Bench Value

There is a underlying debate ongoing surrounding the 37-40 bench minutes, sans Keita- Bryan/Mikey/GWill. I seem to be on a island when it comes to BT, but I just want to shed light on a kid who's bound to break out for us soon:

BT-

Very underrated and unfairly criticized. Never makes mistakes. 0.2 turnovers last season, 0.5 turnovers this year.

Makes crisp intelligent passes, moves the ball on offense.

Plays sound, tough defense, rebounds when in the lane.

Selective shooter, takes 3 shots a game, usually hits one three a game. 80% of his threes are on line. The rule of a good shooter is that you're either at the front or back of the rim if it doesn't drop in, he's always right there.

Overall a plus.

Needs to work on expanding his game offensively, everyone knows it.

He went off last year in Milwaukee for 5/7 threes, he gets 17 minutes a game from the staff so they have to think of him fondly to some degree.

He's bound to come through in the clutch for us soon, he's a sophomore sharpshooter, lay off the kid.

Calling a player shooting 30% from 3 not a great shooter isn’t “getting on the kid”. Give me a break. He shoots less then 1 free throw every 100 minutes! Give me Williams

Trimble has a nice stroke and has the ablilty to be a very good shooter it would seem but right now he is not. If you’re going to be only a spot up shooter. You have to hit near 40%. Hopefully he can add another dimension to his game in the offseason. I like the way he plays and would love to see him become a more well rounded player as an upper classmen. Most players aren’t like ponds and awesome from day 1.

Calling a player shooting 30% from 3 not a great shooter isn’t “getting on the kid”. Give me a break. He shoots less then 1 free throw every 100 minutes! Give me Williams

He's going to be raining threes on your criticism.

If we start to really pressure on D Williams will get some burn. I would be all for that. He has some Paris Horne to his game on the defensive side. He'll make some things happen. I just think he's a handful of games away.

He's going to be raining threes on your criticism.

If we start to really pressure on D Williams will get some burn. I would be all for that. He has some Paris Horne to his game on the defensive side. He'll make some things happen. I just think he's a handful of games away.

I don’t hate Trimble but he is playing poorly and giving us next to nothing other than a body. If his shot isn’t falling (so far over 100 attempts and a 30% 3pt shooter) then he needs to figure out a way to contribute. Not turning the ball over is nice but  he doesn’t ever make plays happen. The next time he goes by someone will be his first time, that’s not an exaggeration.

I like Trimble’s current role. He doesn’t take a ton of shots so his % is a non-factor to me. He bodies up on the defensive end and battles on the defensive boards.

I also like Williams a lot but would rather have Trimble in there boxing out on the defensive boards.

Personally I think Trimble is shooting a bit out of his range and think he can often step into his shot and be a bit closer to the line.

On Defense  Brian is a tough SOB as when he fouls he gets his money's worth against bigger players.  It is like he doesn't want to give up the easy basket but rather says try and get 2 from the line.

Great points 75, I was driving up 95 and listening to the radio call the entire Sacred Heart game. In garbage time Brandon Tierney was really honing in on Bryan's one dimensional aspects offensively. In the postgame interview with Mitch he asked him if the staff emphasizes adding some versatility to his skill set. Mitch said that they are working with him everyday in practice to make sure that he is dribble driving and creating for himself rather than spot shoot.

Marillac, I agree with you. He's Chris' first guy off the bench more often than not. In Big East play he'll be relied on heavily, Greg will have to earn his time all over again and I don't expect GW to get more than 10 minutes in Newark, too much at stake.

Big East play:

Keita matches up with opposing bigs off the bench. Starts when height is a factor.

Bryan/Mikey- 15 minutes each, +/- depending on their influence that night.

GW- Maturation process, minutes will increase if he keeps his turnovers low, plays hounding D, and keeps taking strides offensively.

I don’t hate Trimble but he is playing poorly and giving us next to nothing other than a body. If his shot isn’t falling (so far over 100 attempts and a 30% 3pt shooter) then he needs to figure out a way to contribute. Not turning the ball over is nice but  he doesn’t ever make plays happen. The next time he goes by someone will be his first time, that’s not an exaggeration.

Trimble has a disconnect in his game right now. His lack of a handle in the half court takes away his vertical and athletic. But he can shoot and he is always guarded. It helps the spacing. He is also proven. We can put him in tight spots like Duke and Nova and he won't cost us the game. That is very valuable.

When teams try to go zone...hello Trimble. Set up deep and let's go to work. Ask Marquette.

He is also proven.

..that he’s not one of the 5 best shooters on the team.

..that he’s not one of the 5 best shooters on the team.

When teams try to go zone...hello Trimble. Set up deep and let's go to work. Ask Marquette.

The fact that you can only ask one team out of the 30 plus teams that has faced him tells you all you need to know.

On Defense  Brian is a tough SOB as when he fouls he gets his money's worth against bigger players.  It is like he doesn't want to give up the easy basket but rather says try and get 2 from the line.

That’s a good point. I’ve noticed it, too. We have too many players who take it easy on defense as a matter of habit. Trimble isn’t quick enough to play great d, but playing hard d is about effort and the kid plays hard.

No need to worry about it as talent evaluation is clearly a strength of our fine staff.  This was obvious right from the jump when Durand Johnson and Ron Mvouika were identified as the cornerstones of the offense.

The current starting lineup is the best five and some combination of Dixon, Trimble and Williams is appropriate for off the bench and Mullin/St. Jean are splitting the minutes perfectly.

This may appear simple but it's something Norm struggled with always and Hollywood struggled with sporadically.

No need to worry about it as talent evaluation is clearly a strength of our fine staff.  This was obvious right from the jump when Durand Johnson and Ron Mvouika were identified as the cornerstones of the offense.

The current starting lineup is the best five and some combination of Dixon, Trimble and Williams is appropriate for off the bench and Mullin/St. Jean are splitting the minutes perfectly.

This may appear simple but it's something Norm struggled with always and Hollywood struggled with sporadically.

Lavin was criticized for not figuring out what his line up and bench should be by the BE season. Rightfully so. But before the BE season started, things looked pretty promising. We couldn’t really see how lost he was as a coach after going toe to toe with a great SU team at MSG and beating several mid and high major teams. Once the BE started, he began guessing at different line ups from game to game.

Today, it may appear simple now but that’s mainly because there are so few options outside of what we see. What else would Mullin do other than to bring in Dixon, Trimble and Williams? It’s completely obvious that Earlington and Roberts are inexperienced not just at the D1 level but in the game itself.

Lavin was criticized for not figuring out what his line up and bench should be by the BE season. Rightfully so. But before the BE season started, things looked pretty promising. We couldn’t really see how lost he was as a coach after going toe to toe with a great SU team at MSG and beating several mid and high major teams. Once the BE started, he began guessing at different line ups from game to game.

Today, it may appear simple now but that’s mainly because there are so few options outside of what we see. What else would Mullin do other than to bring in Dixon, Trimble and Williams? It’s completely obvious that Earlington and Roberts are inexperienced not just at the D1 level but in the game itself.

Sure but it’s more than just who you’re playing, what Mullin has done well is how the minute breakdown is distributed, putting guys in positions to succeed by maximizing their skill set.

This is self-evident of course.