Why does Few shorten the bench every year?

[thespywhozaggedme]

I posted this in one of the post game threads, but I felt it was important enough to discuss it in itz own thread.

I don't understand why we play a deep bench for half the season and then inexplicably Few shortens the bench every year like clockwork. I honestly just don't get the reasoning behind it. It's counter intuitive to what has gotten us where we are thus far, i.e. a deep bench that allows our starters plenty of rest. Now, once again, like every single year at this time, he shortens the bench and our starters play more minutes and get tired out quicker. In other words, if it ain't broke why fix it? Why change what has been working? Thanks

[MDABE80]

8 or 9 of his best players is not much shortening. He plays quite a few earlier in the season to see who's good enough and is a good fit. Team is molded for the rest of the season and the playoffs. Best guys play. Every year it's the same or similar
Routine. The only difference I can remember in recent years is MCClellans last year when
There were only 7 kids to play reliably as a team.

[kitzbuel]

Did a quick perusal of box scores and an 8-9 player rotation is not usual for the games played yesterday. I don’t think his rotation is out of the norm. Matchups drove last night’s distribution.

[jazzdelmar]

IMO he doesn't shorten it enough. I still don't see what Jones brings to the table and Wade, who did not play last night, is a lost cause. Larsen is fine but it's clear Few is committed to giving major mins to JW, who is becoming quite the black hole in the middle. The whole offense runs for him. As for Tillie, one can only hope the bright lights of the post season and a pro contract will inspire him to play like his talent allows. Just disinterested most of the time now. 6 pts vs a team like USF in 28 mins is appalling. And 4 turnovers.

Norvell seems to have disappeared a bit as well. Where was that alpha dog gunner of a couple of games ago? He and Kipsert took all of 5 shots in 37 mins. What's up with that; them is the future.

Hach is always fun but he did not roam quite as easily as he has. Melson hunting his shots? WTF, 3 and a half years in? Josh is doing as little as possible w the ball and that's good. Takes some really bad shots but Few lives w it. He has no choice. Josh is the most secure PG in college basketball. No one on the roster comes close to even pretending to be a PG; sad.

[GonzagasaurusFlex]

This year I’d say the emergence of Rui is resulting in fewer minutes for Larsen and Kispert, the latter as Zags go w big lineup where Rui plays the 3. This is a great lineup for Zags as it creates a mismatch at the 3 vs probably every WCC foe and most any team in D1.

I’d like to see Larsen play more but bottom line is Few has demonstrated he knows what he’s doing so maybe we need to just trust the future HOF coach making these decisions.

[Zagger]

The SMC game is going to be interesting when it comes to Larsen's mins .... with the experiences he's had in practice with Mt. K and Collins he could be a good matchup against Jock.

[MileHigh]

just about every coach, HS through d1, shortens the bench this time of year. There is saying we use in coaching "play 9 trust 7" which basically means by this time of year most coaches have a core of guys they trust and they play that core the majority of the minutes unless they are fatigued or in foul trouble.

[jazzdelmar]

just about every coach, HS through d1, shortens the bench this time of year. There is saying we use in coaching "play 9 trust 7" which basically means by this time of year most coaches have a core of guys they trust and they play that core the majority of the minutes unless they are fatigued or in foul trouble.

Good pt. It's clear Few basically trusts 3 -- JP, SM and JW. Same as it ever was.

[TexasZagFan]

Personally, I don’t read too much in that, with SMC on Thursday. The back end of the rotation had several minutes on Thursday. USF hung around long enough to keep the starters on the court.

[Birddog]

The SMC game is going to be interesting when it comes to Larsen's mins .... with the experiences he's had in practice with Mt. K and Collins he could be a good matchup against Jock.

You must have forgotten that Larsen was injured and on crutches much of last year. I think he will see more minutes though.

[jyboc]

I posted this in one of the post game threads, but I felt it was important enough to discuss it in itz own thread.

I don't understand why we play a deep bench for half the season and then inexplicably Few shortens the bench every year like clockwork. I honestly just don't get the reasoning behind it. It's counter intuitive to what has gotten us where we are thus far, i.e. a deep bench that allows our starters plenty of rest. Now, once again, like every single year at this time, he shortens the bench and our starters play more minutes and get tired out quicker. In other words, if it ain't broke why fix it? Why change what has been working? Thanks

Umm...two pretty obvious answers:
1. Some players are better than others
2. So this board doesn’t go crazy asking “Why is Few playing ....”

[vandalzag]

I posted this in one of the post game threads, but I felt it was important enough to discuss it in itz own thread.

I don't understand why we play a deep bench for half the season and then inexplicably Few shortens the bench every year like clockwork. I honestly just don't get the reasoning behind it. It's counter intuitive to what has gotten us where we are thus far, i.e. a deep bench that allows our starters plenty of rest. Now, once again, like every single year at this time, he shortens the bench and our starters play more minutes and get tired out quicker. In other words, if it ain't broke why fix it? Why change what has been working? Thanks

Just curious who should have played more and why?

[MontanaCoyote]

The SMC game is going to be interesting when it comes to Larsen's mins .... with the experiences he's had in practice with Mt. K and Collins he could be a good matchup against Jock.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think we did pretty darned well against Landale last year with Shem and Collins on his back side and others getting to his dribble. Can we do that with the players we have now?