Andrew Fitzgerald and his lack of playing time

[thebigabd]

Ok, the guy comes out and scores 14 and 5 in the opener.... We all think he is the "instant impact" guy to play next to Tiny, and then he barely plays for the next 11 or 12 games. In some games he doesnt even come off the bench. Then, on the road against a good Gonzaga team he plays 21 minutes and scores 13 points and 5 rebounds.

Why hasn't he been playing? I dont think its a discipline issue, because after one of the games where he didnt even play Capel said he should have played him, or at least played him more (unless I am mistaken)... Orlando and Wright arent even capable of those numbers, and he clearly is.

I can't come up with one good reason why Fitzgerald hasnt been playing 25-30 minutes a game all season to get ready for the Big 12 and next year. What do you have to lose? He is clearly the better talent and it's not like Wright is going to win you any games.

I don't get it, coach.

 

[Cheno]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Hard to argue with that post.
I'd change your title to "I have a problem with the coaching staff and how the handle Andrew Fitzgerald" though.

 

[boomerbaby]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Probably related to defense or lack of it....???

 

[AdaSooner]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Seems to me your problem is the same as mine; it's with Fitgerald's lack of playing time, not with him.

Frankly, I have been impressed with Andrew in every game he has been in. He makes freshman mistakes and finds himself out of position on defense on occasion. But I could say that about every player on the team. His 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal in 21 minutes was a lot more impressive than RW's 2 points and 4 rebs in the same amount of time. Not to pick on Ryan, but this "he has more experience and he's a better defender and rebounder" excuse, just doesn't cut it with me. I'm not in awe of a fifth-year senior who is averaging 3.3 ppg and 3.7 rpg.

I say give Drew some of those minutes to develop more depth and prepare him for next year. Wright has had two and a half seasons at OU and two at UCLA to prove himself, and it should be obvious by now that he is not going to get any bettter.

 

[Sooner23]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

I don't get it, coach.

I don't get it either.

There must be something else because I just can't believe that Capel and the staff would actually think Wright is a better player. He's only played major minutes in two games, and it's a shame to think how much further he'd be if he had been developed more in those other 11 games he basically got no playing time.

Starting Fitz and playing him with Tiny inside also improves our perimeter defense, because it pushes Crock back out there.

 

[sheepdogs]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

He might not have the swiftness of a gazelle but he does display enough talent to warrant more playing time and you can tell he has the raw talent to help this team. Andrew played the equal amount of time as Wright and scored eleven more points with one less rebound. He's not going to improve by not participating and since Wright, who is a senior who will likely not improve over the course of the remaining season, the question remains when will Fitzgerald get more minutes.

 

[DenverSooner]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Hard to argue with that post.
I'd change your title to "I have a problem with the coaching staff and how the handle Andrew Fitzgerald" though.

Seems like I mentioned something to this effect a couple of weeks ago.

Do these coaches know what they are doing? Obviously they can recruit but what about run a team. Last year, regardless of what anyone wants to admit, Ryan Wrights minutes went to Orlando Allen down the stretch. This year Allen gets almost zero minutes. Why did the coaches do that? People can say they were garbage minutes all they wan but they were still minutes where a player got an opportunity to demonstrate he was learning what was being taught in practice.

 

[thebigabd]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Seems to me your problem is the same as mine; it's with Fitgerald's lack of playing time, not with him.

Yes, the title was not worded very well, lol... I think Fitz is a good player, I like him, this thread is about the coaching staff not playing him.

I don't know how to edit the post title.

 

[sheepdogs]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Yes, the title was not worded very well, lol... I think Fitz is a good player, I like him, this thread is about the coaching staff not playing him.

I don't know how to edit the post title.

When the edit button is clicked there will be a "button" on the following screen which says "go advanced." Click on it and your editing features will increase.

 

[Cheno]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Last year, regardless of what anyone wants to admit, Ryan Wrights minutes went to Orlando Allen down the stretch. This year Allen gets almost zero minutes. Why did the coaches do that?

Do what? Orlando Allen probably didn't even get in half the games in January, February & March. And I don't think there was a single game in Jan-March that he played more minutes than Ryan Wright. Don't know where you came up with this.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Hard to argue with that post.
I'd change your title to "I have a problem with the coaching staff and how the handle Andrew Fitzgerald" though.

this. Maybe the coaches should trust him a little more than they have. He's showed the effort and if he doesn't start to get Wright's PT, the coaches aren't doing the things they should to develop him.

 

[playmakr]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Capel would probably use some weak excuse about not practicing well. Okay, Ryan Wright must practice ten times as well as he plays, because Fitz is light years ahead of him in games.

The substitution patterns and in-game coaching has been disastrous and embarrassing.

 

[thebigabd]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

The substitution patterns and in-game coaching has been disastrous and embarrassing.

Yes, it has.

 

[sys]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

just a guess - it doesn't work to play 3 freshmen at the same time. when one guy doesn't know where he needs to be, it's bad. when 2 don't it's really bad, when 3 don't it's impossible.

tmg+gallon+fitz is just too many at the same time. and gallon is better than fitz, and there's no one to take tmg's place.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

just a guess - it doesn't work to play 3 freshmen at the same time. when one guy doesn't know where he needs to be, it's bad. when 2 don't it's really bad, when 3 don't it's impossible.

tmg+gallon+fitz is just too many at the same time. and gallon is better than fitz, and there's no one to take tmg's place.

You know it's sad when a KSU fan has a little more insight than our own. Yes, Capel has been trying to baby these guys along while giving good team guys like Wright an opportunity to play.

 

[JBaker]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

just a guess - it doesn't work to play 3 freshmen at the same time. when one guy doesn't know where he needs to be, it's bad. when 2 don't it's really bad, when 3 don't it's impossible.

tmg+gallon+fitz is just too many at the same time. and gallon is better than fitz, and there's no one to take tmg's place.

Doesn't matter if RW knows where he's supposed to be, because he's not there.
He's a liability every time he's on the court.
He can't play defense, he can't catch the ball, and he can't block out.

 

[OUsky]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

The substitution patterns and in-game coaching has been disastrous and embarrassing.

I sadly agree... but the substitution pattern is not surprising to me. I said this last year. His starters are not held accountable.

 

[TINY]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Probably related to defense or lack of it....???

Ryan Wright is the worst defender on the team, IMO. If Allen was a good defender he would start, no doubt about it. So the lack of defense thing doesn't cut it for me. Fitz first game of his career was better than any game by Wright or Allen ever, yet he doesn't start another game until Gonzaga.. WTF:jcapel?

 

[TINY]

Re: I have a problem with Andrew Fitzgerald...

Seems like I mentioned something to this effect a couple of weeks ago.

Do these coaches know what they are doing? Obviously they can recruit but what about run a team. Last year, regardless of what anyone wants to admit, Ryan Wrights minutes went to Orlando Allen down the stretch. This year Allen gets almost zero minutes. Why did the coaches do that? People can say they were garbage minutes all they wan but they were still minutes where a player got an opportunity to demonstrate he was learning what was being taught in practice.

I don't think O played much at the end of the season either. The player to whom you may be referring is "The Chosen Juan" Pattillo. If he could have hit the books at all, we would be a lot better team.

 

[Seymore Cox]

Fitz is a guy that doesn't match up well for his position. He's not fast enough to play with a hybrid 4 and not big enough to defend 6'8 and up guys. Sometimes you have to forget about that and just put the guy out there.