Do you suppose an established coach like Niko might know better than us whether just randomly putting somebody out there who obviously hasn't proven in practice that they deserve anything other than a couple of garbage time minutes per game might hurt more than help (or even tread water) the Gophers? Pretty sure that a proven college coach like Niko has, at some or several points during the season, made it very clear during one on one meetings, practice film sessions or sideline conversations during practice exactly what needs to happen for player A, B or C to see any meaningful floor time.
If you mapped specific expectations/goals to your players (or employees, or students in class) and they failed to ever meet those expectations or goals, would you give them a promotion or good grade? I don't think many coaches, managers or bosses hand out rewards for not doing, or at least making significant progress toward the stated and understood goals.
As I mentioned before, I don't think Niko is the type of coach that just throws mud up against the wall out of desperation. My feeling is that he would rather ride with the guys who may be operating at 75%, but doing things the way I want them done, than go with guys who may be fresher, but I don't trust to do things the "Niko way".
