Remember, Johnson is almost back
- Thread starter Huskyforlife
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Okay, what am I missing here? Johnson got mop up minutes last year on a team with less total talent. You've got a bunch of guys this year who's play has been surprisingly good, earning them more minutes. Why would you guys think he would get significant minutes now? This is an honest question, I'm not trying to be negative, but why do we expect so much more this year?
Huskyforlife
Akokbouk
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Because he literally started the first game. Was also in a close battle with Karaban even if Karaban was going to be the starter.
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This is pretty much all predicated on some of Hurley's comments, and the fact that he started in our first game of the season. Hurley said he and Karaban were competing for the starting spot.
Personally, I'm of the opinion that he will find himself getting 15 mins per game or less, simply because Karaban and Clingan are much better players by my eye. I think he started the first game because Karaban had been hurt and Hurley was using coach-speak to try to motivate the guys.
I can totally understand why folks would expect Johnson to be a 25mpg starting-caliber player though. None of us will really know until game-time.
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I just meant the question of who wouldn’t make that 7-man cut? And I ask because I don’t think you can lay out those 7 guys. 100% I agree that teams in March usually trim a guy or two from the rotation, but not every team does that. Teams usually stick with their best 5 or 6 guys in the final 5-10 minutes of a game, but this roster is wild.
To me, of the guys playing meaningful minutes right now, I could see Joeys time being cut slightly to a few minutes to see if he can just crush 2-3 3s in a minute, maybe Alleyne doesn’t play much if Newton is cooking and no foul trouble, but I think Samson will be 100% in the rotation come March.
I would put hard money down that barring injuries, Newton, Diarra, Hawkins, Jackson, Karaban, Johnson, Sanogo and Clingan will be in that tourney rotation, and Joey/Alleyne will still have value to bring.
What we’ve seen so far is a very high ceiling in our level of play on defense and moving the ball on O regardless of who is in the game. If that continues and no one fades as the season goes on, I think Hurley still uses everyone so he can have guys giving 100% on defense and just flat out run some other teams out of the gym in the 2nd half, even if they’re hitting an abnormal amount of 3s against us
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I think who starts the first game is totally overrated. Starting spots for the first few games usually default to the guy that was there last year until the new guys earn it generally. The new guys have certainly earned their minutes.
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Highly doubt this.
With Jackson back in the starting lineup a backup four is certainly needed.
Huskyforlife
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This. They targeted Alex with Boone, Samson should in theory be a tougher matchup for big 4s.
HuskylnSC
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Or Karaban. A team with two skilled bigs may be difficult unless Samson is able to assert himself into the mix
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KembaStepback
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The point about mop up minutes on a less talented team is kind of irrelevant. He was young and they were deep at the 4. Also, kids improve. He's clearly athletic and will be an added presence on D. Not sure what he can bring on O but anything is a bonus.
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I’m a little confused about the Karaban bashing last night by so many? He battled hard, kept his spot and they made a couple jump hooks. Thought he was fine, could’ve used a couple less minutes no doubt. But what has anyone seen that makes them believe SJ will be the answer? Because he’s 6’10” automatically ? I mean he was basically non existent last year on that end and the one game this year wasn’t an impressive improvement.
Alex was fine, there were a few others who were a lot worst defending their men than AK.
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Karaban is a star. BUT last night was a game Samson Johnson would’ve helped greatly.
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No hate on my end, I even said I’m a fan. Last night OK ST was able to get off quality shots on him because they had size advantage. Couple that with the fact that he played a lot of minutes makes me think Johnson could have helped. Shouldn’t be a negative for Karaban that I think Johnson can help the team, that is why he was recruited. It’s not so much what I’ve seen from Johnson, it’s what I’ve read from coaches and experts, I expect him to bust out at some point.
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Not speaking for others but my opinion is that having someone Dan Hurley thinks was even competing with AK for PT at the beginning of the year shows he has some potential. Doesn't matter if Johnson would have started over AK (with both healthy), Hurley fully expected Johnson to share time at the four with AK.
AK has been fantastic all season, even last night, but he needs more rest than he's getting. He should not be playing almost the whole game like he has the past two games.
With Jackson starting, the substitution patterns get a bit whacky with no one on the bench to really sub for AK. In the PKI, Jackson could come in for any of the 1-4 positions, now there really isn't anyone. Even if Johnson can only provide 5-8 minutes to give AK rest and is just an athletic big, he would help immensely to simply keep AK fresh.
That said, I think Johnson will come back and get at least 12 a game eventually. Although it was against Stonehill, Johnson had a pretty solid game before his injury.
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Thank for this post.
I don't predict how Samson will fit in or perform, and make no judgment up or down on your comment, but I definitely know that I saw nothing to commend in early freshman year Lamb and was completely wrong. I appreciate your raising an example I can relate to.
In the preseason intrasquad scrimmage at Gampel, Johnson played well, and he attracted by far the greatest media interview attention afterward.
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I agree that this is what we have seen. I truly don't know whether starting would reveal yet another unexpected impact or not.
I'm in support of however it works best, and I'm very happy to think there's room to explore more and find out.
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MAYBE would have. We don't know. But that's no criticism of your comment.
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Alex Karaban has definitely earned his starting spot. Yeah he got pushed around last night but we can't forget Alabama where he more than held his own even though he was outmatched physically
When he's fully healthy, Samson will get A LOT of minutes. Especially in situational matchups like last night. But Karaban has outperformed nearly all expectations so far and that spot is his until Samson proves otherwise.
Not a knock on Samson at all. I'm very high on him and he will be a great piece for us this year when he's back. But 1 bad game where we still won by double digits shouldn't change anything
When he's fully healthy, Samson will get A LOT of minutes. Especially in situational matchups like last night. But Karaban has outperformed nearly all expectations so far and that spot is his until Samson proves otherwise.
Not a knock on Samson at all. I'm very high on him and he will be a great piece for us this year when he's back. But 1 bad game where we still won by double digits shouldn't change anything
Thats because he's playing 37+ minutes a game. Plenty of available minute for Johnson as long as he earns them.
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25 for Karaban and 15 for Johnson seems ideal. Similar to what we're doing with Sanogo and Clingan.
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So many of the Johnson playing time posts in this thread ignore that Hurley's stated lineup to try is Karaban/Johnson/ AND a center. If that lineup works, we will see a lot of it during games with a few less minutes from guards. It is not just a Johnson or Karaban playing time allocation at the 4.
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It‘s such a tricky injury. He’s still in the boot to keep his foot protected, and it’s not a thing you can play through pain with and it won’t matter. If he comes back too soon, it’s a setback.
(but remember- Dan never gives info to the local guys or about injuries. would be nice if that narrative could end)
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BGesus4
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Me likey
Maybe he’s just been waiting for some primo injury info to hand deliver to a local guy. He’s playing 3D chess out here.
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