quote:
because unless mcmahon is a total idiot and couldn't realize that dean provided much more useful minutes then the only other option is that he didn't play bc he wasn't on scholarship

That's not the only 2 options though. The most likely scenario is that Baker was brought in to play the majority of the minutes at the 5 because McMahon wants a big who can step out and be a consistent threat from 3. Baker started the season playing that role relatively well. As the schedule flipped into conference play, Baker's quality of play drastically plummeted. McMahon then cut his losses and gave more minutes to Dean who could at least provide some rebounding and an interior presence once he finally came to the conclusion that Baker could no longer effectively play the stretch 5 role McMahon's scheme is suited for. The fact that Dean wasn't on scholarship had no bearing on playing time at all

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Posted by mcmaniacinsaneasylum

Baton Rouge

Member since Feb 2023

1976 posts

Posted on 4/11/24 at 4:02 pm to The Shaqtus

quote:
The most likely scenario is that Baker was brought in to play the majority of the minutes at the 5 because McMahon wants a big who can step out and be a consistent threat from 3

I agree with you. As I mentioned, he was recruited to be poor man's KJ 2.0 (stretch big, offense oriented). The reason I mentioned that McMahon could be lacking in his rotations/lineup aspect of coaching is that he took a ridiculously long time to give Dean a chance and even then let Baker play more than he should.

We know why Baker was recruited here. But at some point as a HC you have to recognize when one player is better than another. 5 minutes left in a SECT game is way too late.

The reason I only provided those two options was because to me those are the eventual conclusions down the road.

quote:
Baker started the season playing that role relatively well.

Nicholls flat out exposed him by playing a 2-3

quote:
once he finally came to the conclusion that Baker could no longer effectively play the stretch 5 role

Maybe adapt your scheme and rotations to fit your players strengths instead of forcing a scheme on players that can't do it and playing a worse player because you want your scheme to work?

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