one of the few players that actually has the chance to be back on the squad next year under the new coach.
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My argument is not if he should be starting. And, I guess we'll have to disagree on having a defined role. He does not have a defined role at all other than being on the floor.
 


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