It's George. No, the other one.

[Spider2020]

I agree with all of this. But the problem (for Sal specifically) is what we are doing right now is working. We are 20-6 and probably playing our best basketball of the year. Golden, Cayo and Burton are all playing at a high level.

So it's hard to justify forcing more minutes Sal's way to try to gain him some confidence. In my opinion it's up to him to find a way to make a positive impact in his handful of minutes. Mooney has not stashed him at the end of the bench (a la Pistokache, Friendshue, etc.) with no chance of ever seeing the court. Go out there and grab the bull by the horns Sal!

To this point, Sal should’ve gotten more minutes last year when our season was lost anyway. I firmly believe the minutes Goose got last year are a big reason why he is so improved this year, otherwise we might be talking about him the same way we are about Sal.
Sal’s shown flashes (like when he got a steal @VCU, ran the full length of the floor for the layup) but I agree his confidence is shot. Made one bad pass last night and Mooney called Grant over to check in

 

[ur2K]

Last year, his role was undefined. That has changed this year, its up to the player to make the most of those minutes he gets. Burton is a freshman and is showing he needs to play more b/c of the impact he's making when he is in the game.

 

[97spiderfan]

To this point, Sal should’ve gotten more minutes last year when our season was lost anyway. I firmly believe the minutes Goose got last year are a big reason why he is so improved this year, otherwise we might be talking about him the same way we are about Sal.
Sal’s shown flashes (like when he got a steal @VCU, ran the full length of the floor for the layup) but I agree his confidence is shot. Made one bad pass last night and Mooney called Grant over to check in

Yeah, he had a bad pass last night and immediately got yanked. Meanwhile, when Grace came in, he did almost exactly the same thing and still got his minutes and then praised by Mooney as really understanding our defense.

Grace wasn't horrible last night but feel we would have gotten the same "production" out of Sal, had he gotten Grace's minutes. It befuddles me, how Mooney gives Grace so much run (when Grace has such limited upside) and then we have Sal who was a BCS recruit, has a body that can create some real match-up problems, and actually tries to make stuff happen when he is on the court and he doesn't get the same benefit of the doubt.

 

[97spiderfan]

On a positive note, the evolution of Grant Golden over the past 2 months from a defensive standpoint is one of the main reasons we are where we are right now. He is using his body and frame fully on both ends of the court. He is playing like a first team A-10 player right now, dominating on both ends of the court.

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Yeah, he had a bad pass last night and immediately got yanked. Meanwhile, when Grace came in, he did almost exactly the same thing and still got his minutes and then praised by Mooney as really understanding our defense.

Grace wasn't horrible last night but feel we would have gotten the same "production" out of Sal, had he gotten Grace's minutes. It befuddles me, how Mooney gives Grace so much run (when Grace has such limited upside) and then we have Sal who was a BCS recruit, has a body that can create some real match-up problems, and actually tries to make stuff happen when he is on the court and he doesn't get the same benefit of the doubt.

Coach Mooney saying "I need to get Sal a lot more minutes" is literally in Sal's player bio. Of course that was last year, but you'd think he could get some run since we've had more "comfortable" wins this season.

 

[invinoveritasinaquasanitas]

It befuddles me, how Mooney gives Grace so much run (when Grace has such limited upside) and then we have Sal who was a BCS recruit, has a body that can create some real match-up problems, and actually tries to make stuff happen when he is on the court and he doesn't get the same benefit of the doubt.

Facial hair is the answer and the way to Mooney's heart. Sal needs to grow a beard.

 

[spiderman]

I thought Grace was really good last night hedging on ball screens and moving on offense. no idea why 97 takes every opportunity to criticize him daily.

 

[Spider2020]

Yeah Grace is fine in the role he has. At this point Grant is on fire so we don’t need too many minutes from subs anyway. As long as we keep winning I won’t complain

 

[VT4700]

I thought Grace was really good last night hedging on ball screens and moving on offense. no idea why 97 takes every opportunity to criticize him daily.

And Grace just keeps improving. He has gone from just not hurting us and buying time for Grant to giving us positive minutes and helping us when out there.

 

[Wood Hall]

Wood, do you remember the center for Wisconsin a few years ago that took them to the final four. Well, he was like Sal, that center didn't do anything until his senior year. Oh, Kaminsky was College Basketball Player of the Year in 2015 (his senior year).....Give him a chance to develop!!

OK, fair enough. Let's hope that happens. Kaminsky had a pretty solid junior year too.

 

[97spiderfan]

I thought Grace was really good last night hedging on ball screens and moving on offense. no idea why 97 takes every opportunity to criticize him daily.

Of course, you did. I criticize him because he is a passive player. Last night, he played 10 minutes, scored two points and grabbed 0 rebounds, had a foul and committed a turnover. And you thought he played well because he was "moving on offense". You think that because that is the bar you set for him. Well, geez, if Grace just moves and doesn't trip over his own 2 feet, you think, great job. I think, damn, shouldn't we expect more from a regular rotational guy.

Grace is the classic Mooney sub. He is passive so he doesn't grossly screw up when he is on the court, but also doesn't make plays when he is out there either.

If Weir can't come in and take nearly all of Grace's minutes next year, than we can probably ascertain that he is not Grant's heir apparent.

 

[gcarter52]

OK, fair enough. Let's hope that happens. Kaminsky had a pretty solid junior year too.

True, I grant you that!!! Let's hope, lol.

 

[97spiderfan]

And I said he wasn't horrible last night, which is pretty accurate, which I realize is you, VT, and apparently Mooney's bar for a great game by Grace.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

Yeah, he had a bad pass last night and immediately got yanked. Meanwhile, when Grace came in, he did almost exactly the same thing and still got his minutes and then praised by Mooney as really understanding our defense.

