So you are dumb enough to believe that a 4 star freshman coming into the B1G should immediately become a big contributor?
Instead of giving our coaching staff credit for developing his skills enough after 20+ games that he can have a 19 point game as a freshman, you choose to blame the coaching staff for not playing a guy who almost certainly was not ready.
If he was ready to be a big contributor right away, how do you explain the fact that this is the first game in which he was able to put up big scoring numbers? He was not lighting it up right away, but he was brought along slowly so as not to damage his confidence.
I love the kid. He is a battler. Pike obviously inserted him in the lineup once he felt he had developed enough to make a positive contribution. His stats did not blow anyone away at first - which is to be expected for a freshman learning the game.
He has now gained enough confidence that he can make an impressive contribution offensively for ONE game. I hope to see more in the future, but my expectations are not for impressive scoring in every game. If he now starts putting up good offensive numbers regularly, that is because the staff handled his development perfectly, not that he was some special talent who they were holding back.
He is a freshmen, and the staff are doing an impressive job of bringing him along at the perfect rate.
It's not one game, it's the Nebraska game on the road, which is probably the best road win to date (Northwestern is the other one).
I don't know about this waiting till develop stuff, it was pretty clear that the 4 freshman were most likely going to be the players to carry RU with points, rebounds and assists. Dortch is the 5th and a wild card, but he can make an occasional play.
Keep in mind there were NO consistent minutes whatsoever in the 1st 12 or so games.
From Wisconsin, I have ten B1G games to account for and 7 of the 10 games with at least 6 PTS....while 6 PTS doesn't seem like a lot of points, the average amount of MPG in those 10 games is around 21.
All I was asking for was more minutes for Grant and I have 30 minutes out of him today and he actually missed all 4 of his 3s. He got most of his points in transition or attacking the glass. If he hits 1 of 4 from 3, he is at 22 PTS today.
It's 81 PTS in 10 games in around 21 MPG....8PPG is not too bad, considering we are don't have a player to help compliment him on the wing or glass, outside of Ace Bailey. Sommerville is pretty much around the same 7PPG in his approximate 20 or so minutes per game since January....74 PTS in 11 games for Lathan since Indiana.
Both freshman need to definitely work on their defense, but in the larger picture, with Nwuli, Mark, Powers and Ware on the way in 2025, there are players that I would like to think can contribute at around 8PPG next year as freshman if they get 20 or so minutes.
Not sure Dylan Grant ever becomes a go-to scorer next year, he's definitely in a good spot as the 4th option this year. Another 7 games plus the B1G tournament to see what can be put together.
There's no point in speculating about the portal, most kids stick around as long as there are minutes and shot attempts there to earn.
