Ohio State Buckeyes: Player rotation..........

• 77Legend

  

  Question for all who are fans of the Buckeyes and those who love watching basketball. Ohio State plays around 6 for the most part, 7 if players are in foul trouble. Does anyone think if we don't get a bigger rotation than this in the next few months that we won't go too far in the tourney? We have very good recruits and it seems like they would have progressed further to get more minutes or if that is not the case, then what is it???
• wildcats20

  

  77Legend;639246 wrote:Question for all who are fans of the Buckeyes and those who love watching basketball. Ohio State plays around 6 for the most part, 7 if players are in foul trouble. Does anyone think if we don't get a bigger rotation than this in the next few months that we won't go too far in the tourney? We have very good recruits and it seems like they would have progressed further to get more minutes or if that is not the case, then what is it???

  
  Not to sound like an ass...
  
  But this has been beaten to death the last 2 years.
• Midstate01

  

  And they play 7... Sometimes 8 is seibert gets any minutes.
• FatHobbit

  

  wildcats20;639248 wrote:Not to sound like an ass...
  
  But this has been beaten to death the last 2 years.

  
  I think we this will continue to be beaten in the ground as long as Matta is the coach. He is obviously more comfortable with a short rotation and others would prefer more players get in the mix.
• 77Legend

  

  Maybe it has been beaten to death. But I think he has some depth this year to play more than 6 to 7 players is why I brought it up. Excuse you....
• wildcats20

  

  77Legend;639304 wrote:Maybe it has been beaten to death. But I think he has some depth this year to play more than 6 to 7 players is why I brought it up. Excuse you....

  
  No no, I wasn't trying to be an ass towards you.
  
  It's just going to end up in a pissing match
• rydawg5

  FatHobbit;639259 wrote:I think we this will continue to be beaten in the ground as long as Matta is the coach. He is obviously more comfortable with a short rotation and others would prefer more players get in the mix.

  
  So what are you suggesting? I think we will continue to be a top program in college basketball for as long as Matta is a coach, then it's back to 2 star recruits and you all can do a circle jerk when 10 crappy players see the court instead of 7 really good ones.
• hoops23

  

  Matta plays 7, sometimes 8.
  
  That's enough IMO.
  
  Burford
  Sullinger
  Thomas
  Craft
  Deibler
  Lauderdale
  Lighty
  Siebert
  
  College games are 40 minutes. There aren't as many games and you hardly ever play more than 2 or 3 games in a weeks stretch.
• CinciX12

  

  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Matta and his staff are working their asses off to get the really, really, really big 5* recruits. By the time you have invested all of your energy into getting these commits, it is usually late in the recruiting period for the class and all you are left with are not so stellar guys. So 2 5* guys and then a few 3* guys. Everyone gets to practice and he gets sick of teaching the guys who are taking forever to grasp his concepts, so he just goes with 7. No big deal if you ask me.
  
  OSU will lose when they rely too much on 3 point shooting more so than from lack of depth.
• centralbucksfan

  CinciX12;639335 wrote: OSU will lose when they rely too much on 3 point shooting more so than from lack of depth.

  
  Last year I may not have disagreed with this. This year, it has yet to be an issue. This team knows where their bread and butter is...Sully. When they catch the ball, their first look is inside more times than not. Deibler is a prime example of this. He is taking less shots this year, and is one of the better at getting ball to the post. This team compliments the inside/outside very well.
  
  As far as rotation is concerned...it is what it is. Matta obviously prefers a shorter bench or just doesn't have confidence in those on the bench. Siebert is seeing "some" time on occasion. Smith Jr. was injured and missed much of preseason practice. That set him back I am sure. I don't see things changing. Give me 7/8 and I think thats all that is needed. Sully needs a break here and there and Thomas can play any position except PG. Matta is set on his rotation at this point in the season.
• devil1197

  OSU's offense runs through Sullinger down low and it extremely evident yesterday. When PSU doubled down on Sullinger early, he was kicking it back out for the wide open 3. When PSU decided to go man on him late in the game, OSU dropped it down twice to Sully to seal the game. OSU won't kill themselves with the 3.
  
