Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising:

1) Yes, some here, myself included, have mentioned the moral/loyalty argument.  What I'm suggesting is that this is A factor and not necessarily THE factor.  Many of your responses (until this last one) seemed to suggest that this was the only factor.

2) I have no idea whether JC ever considered playing AT and Chase together but this is a very small part of the discussion.  If he concluded that this wouldn't work, I respect that.  I have not been advocating that they should be playing together, only raised it as a possibility.

3) I can not speak to AT's health.  This is an age-old problem when there is no real local coverage of the team.  My guess is I could tell you when Maryland's third string center has a hang nail but without a local GW reporter out there, we are often at a loss for reliable information.  That said, based on how he looked against Davidson, it was surprising to see him play just 9 minutes against Richmond (while Ace played 15 minutes), or for just 3 minutes against SBU (while Ace played 10 minutes).    And of course, he wasn't on the bench against URI, with no explanation provided by the school as to why this was.

4) I don't feel that I am criticizing JC as much as I am questioning his use of AT.  If there were a reasonable explanation why this was, like AT's health as an example, this would be readily accepted.

5) I suppose if I could have 2 or 3 more wins, I'd gladly take them.  There is no certainty that not having these wins will translate into anything beneficial in the future.  (i.e. the difference between Chase playing 23 minutes a game right now and 33 minutes may mean nothing towards his development).  It's easy to say "what would 2-3 more wins mean" and I agree, not a tremendous amount this season. However, this is also where the loyalty aspect does come into play.  Turning the question around, if this year's team isn't going anywhere anyhow, then why relegate AT to the bench in his final year at GW?  If he's a high character, well-liked player, then why do this to him?

6) Finally, if this is happening because AT told the coaching staff that he'd be transferring after the year, then I think that's horrible.  This would suggest that this is JC's way of getting back at AT and that has a terrible look to it.  JC's primary responsibility ought to be to field a team that provides the best chance of winning games this season.  (I don't believe this is at all what's happening but since you raised it, I thought I'd address it.) 
 

I'm only going to address points #3, #5, and #6 as the others have been discussed enough.

Point 3. I have heard all sorts of things about Toro's health. There is no question he suffered a couple of injuries that have kept him out of games and I believe many practices. As to why he was not on the bench at the URI game, the flu would make sense. If he was suspended or otherwise injured I suppose he would have been on the bench in street clothes like he has been in the past. But I do not know for sure so I guess we will have wait and see.

But Toro's health is relevant in a different way. JC is a big practice guy from what I know - if you don't practice you are not playing type of guy. Perhaps Toro is missing practices or not fully participating. This may be another reason why he is not playing more. This also may be a trust issue. If you start to miss a lot of practices and games, the staff may feel they can't invest in him more because he may or may not be available.

That's why I have repeatedly said that this may be far more complex than JC just deciding to disrespect Toro. 

Point 5. Actually Paar playing 33 minutes may be more important. The more reps he can get in all situations the better it is for his development. Also, remember that he missed a portion of the early season so it could be that they are trying to force feed him minutes to catch up his development.

Point 6. I am not suggesting for a minute that this has happened. I raised it as a possibility because again there could be more here than meets the eye. That said, I disagree. If this did occur, why should JC invest in Toro? He didn't recruit him and now he just told him he was leaving when he could have stayed for another year. No coach in their right mind would then sacrifice the development of a guy you will need to play next year in that situation, especially one who has just taken over a program and must show growth in future years. Again, I am not suggesting this has happened but it remains a possible factor here. 

All of my points go to the overarching notion that I have repeated frequently that we should not assume anything here. I am willing to give JC the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming he has some nefarious reason for not playing Toro (or Mazzulla) or anyone else.