Starting Lineup/Pikell Substitutions

richthedentist

All-American
Aug 2, 2001
11,033
8,599
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I know that Pikell fell in love with the new starting lineup of Myles, RHJ, Mulcahy, Caleb and Geo during the winning streak but JY needs to be in the starting lineup for Mulcahy. contrary to fact I think Paul is one of the smartest players on the team and hustles like no one else but the fact is there are games where he is just overmatched and last night was a perfect example. On offense he is a total nonfactor as the only shot he even got off last night was his fast break layup; There are going to be games where he will do better offensively as Michigan is by far the most athletic team in the big; Defense he tends to help alot which at many times is good but last night again he was guarding Wagner in the first half and you cannot leave him which he did and Wagner torched him for 14 points in the first half including the bucket at the end of the first half when Cliff made the great block only to see the ball go right to Wagner who was wide open because Paul left him to try and help out which was big at the time;
Last night you saw how JY needed to be on Mike Smith from the get go and of course its night and day on the offensive end and I know we have the good JY and sometimes the TO JY but we need him in there

Substitutions: I am sorry but Pikell has no sense of how and when to substitute during the winning streak he actually kept the starting lineup in for the first 6-7 minutes of the game; Now he is back to his a the first time out boom I am substituting no matter what!!
I love Montez as a person who hustles and plays good defense but my god he cannot see the court at this point for more than 6-7 minutes a game; twice last night he had fast breaks a 2 on 1 and a 3 on 2 and he insists on taking it to the hole with guys wide open and we all know the result and his other shot was a totally forced layup; and even when he does get fouled he shoots only 50% from the line; I know he is frustrated because he has not been able to score and his minutes have been cut down but when he continues to play like this he needs to sit
Cliff while he has definitely improved and had one of his better games last night he still in no way should be in there for that many minutes as in the first half he got torched 3 straight times while helping and leaving his man wide open for dunks; Myles was not in foul trouble last night and he needs to play 32 minutes not 24 minutes because offensively Cliff is just not ready and is absolutely no threat other than the occasional alley oop dunk
Pikell last night I know Geo and RHJ didn't shoot it well but we held Michigan without a field goal for I think 6 minutes in the second half and didn't even cut the lead because there was absolutely no one who could score and to keep them on the bench from like the 12 to 6 minute mark and I think Myles also was a horrible coaching decision
One of the reasons JY has so many turnovers now is when he plays with Montez, Paul and Cliff unfortunately there are 3 guys who are nonfactors on offense and he has to force it many times because as we have seen there is too much dribbling and then we are forced to try and make a move or shot with almost no time on the clock
So as far as the substitution pattern Pikell needs to mix in the subs with the starters not go to that wholesale change during the game
 
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jrm75

Senior
Oct 20, 2005
388
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I rarely criticize Coach, but he coached a horrible game last night in terms of subbing. He stuck with his normal rotation in the second half and kept Myles, Geo and RHJ out when the game was slipping away at midpoint. Myles only had one foul - with that luxury, you keep him in the game as long as possible and try to make up the deficit. Don't wait til 6 minutes or so when it's probably to late to make a comeback (which it was). Also, too few scoring options without Geo and Ron. So we hold Michigan without any baskets for a long stretch and can't take advantage of it. I'm not saying we would have won (I think Michigan is really good and is going to go far in the NCAAs), but Coach really blew it.
 
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RUsojo

Heisman
Dec 17, 2010
29,439
28,588
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Paul leads the team in tov% because he’s sloppy and doesn’t shoot. If he doesn’t shoot we just can’t have him play 28 minutes every night.

When our current starting guards are playing 90 minutes, one of them in Paul doesn’t shoot and turns the ball over, the other is our worst rotation efg%, and the other is Geo who is 5th worst efg% who both take the most shots on the team we will never ever fix the offense. The shots will never just start to go in Pike...
 

Greene Rice FIG

Heisman
Dec 30, 2005
40,437
23,613
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The game slipped away because of Geo and Ron.

no one likes sub patterns when we lose.

I actually like the sub patterns and have been calling for us to make them at the 1st media TO. Guys need to play hard and stay fresh. Only way to accomplish that is to get a few guys out early.
 

ancienthooper

All-Conference
Jan 16, 2019
1,190
2,810
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"I am sorry but Pikell has no sense of how and when to substitute." Yeah, the guy has risen to a P5 coach and resurrected one of the worst programs in the country, but has no idea how to rotate a lineup. Thankfully, we have posters with superior resumes who can provide the much-needed guidance.
 
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Pancho1939_rivals

All-Conference
Jun 26, 2012
1,887
2,907
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I rarely criticize Coach, but he coached a horrible game last night in terms of subbing. He stuck with his normal rotation in the second half and kept Myles, Geo and RHJ out when the game was slipping away at midpoint. Myles only had one foul - with that luxury, you keep him in the game as long as possible and try to make up the deficit. Don't wait til 6 minutes or so when it's probably to late to make a comeback (which it was). Also, too few scoring options without Geo and Ron. So we hold Michigan without any baskets for a long stretch and can't take advantage of it. I'm not saying we would have won (I think Michigan is really good and is going to go far in the NCAAs), but Coach really blew it.

Go rewatch the game. Ron and Geo were awful. they didnt have a single field goal the entire second half. Ron had two fouls shots in the second half. You want more offense yet at the same time want the guys who cant score in the game. what is even worse is Ron didnt score after the 6 minute mark in the first half and geo didnt score since the 5 minute mark in the first half... they were a combined 0-11 in the last 25 minutes of the game.

If anything the game started slipping away when geo and ron decided to miss every shot moving forward. That means in 62 combined total minutes they didnt score in 50 of them.
 

jrm75

Senior
Oct 20, 2005
388
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"The guys who can't score" - what kind of nonsense is that? They've shown throughout their careers that they can score. Harper had a very good first half and Baker has to shoot more.