Grace wasn't horrible last night but feel we would have gotten the same "production" out of Sal, had he gotten Grace's minutes. It befuddles me, how Mooney gives Grace so much run (when Grace has such limited upside) and then we have Sal who was a BCS recruit, has a body that can create some real match-up problems, and actually tries to make stuff happen when he is on the court and he doesn't get the same benefit of the doubt.

97 Grace actually looked real comfortable out there and his movement on defense was better than most of time. He did
great give and go with Gus in a tight space and made a nice reverse layup. Plus his boxing out was not bad at all. Against VCU
he did have 4 rebounds which was something we have not been seeing. I like Sal as better athlete than Grace, but Grace to me
just seems more comfortable out on the court and that could be what CM is seeing

 

[97spiderfan]

97 Grace actually looked real comfortable out there and his movement on defense was better than most of time. He did
great give and go with Gus in a tight space and made a nice reverse layup. Plus his boxing out was not bad at all. Against VCU
he did have 4 rebounds which was something we have not been seeing. I like Sal as better athlete than Grace, but Grace to me
just seems more comfortable out on the court and that could be what CM is seeing

Agreed, Carolina. I just think Sal doesn't get a chance to get comfortable because the second he makes a mistake he gets pulled. I know that is just as much on Sal but I wish Mooney would let him settle in a bit and see how he looks with maybe a 4-5 minute extended block of time.

It's not like we are losing much of anything if that comes at the expense of some of Grace's time.

 

[spiderman]

sorry 97, I just feel the need to point out the positives with Grace just to offset your daily bashing.
in listing his stats you neglected to mention his 2 steals in 10 minutes, but that's no surprise.

Sal's been getting opportunities all year and he's still played more than Matt this year. but to me and most everyone except you watching without bias, Matt's playing fine and better each time out in the backup 5 capacity. the current rotations are working just fine. I hope Sal excels next time he gets the chance, too.

 

[whampas]

It appears that playing time this year is predicated on a sub's ability to play defense as there are adequate scoring options most always on the floor. Grace, to me, appears to be doing a better job right now than Sal. I believe Sal has a better upside in the long run but he has been a turnover waiting to happen in recent games. It's on Sal to perform when he gets the chance.

 

[urmite]

It appears that playing time this year is predicated on a sub's ability to play defense as there are adequate scoring options most always on the floor. Grace, to me, appears to be doing a better job right now than Sal. I believe Sal has a better upside in the long run but he has been a turnover waiting to happen in recent games. It's on Sal to perform when he gets the chance.

If we need someone to steady the backups, it is Matt.
If we need someone to energize the backups, it is Sal.

 

[SFspidur]

Grace is a much better fit as natural drop-in replacement for Grant, though he obviously isn't a primary scoring option. But the offense can flow through him just as it does with Grant. In fact, Grant and Grace have almost identical assist-per-minute rates in A-10 play this year.

Sal has a total of two assists in A-10 play. It's a very different look for our offense when he's out there. Doesn't mean we can't run it from time to time in spurts and rely more on Gilly and Blake to distribute, but Grace definitely has a better sense for our offense right now, and that's a big part of why he's now playing more minutes than Sal.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

I see the Sal vs. Grace minutes as CLASSIC Mooney. It is a repeat of prior seasons. Lots of examples where his perspective is often not so much who brings the most upside, but who doesn't hurt you as much.

Safer, even if they don't do much in a positive way. Recall Deion Taylor. Never did much to help the team, but, he also didn't do a lot to hurt the team.

Plenty of other examples to illustrate the same point.

Sal gets yanked quick when he makes errors that fall into the "hurt you" zone. Grace, although not mistake free, is MORE steady.

Of course, this is chicken vs. egg. If you rarely get to play you will make more mistakes, and if you make too many mistakes you will rarely get to play.

 

[SpiderTrap]

I think right now Grace and Sal are just buying time to rest Grant. The hope is they don't hurt us too bad when they are out there. You can see teams with a good big man salivate when they come in the game because they will try to exploit them on defense. I look at the second VCU game as a telling sign. Mooney probably did his best job all season of running Grant in and out of the game and using time around the media timeouts to give Grant extra rest, but still keep him on the floor. The result - Sal played 1 minute, Grace 9 and Grant 30.
This is also why I think the Weir kid has the best chance, albeit it small, of cracking the lineup next year - he only has to beat out Sal and Grace, and he can get maybe 8-10 minutes a night. Maybe Sal and Grace improve over the summer - who knows. but right now - they don't give us much of anything off the bench.
But there is also the saying - if ain't broke, don't fix it and we seem to be winning right now with them.

 

[SpiderRick]

Tired of the "he was recruited by BCS schools so therefore he has to be good" talk.
Some high school stars never pan out. Sal doesn't pass the eye test for me, not yet anyway. I have seen notable improvements by Grace, however.

 

[MrTbone]

Where are the hovercars we were promised?

They’re in the Nevada hangar with the teleportation machines that the airline industry has prevented from disrupting the market.

Buy more shares of Boeing.

 

[MrTbone]

97 Grace actually looked real comfortable out there and his movement on defense was better than most of time. He did
great give and go with Gus in a tight space and made a nice reverse layup. Plus his boxing out was not bad at all. Against VCU
he did have 4 rebounds which was something we have not been seeing. I like Sal as better athlete than Grace, but Grace to me
just seems more comfortable out on the court and that could be what CM is seeing

Matt had the benefit of actually backing up Grant all of last year. I expect sal would be as far along if he had that year of experience. Instead he had minor minutes backing up Nate where he’s a more natural fit.

He should be better next fall.