Well at least we can say that Harper is not the only one doing it wrong. Ole Miss does not start Angel Baker, Bama does not start their two best performance guards, For most of this season Barnes did not start Ziegler and he finally did the last three games. For me I worry more than Jill is only getting about 17 to 20 minutes a game and Franklin 13 to 15 this is far more of worrying to me than that either of them start. She doesn't always have them in there at the ending of the game either. I much rather see them play most of the fourth quarter than the first. The excuse given was that they didn't want to see Jill get in foul trouble early thye much rather it be Striplin. I want someone to ask her not about starting, but about minutes played as that is important to me. If some think starting is more important I can accept they are entitled to that opinion.
I do think they worry about JH fouling, and I'm not sure how many minutes JF's knee has in it. That steal and run out JF got last game was just painful to watch. Wonderful play, but wow is she hampered. So that may be part of the rational.
Including, unfortunately, every recruit and potential portal player.
What does that have to do with coaching decisions and trying to win a game? Sure some players think it makes them elite to start. Not really a concern of mine. All I am saying and that is my story and I'm sticking to it is that minutes played by the best players are most important whether they are starting or not. To me finishing would be more important than starting. Of course if you have five players that are going to play all 40 minutes they have to start.
I think a lot of the time it is about a player being foul prone and coaches not wanting them to get in foul trouble early. They want them to be available for most of the latter part of the game. As far as a player having a chip on his shoulder for not starting probably wouldn't want him on the team unless he wasn't getting starter minutes. I would be more upset about not playing enough than when I played.
No because in most cases the end of the game is more important than the beginning and if they have fouled out they are not available, No your not right even if you think you are. What if you have eight players and you consider five of them equal talent? Do starters start every Quarter? Do they start the fourth quarter and play the entire 10 minutes. If you have a foul prone player that picks up two fouls in the first five minutes then they are sitting the next fifteen. Harper says Jill is not starting because she doesn't want her in foul trouble later in the game. I can agree if she is playing most of the last 20 minutes of the game. She is not and that is the question that needs to be answered. People really jumped on when she said it doesn't matter who starts. Of course it matters to some extent, but how many minutes they play in the entire game matters more.
