11-13-2012, 05:34 PM
Did anyone here see the men's basketball game against CSU-Fullerton last night? There were a few items in the box score that jumped out at me.
First, John Gage only got 3 minutes of playing time. He had just one shot and one rebound. Last year Gage averaged 9 minutes per game, and his playing time figured to increase this season, with Josh Owens and Andrew Zimmermann graduating. Any idea why he got so little time last night?
Second, and maybe this is a related question, how did Andy Brown look? He put up a great stat sheet in 21 minutes of playing time. Eight points on 3-4 FG, 2-2 FT, plus 4 rebounds and 5 steals!!! I had given up on the guy after all the knee surgeries. Can he jump at all? Can he defend? Is he purely a post player now, or was he out on the perimeter? And finally, were his 21 minutes a gift from Dawkins because he grew up in a SoCal town near Fullerton, or did he earn the minutes? And did they come at Gage's expense?
Finally, the freshmen. Christian Sanders got 12 minutes of playing time, the most of the freshmen. Physically, does he look like he can contribute, or does he need a year in the weight room? Grant Verhoeven only got 1 minute on the court. Same question about him: physically, is he still a year away from contributing in the Pac-12? As others have noted, rebounding is likely to be this team's biggest weakness. If Verhoeven can't give the team 10-12 minutes per night, and at least hold his own on the boards, we may have to play small lineups for significant stretches of every game. That really worries me.
First, John Gage only got 3 minutes of playing time. He had just one shot and one rebound. Last year Gage averaged 9 minutes per game, and his playing time figured to increase this season, with Josh Owens and Andrew Zimmermann graduating. Any idea why he got so little time last night?
Second, and maybe this is a related question, how did Andy Brown look? He put up a great stat sheet in 21 minutes of playing time. Eight points on 3-4 FG, 2-2 FT, plus 4 rebounds and 5 steals!!! I had given up on the guy after all the knee surgeries. Can he jump at all? Can he defend? Is he purely a post player now, or was he out on the perimeter? And finally, were his 21 minutes a gift from Dawkins because he grew up in a SoCal town near Fullerton, or did he earn the minutes? And did they come at Gage's expense?
Finally, the freshmen. Christian Sanders got 12 minutes of playing time, the most of the freshmen. Physically, does he look like he can contribute, or does he need a year in the weight room? Grant Verhoeven only got 1 minute on the court. Same question about him: physically, is he still a year away from contributing in the Pac-12? As others have noted, rebounding is likely to be this team's biggest weakness. If Verhoeven can't give the team 10-12 minutes per night, and at least hold his own on the boards, we may have to play small lineups for significant stretches of every game. That really worries me.