Men’s BB

[Utes 69]

agree or disagree?
sitting Mike Saunders jr on the bench all year is a total waste.
he may have or have not helped the team, but bench sitting is not a good option.

[dystopiamembrane]

I trust Craig Smith.

[Trailgoat]

Agree on CS support. Doubt it was an oversight of talent and ability. Guessing there’s more to it. Team ran out of gas last half of the season with injuries, young players, and lack of contributing depth. CS needs a couple more years to solidify the culture, recruit some more athletic players, and clean up the mess he was handed. NIT is a step in the right direction. If he keeps the core of his team intact and picks up a couple more athletic players, that’s a good sign. All in with CS.

[Ute2]

I think that the same type of coaching that led to a season of exceeding expectations is the same type of coaching that benched Saunders .

Can’t really separate the two.

im ok with coach protecting culture and insisting on “the right way” or whatever.  Especially in what was supposed to be another year of rebuilding.

Boylen would’ve tolerated the crap and played the talent…

[GameForAnyFuss]

I agree and disagree.

I agree that sitting MSJ all year was a total waste. But I also disagree because it sounds like it was due to the player’s choices.

At the end of the day, the whole situation just sucks because MSJ clearly could have helped the team quite a bit but he made some bad decisions and left Craig with no choice.

[Ute2]

It is a shame because his shot creation was exactly what the offense needed all year. 

[Minnesota Ute]

All I can say is that the stat line and the eye-test has had me wondering all season what Craig sees in Wil.  Outside of his formerly high percentage on 3-pt, otherwise any minor positives have been washed out by his turnovers, poor shot choices, and questionable defense. 

I juxtapose that with Sauders performances in the recent past, and have to say that I’m not sure why he wasn’t earning minutes previously in contrast to Wil (of for that matter Bostyn or Jaxon). 

I do like Craig, and I do trust him.  As a long time manager, I know there are always things going on behind the scenes that impact what people from the outside see. I just haven’t figured out why Wil has been getting so many minutes, and now that I’ve seen Saunders, I’m not sure why he hasn’t. 

[utefansince79]

Really needed Exacte and others to step it up in the absence of 2 starters and Wil went 1-10 from the field against the 2 teams from the City of Angels.  Just a freshman so maybe he’ll improve.

Meanwhile Saunders had a great game Thursday helping us stay in it, cooled off a bit Saturday.  Hopefully whatever is going on with him gets settled as he has potential to help us a lot in the future (think he’s a junior isn’t he?)

 

 

[MineralUte]

Saunders has a very tough time being engaged in the program and being a good teammate. Other coaches may be willing to forgive his lack of effort in practices, team meetings, and camaraderie with his teammates but Smith doesn’t. Saunders lack of playing time is a direct result of the effort he has put into being in the team.

I don’t blame Smith at all for keeping him at the end of the bench. Team morale would have been very damaged had he okayed given his lack of investment in the program.

[utefansince79]

One thing to note is that in the UCLA team, after he made a few baskets, Saunders looked very excited and happy. 

Hopefully that will motivate him to work hard and have a positive attitude on and off the court and get on a path to make good contributions to the team and program the rest of this season and next year.