Hey, it's a tough argument to make, or maybe not so tough...
With Bird being gone, his minutes have gone to two players, Chauca and Singer, who need the minutes to build their confidence and flow.
This could pay dividends down the road as we develop the depth/quality of our bench.
Singer's minutes in the first games were
22
23
23
20
24
27
then 28 in the 2OT (+10minutes) game with Bird gone.
Chauca took 41 of the total 50 minutes there.
and with Bird AND Chauca out vs Nevada, Singer got 37 of 40 minutes. His stats:
37 min, 2-5 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4 boards, 3 assists, 0 blocks, 0 steals, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, 5 points
That kind of experience can only help, and wouldn't have happened for both Singer and Chauca were Bird available.
My senior year of HS, our league MVP star player broke his jaw mid-league-season and the rest of the team had to step up and be more than role players. By the time the league tourney came, our star was back and we were better overall than before, no longer so dependent on him - we won 3 games in 3 nights, the last 2 against the undefeated regular season champ in their building.
Don't despair, Cal fans. This was accomplished while winning.
Here's another tangent on the theme, per another thread:
Had MM recruited a bevy of bigs that we all wanted, would David Kravish be as solid of a player as he is now?
Think about it. He's been a 4 year starter. Would he have gotten that experience were their more interior depth (for all 4 years) and David was not pushed to contribute as he has been?
I could go off an another tangent by suggesting that perhaps David would be EVEN BETTER if he were going up against better teammates in PRACTICE, a la Marcus Lee of Kentucky, who Calipari saw fit to give 13 minutes whole to against 4-3 Eastern Kentucky (with which he went 5-6 from the floor for 10 points and 3 boards, 2 fouls and 2 turnovers). I mean, check it out: 10 points in 13 minutes IS impressive! But I digress.
With Bird being gone, his minutes have gone to two players, Chauca and Singer, who need the minutes to build their confidence and flow.
This could pay dividends down the road as we develop the depth/quality of our bench.
Singer's minutes in the first games were
22
23
23
20
24
27
then 28 in the 2OT (+10minutes) game with Bird gone.
Chauca took 41 of the total 50 minutes there.
and with Bird AND Chauca out vs Nevada, Singer got 37 of 40 minutes. His stats:
37 min, 2-5 FG, 1-2 3FG, 4 boards, 3 assists, 0 blocks, 0 steals, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, 5 points
That kind of experience can only help, and wouldn't have happened for both Singer and Chauca were Bird available.
My senior year of HS, our league MVP star player broke his jaw mid-league-season and the rest of the team had to step up and be more than role players. By the time the league tourney came, our star was back and we were better overall than before, no longer so dependent on him - we won 3 games in 3 nights, the last 2 against the undefeated regular season champ in their building.
Don't despair, Cal fans. This was accomplished while winning.
Here's another tangent on the theme, per another thread:
Had MM recruited a bevy of bigs that we all wanted, would David Kravish be as solid of a player as he is now?
Think about it. He's been a 4 year starter. Would he have gotten that experience were their more interior depth (for all 4 years) and David was not pushed to contribute as he has been?
I could go off an another tangent by suggesting that perhaps David would be EVEN BETTER if he were going up against better teammates in PRACTICE, a la Marcus Lee of Kentucky, who Calipari saw fit to give 13 minutes whole to against 4-3 Eastern Kentucky (with which he went 5-6 from the floor for 10 points and 3 boards, 2 fouls and 2 turnovers). I mean, check it out: 10 points in 13 minutes IS impressive! But I digress.