I don't hate Sheldon at all. I'm fine with him playing a role coming off the bench as a backup ball handler. And if hes hitting from 3 that day, give him some extra run. If not, no big deal.

He's just too small (rebounding), too slow (allows guys to drive past him and either get to the rim or force rotations/fouls and/or step back or kick out 3s) and not a CONSISTENTLY good enough 3pt shooter to make up for it.

We will be a better team when either a) he consistently shoots the 3 at a 40%+ clip or b) one of Conners, Fisher, Burris, Kelly become ready for starters minutes.

I tend to agree him starting is a hedge on the fact those other guys aren't ready YET. Hopefully that changes as the season progresses.

I know it was a young team with not many options in 2019, but Roderick and McDay for example, were thrown into the fire and figured it out as freshman. McDay specifically was playing close to 30mpg and Roderick was playing 19pmpg.

Since then, AJB was the only freshman who averaged more than 20mpg. Elmore only got 15mpg and Hadaway less than 10mpg.

Evans clearly wasn't ready a season ago and Burris was hurt. Elliot looks the part of a major contributor, but even then Boals was slow to rip the band-aid off. He didn't hit the 20 minute mark in a meaningful game last year until the end of January.

Are none of the freshman, Kuany, Burris, Evans, really not ready (and why not for the latter 2)? Or this a recent Boals thing? We have a lot of seniors on this year's team, I would think that would ease the learning curve and take the pressure off of them to just play their game.

We were a better team in the past when AJB played more his freshman year. The experience that Roderick and McDay got played a huge role for their individual and team success the following season.

I honestly think it boils down to defense and trust. I too, want/think the best thing is for Kelly to emerge and be our starting SF. I'd be willing to take some lumps early, even it isn't perfect, for the long game payoff. Apparently he/others just aren't there yet in Boals eyes. You'd have to ask Jeff why.

I will also say we know Jeff likes to play "positionless" basketball, with few set plays, so defenses can't switch/rotate/focus on specific players. There has to be a level of knowledge, feel and trust in a system like that too that I'm sure takes some adjusting for 18 year old kids who are used to being "the man" in HS.

Seems in the early going this year, and recent years, Jeff has valued experience and trust to not muck up the system over raw (albeit sometimes unpolished/unfinished) talent.

Thoughts after a couple of games:

-- Obviously the sample size is not meaningful, but right now our best net lineup is Pavs/Conners/Elliot/Hadaway/Simmons. I think that's the lineup most of us expected, so interesting datapoint.

-- Been very impressed by Breath so far. He's a better finisher than I expected -- the offense still is stagnant for stretch, which I think is just a byproduct of Boals' approach, but the Pavs pick and roll with Simmons/Breath/Hadaway as the roll man has created a lot of good looks so far this year. Last year, Clayton basically never finished off the roll and opted to pop ~90% of the time, which meant a lot of standing around.

-- But it sure would be nice if we had some shooters off the ball. Hard to tell if Kelly can be that. Conners needs more minutes, and as much as it pains me to say it, I get why Sheldon's seeing so many minutes. I still think it's too many, but we're short on options.

-- I never would have thought this coming into the season, but at this point it wouldn't surprise me if Elliot's the guy who sees his minutes decline as Kelly + Conners do more. If Elliot doesn't show a willingness to shoot off the catch 3 or 4 times a game, I think we just become too easy to guard. Even Kuany showed the willingness in the game 1.

Breath was the saving grace after Illinois State went on its run to start the half. He had 7 double digit games last year at UNCG. Most notably 16 against High Point. He strikes me as a guy that knows his place, but can step up offensively if needed. As demonstrated last night.

Shooting -- I would like to think leaning into pick and rolls/our bigs for offense, would open up more clean looks from 3PT range. This is where again, I think Boals coaching can adjust his coaching. Actually run some plays for Conners and Sheldon. Potentially even Burris if he gets minutes.

