As someone said already, he took a jump forward in the trust department by playing team basketball yesterday. It seems every game we have one of Kugel trying to only play iso ball or sulking, Richard not looking for his shot, Clayton turning it over, etc. in these situations I say plug him in to see if he can help the team. If our guards are playing well though, he is still last in the rotation for sure.
He’s got Casey Prather vibes. Tons of talent, high motor - just needs some coaching and experience. So I’d say mostly point him to next year. Hope he sticks around because Casey turned to be a great player for us. “Wes Chandler was Percy Harvin before Percy Harvin was born.”
Maaaan… I’d love to agree with you but I don’t see any similarities in their games at all. Casey was a slasher and track star on the court… and more of a SF who could play shooting guard if asked. Denzel is a tall point guard who can play shooting guard if needed but he’s not a forward. Just no similarities whatsoever.
Yes, we should find more starting minutes for both Pullin and Aberdeen. They have the best Assist-to-TO ratio of all guards and are ball hawks. Denzel's behind-the-back assist was a thing of beauty. Z. Pullin - 14 points (4-of-5 FG, 1-of-1 3pt, 5-of-6 FT, 5 Reb, 6 Asst, 0 TO) Aberdeen - 11 points (5-of-7 FG, 1-of-1 3pt, 5 Assts, 1 TO)
Denzel needs to play!!! He has so much potential it's crazy. Golden Todd needs to play him at least 8-12 minutes most every game. If he doesn't play much during conference play, I could see him transferring and if he does, we're going to regret it. He only played a total of 40 minutes all last year. He needs time on the court! We could easily give him 8-12 minutes a game between Clayton, Pullin and Kugel. BTW...I think Clayton plays too many minutes. I don't want him with no legs at the end of each game with conference play starting. You'd probably see Clayton play more efficiently with a few less minutes per game (you know what I'm talking about...minutes vs TO: see link below). Walter Clayton Jr. 2023-24 Stats per Game - NCAAM - ESPN Same with Kugel...too many minutes. Riley Kugel 2023-24 Stats per Game - NCAAM - ESPN I rest my case. Denzel needs to play now! BTW x 2 ..I'm not related to Denzel.
I like him a lot too...but we're overcrowded this year. I think he should redshirt this year. Potential is very high.
Keep him happy with NIL money and the likelihood of real playing time next season. I'd hate to lose him.
How many minutes should he get? And who should play less minutes? DA has the lowest FG%, 2nd lowest FT % and lowest 3-pt percentage on the team, and that's coming off a strong game. I do think he'll be a solid upperclassman, just don't think he's an upgrade when he's on the floor at this point of his career.
Grambling State was an outlier, but an 9 man rotation each playing 22 minutes would be ideal. More realistically, in SEC play, the hot hands (not necessarily starters) average 28 minutes with the other 4 guys averaging 15 minutes.
See post #34. If he doesn’t play now, how's he going to be "solid" next year as an upperclassman with limited minutes in 2 full years?
Aberdeen playing better than RK currently. You could argue deserving of more minutes in rotation. Clayton has had tough shooting nights against better P5 teams and in our losses in particular. Step up in competition impacting him early. Not a good shooting team from guard and small forward positions currently. Hopefully that changes as season progresses
