Minutes in rotation

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fan of Ray Williams said:
Hawkins has had some decent games. Probably his best stat wise was against Villanova as a freshman, 16 points along with 11 assists. 11 and 5 against Georgetown that same season. 12 points 5 assists tallied in the Notre Dame contest.
Sophomore season he had 14 points, 2 assists vs Kentucky. Wyoming he was 17 and 6. And Kansas he scored 12 and had 8 assists. Small sample, but decent numbers.
(Apologies, kind of off track.)
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He's a Dematha kid as well so he has played in the thick of some tough competition.
 


bga1 said:
He's a Dematha kid as well so he has played in the thick of some tough competition.
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One huge difference between Mitchell and Hawkins from just looking at numbers, is getting to the line. Hawkins has shot 244 free throws compared to 44 for Mitchell. Mitchell has played in 63 games and in 43 of those games he never shot a free throw. (Checked it 3 times to make sure it was correct.)
 

Didn't Clem do wholesale substitutions twice a game? If the depth truly is there and not a lot of drop off from Garcia and Payne, BJ will likely play 10 and maybe 11. Who gets the major PT remains to be seen.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Didn't Clem do wholesale substitutions twice a game? If the depth truly is there and not a lot of drop off from Garcia and Payne, BJ will likely play 10 and maybe 11. Who gets the major PT remains to be seen.
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No, Tubby. Just don’t think this team is going to be deep like we all want it to be. Injuries will pop up, lousy performance, etc.
We, including me, like these pipe dreams prior to every season.
 


fan of Ray Williams said:
No, Tubby. Just don’t think this team is going to be deep like we all want it to be. Injuries will pop up, lousy performance, etc.
We, including me, like these pipe dreams prior to every season.
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I wouldn’t rule it out though. Could do it and a minute or two later sub a starter back in while resting the others longer.
 

CentralGopher said:
I wouldn’t rule it out though. Could do it and a minute or two later sub a starter back in while resting the others longer.
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Ben would basically be doing an about face it that were to happen. In his first season as head coach he played Battle, Willis and Lowe over 35 minutes per game. Last year it was Battle and Cooper over 35 minutes per game. Maybe if the trend continues it will be just 1 guy over 35.
Who knows? Perhaps what you suggest takes place. Heck, in Battle’s first game back last year after surgery on his foot, Ben had him out there for 36 minutes. Cooper and Payne played 40 in that one. The short history of two seasons isn’t revealing Ben to be someone that uses lots of players. Guess things can change.
 


Experience is much greater with this team, the only true freshman is Christie and maybe Betts, they all know what to expect, substituting should not be a problem.
 



fan of Ray Williams said:
Ben would basically be doing an about face it that were to happen. In his first season as head coach he played Battle, Willis and Lowe over 35 minutes per game. Last year it was Battle and Cooper over 35 minutes per game. Maybe if the trend continues it will be just 1 guy over 35.
Who knows? Perhaps what you suggest takes place. Heck, in Battle’s first game back last year after surgery on his foot, Ben had him out there for 36 minutes. Cooper and Payne played 40 in that one. The short history of two seasons isn’t revealing Ben to be someone that uses lots of players. Guess things can change.
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I'd like to think his overuse of certain players was because he legitimately felt the drop off to their replacement was so great that it made sense to play them major minutes even at the expense of diminished production from fatigue, certain matchups, etc.... He has proclaimed his enthusiasm for the team's health heading into the season. I am hopeful we see more players getting minutes. It will look bad if Ihnen and Fox aren't able to give productive minutes as everyone has lamented their absence over the past 2 seasons. If they are serviceable, that should give us a solid 9 man rotation.
 

