Starter's in way too long

[ArtVandelay]

Great night! Great win! Dominating from the opening tip!

It is a valid complaint. I worry more about injuries than I do about getting the other players quality time, although that would be good as well.

I think the Alabama State game was worse. We were up 50 and he had starters in with 4 minutes left...

[gatorbogey]

i'm wondering if there was a game in BD's past where he or the coach put the subs in 'too early' and the other team came back and won or put a major scare in the coach...? since he does wait alot longer than i would - just from the risk of injury and get some game film on the young guys. of course, i couldn't pass as a coach of hoops even at the pee wee level.

[madgator]

really, this team does not have a ton of depth especially with no Prather and Wilbekin. A 20 point lead can go to 8 in the blink of an eye and from there anything can happen.

it's not an ideal situation, but really I don't think coach had much of a choice.

[ih8danoles]

It was our 2nd game and a half and arguably our first REAL complete game.

It's mind boggling that there are this many people who seemingly know better than what is without question one of the top 3 coaches in the business.

[no_more_cowbell]

I have noticed this too. He obviously has a reason for it, but I don't have any ideas what it might be. I see no reason not to pull your starters with less than two minutes left in a 20 point game. Besides the chance of injury, you'd think it would be an opportunity to reward some of the bench players who play hard in practice every day. I'm a huge BD fan (I think he's the greatest coach in school history regardless of sport), but this tendency has puzzled me over the years.

[themistocles]

Originally Posted by gatordavisl

This team will be deeper with Prather and Wilbekin. I don't agree with the OP. We saw freshmen playing against a ranked opponent and the coaches have been MORE hesitant to do so in recent years.

Except, of course, for the Kentucky and Duke coaches.

[themistocles]

Originally Posted by gatorbogey

i'm wondering if there was a game in BD's past where he or the coach put the subs in 'too early' and the other team came back and won or put a major scare in the coach...? since he does wait alot longer than i would - just from the risk of injury and get some game film on the young guys. of course, i couldn't pass as a coach of hoops even at the pee wee level.

I think that was Spurrier you are thinking of with the choke at Doak.

And yes, the Gators under Bill D have historically been known to lose games down the stretch. At one point in time he had about the worst close game record of any coach in this history of basketball.

However, when the defense got better several years ago, that tendency dropped off quite a bit.

[gatormoe1]

Originally Posted by themistocles

I think that was Spurrier you are thinking of with the choke at Doak.

And yes, the Gators under Bill D have historically been known to lose games down the stretch. At one point in time he had about the worst close game record of any coach in this history of basketball.

However, when the defense got better several years ago, that tendency dropped off quite a bit.

I'm not saying you're wrong but do you have stats to prove this?

[breezergator]

I seem to recall the 04s being down 17 points to FSU with around 2 minutes remaining to come back and win. The three point shot with all your timeouts remaining can put pressure on a team that starts missing free throws.

[bullish]

I for one have always questioned Billy playing the starters in too long/short bench. But last night, I felt Billy substituted freely with all four freshmen playing. I felt he did it at the right times also. Everyone played except for walk-ons, and this was a tough early season test. So Maybe Billy has heard us and is learning what this thread is about. Remember, until Prather comes back, we don't have a lot of bigs to rotate and Prather is working in there to help out. So I am happy with this great win over a tough slow it down offense with a lot of kids taking charges and never giving up baskets without a hammer blow. Oh well, I hope their flight back to Madison, Ws welcomed them with sub zero temps. I know their offense was cold. LOL

Great Win Billy D. and the Florida Gator Basketball Team!

[gatorfansrule]

This isn't football guys. The chances of injury are soooo small. The most common injury is an ankle sprain, which only misses a couple weeks at most. Donovan did not sub out the entire starting lineup at the end of the game, but he did play 9 guys last night and that's with Prather and Wilbekin out. Every eligible, non-injured, non-suspended scholarship player put in minutes last night.

[gatormoe1]

I think a lot of people are confusing the two situations. It's not about playing the FR during the game, its about playing them at the end of the game. To be honest, since Billy did in fact play the FR freely, that is all the more reason to let them go play out the game with 2 minutes or so left. If the other team makes a quick run of 2-3 baskets.. call time out and get the starters back in there. I have rarely ever seen a 20 point lead fall in 2 minutes.. I'm not even sure if it has ever happened at all..

If Billy doesn't have confidence to play them right away, I get it.. but he played them throughout the whole game so why not give them a chance in garbage time.

[ArtVandelay]

Originally Posted by ih8danoles

It was our 2nd game and a half and arguably our first REAL complete game.

It's mind boggling that there are this many people who seemingly know better than what is without question one of the top 3 coaches in the business.

