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Message: [QUOTE="champs99and04, post: 2014377, member: 488"] I absolutely think the OP's theory has merit. Rotations have always been something I've quibbled with in regards to KO, at least over the last couple seasons. If one were to be critical of the 2013-14 team, they could posit that it took him too long to unleash the lineups with Giffey at center, when it had worked so well the year prior (due to necessity). For me, though, it started in 2014-15. I disagree slightly with the OP - I thought we were playing decent basketball by March when injuries had forced his hand. Couple that season with 2013 (when we had no scholarships) and this recent stretch (when we've had seven players) and it's fair to both compliment KO for doing his best work under duress while also wondering if it also might work in his favor. Last season, he would take players out of the game and seem to forget that they were there. He had a maddening tendency of putting all of his fringe rotation players on the court at one time - the Cassell's, the Nolan's, even Enoch/Facey/Gibbs at times - and opening up an insurmountable rift as his best players look on. His insistence on strictly optimizing a players' minutes based on foul trouble (hey, our point guard picked up two fouls, we should take him out even though it will torpedo our chances of winning!) is also consistent with the overarching problem: occasionally, playing too many guys. In fairness to him, this has worked in the past - I never would have condoned entrusting Terrence Samuel in 2014, yet the minutes he got throughout the season allowed him to develop to the point where he was a key cog in our run. This season, I was willing to cut back minutes on guys like Facey and Jackson - that ultimately proved untenable because of the injuries, but the point remains that if you cut your rotation too early, you risk compromising development. But one of the reasons I think this board has been a bit melodramatic about our lack of depth is because they have become accustomed to disjointed rotations geared towards player development rather than team cohesiveness. Personally, I want the best guys out there with each other as much as possible. There are plenty of HOF coaches out there who agree with me. Many don't. The value of a depleted roster is that suddenly, opportunity exists for players to log extended minutes and better themselves - both within the team structure and from an individual standpoint - in a way they may not have been able to with a Terry Larrier occupying 25 front court minutes. [/QUOTE]

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