So, we have 14 guys on the roster this year and only 2 who could realistically redshirt: Mercy and Chase. Neither of those guys seem like a redshirt candidate, so I’m not sure what to make of the possible rotation this year. Does no one redshirt, but a few guys get Ryan Elvin minutes? Does Sampson use the depth to cut down on long minutes for certain guys? I’m not advocating for anything in particular. I’m just genuinely curious what everyone thinks of this really nice problem to have. Thoughts?
I think quite a few get Elvin minutes and its not nice to speculate who on a public board
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Would love to see him develop more Rob Gray driving skills. He would be deadly…
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Sharp also said on the GoCoogs interview he is still adjusting to being a leader of the team and finding what leadership behavior works for him.
Yeah you’re right. But I could see Sharp improving his playmaking this year to be better than Cryer. I guess I’m high on him and projecting that to my predictions
What If like to see is meaningful minutes for 12-13. I’d like to see 2-3 substitutions at every TV time out after the first 8 minutes of each half. Much faster paced offense with Coogs smothering defense. Wear opponents down every game with fresh bodies coming in all game long. Wave after wave after wave.
Trust the system. Starters getting no more than 28-32 minutes to be the new norm.
Much more up tempo. Coogs will also have a lot more fouls to give than opponents. I’m anticipating a more physical Coogs team.
In years past the Coogs have had players who were a bit worn down late in the season.
Been a very long time since the Coogs have been this talented. Major depth at every position.
Much deeper rotation this season. Not 8-9 but 12-13. This team should be this good.
Recruiting and landing much higher caliber players means more minutes to spread out. Every season now the Coogs may have ‘1 and done’ players. Guys want playing time and if game ready, need to play. Not sit because they are underclassmen.
I don’t see how this team is not primed for playing 12-13 with this talent. It would be a huge advantage to do so, IMO.
Coach and staff are going to do what they do. Certainly can’t argue with success (well, some on this board can 
). The culture is remarkable. It’s going to be a fun season no matter what.
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40 minutes of hell 
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Wish TA was part of the answer, but maybe he isn’t 100% yet.
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I’ll guess 9-10 player rotation. I just don’t see enough total minutes for more
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Given how injuries seem to have a habit of derailing our seasons, I think 9-10 should be a minimum. If we have the guys with the right skills, then let’s get them plenty of minutes early in the season so that if they have to step in late, we aren’t throwing them into the fire. I know it’s not possible to play everyone 10 mins a game, but I’d be in favor of seeing some the deep bench guys come in with 8 minutes left in the game as opposed to 2 when we’re up by 20. Maybe they get a short leash if necessary, but get them in there.
I just haven’t seen Sampson do this yet to make that jump before he does. Maybe players need that extra time to get in to “proper game shape” before the conference season rather than worrying about whether the injury backups are in “game shape”. I think either way is fine but its hard for me to bet against what I’ve seen for 10 years for something that I definitely haven’t.
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That’s fair, and this is probably me being a bit greedy. Constant runs to the Sweet 16 are super fun. But if (and I recognize it’s a big “if”) resting our main guys 2-3 extra minutes per game makes them fresher or less susceptible to injury in March, we have plenty of opportunities before and during conference play to make that happen. I’m not suggesting we take any Ls to make this happen. But I would love to see us take better advantage of late 20 point leads and see what happens.
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Here’s a fun exercise to pass the time until these guys get on the floor. Toss out your best guess as to how many points per game each guy on the roster is going to average this year. Bold predictions only. If you think someone will redshirt, give them a 0. Round up or down to the nearest one. Mine adds up to 90, which I feel should be unrealistic, but I can’t figure out where to cut back. I already feel like I’m being somewhat conservative on some of these guys. This team could be super fun offensively. Attack away!
| Player | Points |
|---|---|
| Kordel Jefferson | 1 |
| Ced Lath | 1 |
| Ramon Walker Jr. | 4 |
| LJ Cyer | 16 |
| Ja’Vier Francis | 8 |
| Milos Uzan | 8 |
| Mylik Wilson | 3 |
| JoJo Tugler | 6 |
| Jacob McFarland | 3 |
| J’Wan Roberts | 12 |
| Emmanuel Sharp | 15 |
| Terrance Arceneaux | 7 |
| Chase McCarty | 2 |
| Mercy Miller | 4 |
| TOTAL | 90 |
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Give Ramon’s and Chase’s ppg to Mercy.
Funny you say that. I was wanting to give Mercy more, but I just don’t know enough about him to know how much playing time he’ll get. I also wanted to give JoJo more. Man, this team has such a great problem!
From what I think the rotation will be.
Milos - 7 and 5
LJ - 15
Sharp - 14
J’Wan - 11 and 8
Ja’vier - 7, 7, and 2
Bench
Tugler - 7, 6, and 2
TA - 8
Mercy - 8
McFarland - 5 and 5
Works out to about 82 ppg. We will probably be somewhere in the 76-82 range. This is probably the high end.
So Wilson, Walker Jr, and Kordel get no minutes? I feel like that’s unlikely and doesn’t even include McCarty who I haven’t heard anything about a redshirt for him
We are not playing 13 guys a game.
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We need the best players on the court. Yes we can give them more rest but if players coming out of very 4 min it is really difficult to get in rhythm.
Saying that, I think there will be opportunities for Walker and Wilson even if they aren’t in the current rotation.