If you're going to trot Sheldon out there for 30-35 minutes a game, at least get him open from the 3. He had zero attempts last night -- which might be a byproduct of a lack of confidence. However, he just turns into a high minute glue guy without that 3PT upside.

For possibly the first time in the Boals era, the size and athleticism seems to be there, we just need to figure out who are shooters are and find them clean looks.

I think you pointed out in the game thread the lineup of Pavs-Conners-Kelly-Hadaway-Simmons. I tend to agree that I think this is our best lineup option from a balance standpoint.

Knock me for this comparison if you want, but Breath strikes me as sort of a Doug Taylor-light. A little smaller than Big Doug, but plays his role and will have the occasional scoring night like he had last night. Thick, physical presence. I like what he brings to the table.

I, like seemingly everyone not named Boals, don't fully understand all of the minutes to Sheldon. Another meh night from him last night. As mentioned on the game thread, his late turnover when we were up about 6 was truly awful. It looked like something you'd expect from a true freshman, not a senior. If he's not scoring, not shooting a good clip, not an assist guy, not an elite defender, he's just...out there. A lot. Like others have said, it seems like he'd be better in a bench role in smaller minutes, but I'm not a coach.

Not with our recent injury history, lol.

Still not enough data to make definitive decisions, but interesting nonetheless.

Based on that our best 5 should be:

1) Paveletzke - on all 4
2) Hadaway - on all 4
3) Sheldon - on 3 of 4
4) Breath - on 2 of 4, but both include the Pavs/Hadaway/Sheldon trio
5) Conners or Kelly - on 2 of 4, both with 1 with the above quartet. Probably play Dior if you want more offense and 3's and JJ if you want more defense, rebounding and length.

Simmons and Elliott first two off the bench. Something I said previously.

That being said, even if that's our best/most efficient lineup, a team starting Sheldon and a freshman might just explain why we aren't really all that GOOD.

Didn’t you say from the start of last season that PAVS should be coming off the bench full-time? What changed?

3 games into the conference schedule, and we're basically down to a 7 man rotation.

MPG in conference:

Jackson Paveletzke: 37.7
Aidan Hadaway: 35.3
Ajay Sheldon: 29.7
JJ Kelly: 26.7
Javan Simmons: 24.3
Elijah Elliott: 19.0
Jalen Breath: 15.0
Dior Conners: 6.0
Jesse Burris: 5.0 (1 game)
Kiir Kuany: 4.7
Ayden Evans: 2.0 (1 game)

Will be interesting to see where Elliott's minutes go if he's out an extended period. There aren't really any good answers, unfortunately. Sadly, I think that means Sheldon plays more. Though maybe Burris & Kelly both get a bit more time.

I'd also like to see more minutes for Simmons, but I think a part of it is just that he's very big, and we ask him to do a ton when he's on the floor. That's only sustainable for so may minutes.

Honestly, pretty easy to look at the above and understand why we're just not that good. Only so many impact players on that list.

7 is tight even for Boals.

He'd rather sell his parents into slavery than play 9, but 7... reeks of the lack of confidence in his team.

What are the basketball redshirt rules? Isn't it touch the floor 4 games, that's a burned year?

Fisher just hit 4. If Elliott can't go - time to push your chips to the middle of the table. Despite being 2-1 in the conference, I don't think anyone is gonna argue we're a very good basketball team. Time to open it up a little. Get JJ and Fisher going together. Get Kuany some extended minutes at 3/4. Hopefully Burris can hit some 3's off the bench. Dior finds his shot, gets a little more comfortable and starts contributing more. Breath settles in. Simmons and Hadaway work together a little better. Jack keeps cruisin.

I don't think this is a BAD team, it's just a messy one. A lot of parts and no glue.

No unfortunately not like football, which is bogus. Playing even a single second of action burns your redshirt in basketball. Hardship waivers are granted for injured players who have played 30% or less of the team's games.