GopherBlood666 said:
I'd like to think his overuse of certain players was because he legitimately felt the drop off to their replacement was so great that it made sense to play them major minutes even at the expense of diminished production from fatigue, certain matchups, etc.... He has proclaimed his enthusiasm for the team's health heading into the season. I am hopeful we see more players getting minutes. It will look bad if Ihnen and Fox aren't able to give productive minutes as everyone has lamented their absence over the past 2 seasons. If they are serviceable, that should give us a solid 9 man rotation.
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100% Great post
 


Here’s Pepperdine at home against Gonzaga. Mitchell handles the ball up the court on every possession. Average quickness, average athleticism. Average defensively. Never dribbles to create. Pass first point guard. Hard to envision him as a shooting guard. Don’t see him taking minutes from Carrington/Christie in that spot.
Someone tell me why he would leave Malibu to come here?
 

fan of Ray Williams said:

Here’s Pepperdine at home against Gonzaga. Mitchell handles the ball up the court on every possession. Average quickness, average athleticism. Average defensively. Never dribbles to create. Pass first point guard. Hard to envision him as a shooting guard. Don’t see him taking minutes from Carrington/Christie in that spot.
Someone tell me why he would leave Malibu to come here?
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A chance to win? 😂
 




fan of Ray Williams said:

Here’s Pepperdine at home against Gonzaga. Mitchell handles the ball up the court on every possession. Average quickness, average athleticism. Average defensively. Never dribbles to create. Pass first point guard. Hard to envision him as a shooting guard. Don’t see him taking minutes from Carrington/Christie in that spot.
Someone tell me why he would leave Malibu to come here?
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Nicer weather in the winter?
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Here’s Pepperdine at home against Gonzaga. Mitchell handles the ball up the court on every possession. Average quickness, average athleticism. Average defensively. Never dribbles to create. Pass first point guard. Hard to envision him as a shooting guard. Don’t see him taking minutes from Carrington/Christie in that spot.
Someone tell me why he would leave Malibu to come here?
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A more challenging non-conference schedule?
 

fan of Ray Williams said:

Here’s Pepperdine at home against Gonzaga. Mitchell handles the ball up the court on every possession. Average quickness, average athleticism. Average defensively. Never dribbles to create. Pass first point guard. Hard to envision him as a shooting guard. Don’t see him taking minutes from Carrington/Christie in that spot.
Big Dawg said:
I'm loving that fact that Ben has options with this roster.
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Someone tell me why he would leave Malibu to come here?
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Less freeway traffic!
 

fan of Ray Williams said:

Here’s Pepperdine at home against Gonzaga. Mitchell handles the ball up the court on every possession. Average quickness, average athleticism. Average defensively. Never dribbles to create. Pass first point guard. Hard to envision him as a shooting guard. Don’t see him taking minutes from Carrington/Christie in that spot.
Someone tell me why he would leave Malibu to come here?
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Thanks for posting that. I agree on the athleticism but he looks to be a smart, decisive player who didn't look out of place against Gonzaga. I liked what I saw - although I only watched the first 10 minutes...
 

just watched that entire game. I think he will fit in quite nicely. heady player that can pass the ball well! seems to always be in control. We will not be counting on our Guards to score a large number of points, with Garcia and Payne in the paint.
 

Gopherbbdude said:
just watched that entire game. I think he will fit in quite nicely. heady player that can pass the ball well! seems to always be in control. We will not be counting on our Guards to score a large number of points, with Garcia and Payne in the paint.
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Yep, just secure the ball and knock down shots when open
 


Here is Howard against Kansas in a first round NCAA tourney game.
Hawkins is matched up with Dajuan Harris, Big 12 defensive player of the year.
Hawkins is a good player. Fast, quick, penetrates, can pass.
Someone explain to me why…..just joking.
 
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Bayfieldgopher said:
Didn't Clem do wholesale substitutions twice a game? If the depth truly is there and not a lot of drop off from Garcia and Payne, BJ will likely play 10 and maybe 11. Who gets the major PT remains to be seen.
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Speaking of, the Howard coach does the exact same thing. Puts in a whole new five.
 

Without lucrative $NIL, with his deepest roster yet, Ben will have to play as many players as he can or there will be mass departures in the offseason.