It's mind bottling that there are always people that get so sensitive anytime someone says anything that isn't 100% positive about Billy.

I don't think you will get many people on here that don't think Billy is a great coach. One of the top 5 in the country and wouldn't trade him for anything.

[ArtVandelay]

Originally Posted by gatorfansrule

This isn't football guys. The chances of injury are soooo small. The most common injury is an ankle sprain, which only misses a couple weeks at most. Donovan did not sub out the entire starting lineup at the end of the game, but he did play 9 guys last night and that's with Prather and Wilbekin out. Every eligible, non-injured, non-suspended scholarship player put in minutes last night.

really? The chance of injury is always great for everyone. Look around the country. Ask Josh Gasser. Look last year and every other year. Murphy almost missed this game because of injury. Yuegete was injured last year and that really hurt our team.

Overall I would say the Gators have been pretty lucky regarding injuries. It's just something some fans would like to see done. No different than any other thread discussing who you think should play, etc.

Go Gators!

[g8rvet]

I think a lot of people are confusing the two situations. It's not about playing the FR during the game, its about playing them at the end of the game.

I'm not confusing the two at all. By substituting early in the game, especially wisely before breaks, it is possible to get the players a 3-5 minute break for only 1 minute or so of game time. When BD is able to do this, the players are not as fatigued at the end of the game. Turned ankles and a lot of other injuries are more common with fatigued players as well.

Plus, I do buy that this is not football. The play slows down when nursing a lead for the team that is winning, the defense is token and the ball is walked up the court. The time to get the frosh in is during full speed game, for the frosh's experience and to give quality rest and discussion with the starters, who are more likely to actually get injured during the game.

Could someone provide an example of a player injured while nursing a big lead late in a game? Not saying it has not happened, but there are a lot of posters on here with more watching time than me I am sure. I just can't think of any such injuries.

[gatormoe1]

Originally Posted by g8rvet

I'm not confusing the two at all. By substituting early in the game, especially wisely before breaks, it is possible to get the players a 3-5 minute break for only 1 minute or so of game time. When BD is able to do this, the players are not as fatigued at the end of the game. Turned ankles and a lot of other injuries are more common with fatigued players as well.

I did not quote you, but from your comments, you're still missing my point. I'm not talking about subs because of injuries. I'm talking about playing the FR during garbage time to get them more minutes. What I said is people are confusing the two situations.. A lot of people here are talking about the FR playing during the game and how Billy is subbing them, but the main point of my thread and I think the OP of this thread is about playing the FR at the end of a blow out.

This isn't an observation from this game only.. This is years worth of seeing it, game after game. To be fair, I wouldnt be able to coach 5 year old YMCA basketball but I do think its beneficial for the FR to get as much playing time as possible and I don't think it helps anyone for Billy to send them out for the last 30 seconds just to hold the ball and not shoot.

[ufgator4ever]

There are plenty of pre- conference games left for the frosh. This was an important game for the vets to get.

[MJGator8104]

Originally Posted by ArtVandelay

really? The chance of injury is always great for everyone. Look around the country. Ask Josh Gasser. Look last year and every other year. Murphy almost missed this game because of injury. Yuegete was injured last year and that really hurt our team.
Go Gators!

FYI, Murphy nearly missed this game because he had a migraine earlier in the week, not an injury.

Murphy had missed Monday’s practice with a migraine headache, but was able to get through Tuesday’s practice and Wednesday’s shootaround.

“When I get them, I just have to lay down and sleep pretty much and they go away,” Murphy said.

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/2...21119754?tc=cr

[gatorfansrule]

Originally Posted by ArtVandelay

really? The chance of injury is always great for everyone. Look around the country. Ask Josh Gasser. Look last year and every other year. Murphy almost missed this game because of injury. Yuegete was injured last year and that really hurt our team.

Overall I would say the Gators have been pretty lucky regarding injuries. It's just something some fans would like to see done. No different than any other thread discussing who you think should play, etc.

Go Gators!

Yes really. I can't remember the last time I saw a basketball player hurt in the last couple minutes of a blowout game, whether it was a starter or reserve. Fyi, Murphy was sick earlier in the week, not injured.

[321gator]

When we missed the tourney those 2 years, our schedule and results put us right outside the bubble. Just a theory, but perhaps Billy wanted to bolster our resume, and maintain 20 point win against a very good defensive team. Billy knows a huge 18 point win looks a lot better than a 5 or 6 point win at home. Stronger wins may lead to better seeds and brackets. The Gators dominated last night, and there is a chance our backups allow Wisconsin to cut down the lead to make it look like a pedestrian win. I also wanted the starters out with about 4 minutes to go, but with a national tv audience, maybe Billy wants to show everyone how real the Gators are.