Babb Be Gone(Catch All)

[bigdaddyhawg]

I saw Babb's talent which is why I was a big fan of his although he barely played. He just wasn't able to get on the court as a freshman. I thought that next year would be his year but he didn't want to hang around to find out.

As to his minutes played this year, hard to argue with the results on the floor. We had a helluva year with Babb on the bench. Probably was the right call by the coaches.

From my perspective, it's not this simple.  I believe there are more things involved in "handling" Nick Babb than simply playing time, although I believe that's obviously part of it.

But I believe Babb deserved some minutes that were given to other guards.  I said as much very early in the season, because I saw his potential.  Personally, I believe Mike's rotations were inconsistent at times, which would lead a kid like Babb to become disillusioned.

But I think the more serious failure came from the staff's failure to properly build a strong relationship with the kid, which resulted in his confusion and his eventual departure.  IMO that's something for which there is NO excuse -- unless he was a kid they wanted to weed from the program, which I do not believe.

IMO Nick Babb slipped through several cracks, and that is a failure on the part of our BB staff.

[HF#1]

Iowa State got a hell of a player. 

[hogsanity]

Iowa State got a hell of a player. 

If that is true, that means MA had a hell of a player sitting his bench all year, at a position that was not the strength of the team to start with.

[bigdaddyhawg]

If that is true, that means MA had a hell of a player sitting his bench all year, at a position that was not the strength of the team to start with.

He was in love with Madden and Watkins.  Where was Babb supposed to play?

IMO Mike made a very good decision re: Beard.  Beard stabilized the entire team.

And I don't see Babb as a PG anyway, so the minutes he should have gotten were given to Madden, Bell, and Watkins.

IMO there could have been some time taken from all three and given to Babb, at least enough for him to feel like he was a contributor.

[hogsanity]

He was in love with Madden and Watkins.  Where was Babb supposed to play?

IMO Mike made a very good decision re: Beard.  Beard stabilized the entire team.

And I don't see Babb as a PG anyway, so the minutes he should have gotten were given to Madden, Bell, and Watkins.

IMO there could have been some time taken from all three and given to Babb, at least enough for him to feel like he was a contributor.

I never have been a fan of playing a SR constantly, unless he is all conf, at the expense of experience of younger players ( talking basketball only ).

My problem with Watkins is he is no offensive threat at all. I do not think Babb would have changed the teams record one bit, last season, but he very well might have made the difference in some games next year.

[bigdaddyhawg]

I never have been a fan of playing a SR constantly, unless he is all conf, at the expense of experience of younger players ( talking basketball only ).

My problem with Watkins is he is no offensive threat at all. I do not think Babb would have changed the teams record one bit, last season, but he very well might have made the difference in some games next year.

I've never been much of a Madden fan and I've not hidden that POV.

I think Manny is solid and fits in a lot of situations, but there is no way in purple hell he is half the defender Babb was, yet Manny was often in the game because of his defense.  To me that's a head scratcher, to say the least.

And Manny's offensive skills are limited, but his value was in distributing the ball when everyone else on the court had no interest in doing that.  IMO MW balances out what the other guys on the court don't bring, and that's not a bad thing.

Still, I have no question Babb could have gotten some of his minutes, and that could have made a big difference in keeping him.