I like the avatar:  

Last edited by BGF (8/04/2020 1:52 pm)

What's encouraging is a roster like this should result in a shift from playing the 3-4 best players as many minutes as possible to the point where they wear down towards the end of the season, to a team that has the level of depth needed to keep guys fresh while playing the style which JC would presumably prefer.  Perhaps the minutes distribution will look like the 2005-06 Colonials:

Three players averaged over 30 minutes a game, none more than Carl Elliott at 32.1
Three additional players averaged 25 minutes per game.
Two more players played roughly 17 and 13 minutes per game.
And, two more appeared in 26 out of 30 games, each averaging 7 minutes per game.

That is a solid ten man rotation, 11 if you want to include Noel Wilmore who played just under 5 minutes playing in 2/3 of the team's games.  

If you're thinking that it's easy to play lots of guys when you are consistently blowing out opponents, only 9 of the 30 games resulted in GW wins of 15+ points.

Mike Lonergan wanted to play lots of guys, so he once said, but found it difficult to justify.  In the 2013-14 season, 6 players played at least 25 minutes with five of those playing at least 29.  A 7th played 16.5 minutes and an 8th played 12 minutes.  That was essentially the rotation.  In the NIT championship, five players played at least 28 minutes while two additional players played around 15 minutes apiece.  The 8th player based on minutes played just under 9 minutes per game. 

2021-22 is a long time from now but it will be interesting to see the extent in which JC plays the bench. 

GWRising, I don't disagree, but even that would represent a major change from this past season, where 4 players averaged a minimum of 31 minutes per game, of which two averaged over 35 minutes per game..  There were plenty of others who averaged 15-20 minutes a game but who ended up missing many games, some due to injury and some due to coach's decision.  Some players might play 30 minutes one game and not at all the next.  Last season showed four players play a ton of minutes along with wild inconsistencies over how the remaining minutes were allocated.  I suspect that next season will look a bit different than this, and 2021-22 to look even more different.  

Does look to have the potential to be a really good team, things trending up clearly
 

One lingering concern, are recruiting well enough INTERNATIONALLY and is someone on the staff deeply connected to international circles???

Let me be clear I have no problem with a through discussion of all traditional basketball topics and how incredible GWs recruiting has been. I need a break from all the garbage. I appreciate the fact that no one is compelled to reference how unimportant X activity is to prove their moral goodness.


I’m just plain scared with Covid and all the Covid driven problems. (GW just cut 7 sports FYI) what the other side of this looks like?
I hope we hang on to the players and staff and play when it’s really a defensible thing to do.

So here is my position. My Go-No Go is students back on campus. Because if these players are STUDENTS there is no moral reason for them to play before then. Now if they play before then they should compensated as entertainers/representatives of the University.

I understand there are lawyers and people who have careers that deal with or touch on legal and administrative matters that frequent the board that apply to student athletes. So I acknowledge my knowledge about other questions in this regard hovers around zero.

However, as we have seen in so many other spheres say MLB. There is being right and doing the right thing and for me my foot is tapping the break in anticipation of slamming the brake.

Last edited by FredD (8/06/2020 1:38 pm)

FredD, good post.  Several comments.  The first step in doing the right thing should the sport be played this season is to not force players to play if their concerns are such that they would rather not.  No loss of scholarship, no loss of one year's eligibility.  

Next, I differ a bit when it comes to making an apples to apples comparison between revenue generating athletes and the student body in general.  Basketball players have special skills which allow most to receive scholarships in exchange for doing their best to help their college or university earn money.  For this reason alone, I would stop short of saying that students are students and if a campus can't be open to all students, then players should not be asked to return to campus in order to play their season.  

The notion of legally paying players is one that was alive and well before the pandemic ever struck.  It would stand to reason that this climb just became even more uphill based on the loss of revenue which all schools are feeling.  Let's face it, even in perfectly normal times, you are going to have to reduce the salaries of coaches and athletic administrators in order to get this done.  Sure, some fat cat boosters could willingly handle this but the NCAA will never want to go there.  This is a recipe for corruption.

So, if we assume for argument's sake that the players will not be paid (beyond the recent ruling involving their ability to endorse, have their images/likeness used, etc.), should there be an attempt at a season?  As long as health officials determine that it is safe enough to try with various protocols in place, and that players are willing to play without any fear of losing a scholarship or eligibility if they opt-out, I would not let the fact that other students may not be on campus be a deciding factor against this.  Schools badly need revenue right now and the players are in a unique position to help drive this.  Again, this is not an example of putting money ahead of player safety since any and all players could opt-out with no penalty whatsoever. 

I agree paying players brings an ocean of problems and corruption. I’m saying if the schools and tv can’t leave money on the table and protect the players as if they are students their hands will be forced.

The other huge problem who can afford the safest transportation and constant accurate testing? Also, which schools can have safe  places for visiting teams?

I mentioned this in the another thread('Is The Bubble The Answer'), but paying the players until we rid of ourselves of COVID 19 is the only way you can justify having them play while most colleges are pretty much closed. If the players are playing and not attending classes, they truly are professionals at that point, you can't sugarcoat it anymore. It would be funny if a school president just came out and said, "I'm Living In A Million Dollar House, My Kids Go To Private School, We Have 3 Cars and A Vacation Home...We Need These Guys Playing So I Can Maintain This Lifestyle"!!! LOL  

I agree with Fred D, its hard to even think about the future of college(some pro sports can still go on in a bubble) sports at this point because of COVID. The BCS college football conferences acting as if its going to be business as usual starting in September is ridiculous. Things SHOULD be cleared up by 2021-2022(GW's 2021-2022 team could also be very good too) and 2022-2023 but what will things look like if this upcoming season is cancelled? I'm assuming everyone on the team will remain at GW because they committed to Jamion Christian, but what will everyone's eligibility status be? How would the scholarship situation be handled if there is no 2020-2021 season?