Jalen Leach has been a really key player for the Cats this year, particularly in the three wins against EIU, UNLV and now Illinois. Meanwhile, Jalen Blackmon, the guy who took the big bucks from Miami seems to be a bust. Team has now lost five in a row and he didn't even start today in a must-win home game vs. Clemson. Tallied four points off the bench. I wonder if the booster wants his money back LOL
Cats got the right Jalen
- Thread starter Catreporter
- Start date
It’s very true but we could use him. Initially we thought KJ could be ready to contribute at some level. Then we have Berry being, at best, unreliable. It makes our rotation a bit complicated.
Barnhizer should probably rest 5 minutes more compared to what he’s doing.
Barnhizer should probably rest 5 minutes more compared to what he’s doing.
Yeah, I do have health concerns when both our studs are playing 39-45 minutes a game.
MSU just crushed Nebby and had ten different players with at least 14 minutes on the court.
MSU just crushed Nebby and had ten different players with at least 14 minutes on the court.
Four points off the bench? He’d be taking minutes from the guy who started and had 4 fouls 0 points last night. And he’s not been great the past few games but is shooting over 40% from 3.
I have no idea how much he cost but we could definitely use him and I think it’s premature to call him a bust…
I have no idea how much he cost but we could definitely use him and I think it’s premature to call him a bust…
He has been benched on a team that is having trouble scoring and is mired in a long losing streak. What is your definition of a bust? He rang up some early stats against some cupcakes but except for the Arkansas game where he hit 4 of 7 from 3 (and also had 3 turnovers) his production has steadily declined and supposedly he got a tidy sum to stiff the Wildcats so I would think more would be expected.
If I was Coach, I would do a Ray Meyer and keep those two horses on the court the entire game if it is close. The drop off is astronomical and our Freshman need time to get stronger and accustomed to the speed of the game. They will be fine, but they are not ready. Who else you going to play against a team like Illinois?
We’ve never had the quality depth of MSU and pretty darn sure we never will. Our health risk is higher but it’s either take that risk and win more games, or the opposite.
I agree and I know coach agrees. In context of the thread, I'm happy we have Leach to also score, and if Ty/Mullins can get more consistent in scoring then I think that leads to more opportunities for resting Bardinelli - if they don't have to carry the entire offense the entire game, it's better for everyone but our opponents.
I could be wrong, and I don't think we can know, but I suspect the long, hard minutes per game last year had some contributing impact in the injuries to Ty and Matt, and I just don't want to see something like that happen again to any of our guys for many obvious reasons.
I don't know, I didn't watch the game. Looking at the box score, four of their five starters had less than ten points, and overall the starters had 46 points. The bench put up the other 43. It seems more likely MSU was just better overall, Nebby was overmatched, and MSU players got a lot of rest in over the course of the game. The two stats that jumped out at me beyond the minutes was MSU had 17 turn overs, 20 assists, and 48 rebounds. Nebby only had 8 steals, so those turn overs sound mostly unforced, but Nebby also only shot 18% from three. Dunno if that was bad shooting on open shots or, more likely, MSU defended the arc pretty well.
Last year Boo and Barney played 36 minutes per game, and we were fine. Creighton had Kalkbrenner playing 34 mpg and Trey Alexander & Baylor Scheierman playing 36 mpg. They got to the sweet 16. There have been articles in the past talking about Barney's fanatical commitment to conditioning, so if Mart has picked that up as well, I think they'll be ok.
Between having 9 media timeouts plus 8 team timeouts plus halftime and any stoppages for reviews, there is plenty of time for the guys to recover during games.
Between having 9 media timeouts plus 8 team timeouts plus halftime and any stoppages for reviews, there is plenty of time for the guys to recover during games.
Nick has been quoted about problems due to "stress reactions" due to his practice habits in the past, so he might not be in the same league as Brooks when it comes to conditioning.
He hasn’t been great but it’s the middle of December. Long season.
Berry, for example also got paid to stay and has been even worse. I think we are all hoping he turns it around vs. writing it off.
To be determined.
Blackmon goose-egg against Tennessee tonight and he was the ninth man in. Started the second half and then went to the bench.