Minutes Played in OK St. game - welcome to reality

[superjohn]

Yes, you are right, they were. What happens with most teams though, is that the bench is very deep in the beginning of the year, and then people prove themselves, and the stars earn their minutes, and as you get to crunch time the bench gets shorter. Sanogo and Hawkins are stars, stars play as much as you need them to. This team is so deep and talented that we haven't needed them to... yet.

We're not like most teams, we're the deepest team in the country and the deepest team I've seen at UConn with quality depth.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Even Hurley said he didn't like how he used the minutes. He said he didn't play Joey enough. Seven is not enough for Clingan even with Adama was playing out of his mind. Alex was toast out there. 37 was way to many for him. Diarra probably needed more minutes as well when OSU started penetrating in the second half.

I think this was a game where as many have asked for DH to put AS and DC on the floor together. This was something that he couldve done and possibly made a difference with the rebounding.

 

[Waquoit]

I think this was to test the starting lineup to get them to almost play a full 40. They've only been playing 20-28 mpg so far.

I can buy this. Especially after that plane ride with Geno.

 

[nomar]

I know we're all been loving how deep the team is, and loving all the contributions from everyone, but I think the minutes guys got last night will be very similar to where things wind up settling in during COMPETITIVE games. The only thing that I think was a little out of whack was Karaban getting 37 minutes. That will be a rarity. I actually think it's important for certain guys (especially someone like Hawkins) to have games where they get a lot of minutes to remind them that conditioning is important, and they may be called upon to play 40 minutes if it's needed.

Certain things will vary from night to night based on who's hot, and people getting in foul trouble, but the stars play more minutes in big games.


View attachment 81412

Clingan will get more minutes against good teams, both because of matchups and because Sanogo will get into foul trouble.

 

[CL82]

What about springs

Don’t sleep on him

 

[giddyup]

Don’t sleep on him

you can be rest assured about that

 

[CL82]

It’s been several years. He should be getting run in these games. Last night would’ve been a nice way to help out Karaban

Maybe, but I think we can feel confident that we aren’t going to see him in close games. I’m glad to see he’s getting some burn and is doing reasonably well with it and I think he will play in some Big East games but I don’t expect to see him in games for which the outcome is uncertain.

 

[fgbrault]

People keep misinterpreting depth. It doesn't have to strictly mean going 10 deep every night.

It can be different guys stepping up on a given night. They've had a different leading scorer the last 4 or 5 games. The minutes have been far from consistent for each guy all while racking up 3 Q1 wins and 1 Q2 win.

That's depth. It's also not an endorsement of how guys were allocated minutes last night but pulling 1 example as the "ah-ha" moment when the prior 8 showed something totally different is non-sensical.

A great point! Among other things, the talents of the opposition can dictate the minutes each player to some extent, including who starts. It is nice that we do not have a 6th man, but a 6th, 7th, 8th, etc.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Yes, you are right, they were. What happens with most teams though, is that the bench is very deep in the beginning of the year, and then people prove themselves, and the stars earn their minutes, and as you get to crunch time the bench gets shorter. Sanogo and Hawkins are stars, stars play as much as you need them to. This team is so deep and talented that we haven't needed them to... yet.

I find it highly unlikely that DC will average under 10 minutes/game.

 

[inWV]

Karaban is a player that will be hard to sit, as he always seems to be around the ball and has a nice perimeter shot. He does a little bit of everything.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Matchups dictate minutes.

 

[UconnU]

Joey c needs more minutes.

Depends on the team were playing. He can’t defend the pnr.

 

[Chin Diesel]

With the current group of healthy players, Allleyne has worked himself to #9 out of a group of 9. His minutes are first to be cut with a healthy Jackson and Hawkins. Diarra is #8 and his inability to shoot 3's, score at the rim or make FT's will consistently limit his minutes.

Joey C is first guard off the bench and Donovan is the only big off the bench until Johnson is healthy.

Once again, as a yearly tradition, all the gnashing over minutes and incredible depth talked about in pre-season has narrowed down to a 7-9 man rotation with the last two getting spot minutes.

 

[AdamaNation]

Not bad insurance policies

 

[UCTitleTown]

Karaban won't be playing 37 minutes if he doesn't work on his defense. Very inconsistent. He looked lost at times.

