Why did we stop from the Platooning?

[LouisvilleBlueCat]

I know that Calipari is still technically substituting amongst 9 players to find the best combination based on match ups etc.

I was initially skeptical of the Platoon system as a gimmick but the more it was applied through the season, I noticed a few things happen -

1) The learning curve seemed a lot smaller with fewer tendencies to learn. EG. Booker/Lyles/Ullis seemed lock step in their predictive passing and in game play action like alley oops etc. Lots of intuitive stuff based on the situation during the game.

2) It allowed us to put the gas pedal ON constantly since each Platoon had a 5 minute short term memory and scoreboard retention was minimized in their minds. Less clock milking, more offensive flow etc.

3) It allowed us to gas out our opponents at the 8 min mark usually for a B+ opponent and closer to 4 mins for the better teams.
I know we kind of did that against ND where we clamped down on them on D and Offense to get the job done. But I wonder what would have happened with a little for Lee and Dakari thrown in the mix.
The obscene amount of timeouts also kind of negates the effect but it still in play against a short bench. Plus more fouls to spread around etc.

Doesn't it seem kind of risky to try new combinations on the floor this late in the season. I know we have won so far, but a loss to ND would have brought up a lot of the above concerns.
And any loss will not afford a learning opportunity at this point.

I trust Cal to pull this off, but I was kind of surprised that we did not stick with the plan that allowed us to get opponents huffed and puffed out a game for the final fatal blow.

 

[MWes11]

At this time of the year, you want to keep the players that are playing the best basketball on the floor. Platooning was good in the beginning/middle of the year because it gave everyone a chance to play. The best players separated themselves from the pack and they will play now.

 

[reignof cats]

I think Cal is playing our best players more now. Matchups, foul trouble, FT shooting may contribute to playing some guys more. GBB

 

[maysvilleky]

Originally posted by LouisvilleBlueCat:
I know that Calipari is still technically substituting amongst 9 players to find the best combination based on match ups etc.

I was initially skeptical of the Platoon system as a gimmick but the more it was applied through the season, I noticed a few things happen -

1) The learning curve seemed a lot smaller with fewer tendencies to learn. EG. Booker/Lyles/Ullis seemed lock step in their predictive passing and in game play action like alley oops etc. Lots of intuitive stuff based on the situation during the game.

2) It allowed us to put the gas pedal ON constantly since each Platoon had a 5 minute short term memory and scoreboard retention was minimized in their minds. Less clock milking, more offensive flow etc.

3) It allowed us to gas out our opponents at the 8 min mark usually for a B+ opponent and closer to 4 mins for the better teams.
I know we kind of did that against ND where we clamped down on them on D and Offense to get the job done. But I wonder what would have happened with a little for Lee and Dakari thrown in the mix.
The obscene amount of timeouts also kind of negates the effect but it still in play against a short bench. Plus more fouls to spread around etc.

Doesn't it seem kind of risky to try new combinations on the floor this late in the season. I know we have won so far, but a loss to ND would have brought up a lot of the above concerns.
And any loss will not afford a learning opportunity at this point.

I trust Cal to pull this off, but I was kind of surprised that we did not stick with the plan that allowed us to get opponents huffed and puffed out a game for the final fatal blow.

IMO...The platoon served its purpose. Cal was able to keep players fresh during the regular season and for the players to show what they were capable of. Now it's time to WIN at all costs. You put your best players out there in the best situations to do whatever is needed to for the W. All the players gained experience during the year so Cal has that luxury should fouls play a factor. I guarantee he mixed up the combinations during practices.

 

[OHIO COLONEL]

I absolutely loved the platoon system. Thought it worked great...wore down opponents, etc.
But now I don't care one iota. Now's the time to just win. Anyway, anyhow.

 

[caneintally]

we platooned the whole WVU game and the whole Hampton game . IN other words we platoon when we are blowing people out but when it is close we have to play who is playing best. But we never have stopped the platooning we have used it 75% of the season and if either of the next 2 games isnt close we will again .

 

[KA4Prez_rivals78700]

Did anyone really believe that when push comes to shove, you're going to limit the likes of KAT and WCS to 20-22 MPG every night intentionally? If that happens, so be it, but you don't stick to a platoon just because. You play to win. Also, I don't think there is any concern that Dakari Johnson or Marcus Lee couldn't play extended minutes if needed. They did it last year after WCS was lost and Randle battled cramps.

