This years version of that would be moving Harding to the bench, Thewell to the point, starting Traore, and replacing all of Dembele’s minutes and some of Payton’s with Mulvey. If you’re not going to coach defense/rebounding then you can’t be the smallest lineup in the B1G. Everyone is playing up a position at this point and our players aren’t physical to begin with. Dembele shouldn’t see the court again this season.
Min played in order:
Thelwell 35 (he averaged 35 a game last year but only 26 this year)
Dix 32
Freeman 30 (only because he’s not in good enough shape to play more)
Payton 28
Traore 28
Bench:
Pryce 20
Harding 15
Mulvey 12
I would rotate the bigs in and out often to keep them fresh. Play Freeman 3-4 minutes at a time then sub him out for 1-2 minutes for Mulvey. Do that 4 times a half. Freeman is soft when he’s tired. I also wouldn’t be scared to pair Freeman/Mulvey together at the same time. Especially late in the game when we need stops.
It will probably never happen but I’m still holding out hope that we can win the next 3 games. I’ve been a delusional Fran supporter for years, but the lineups and talent evaluation this year have been god awful. It reminds me of Kirk with Rudock/Beathard. So hard to watch.
Can you imagine any other coach in the Big Ten starting Brock at PG instead of Thelwell and riding with Dembele over Traore/Mulvey as long as Fran has? The sad part is most fans on this board have said this since the Washington St game, including myself.
Thelwell “struggled in practice when he first got here.” Practice. We talking bout practice! Reminds me of how Petras was lights out in practice but you could find him vomiting in the stall on game days. He has been the best player on the team on a min for min basis and we haven’t even got to see him play his true position most of the time.
I still think this is a tourney team talent wise. Let’s face it we are not going to fix our defense so let’s prioritize size and rebounding and play our only 2 B1G level guards the most minutes. Harding would be a great change of pace energy player. He’s only a Sophomore and has plenty of time to grow into a decent starter. He’s not it right now though.
Let’s go 2-0 this week. Go Hawks!
Min played in order:
Thelwell 35 (he averaged 35 a game last year but only 26 this year)
Dix 32
Freeman 30 (only because he’s not in good enough shape to play more)
Payton 28
Traore 28
Bench:
Pryce 20
Harding 15
Mulvey 12
I would rotate the bigs in and out often to keep them fresh. Play Freeman 3-4 minutes at a time then sub him out for 1-2 minutes for Mulvey. Do that 4 times a half. Freeman is soft when he’s tired. I also wouldn’t be scared to pair Freeman/Mulvey together at the same time. Especially late in the game when we need stops.
It will probably never happen but I’m still holding out hope that we can win the next 3 games. I’ve been a delusional Fran supporter for years, but the lineups and talent evaluation this year have been god awful. It reminds me of Kirk with Rudock/Beathard. So hard to watch.
Can you imagine any other coach in the Big Ten starting Brock at PG instead of Thelwell and riding with Dembele over Traore/Mulvey as long as Fran has? The sad part is most fans on this board have said this since the Washington St game, including myself.
Thelwell “struggled in practice when he first got here.” Practice. We talking bout practice! Reminds me of how Petras was lights out in practice but you could find him vomiting in the stall on game days. He has been the best player on the team on a min for min basis and we haven’t even got to see him play his true position most of the time.
I still think this is a tourney team talent wise. Let’s face it we are not going to fix our defense so let’s prioritize size and rebounding and play our only 2 B1G level guards the most minutes. Harding would be a great change of pace energy player. He’s only a Sophomore and has plenty of time to grow into a decent starter. He’s not it right now though.
Let’s go 2-0 this week. Go Hawks!
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