 

[UCFan1513]

I disagree.

Hawkins admitted he was gassed. Hurley said that Sanogo's tank was empty in the 2nd half, and Karaban was dragging based on the box score and even though he was here last Spring, he is still a freshman with potentially 30+ games remaining (22RS, 3BE, & Hopefully 6 NCAA).

Hurley also said that Calcaterra has earned more minutes than he got yesterday. Those nine guys will continue to play, but the minutes will probably be distributed differently. Also did you know that Samson Johnson isn't playing right now?

Interesting to think that, had we not won the game, it probably wouldn’t have been due to X’s and O’s whatsoever, but due to running players into the ground - night and day difference between first half play and energy levels and second half. Most of the knock on Hurley has been game-planning and X’s and O’s which certainly has been much improved. He obviously noticed he accidentally ran players too hard, which is a much easier fix than having to fix the entire offensive and defensive scheme

 

[tennmike]

Karaban won't be playing 37 minutes if he doesn't work on his defense. Very inconsistent. He looked lost at times.

Not lost, but overmatched physically at times.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Depth doesn't mean that 9 guys will be playing 15+ minutes every game.

It means that you have the luxury of riding the hot hand (or benching the cold one) or giving guys more or fewer minutes depending on matchups.

 

[jake14mw]

I find it highly unlikely that DC will average under 10 minutes/game.

He won't AVERAGE under 10 minutes per game. There will be games that aren't close where he will get more minutes. There will be games where Sanogo has foul trouble. There will be games where Sanogo isn't playing well. But when Sanogo is on his game and it's close, I expect him to play 30-34 minutes.

 

[Rico444]

Clingan will get more minutes against good teams, both because of matchups and because Sanogo will get into foul trouble.

He definitely will. I don't think Hurley wants to risk playing them together because of the risk of getting both into foul trouble. As it was, Clingan committed 2 fouls in 7 minutes last night, so it could have put the team in a tough spot if they both played at the same time and got into foul trouble. Maybe he'll be more willing to do it when Samson is back, because he can absolutely fill in at the 5 in a pinch.

 

[Kitaman]

Shouldn't the assistants be helping Hurley here during games?

I would expect them to spot fatigue, assist in managing minutes and notifying Hurley of certain players during games.

 

[ctchamps]

After the first eight games I can't see any reason in the way Hurley managed the minutes in this game unless he was concerned that the hype was causing certain players to get ahead of themselves. And I struggle to buy into this theory.

This was coaching malfeasance plain and simple. It's one thing to overplay Cole or Sonogo last season when you don't have viable back ups. But that's not the case this year. Even Karaban could have been rested by playing both Sanogo and Clingan together for 3-5 minutes and moving Andre to the 4 for similar short minutes.

The way this team played in the second half makes a strong case why Hurley should not resort to the OP's contention. Or at least hold off on that decision until a series of games indicates a change is necessary.

 

[mauconnfan]

Clingan will get more minutes against good teams, both because of matchups and because Sanogo will get into foul trouble.

DC didn’t have his best game but as awful as Sanogo was in the 2nd half he should’ve seen more minutes than he did!

 

[SaeHusky]

When everyone is healthy the 3 guys who will be playing significant minutes off the bench will be Joey, Samson, and DC. 8 has always been the perfect #. Alleyne and Diarra will get spot minutes based on foul trouble and matchups. Alleyne is a better defender than Joey but needs to find his shooting stroke to get back into the top 8

 

[jake14mw]

How much each of us think certain guys will play is certainly up for debate. My main point was that I believe that in competitive games, the minutes will be closer to the OK St minutes than the averages so far. There's no way in a closer game that Sanogo is only playing 25 minutes unless he has foul trouble. There is no way Hawkins is only playing 22 minutes. Clingan isn't gonna get 15, and Joey C., Alleyne and Diarra aren't getting 20 minutes. Starters minutes always go up as the season goes on. I do agree though, this is not a normal team. The second 5 are so good that they may grab more minutes than is the norm.

And I hope I'm wrong about Johnson. I hope he comes back and we wind up in a situation where he steals minutes from Karaban or somebody else because he's so good.

OK ST game: