Vital still deserves to start?

[amsterdamjade]

Vital was out of control and took bad shots most of the game. He really needs to find his role on this team. He is forcing it way to much. I don't think he should be in the starting lineup anymore. He does play hard and plays good D, but does his bad outweigh his good? UConn as a team shot really well beyond the arc tonight. Without Vital they were like 11 for 19. Hopefully Wilson comes back real soon. When he does I think CV's min go down alot.

 

[Storrs South]

Vital is the most effective rebounder on a team that needs help rebounding. Hurley will correct the shot selection. He did force a lot tonight but there were a couple that he should have just knocked down and was off tonight.

 

[smoothcriminal]

I think his good - toughness, D, rebounding, scoring ability within three point line - unquestionably outweighs his bad. Smith is great spark and poise off the bench.

 

[KingAG]

Vital was out of control and took bad shots most of the game. He really needs to find his role on this team. He is forcing it way to much. I don't think he should be in the starting lineup anymore. He does play hard and plays good D, but does his bad outweigh his good? UConn as a team shot really well beyond the arc tonight. Without Vital they were like 11 for 19. Hopefully Wilson comes back real soon. When he does I think CV's min go down alot.

We desperately need his rebounding in the starting line up. If he’s taken out of the starting 5 it won’t be for Tarin. It’d be for a big

 

[CL82]

... and he had some good assists. CV is a volume shooter he needs a lot of shots to get into rhythm.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Start Brendan Adams if Vital can't figure it out next game.

 

[jojipoji]

I can see why hurley keeps playing him. If he doesn’t play vital many minutes he will lose him for good. You bench him, he will probably transfer or quit on the team. I think he is trying to change him the only way he can and that’s by letting vital make mistakes and show him that Vital’s way won’t work. Eventually his teammates will say something and vital will hopefully shape up. I bet if he pulls this on Syracuse he will play a lot less minutes...

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

Taking bad shots has continued to be an issue for CV.. a lot of bonehead moments. But his defense and rebounding have been good. I'm happy with him but he really needs to work on his decision making, if he addresses that he'll be a very important piece to this team. I will say this though - I think this team would be better off with (when he returns) Sid taking some of his minutes.

 

[AfgHusky15]

We desperately need his rebounding in the starting line up. If he’s taken out of the starting 5 it won’t be for Tarin. It’d be for a big

Tarin had 5 rebounds in 19 minutes of play. Taring is also a really good at rebounding for a guard...

 

[ASweet3781]

Do people realize that Tarin's 20 points count whether he starts or not?

I always find this to be such a bizarre thing to focus on.

We giving up on Vital after 2 games? Come on.

 

[Robertelamin]

Scoring isn’t nearly the problem it was last year so he doesn’t need to force it so much when he is having a poor shooting night.

 

[smoothcriminal]

Hurley in press conference implied smith is coming off bench because he’s been limited in practice due to quad... may change in near future

 

[KingAG]

Tarin is also thrives in his role. He thrives as a 6th man. Don’t fix what isn’t broke

 

[pj]

Vital might be the 5th best guard before long. We'll see.

 

[noeynox]

Poor shot selection, but he brings hustle, toughness on defense and rebounds well. He's a take the good with the bad type of player.

 

[Waquoit]

Vital looks like he's on a different page than the rest of the team.

 

[superjohn]

His play isn't worthy of it after these first two games but he will be a starter. Tarin likes coming off the bench and will play just as much and likely more than Christian. There is a decent chance Vital is the type to shut down or even become a malcontent if he doesn't get the starting nod. Hurley knows he has to coach him out of his terrible habits but he can't bury him on the bench.

 

[superjohn]

Poor shot selection, but he brings hustle, toughness on defense and rebounds well. He's a take the good with the bad type of player.

He desperately needs to clean up this stuff though, it's okay against these type of teams but he makes the kind of boneheaded plays that can kill momentum/swing momentum and be the difference between a win or a loss against a good team.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Vital is a poor man’s diet Russel Westbrook. He doesn’t need fewer minutes; just coaching in better use of said minutes

 

[gtcam]

CV couldn't buy a basket - yeah he forced some shots but he has missed shots he usually makes.
He will come around and if not, Dan Hurley will act accordingly
The kid rebounds, plays good D and hustles
It's his shot that is off and shooters go through these phases
Two games in - not a time to worry

 

[DonaldDraper]

I always liked Calhoun’s strategy where you only switch a starting lineup after a loss. Even if the lineup is a little odd and a starter doesn’t play as much as a bench player, wait for the loss to make any changes. I also think his errors are mental with the shot selection. If he can learn to calm the urge to shoot/force he’s got nothing to worry about. If he can’t learn and he is too impulsive the starting role is a good lever to teach him that.

 

[noeynox]

He desperately needs to clean up this stuff though, it's okay against these type of teams but he makes the kind of boneheaded plays that can kill momentum/swing momentum and be the difference between a win or a loss against a good team.

I feel like he is at his worst when he tries to push the ball in transition as a ball handler. He had one nice dish to Smith for a layup, but usually he just looks out of control. Got a feeling his defense will be a factor against Cuse. Is he most likely to match up against Brisset?

 

[8893]

I can see why hurley keeps playing him. If he doesn’t play vital many minutes he will lose him for good. You bench him, he will probably transfer or quit on the team. I think he is trying to change him the only way he can and that’s by letting vital make mistakes and show him that Vital’s way won’t work. Eventually his teammates will say something and vital will hopefully shape up. I bet if he pulls this on Syracuse he will play a lot less minutes...

I agree and said similar in the chat, i.e., Hurley will start him, at least while Sid is out, to reward his passion and because he knows he will be a problem headcase if he doesn’t buy in and become an integral part of the team.

The shot selection and judgment kills me though.

 

[superjohn]

CV couldn't buy a basket - yeah he forced some shots but he has missed shots he usually makes.
He will come around and if not, Dan Hurley will act accordingly
The kid rebounds, plays good D and hustles
It's his shot that is off and shooters go through these phases
Two games in - not a time to worry

It certainly isn't just about missing shots, it's judgement. His shot selection and overall judgement has been awful. The effort is always there and he rebounds but his bad shots and turnovers lead to quick buckets the other way. As pointed out, he's not on the same page as the rest of the team.

 

[Kenny11]

Hurley loves Vital. There were a couple times where he was about to pull him but then didn’t. He loves the hustle and rebounding. He’s a better rebounder than anyone else we have.

Vital had a crappy game. He was out of control on offense. He’s going to be a major part of our success this year so hopefully he calms down.

 

[polycom]

A good beat writer would figure out a way to ask this question...

 

[Stainmaster]

Hurley knows he has options when Vital isn't feeling it. This was a very poor performance on his part, but any consequences he faces will be less than permanent. Others may get more minutes going forward, and if and when they have their own rough stretches, I don't think Hurley will hesitate to throw CV back out there.

 

[the Q]

A good beat writer would figure out a way to ask this question...

Some guy might figure it out...

 

[tuvent08]

Love the rebounding and hustle, but he had almost half of the team's turnovers and he just can't be the guy taking the most shots on the team. His offensive game is just not good enough to be a volume scorer on a good team.

 

[HooperScooper]

Vital wasn't held accountable/coached well the last 2 years and I think that has stunted his growth as a player. Bad habits are hard to break. But he does bring it every game so he'll play and hopefully learn to break those bad habits on the fly.