  As far as the rotation, its going to be like this and I'm 100% okay with it. Matta has OSU at the top right now with the way he runs the program. Most teams will only run a 8 player rotation when the tournament starts anyways, OSU can do that if they need Seibert to play.
• Automatik

  

  They had the same type of rotation last year. Matta knows what he is doing. I'm to concerned....at all.
• 77Legend

  

  After watching yesterdays game, does it seem like D.Thomas shoots as soon as he gets the ball....lol
• centralbucksfan

  77Legend;640300 wrote:After watching yesterdays game, does it seem like D.Thomas shoots as soon as he gets the ball....lol

  
  Oh, he hasn't seen a shot he didn't like...no question. If he is open, the ball is heading to the rim. lol Kind of player you gotta live and die with.
• Big Gain

  Weatherspoon is currently not on the team, academic issues. I doubt that he makes it.
  
  Lauderdale will only be used if the opponents have two big post players that are scorers. OR to give Sullinger a blow or if he gets in foul trouble.
  
  Thomas is the 5th leading score on the team, but Matta can't trust him in a close game. As soon as he gets on the floor he chucks up a bad shot. When he signed he said he wanted to go to the NBA after one year. He's starting to worry about that and is playing for himself not for the TEAM.
  
  Siebert can only shoot 3-pointers and he's only making 22% and has yet to learn how to play defense.
• FatHobbit

  

  rydawg5;639314 wrote:So what are you suggesting? I think we will continue to be a top program in college basketball for as long as Matta is a coach, then it's back to 2 star recruits and you all can do a circle jerk when 10 crappy players see the court instead of 7 really good ones.

  
  I wasn't complaining about Matta. I'm just saying as long as he's the coach it appears that is what we're going to get. I can live with it.
• mallymal614

  Thomas will figure it out when it comes to his shot selections. Remember Will Buford had the same problem and now he takes great shots.
• Big Gain

  If Thomas sticks around he'll be a starter next year and he can shot all he wants. The question is, if Sullinger comes back would Thomas pass it into the post?
• thedynasty1998

  

  Last year, I had more of an issue with it. This year, the two guys who I think need to be on the court as much as possible are Craft and Sullinger. The others are fine being rotated.
  
  My only problem would be with not getting Sibert and Smith 5 minutes a game. I don't think it would make a difference to get 10 minutes worked in. I wish those guys would play more because of the value of that experience, however I don't think OSU will "fatigue" towards the end of the year because of the minutes the starters are being asked to play.
  
  So at this time, I wish the bench played a little more, but I think Matta has shown that we can't expect anything different.
• Scarlet_Buckeye

  

  I think the rotation is fine... until the Tournament comes rolling around. Then I think the [limited] rotation will become a major issue.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Scarlet_Buckeye;641384 wrote:I think the rotation is fine... until the Tournament comes rolling around. Then I think the [limited] rotation will become a major issue.

  
  That's the thing that I don't get. If you are saying that come tournament time, they will be fatigued okay. But to say you need depth to win in the tournament is just not true. In the tournament benches get shorter. There are longer TV timeouts. You play your best 5.
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;641189 wrote:Last year, I had more of an issue with it. This year, the two guys who I think need to be on the court as much as possible are Craft and Sullinger. The others are fine being rotated.
  
  My only problem would be with not getting Sibert and Smith 5 minutes a game. I don't think it would make a difference to get 10 minutes worked in. I wish those guys would play more because of the value of that experience, however I don't think OSU will "fatigue" towards the end of the year because of the minutes the starters are being asked to play.
  
  So at this time, I wish the bench played a little more, but I think Matta has shown that we can't expect anything different.

  
  I agree with this. I'd like to see Smith/Sibert get a few minutes. Have to admit I am a bit worried they would consider transferring. Although seeing them on the bench, I don't sense any attitude or disinterest. And I would like to believe they both realize there is going to be some turnover in players and their opportunity will come next year. Maybe with the close games in big ten thus far, Matta doesn't feel comfortable. Hopefully OSU can get a game where they will see some time. Who knows.
• centralbucksfan

  Scarlet_Buckeye;641384 wrote:I think the rotation is fine... until the Tournament comes rolling around. Then I think the [limited] rotation will become a major issue.

  
  Doesn't concern me. Besides the Big Ten tourney....which is back to back to back...the NCAA is similar to regular season with at least a day or two between games. No different then the regular season/ conference play. If its not a concern now, why would it be then? His 06 final team didn't use much of a bench, made it to finals. There aren't many teams that go 8,9 or 10 deep. And even at that, as Dynasty pointed out, with all the breaks, timeouts..I just don't see fatigue as an issue. I highly doubt Matta goes hard with the team in between games.
• Prescott

  There could be a cumulative affect. That being said, I'm sure Matta would play more people if he thought those people could contribute in a positive fashion.