Damian Johnson on Asuma: He should be a starter along with Femi. I don’t understand starting Rigsby.

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drewhaus7 said:
Rigsby appeared to have a decent day today. 4-8 from 3PT line!
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He's a catch and shoot in rhythm shooter. When he has to dribble and shoot he loses his rhythm. Today he was able to catch and shoot in rhythm. That will be harder to do against B1G teams that play good defense.
 

Damian is absolutely correct. Asuma needs to start and play at least 30 minutes per game. He is already a better point guard and rebounder than anyone on the team. He sees and anticipates the game at a better level than any Gopher, including Garcia. This is the kid we don't want to lose.
 

I respect Damian, but the former players don't always have the best takes.

Rigsby has been pretty solid thusfar and was good today. Agreed about Asuma but he's getting plenty of minutes, if anyone should be removed from the starting 5, Patterson or Odukale would be better candidates.

That said- once Mike Mitchell is back someone is taking a back seat anyways.
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
I respect Damian, but the former players don't always have the best takes.

Rigsby has been pretty solid thusfar and was good today. Agreed about Asuma but he's getting plenty of minutes, if anyone should be removed from the starting 5, Patterson or Odukale would be better candidates.

That said- once Mike Mitchell is back someone is taking a back seat anyways.
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It has to be Rigsby and Patterson that will be reduced in minutes. Rigsby has shot terribly until today- glad to see him get out of the funk. Odukale, as long as he stays within his limits on offense, is a major asset on defense. He is certainly our best defensive player.
 



FinnGopher said:
Damian is absolutely correct. Asuma needs to start and play at least 30 minutes per game. He is already a better point guard and rebounder than anyone on the team. He sees and anticipates the game at a better level than any Gopher, including Garcia. This is the kid we don't want to lose.
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Yep and he should be playing point when Mitchell returns. Mike is better off the ball.
 

bga1 said:
It has to be Rigsby and Patterson that will be reduced in minutes. Rigsby has shot terribly until today- glad to see him get out of the funk. Odukale, as long as he stays within his limits on offense, is a major asset on defense. He is certainly our best defensive player.
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Odukale is a super frustrating and bizarre player but what a stat stuffer. Unreal quick hands and tremendous defensive player, and a plus rebounder and passer.

If he could make the occasional shot or 2 we'll have something. Today was a good start.
 

Yes, Asuma should start. Rigsby does the team no good when he only hits shots against teams that we bury by 20 points. In the previous three games (when we desperately needed some shots to fall) he went 0-12 from three. Along with being slow on the defensive end.....there is no reason for him to be starting.
 







Agreed on Asuma starting. But think we need Rigsby shooting to space the floor for Garcia. Right now I would go with

Asuma
Rigsby
Patterson
Garcia
Mitchell
 

I really don't get worked up over who is in the starting lineup. I look at minutes played after the game.

so far, here is the breakdown with average minutes per game - all 9 games unless noted:

Garcia 33.3
Patterson 32.9
Odukale 29.0
Mike Mitchell (2 games) 27.5
Asuma 26.8
Rigsby 25.3
Fox 22.0
F. Mitchell (7 games) 14.9
Edmonds 10.6
Betts (7 games) 6.1


Asuma is 5th in avg minutes played - ahead of Rigsby. admittedly, this could be skewed by the absence of Mike Mitchell - but, in recent action, Asuma played 30 minutes or more in 4 consecutive games (Cleve St, Cent MI, Wichita St & Wake Forest). Played 19 vs Beth-Cookman - a game where the subs saw more playing time.

I'll keep an eye on this when the team gets into B1G play. but if I had to bet, I would say that Asuma will remain top 5 in minutes played barring an injury.

Cochran is the wild card here, because we have no idea what position he will play or how that might impact the # of minutes for other players. (assuming Cochran starts playing at some point in the relatively near future)
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I really don't get worked up over who is in the starting lineup. I look at minutes played after the game.

so far, here is the breakdown with average minutes per game - all 9 games unless noted:

Garcia 33.3
Patterson 32.9
Odukale 29.0
Mike Mitchell (2 games) 27.5
Asuma 26.8
Rigsby 25.3
Fox 22.0
F. Mitchell (7 games) 14.9
Edmonds 10.6
Betts (7 games) 6.1


Asuma is 5th in avg minutes played - ahead of Rigsby. admittedly, this could be skewed by the absence of Mike Mitchell - but, in recent action, Asuma played 30 minutes or more in 4 consecutive games (Cleve St, Cent MI, Wichita St & Wake Forest). Played 19 vs Beth-Cookman - a game where the subs saw more playing time.

I'll keep an eye on this when the team gets into B1G play. but if I had to bet, I would say that Asuma will remain top 5 in minutes played barring an injury.