If he has a short bench in our early, “tough” non conference schedule, I will see that as a bad sign.

I am looking for a much more athletic and competitive team this year. Love having 2 more legit point guards than we had last year, plus other options.
 

Gopherbbdude said:
just watched that entire game. I think he will fit in quite nicely. heady player that can pass the ball well! seems to always be in control. We will not be counting on our Guards to score a large number of points, with Garcia and Payne in the paint.
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I think we should expect our guards to score well. Both transfers shot 44% from three last year. Someone posted that Hawkins got to the line for something like 160 free throws. That portends good things because
VanillaThunder said:
Without lucrative $NIL, with his deepest roster yet, Ben will have to play as many players as he can or there will be mass departures in the offseason.

If he has a short bench in our early, “tough” non conference schedule, I will see that as a bad sign.

I am looking for a much more athletic and competitive team this year. Love having 2 more legit point guards than we had last year, plus other options.
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Looks like a team with a lot of guys with similar levels of talent after you get past Garcia and Payne. That’s why it makes sense to play most of them most games.
 

VanillaThunder said:
Without lucrative $NIL, with his deepest roster yet, Ben will have to play as many players as he can or there will be mass departures in the offseason.

If he has a short bench in our early, “tough” non conference schedule, I will see that as a bad sign.

I am looking for a much more athletic and competitive team this year. Love having 2 more legit point guards than we had last year, plus other options.
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If Ben doesn't play nearly everybody in the preseason non conference cupcake games then why or what would the logic be to schedule them? Versus that type of competition if individuals play big minutes they are going to coast and build bad habits because the competition allows them to do so without the score getting out of hand.
You may long for Cooper after a couple Big Ten games ...time will tell.
 

60's Guy said:
1) If Ben doesn't play nearly everybody in the preseason non conference cupcake games then why or what would the logic be to schedule them?
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60's Guy said:
2) You may long for Cooper after a couple Big Ten games ...time will tell.
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1) Good point. Undoubtedly, being able to see most of the roster in action during the early season probably would be the biggest selling point for a non-conference schedule like this.

2) I don't think so. Don't think I'll long for Battle and Henley either.

Cooper wasn't a terrible player. He probably was our 3rd best player last season after Garcia and Payne but he was ball and dribble dominant, was fairly slow footed, and was a poor free throw shooter. I like the contrast I've seen from Mitchell (haven't really watched Hawkins) in the posted video. He has little waisted motion, keeps the ball moving around the court, and moves without the ball.
 

VanillaThunder said:
Without lucrative $NIL, with his deepest roster yet, Ben will have to play as many players as he can or there will be mass departures in the offseason.
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Certainly possible although our two transfer point guards likely wouldn't be able to transfer again after the season since the NCAA finally seems to be enforcing the one-time free transfer rule with some regularity.
 

60's Guy said:
You may long for Cooper after a couple Big Ten games ...time will tell.
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Not me, Mitchell doesn't screw around dribbling the ball out front for 10 seconds like Cooper was want to do, he gets the offense in motion from the get go, I'll take that any day. I haven't seen Hawkins but he has to be better than Cooper.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Ben would basically be doing an about face it that were to happen. In his first season as head coach he played Battle, Willis and Lowe over 35 minutes per game. Last year it was Battle and Cooper over 35 minutes per game. Maybe if the trend continues it will be just 1 guy over 35.
Who knows? Perhaps what you suggest takes place. Heck, in Battle’s first game back last year after surgery on his foot, Ben had him out there for 36 minutes. Cooper and Payne played 40 in that one. The short history of two seasons isn’t revealing Ben to be someone that uses lots of players. Guess things can change.
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Ben really didn't have reliable depth so he went with his best option, which was starters playing 30+ minutes already at the end of the game, and that's saying something. I think this year's reliability will go beyond the starting 5
 


Little clip of Hawkins. Dribbles himself into trouble a couple of times and turns it over. Also has a few excellent passes for assists.
Think he was top 20 in the nation on steals his Freshman year.
 

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