 

[DSmith21]

We are still playing 8-9 guys. Its just that Marcus Lee's minutes have dropped due to defensive breakdowns. Hawkins is a significant drop off from our other guards. Wisconsin relies on six players so we should be able to wear them down without platooning.

 

[Hoskins91_rivals]

Cal is doing what we figured he would do from the beginning. The platooning was just a simple way to get everybody playing time. Now that the games matter and we are actually playing decent competition, we are playing the best players.

 

[caneintally]

Originally posted by Hoskins91:

Cal is doing what we figured he would do from the beginning. The platooning was just a simple way to get everybody playing time. Now that the games matter and we are actually playing decent competition, we are playing the best players.

Yes but we still platoon most games . Threads like this can be sorta funny as it is almost like people forget what happened in almost every game this year. WE havent platooned all the way thru in about 8 games this year - ND , Cincy , at UGA , AT LSU , at UF , At Texas A&M , OLe miss and UL . In every other game we have . So we didn't stop platooning , we just have never done it in the 2nd half of close games. WE platooning the first 10 minutes of every single game this season though. If we start out up 24-6 against Wisconsin we platoon the whole game .

 

[LouisvilleBlueCat]

At one point during the season my Crunch Team was

Ullis
Andrew
Booker
Dakari
Willie

That was before KAT stepped up and Dakari regressed.

Also Booker went into a slump and Aaron is still Aaron during the NCAAT with his clutch experience.

I would be curious as the 5 players people think are our true A team regardless of being like for like subsitutable parts of the machine.

 

[TheBigBluePrint]

It all started when Ashley kissed Dickie V. It was almost like from that point on, Cal realized Dickie V. must know more about basketball than him and just stopped.

 

[larry the cable guy]

I liked the platoon but sometimes the whole platoon would get taken out because 1 or 2 guys would come out flat. Cal likes to use the bench as a motivator and it wasn't an ideal situation for guys playing hard to get yanked because some others in their platoon wasn't going all out.

 

[caneintally]

We are at our best when we platoon and that is why it has never gone anywhere and never will . But Cal just can't stop himself from going back to his normal subsitutions if the game is within 5 pts and i can't blame him but i do expect to see the platoon all the way in at least one of these games as i have feeling one of the next 2 games will be a decent blowout ( 15 -20 pt win) and one of the next 2 games will be pretty close ( 5 pt win ) but i have no idea which will be which .

 

[Anon1712931820]

We still gas opponents under the 8 minute mark. Have you honestly not noticed the pattern of us pulling away in games in the later part of the second half almost every game?

 

[StubbornPenny]

I think we'd still roatate a bit more if Poythress hadn't gotten hurt. However, as it is, I like the energy burst of Marcus Lee at the 15/16 minute mark, then settle into the soild 8 man rotation. 7 really, since Dakari isn't playing near as much.

 

[brianboone99_rivals377271]

I agree. If Poythress hadn't gotten hurt, I think we would've stuck with it. Cal has famously said all along, "this isn't communism." Can you imagine if he didn't play Towns as much as he did last game? We wouldn't be in the final four.

 

[slam212121]

Why do we still ask questions like this when we keep winning?

 

[LouisvilleBlueCat]

Originally posted by KeepingItReal74:
Why do we still ask questions like this when we keep winning?

Because it would be too late to ask them after the fact.

Like I said, we are past learning opportunities and good losses.

Believe it or not, some things including strategies can be better assessed by an outside person looking in via a television and the benefits of stats and numbers not available to a coach that quickly.

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

It was easier to sub 5 for 5 when Alex was still playing and UK had 10 potential future pros. Once he went down UK could no longer sub 5 starters for 5 more starters. Threw the whole balance of the platoons out of whack.

 

[kitkoodle]

I would say if you noticed little by little he quit after Alex got hurt..and alot of people predicted it would happen cause the 10 backup wasnt ready, I am guessing?

 

[KA4Prez_rivals78700]

Clearly the platoon system died a slow death when Poythress got injured.

However, I just don't see it still being a true 5 and 5 platoon even if Alex was healthy. It's just very, very difficult to stick with in close, single-elimination games.

