Upon further reflection...

[SFHoya99]

To simplify:

If Greg had started hitting threes like he did last conference season, this team would be damn good on offense.

Although I do enjoy all the PT that DSR is getting. He's freaking fun to watch.

[MCIGuy]

Mar 11, 2013 21:20:53 GMT -5 This Just In said:

Side Note: I assume your avatar of Avery Brooks toasting is from his "Deep Space Nine" days and not from "A Man Called Hawk"/"Spencer For Hire" days

Correct. Its from the episode "In the Pale Moonlight", widely considered one of Trek's finest episodes as well as Trek's darkest hour of television.

Yeah, a small part of me is bit on the nerd side. But unlike the blokes on Casual Hoya I have the decency to not stoop to using any Voyager references or images. ;D

[Loyal Hoya]

I think:

1. Whit is a very good player

2. JTIII is a very good coach

3. Very good coaches usually benefit from having more rather than fewer very good players

4. It is theoretically possible that JTIII had some blind spot related to some aspect of the offensive strategy or the distribution of minutes, and losing Greg caused him to confront this blind spot with the result that we are playing better. However, I'm not sure I have seen compelling evidence that that is the case.

5. Otto and DSR are playing significantly better than they were playing earlier in the year. It does seem that DSR has received some of Whit's minutes. That extra time could very well have accelerated his rate of improvement. However, the causation may also go the other way. Maybe his improved play has bought him some extra minutes. I think Otto's improved play and his increased usage in the offense would likely have occurred whether or not we had Whit (see #2 and #3).

6. We have no idea how much or little Whit would have improved over the course of the season

7. I don't think anyone is making this argument, but there are no known chemistry-related issues with Greg that would suggest what is often implied by "addition-by-subtraction" type comments. Other than letting down his team by becoming academically ineligible, he seems to be a good teammate and seems to be well liked by the players and coaches (although this is just my vague impression, I really have no idea)

My best guess is that we would likely be a better team with him rather than without him.

Maybe somebody should start a thread to discuss whether or not we would be better off if Hollis had stayed.

[calhoya]

Is the team better without Whittington? Who cares? The team is better--period. When your lineup consists of 2 juniors, only one of whom has played alot, three sophomores and a sixth man who is a freshman, it would be surprising if they did not improve over the course of a 30 game season against some of the toughtest teams in the nation. Would certain players have improved as much with Whittington in the lineup? Maybe not. On the other hand, Whitttington would have improved.

This team's Achilles heal is the short bench and the post play. With Whittington, there would be another quality player who can rebound. When foul trouble hits Hopkins and Moses, you could field a lineup of Lubick, Porter and Whit plus Starks, DSR and Trawick. Who wouldn't take that right now heading into the post-season?

[jwp91]

I don't think we see Trawick and DSR where they are right now without the additional play time they received.

With Whit, we are a grood team. I would rather have what we have right now heading into the tournament.

[jwp91]

Thanks to Allen Green for trying to look at each point of view with statistics. See posting here.

www.hoyaprospectus.com/2013/03/changes.html?showComment=1363093954155#c8221952375559643346

[This Just In]

Mar 12, 2013 8:13:36 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Thanks to Allen Green for trying to look at each point of view with statistics. See posting here.

www.hoyaprospectus.com/2013/03/changes.html?showComment=1363093954155#c8221952375559643346

Thanks for the link, there is some real in depth analysis done

[mfk24]

Mar 12, 2013 8:12:56 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

I don't think we see Trawick and DSR where they are right now without the additional play time they received.

With Whit, we are a grood team. I would rather have what we have right now heading into the tournament.

Foul trouble is a major concern going forward though. We've had that exact problem in the tourney before, when a vital part of our team saddled with foul trouble. I don't know how anyone can deny what a tremendous benefit it would be to have Whitt available to come off the bench. Right now, III doesn't really have anywhere to go if our guards are in trouble. Trawick is quick to pick up fouls, that much we know but if Starks picks up fouls too (Nova game), we are extremely thin in the back court. I think Whitt's length alone against Nova's bigger guards would probably have won that game for us, regardless of how bad we were playing. Bowen, Caprio, and whoever else JTIII has been using in a pinch can't do what Whit does.

All of our bench scoring essentially comes from one guy. Moses might be good for any easy layup or a trip to the free throw line, but for the most part DSR is it. Whit could definitely provide an additional scoring punch.