Cochran is the wild card here, because we have no idea what position he will play or how that might impact the # of minutes for other players. (assuming Cochran starts playing at some point in the relatively near future)
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Patterson is used too much, Edmunds too little and Asuma is used in the wrong way. He plays the right amount but he should be at the top starting the offense. Patterson is a walking shot clock violation at the lead guard. Tough kid that I like, if used right.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I really don't get worked up over who is in the starting lineup. I look at minutes played after the game.

so far, here is the breakdown with average minutes per game - all 9 games unless noted:

Garcia 33.3
Patterson 32.9
Odukale 29.0
Mike Mitchell (2 games) 27.5
Asuma 26.8
Rigsby 25.3
Fox 22.0
F. Mitchell (7 games) 14.9
Edmonds 10.6
Betts (7 games) 6.1


Asuma is 5th in avg minutes played - ahead of Rigsby. admittedly, this could be skewed by the absence of Mike Mitchell - but, in recent action, Asuma played 30 minutes or more in 4 consecutive games (Cleve St, Cent MI, Wichita St & Wake Forest). Played 19 vs Beth-Cookman - a game where the subs saw more playing time.

I'll keep an eye on this when the team gets into B1G play. but if I had to bet, I would say that Asuma will remain top 5 in minutes played barring an injury.

Cochran is the wild card here, because we have no idea what position he will play or how that might impact the # of minutes for other players. (assuming Cochran starts playing at some point in the relatively near future)
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Overall minutes played is all that matters. Whether someone starts or not is irrelevant.
 

Plus Asuma's defense is much better as he is a better athlete. He has the tools to be a very good PG and the less Ben uses him in that role only slows down his progression.

IMO, Patterson should see his minutes shrink then Rigsby upon the return of Mike and whenever Cochran becomes serviceable.
 


BarnBurner said:
Why start Garcia then? Let him sit for a bit to start the game. After all, minutes played is all that matters.
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Because he plays the entire game?

I wasn’t arguing against starting him. But he plays more than Rigsby already so does it matter that much if he starts or not? Like if the minutes are exactly the same but Asuma starts instead of Rigsby, how is that really different?

The argument can be that Rigsby’s minutes should decrease more while Asuma’s increases. He doesn’t have to start necessarily for that to happen.
 

Rigsby, like Femi, will never find their rythym or role, in an offense that has no rythm or roles. Asuma certainly helps flow, but it's moot point when the overall strategy is Garcia or bust.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Because he plays the entire game?

I wasn’t arguing against starting him. But he plays more than Rigsby already so does it matter that much if he starts or not? Like if the minutes are exactly the same but Asuma starts instead of Rigsby, how is that really different?

The argument can be that Rigsby’s minutes should decrease more while Asuma’s increases. He doesn’t have to start necessarily for that to happen.
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The start of the game sets the tempo often times for the whole game. I want to have my best team out there to start...I don't want to start out with a couple of shot clock violations that inspire the other team to crank it up on us. Asuma needs to start. The fact that he doesn't is just Ben always being cautious. He is cautious in everything he does. Sometimes you just have to be aggressive- go for it, hand the ball to the freshman.

He did the same thing last year with Christie who didn't start until well after it was evident that he should and of course Payne as well. Let players know, I start the best guys regardless of class and I will bench anyone regardless of class or status for not giving it their all.

There have always been players with Ben who could do no wrong (when everyone else could see they did) and there have always been others that could do no right.
 

bga1 said:
The start of the game sets the tempo often times for the whole game. I want to have my best team out there to start...I don't want to start out with a couple of shot clock violations that inspire the other team to crank it up on us. Asuma needs to start. The fact that he doesn't is just Ben always being cautious. He is cautious in everything he does. Sometimes you just have to be aggressive- go for it, hand the ball to the freshman.

He did the same thing last year with Christie who didn't start until well after it was evident that he should and of course Payne as well. Let players know, I start the best guys regardless of class and I will bench anyone regardless of class or status for not giving it their all.

There have always been players with Ben who could do no wrong (when everyone else could see they did) and there have always been others that could do no right.
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This. Your first sentence is spot on.

Asuma needs to start.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Overall minutes played is all that matters. Whether someone starts or not is irrelevant.
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Start the five that give you the best chance of winning the game. Hopefully the starting five will get the game going in the right direction. That would normally be your five best players. Substitute as the game develops.
 



howeda7 said:
Are you rooting for a broken leg or more something in the shredding his ACL category?
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It doesn't matter anymore...now that we're officially a farm team.

I was hoping we'd slow Christie down last year. And I was hoping Payne's back issues would slow him down at the end. But we still lost everyone...so it's now all irrelevant.
 

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