James Robinson

[DT_PITT]

I'm not so sure about that. Playing multiple guys 30+ minutes routinely has been a relatively recent development for us. In some brief reviews of the archives, Jamie has only rarely played as many as 3 guys over 30 minutes per game. We're deeper than we've ever been and we're playing at a faster pace. It may not happen this year.

It wouldn't surprise me if the rotation stays at 10-12 guys and Mike, James and Jamel are more in the 25-28 minute range in most games.

Milligan and Wilson provide valid depth to keep Robinson fresh, which I think is very important. James just ends up literally on the floor so often that he frequently is beat up. Limiting his minutes should pay dividends because despite his detractors, the offense runs much smoother with him at the controls.
Jamie has to be tempted to play Young more minutes at 5 in many games, but he also has to remember Young ran out of gas down the stretch last year banging against big guys. Jeter can certainly replace Mike offensively at 4 in games when he is hitting. But, there may be nights the 3-headed center is just not effective and Mike's minutes are needed at 5.

Jamel is the guy with the least-proven replacement. Slim oozes potential but is so young. Chris Jones can slide there when he's not at 2. But, neithrr provides the almost automatic 15-20 ppg we've come to expect from Artis.

Still, the real advantage of having depth comes when you use it. It does little for you sitting on the bench.

Jamie has pretty much always played the "main guys" 30+ minutes. Usually, that's 3 guys.

And against Gonzaga, Mike played 18 or 20 first half minutes, while James played 16. Jamel only played 2 because of foul trouble. I'm fairly sure each of those 3 will get 30+ in games that matter.

 

[DT_PITT]

I seriously don't think you will see those 30+ minutes for those guys very often. Jamie has said he wants to cut those minutes down. Late in games those guys will be on the floor but cutting their minutes earlier in the game is the goal. Of course who knows once we get into the meat of the schedule.

They will play less in some of the easier games, but I'd be surprised if James, Jamel and especially Mike don't play 30-35 minutes against Purdue (unless there is foul trouble, of course).

 

[Zaratoughda]

-Maybe by the time ACC play comes around, Maia will be in good enough shape to back up ANO some. Dixon probably doesn't mind playing a smaller lineup for the "cupcake" games, but vs the bigger teams, Young probably won't be seeing much time, if any, at Center. (Especially since Dixon announced that Young was moving back to PF this year).

Go Pitt

I disagree... unless Jeter's game tanks the only way to get him significant minutes is to play Mike Young at C some.

Lets say the minutes inside ultimately go to Young: 30, Jeter: 20, ANO: 20 and Maia: 10. That's the 80 minutes you have inside and that means Young plays 10 minutes at C.... more if he plays Jeter more than 20.

This IS Dixon's plan and you can see that in the rotation that is now being used.

As far as what Dixon has 'announced'.... every time he has been asked about Young this fall he has stated he expected to play him at BOTH PF and C.

Jeter earned his minutes with his play in training camp. Was Dixon's best player... so Dixon is gonna get him the minutes. He isn't starting but he is coming in after just 3 minutes and with that he can pull starter minutes off the bench if he is playing that well.

 

[R-M-U-h-o-o-p-s-f-a-n]

I disagree... unless Jeter's game tanks the only way to get him significant minutes is to play Mike Young at C some.

Lets say the minutes inside ultimately go to Young: 30, Jeter: 20, ANO: 20 and Maia: 10. That's the 80 minutes you have inside and that means Young plays 10 minutes at C.... more if he plays Jeter more than 20.

This IS Dixon's plan and you can see that in the rotation that is now being used.

As far as what Dixon has 'announced'.... every time he has been asked about Young this fall he has stated he expected to play him at BOTH PF and C.

Jeter earned his minutes with his play in training camp. Was Dixon's best player... so Dixon is gonna get him the minutes. He isn't starting but he is coming in after just 3 minutes and with that he can pull starter minutes off the bench of he is playing that well.

Then, did Dixon say he was moving Young over to PF just for starting? I guess I'm not against him playing just 10 min a game at Center, especially to give Jeter some time. But, it would be ideal if the other team's Big man (starting C) was resting on the bench when Young is at C.

We will see I suppose

 

[DT_PITT]

I disagree... unless Jeter's game tanks the only way to get him significant minutes is to play Mike Young at C some.

Lets say the minutes inside ultimately go to Young: 30, Jeter: 20, ANO: 20 and Maia: 10. That's the 80 minutes you have inside and that means Young plays 10 minutes at C.... more if he plays Jeter more than 20.

This IS Dixon's plan and you can see that in the rotation that is now being used.

As far as what Dixon has 'announced'.... every time he has been asked about Young this fall he has stated he expected to play him at BOTH PF and C.

Jeter earned his minutes with his play in training camp. Was Dixon's best player... so Dixon is gonna get him the minutes. He isn't starting but he is coming in after just 3 minutes and with that he can pull starter minutes off the bench if he is playing that well.

I don't disagree with any of this, but you'll need to also account for Luther in this mix.

 

[Wednesday Morning]

He is an ultra-ultra safe/ conservative guard who makes the ultra-ultra safe/ conservative passes. He will dribble up the court, pass it to the wing as soon as he can, set a screen, come back for the ball, then reverse the ball, set a screen, come back for the ball, then reverse the ball over and over again. He'll take a shot if he is super duper wide open. That's his game. He won't force the issue. He won't make a thread the needle type pass. Occasionally, he'll make a skip pass when it's there. He won't try to take his man off the dribble. He's not a play maker. He's a game manager which is fine as long as everyone else can consistently get to their spots on the floor and make the plays. He calms the offense down, gets everyone in position and runs the offense. Honestly, his seeming apathy, or inability, to make a play frustrates me a lot, but less so as long as we win.

 

[Zaratoughda]

Then, did Dixon say he was moving Young over to PF just for starting? I guess I'm not against him playing just 10 min a game at Center, especially to give Jeter some time. But, it would be ideal if the other team's Big man (starting C) was resting on the bench when Young is at C.

We will see I suppose

One other thing... Mike Young was asked about this and... his statement was that in Dixon's offense, there IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLAYING C AND PF. So, on the offensive end it is the same for Mike if he is playing C or if he is playing PF. The only difference, is who he is covering on D if he is playing C.

 

[R-M-U-h-o-o-p-s-f-a-n]

One other thing... Mike Young was asked about this and... his statement was that in Dixon's offense, there IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLAYING C AND PF. So, on the offensive end it is the same for Mike if he is playing C or if he is playing PF. The only difference, is who he is covering on D if he is playing C.

Yea, for Offense...

A lot of teams offense is rotating every player around and getting them a "touch" on the ball, then give it to a guard to make a play with 10 or so on the shot clock.

For Defense, however, he (Mike) has to defend the others teams C (if he's playing Center).

Ultimately, I agree with you that he probably can hold his own for 5-10 min a game at the Center spot, but it was a struggle at times last year playing there 20-25 min a game.