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Does Bruce’s insistence on depth through rotation hurt us in the tournament?
Posted on 3/22/24 at 7:58 pm
Posted on 3/22/24 at 7:58 pm
Bruce has been complemented for his ability to rotate guys. I think they said our highest average minutes are 24 for Broome with the others getting less.
The idea is that our guys stay fresh, the other team wears down, and we put pressure on their bench to perform against guys who could potentially be starters in any game.
I think it works well in the regular season but not the NCAA tournament.
Something I’ve noticed is that teams who are successful in the tournament establish a cadence and a pace built on heating up at the right moments. They capitalize on fouls and ride the rhythm of a few scorers who can go on a run. You saw it with Samford. Achor and Rylan got hot and they rode their backs on the almost-comeback. And you saw it with Yale with the kid who scored 30 and Wolf who came through in the 2nd.
Even in foul trouble, those guys stayed in. There was no reliance on the bench. They rode the guys who can get hot and that pace carries them. It’s how we had a deep run in 2019. It was our guard play that scorched everyone and we rode it until…well honestly we could have gone further as we all know.
So does our depth rotation hinder that “tournament team” potential? We had a few guys show signs of heating up and they only played half the game if that.
The idea is that our guys stay fresh, the other team wears down, and we put pressure on their bench to perform against guys who could potentially be starters in any game.
I think it works well in the regular season but not the NCAA tournament.
Something I’ve noticed is that teams who are successful in the tournament establish a cadence and a pace built on heating up at the right moments. They capitalize on fouls and ride the rhythm of a few scorers who can go on a run. You saw it with Samford. Achor and Rylan got hot and they rode their backs on the almost-comeback. And you saw it with Yale with the kid who scored 30 and Wolf who came through in the 2nd.
Even in foul trouble, those guys stayed in. There was no reliance on the bench. They rode the guys who can get hot and that pace carries them. It’s how we had a deep run in 2019. It was our guard play that scorched everyone and we rode it until…well honestly we could have gone further as we all know.
So does our depth rotation hinder that “tournament team” potential? We had a few guys show signs of heating up and they only played half the game if that.
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Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:00 pm to StringedInstruments
Yes
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:05 pm to StringedInstruments
Nah not so much the rotation, but more likely it was we didnt have any guards worth a damn besides Denver. Tre is pretty good, but 5 points, 4 assists, 1 turnover,and 0-2 from the charity stripe isnt my kind of point guard.
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:06 pm to StringedInstruments
It's our guard play that hurts us in the tournament imo
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:12 pm to StringedInstruments
He should focus a lot less on the politics and a little more on the basketball honestly
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:18 pm to StringedInstruments
Nah I think the rotation is fine for a tournament setting. Yale and Samford have no problem playing their main dude the entire game because the reality is they will risk getting blown out two days later to win game 1. Very few teams make a deep run with a short lineup.
We kept a pretty heavy rotation in 2019 too and it’s part of the reason we did so well. There were 10 guys on that team that averaged 10+ minutes a game, just like this year. We had multiple games where starters had off nights and we weren’t really affected because so many other guys were getting a chance to step up.
We kept a pretty heavy rotation in 2019 too and it’s part of the reason we did so well. There were 10 guys on that team that averaged 10+ minutes a game, just like this year. We had multiple games where starters had off nights and we weren’t really affected because so many other guys were getting a chance to step up.
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:22 pm to DyeHardDylan
quote:
He should focus a lot less on the politics and a little more on the basketball honestly
This is one of the weirdest stances Auburn fans have. Legitimately don’t get why it bothers some of yall that a coach has an opinion on something. And I say this as someone who doesn’t fully agree with his stance on the subject. What’s next, yall gonna say Bruce should focus more on winning games than raising money for cancer prevention?
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:22 pm to AA7
In close game unless you just have someone go off from 3 or a team go off from 3 you have to get to the rim. Either by screen, cut, or iso. We didn’t do that consistently through the game. It cost us. Probably a little to much confidence that we could eventually hit the 3 just didn’t happen today. You have to attack the basket every possession and kick out to the 3.
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:30 pm to DyeHardDylan
Stfu bitch.
This post was edited on 3/22/24 at 8:30 pm
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:30 pm to RandySavage
quote:
It's our guard play that hurts us in the tournament imo
Aden was absolutely terrible and Tre had a poor game as well. Not sure if Aden has what it takes honestly.
Posted on 3/22/24 at 8:34 pm to StringedInstruments
He keeps recruiting pencil thin guards 5’10” 5’11” 160 lbs.
Posted on 3/22/24 at 9:24 pm to StringedInstruments
Typically our rotation and depth helps when we use it to our advantage. We let Yale dictate the pace of the game.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 6:32 am to raWelgaE
In fairness to Bruce, the whistles had as much to do with dictating the pace of the game as anything Yale did.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 6:40 am to AU238
Bruce cannot use whistles as an excuse. He is always going to deal with them. He isn't liked and his political beliefs are not liked by the left. He has a personality but a reputation as a slimy snitch. He also allows too much noise, chirping, chippiness, mouthiness, etc. His team also committed 19 fouls per game which was good for 325th in basketball 
A lot of it we can live with.
But Tre Donaldson bricking FTs, Broome bricking a one and one with 6 minutes left.
KD being bad KD with 4 mins left
Our guards being shite (and we knew they would be)
CBM acting like a punk.
And So On... Those are the reasons why we lost.
Denver, JWill, Broome and Moore are the only players that deserved to be out there.
A lot of it we can live with.
But Tre Donaldson bricking FTs, Broome bricking a one and one with 6 minutes left.
KD being bad KD with 4 mins left
Our guards being shite (and we knew they would be)
CBM acting like a punk.
And So On... Those are the reasons why we lost.
Denver, JWill, Broome and Moore are the only players that deserved to be out there.
This post was edited on 3/23/24 at 6:51 am
Posted on 3/23/24 at 6:56 am to jangalang
I was talking about the pace of the game, specifically. Not exonerating Bruce of all responsibility for the loss. Take a breath 
Posted on 3/23/24 at 7:13 am to AU238
CBM being thrown out in the first few minutes and Williams rolling his ankle early is what hurt us. I watched Williams the rest of that game and that ankle was bothering him. When he landed after a dunk you could see him wince.
CBM was our 3rd leading scorer so that was the difference. Refs screwed Auburn. His foul should have been a flagrant 1. Even the announcers replayed and saw were the Yale player was hitting him and nothing was being called.
CBM was our 3rd leading scorer so that was the difference. Refs screwed Auburn. His foul should have been a flagrant 1. Even the announcers replayed and saw were the Yale player was hitting him and nothing was being called.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 7:17 am to AU238
quote:
Take a breath
I have no problem with your post. lol
Posted on 3/23/24 at 8:21 am to BrounHaller
PG play was awful. Holloway has a long way to go to even be a good college player. I'm not sure what happened with him.
Posted on 3/23/24 at 8:42 am to StringedInstruments
I'm not sure, but shitty guards sure do.
This post was edited on 3/23/24 at 8:54 am
Posted on 3/23/24 at 9:08 am to AU86
His guard issues are they are young. Let these guys mature and become Jr and Sr and we’ll be fantastic.
Missing CBM was huge due 2 his clutch plays. He has been the one to make the shot when needed all yr when needed.
Missing CBM was huge due 2 his clutch plays. He has been the one to make the shot when needed all yr when needed.
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