 

[bigabes4uk]

As a few others have said-- we never stopped it. It's just in some games that are close, we have to play whoever is performing well that game. As Cal says: "these guys aren't robots, sometimes they will have an off game" (or the communism one is about the same thing) he starts every game with the platoons to see who is ready to play. Those that are- play the most minutes. Those that aren't get limited minutes. I think it's worked beautifully all year.

 

[jackcarlson]

technically, we still platooning, but sending in 3 at a time instead of 5. The point is this: our guys still have fresh legs at the end of games, and the other teams are gassed.

ANY overtime games will be ours, so we don't even necessarily have to play to win! We can play for a tie. NO ONE will want to go to OT against us.

 

[LouisvilleBlueCat]

I thought the Poythress factor was addressed a long time ago by Lyles doing double duty.
It was still Platooning for all intents and purposes with much more mins for Lee and Dakari than the last stretch of games.

Unless they have regressed which I have noticed from #44 but Lee still seems to a viable energy guy I would think with his 2014 Michigan breakout game type hops ....

 

[5iveStarRecruit]

Its pretty simple.

- Marcus Lee doesn't bring anything.

- Dakari really slowed down in the 2nd half of the season.

- KAT & WCS are out 2 most important players on this team.

I like how flexible Cal has been. During the end of games, Cal puts the 5 guys he trusts the most.

 

[wildcatdonf]

Trust in our coach and don't worry about it.

 

[UKGrad93]

Just as everyone else said: platooning gave a lot of guys game experience. Early in the season other teams were either just not good or were inexperienced. We could rely on the platoon system to overwhelm them.

Poythress went down, and we tried Hawkins for a little while, but the players started separating themselves. We still platoon some, but we have a solid 9 man roster that plays. we can go 10 deep still and have guys on the floor that have played decent minutes against good competition. That is an issue for a lot of teams. If they get past player 7 or 8 they are into the guys that only have practice experience.

The other benefit is it has kept our guys fresh for the season.

Better competition, Poythress, and foul trouble doomed the 5-5 platoon system.

 

[Stingray23]

Originally posted by caneintally:

We are at our best when we platoon and that is why it has never gone anywhere and never will . But Cal just can't stop himself from going back to his normal subsitutions if the game is within 5 pts and i can't blame him but i do expect to see the platoon all the way in at least one of these games as i have feeling one of the next 2 games will be a decent blowout ( 15 -20 pt win) and one of the next 2 games will be pretty close ( 5 pt win ) but i have no idea which will be which .

 

[caneintally]

Originally posted by Stingray23:

Originally posted by caneintally:

We are at our best when we platoon and that is why it has never gone anywhere and never will . But Cal just can't stop himself from going back to his normal subsitutions if the game is within 5 pts and i can't blame him but i do expect to see the platoon all the way in at least one of these games as i have feeling one of the next 2 games will be a decent blowout ( 15 -20 pt win) and one of the next 2 games will be pretty close ( 5 pt win ) but i have no idea which will be which .

not much cofidence in our guys i guess? I mean we all have seen this team and we all know most of the time no matter who we play we blow people out . SO there is very little chance we don't blow one of our opponents out especially the winner of the Duke and Michigan St game as neither team has a chance of guarding us . But keep on doubting our team ...

 

[Stingray23]

Originally posted by caneintally:

Originally posted by Stingray23:

Originally posted by caneintally:

We are at our best when we platoon and that is why it has never gone anywhere and never will . But Cal just can't stop himself from going back to his normal subsitutions if the game is within 5 pts and i can't blame him but i do expect to see the platoon all the way in at least one of these games as i have feeling one of the next 2 games will be a decent blowout ( 15 -20 pt win) and one of the next 2 games will be pretty close ( 5 pt win ) but i have no idea which will be which .

not much cofidence in our guys i guess? I mean we all have seen this team and we all know most of the time no matter who we play we blow people out . SO there is very little chance we don't blow one of our opponents out especially the winner of the Duke and Michigan St game as neither team has a chance of guarding us . But keep on doubting our team ...

I think the Cats have this in the bag but our definition of "platooning" must be different, that's all. Good luck and GBB!

 

[Goingfor9]

Platooning serves no purpose at the point in the season unless you are going to run a 40 minutes of hell type defense. Why take highly skilled players off the floor in favor of less skilled that this point in the season?