Geo Baker - starter or reserve?
- Thread starter RUSCFORMERLYRULOU
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Didn't appear to be hampered by the thumb. His mere presence on the court looks important to me.
No way he's 100% yet, with the thumb - you can tell his shot is being affected a bit by his FTs - so I'd have him come off the bench until his thumb is better, but once it's better, he starts.
Regardless I think he plays a smaller roll than he did previously. That's not a knock on him but this team plays best when no one is the focal point and everyone is pitching in. His minutes may decrease slightly. Need to find minutes for Young and Mulcahy too
i think he would be starting if his thumb was completely heeled.Baker will be back in the stating lineup but there is no rush right now.
Geo is the one guy you want most ready at the endgame than you need him starting. If he’s still in recovery mode, I say manage his minutes, keep him warm with enough court time, and make sure he’s ready for the big finish.
In postgame, Geo was mentioned as not caring either way, he's just happy the team is winning.
Ironically, a bench with Young and Baker is probably as strong a scoring tandem as you can ask for.
I also think, at 10-2, down by 8, you had Mathis attack the offensive glass for a rebound and put back...Yeboah missed a leaner layup and Myles didn't get the tip in...then another tough possession with a Yeboah miss.....& another offensive rebound and missed reverse layup by Caleb...
Did RU panic....did Pike panic....?? Nope...
After the timeout, we didn't rush Baker into the game and after that we had a turnover, gave up a shot and two offensive rebounds...
We stayed with the starters and had Baker Young and Mulcahy at the scorer's table to come into the game....got a 3 from Mathis, miss from Caleb, offensive rebound, miss from Harper....then a stop and another Mathis 3....then a steal and Mathis dribble drive layup AND fouled.
That stretch down 8 to up 1, fueled by Mathis.
It to me was more important for Mathis to get hot, vs Baker.....I think Baker is a go to player, but we're still developing and growing...if that means Baker comes off the bench or starts, is not relevant to talent level or skill.
The team is developing vs being reliant on Baker. Caleb, Mathis, Myles and Young/Mulcahy are all in a better space now and the team is better off because of it.
Ironically, a bench with Young and Baker is probably as strong a scoring tandem as you can ask for.
I also think, at 10-2, down by 8, you had Mathis attack the offensive glass for a rebound and put back...Yeboah missed a leaner layup and Myles didn't get the tip in...then another tough possession with a Yeboah miss.....& another offensive rebound and missed reverse layup by Caleb...
Did RU panic....did Pike panic....?? Nope...
After the timeout, we didn't rush Baker into the game and after that we had a turnover, gave up a shot and two offensive rebounds...
We stayed with the starters and had Baker Young and Mulcahy at the scorer's table to come into the game....got a 3 from Mathis, miss from Caleb, offensive rebound, miss from Harper....then a stop and another Mathis 3....then a steal and Mathis dribble drive layup AND fouled.
That stretch down 8 to up 1, fueled by Mathis.
It to me was more important for Mathis to get hot, vs Baker.....I think Baker is a go to player, but we're still developing and growing...if that means Baker comes off the bench or starts, is not relevant to talent level or skill.
The team is developing vs being reliant on Baker. Caleb, Mathis, Myles and Young/Mulcahy are all in a better space now and the team is better off because of it.
McConnell needs to continue getting more minutes, too, for his development.
I don't sense Geo is 100% yet. I have liked that he has looked really fresh at the end of the last two games. I almost think you keep that going. Its a pretty good trump card to have Geo and Young on the bench awaiting if the first few minutes of the game aren't going well. You can bring those two guys in and almost immediately impact the pace.
After Geo's late missed dunk Sunday when he got fouled, he was definitely holding and shaking the thumb on the free-throw line. No way it's 100%.
Mathis (26 minutes), McConnell (29 minutes), Young (21 minutes), Baker (22 minutes), Mulcahy (18 minutes). Beat Minnesota by 8. Seems about right to me currently. Could care less who "starts".
Yes.
We are saying it doesnt matter who starts until Iowa comes out and places a ton of on ball pressure and we start in a 10-2 hole.
He is definitely not handling the ball as much when he is on the court, and against Minnesota he caught a pass just using his right hand.
My take is start him to get him in sync with Harper minutes. Pair them for subs. They work well together.
I hope....
1st 4 minutes of game, last 4 minutes of 1st half, 1st 4 minutes of 2nd half and last 4 minutes of the game are 16 minutes where you probably have the opponents best lineup on the floor.
it doesn't matter since he gets starters minutes.
Bring him in after the 1st tv timeout with Mulcahy to give a shot of adrenaline to the team. Leave him in for the rest of the half. can do same thing in 2nd half. Will end up with 25-30 mins a game off the bench.
the team is deep playing 9-10 guys regularly so it is not a big deal off the bench since everyone is kind of equal right now.
Bring him in after the 1st tv timeout with Mulcahy to give a shot of adrenaline to the team. Leave him in for the rest of the half. can do same thing in 2nd half. Will end up with 25-30 mins a game off the bench.
the team is deep playing 9-10 guys regularly so it is not a big deal off the bench since everyone is kind of equal right now.
He hasn't used his left hand as much in the last 2 games. No need to push it. He's doing great off the bench at 80%.
He really never goes left anyway. Only time he does is when he is going into his step back
Kinda side with FIG on this one. We dont want to start in a hole especially on the road to the best offensive team in the conference. We have people calling for Myles to not start also. People are over thinking it. Don't want to start the game with Geo Myles and Young all on the bench. If we start the game well anyway it would look great but if we go down 10-2 you put the team in a bad position right from the jump. There is a reason teams start their best players.
I am fine with Geo not starting until hes healthy though
I am fine with Geo not starting until hes healthy though
I assume that
(a) Geo, Steve, and the team's doctors have made an informed decision and
(b) The downside risk on a broken thumb is just, like, a more broken thumb and not anything life or career threatening.
With the amount of time missed I'm sure it was just a hairline fracture and no real risk of anything. There would be no reason to force Geo back if there was
Myles has fouled out of only 1 game. I argued in another thread all possessions aren't equal.........being cautious with him means decreasing his playing time.
I would agree if this was a normal roster. The 6th through 9th players might be as good as 1 thru 5.....so the minutes 5 through 10 of each have are OWNED by RU now.
I agree with the exception that I don't feel comfortable on the road with a lineup that doesnt have Geo, Jacob OR Paul in it.
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