Steve Taylor needs to play more

I know he's just a freshman and can get lost on defense on occasion, but I think he's shown that he can be productive when given the opportunity. He rebounds and more importantly, he can make a shot (which this team struggles to do). He's a little raw, but only going to ge better with actual game experience.

His minutes should come at the expense of Juan Anderson. While Juan is a high energy player and rebounds relatively well, all I've seen from him this year is a high propensity to miss open shots and make fouls. I think Taylor and Wilson should split the minutes at the 4 position with Anderson getting spot minutes at the 3 and 4.

Taylor was pulled in the second half after giving up a poor, weak-side offensive rebound and put back. Offensively I *really* like what I see from him. However he has to give a little better effort on the defensive side.

Juan played 2 more minutes than Steve, had 3 more rebounds and two more assists. Juan is active and during the opening part of the game, his offensive rebounding was important.

I like Steve, but I also like Juan and see no need to denigrate him.

What, though, in Jamil's play of late makes you more comfortable with Jamil than Juan?

Competition is good. Let all three work in practice and earn their minutes. An entitled player in time becomes a lazy player.

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Originally Posted by MUMac

Juan played 2 more minutes than Steve, had 3 more rebounds and two more assists. Juan is active and during the opening part of the game, his offensive rebounding was important.

I like Steve, but I also like Juan and see no need to denigrate him.

What, though, in Jamil's play of late makes you more comfortable with Jamil than Juan?

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Jamil played pretty decent in the second half and overtime....I think he is a better defender than Juan is too.

Committed two silly fouls in the 2nd half. A horrible turn over with a weak pass on the perimiter at a very key moment. Played some weak defense, admittedly after he had 4 fouls, specifically not contesting a shot in the lane by Boatwright. His defense was spotty all night. In OT, he played well. Other than that, I wonder what game you actually watched.

I don't Mac. I just think he was a better option than Juan and showed that in overtime. Juan offensively was decent in the second half, but his defense still isn't anything to write home about.

Neither is Jamil's, quite frankly. Some boneheaded fouls on both sides of the ball for him.

Like I said, I like Jamil. I also like Juan. Both have weaknesses and the poster whom I responded to denigrated Juan without Jamil. Both have been inconsistent at best. Jamil is a better offensive player - sometimes.

Taylor needs to play...period.

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Originally Posted by Nukem2

Taylor needs to play...period.

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Autry's comments at the end of the game were telling. Steve was the only one he mentioned by name and said something to the affect of "I know he wants to play 40 minutes a night, but the minutes he did give us were very important". There were some TJ Taylor like tweets from Steve over the break, but it seems like he's in a better place now from what he shows publicly.

He's a Mac Irvin guy, so I was a little worried given what our last Mac Irvin freshman did during his freshman winter break.

Taylor is much more accomplished offensively than I thought he would be. He is a long and imposing player. I think he continues to earn more and more minutes - especially as Jamil and Juan struggle and experience foul trouble, from time to time. The winter break, with the amount of time the coaches can give to players, will be huge in his development and playing time.

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Originally Posted by MUMac

Taylor is much more accomplished offensively than I thought he would be. He is a long and imposing player. I think he continues to earn more and more minutes - especially as Jamil and Juan struggle and experience foul trouble, from time to time. The winter break, with the amount of time the coaches can give to players, will be huge in his development and playing time.

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How much extra time is allowed during the winter break?

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Originally Posted by MUMac

Neither is Jamil's, quite frankly. Some boneheaded fouls on both sides of the ball for him.

Like I said, I like Jamil. I also like Juan. Both have weaknesses and the poster whom I responded to denigrated Juan without Jamil. Both have been inconsistent at best. Jamil is a better offensive player - sometimes.

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A fair point. Jamil hasn't played well of late as has been terribly inconsistent all year, but he has also had some very good games (especially in Maui) and is a much bigger threat to score than Juan. Juan hasn't shown us much offensively all year aside from a knack for getting rebounds. In a nutshell, Jamil has more potential to score, is bigger than Juan and is at least equal defensively.

I think most would admit that if you took away names and looked strictly at production for the minutes they play, we'd see an inverse depth chart then what we've seen to date:

1. S. Taylor
2. J. Anderson
3. J. Wilson

now no one knows what Taylor would do with more minutes...until he's given them

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Originally Posted by TheSultan

How much extra time is allowed during the winter break?

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I do not believe they have time limitations for time with the players as they do during the school year. More so with the individual instruction and the overall contact.

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Originally Posted by bleedbluegold03

I think most would admit that if you took away names and looked strictly at production for the minutes they play, we'd see an inverse depth chart then what we've seen to date:

1. S. Taylor
2. J. Anderson
3. J. Wilson

now no one knows what Taylor would do with more minutes...until he's given them

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Just an FYI...on last night's game.

+/-

Jamil, +6
Taylor, +4
Juan, -6

And Roland Rating...

Jamil, +6
Taylor, +2
Juan, -18

And Trent was better than all three of them.

I know that this isn't the best way to judge individual players, but I do think it gives you some indication of why certain players are used and what they may bring to the court.

It will be interesting to see how these minutes play out going forward. Unfortunately I thought Wilson had this spot locked up, however it appears we have a bit of a log jam here with no great option at the moment. They all seem to have deficiencies in their games at the present time, I think JW has the highest short term upside if he can get it together, but I think long term ST could end up being the guy there. I'm not really sure where JA fits in because he has really come a long way since last year, but still seems to foul a bunch and lack the scoring punch, I think long term he will be a solid back up to ST.

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Originally Posted by MUMac

I do not believe they have time limitations for time with the players as they do during the school year. More so with the individual instruction and the overall contact.

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Correct. There is no time constraint. When I was with them, the women went two a days, and so did Coach Crean's teams.