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Message: [QUOTE="JoePgh, post: 4518983, member: 1131"] I think Geno's postgame comments after the Tennessee game are relevant here. What he said was roughly as follows: "Our starters got tired in the second quarter, and TN took advantage. In normal conditions, as coach you would substitute in some bench players so that the starters could get some rest. But we can't do that now with our injuries. So we didn't start playing well again until the third quarter, after the starters got rest at halftime." When he had Azzi and Caroline available on the bench, they got in quickly and played a lot of minutes. But clearly Patterson / DeBerry / Bettencourt are not at the same level as Azzi and Caroline, so he doesn't think he can use them in a high-stakes situation. That is not necessarily a permanent condition for them (Nika didn't get too many minutes as a freshman and neither did Aubrey), but it is true as of now. I am also disappointed with Patterson's performance at this point in the season. (Who was the poster who thought she would be the top performer on the team by now?) I attribute it to poor competition (and possibly poor coaching) in high school, immaturity, and her own concussion issue a few weeks ago. It's still possible that she will blossom before the tournament seasons begin. There is even a chance that will happen for Amari, but the odds are against it. [USER=417]@cabbie191[/USER] , you're not wrong. Geno did attribute the second-quarter swoon against TN to fatigue, but added that he would normally bring in bench players, but couldn't because of injuries. He did give Patterson some minutes in the second quarter (without much tangible contribution from her), but basically he doesn't have confidence in the healthy players on his bench right now. As always, they have to demonstrate in practice that they are ready for the minutes before they get minutes in a close and critical game. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach