A small criticism of Roy

[keysersosay#1]

I watched a little of the game ...Marcus already out with the ankle and it was a blowout as we all thought it would be....here is a beef I have with Roy and it may seem minor BUT it COULD lead to something quite bad. Roy subs at about 3 1/2 minutes to play and puts Hicks in for Brice. We are up by almost 30 points at that point


There really is no reason to have a top 6 player in the game at that point IMO Sure enough Hicks gets a long lead pass goes up and is fouled and is hit in mid air and falls very awkwardly and HARD to the floor by the basket support. You can see the slow mo and man does his face tell it all Like MAN THAT was scary. NO NEED, NONE to have him or ANY body close to being a starter in the game at that time. PUT ALL the bench in from the 3 minute mark on. The ONLY people who care about the margin of victory are the bookies and gamblers. We had Marcus in the locker room, No need to tempt fate and have another key player hurt in garbage time.

JMHO

 

[Grayhead]

I agree with you. Other than working on plays and using it as practice, it really does nothing for these types of games. I cringe every time one of our players hits the deck. Seeing Marcus in the locker room tonight has left a sour taste. I hope he is OK. I really hope this will not be a continual issue for the remainder of the season. I cannot imagine how deflated this team would be if we lost him for the season. Not to mention the meltdown by us fans

 

[UNC Blue Hup]

It's tough to manage these coaching situations..were we ever going to lose, No...but we have to play our players..I hate injuries because that's the main thing from us winning it all, but I would've got JJ, Berry, Brice, Hicks out around 5-4:30..hopefully Marcus is ok..they were all looking forward to getting home and this team played physical as they all will against us.

 

[coryfly]

Eh, you can't bring in 5 star players and not play them. The walk-ons know they are generally only getting a minute or two at most. I know Hicks plays a lot anyway but you want guys to feel like they will play as much as possible.

 

[keysersosay#1]

Yeah but the game is OVER at the 3 minute mark There is NO WAY we lose NONE and there is no reason to have anyone who is a top player or even a top reserve in the game at that point

 

[Jimmy the C]

Fans do not pay to see walk on's

 

[UNCPJH81]

Biscuits were still in doubt...

(I'm kidding of course.)

 

[keysersosay#1]

Some are missing the point............... Oh well

 

[adwood81]

Some are missing the point............... Oh well

I can understand your point and would certainly hate to see someone injured. I think it is more about completing a game plan. A case in point: I have watched many games where the superior team would pull its best players early in games. It is nice to give your walk-ons and third team minutes but later in the season, when games are more contested, the starters and front-line players must perfrom for the entire 40 minutes and if they are not prepared from their previous contest to play out the entire game, it can show.
Now this is a reach and I don't remember exactly when it was but there was a game that Dean pulled his starters up by nearly 20 with somewhere around 4-5 minutes to go and there was a huge rally. He had to call time-out and re-insert his starters. They re-established the lead but I never remember his doing that again.

I guess I will end by saying I trust Roy to know what he is doing and leave it at that.

 

[keysersosay#1]

I remember the game you are referencing THAT game was the RARE exception to the vast rule when DES would pull his starters with 4-5 minutes left and Carolina leading comfortably. by 18-30 points. In MANY instances the FINAL score had us winning by only say 10 or 12 ,BUT everyone knew the game was never that close and victory never in doubt.

I just think prudence is in order, especially when we have TWO starters out with injury already... KM and MP in THAT game.

 

[coryfly]

I get your point. I probably even agree with it for the most part. I think some are just providing the reasons we feel Roy doesn't do this.

 

[Heelicious]

Its a tricky balance. You can't have people "play in a way as to not get hurt" or cut minutes when they are needed, to try to prevent injury. Players likely have a better chance of getting hurt in scrimmages in practice than in any part of a game, just based on the larger amount of time spent in practice. I think Rat even said he was going away from contact in practice, due to the Amile Jefferson injury. But how do you do that, and get any better at defense, or scoring against defense?

 

[keysersosay#1]

Look injuries can happen anywhere, anytime...... Falling out of bed or crossing the street I know and understand that....but I simply am arguing that the last 5 minutes of a blowout win against Cupcake U is NOT the place to tempt fate and keep players in the game that are vital to your season.

 

[Ozheelfan]

Sure Key, I get what you're saying but I reckon 5min is a long time to have Spenser Dalton and Tony Ebunga in there.

And just as important as it was to get valuable game time for Kenny Williams (can't wait for him to finally nail a 3!) and Luke Maye, I think it was also important for Isaiah, or another top rotation guy, to be in the game, provide leadership, ability, etc.

I can't guess what Roy thinks, but this might be the rationale: he didn't want to risk having to put the starters back in, he wanted to give valuable burn to important bench players, he wanted Isaiah to be more of 'the man' during that period.

 

[UNCbeliever]

Can't coach or play afraid. While the game may not be in doubt, putting in our walk ons with 4-5 minutes left is not sound coaching especially since they absolutely stink. I know they must be good players on some level, but some look like they just took up the game. Getting humiliated does neither them, nor the team and its fans, any good. Give them a minute, and they and their parents are satisfied.

 

[coolwaterunc]

I like that it gives guys like Hicks a chance to be a primary option rather than a 4th or 5th option in regular rotation. I understand wanting to protect your player, but the players need some burn. If these guys were professionals, then yeah, bring in the bench, but you gotta remember they're really still learning how to play. Can't do that watching walk-ons.

 

[notashelbyfan]

On the Marcus thing I feel like Roy trust him enough to tell him the truth and weather he is good to go or not, I think Marcus has earned that right, and knows his body better than anyone!

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

The main reason I can think of for continuing top play top players in blowout situations is because you want their minds and bodies accustomed to playing as many minutes as possible.

You get into those nail-biters and every player consciously wants to compete hard. But if your body is subconsciously saying "hey, this is the time in the game when I should be winding down on the bench" you may not get the necessary combination of mind and body to pull out the tough ones.

 

[DSouthr]

Its a tricky balance. You can't have people "play in a way as to not get hurt" or cut minutes when they are needed, to try to prevent injury. Players likely have a better chance of getting hurt in scrimmages in practice than in any part of a game, just based on the larger amount of time spent in practice. I think Rat even said he was going away from contact in practice, due to the Amile Jefferson injury. But how do you do that, and get any better at defense, or scoring against defense?

Yeah, my opinion is you play them, let them enjoy the blowout. They can get hurt in practice just as easy as in a game, Marcus missed the first few games this season due to injury sustained in practice. You wouldn't hold a kid out of practice that was not hurt just because he played well in his last game?