Re: Kruger says "2 or 3" of last year's starters may not start this year
OK, I feel a need to weigh in here, even though I should probably just keep quiet. First I'm gonna throw out my take on Pledger, then I'm gonna address this whole "benching starters" thing.
OK, so Pledger. OK, Pledger is a minus defender. I don't feel like we should argue or minimize this point. To say it is a fact is difficult to argue, but I don't think a group of people who frequent a message board that revolves around OU hoops should have any illusions about this. I also see a lot of people attribute this to his lateral quickness, and I feel like that's a mistake. It's true that he isn't particularly quick, but the main issues with his defense are awareness and effort, not athleticism. He gets lost when he is guarding someone who is active away from the ball and he gives very poor effort in getting through screens, though his lack of athleticism contributes here. For a guy who has started as many games as he has over the last three years and logged as many minutes as he has, its hard to imagine how he isn't a better defender. And the argument in favor of his experience being a major factor in his value to the team loses a lot of momentum if you concede this point. The most tangible benefit of experience is knowing where to be and not making mental mistakes. Based on what we've seen from Pledger so far, it isn't reasonable to say that he is a contributor in that regard.
Not to pile on at all, but now let's talk about his athleticism. He is a minus athletically as well. Again, this is hard to demonstrate as a fact so I won't declare it as such, but I feel like we should be able to accept that in this discussion without arguing to what degree he is unathletic. This is also a significant hurdle to deal with when he is on the floor. In situations in which he properly identifies where he needs to be (a simple example would be making backside rotation in a zone against ball reversal), he often isn't quick enough to get into the play effectively. So, he is a minus defender and a minus athlete.
I make the distinction between the two because being one or the other is not that hard to overcome, but being both is a legitimate liability. To make this point easily I'll use an example: Russel Westbrook. Westbrook is certainly a bad defender. He gambles too much, he gets lost when he plays a point guard who can play off the ball, and he typically bails out against ball screens. That said, he is a plus athlete, which helps to offset those limitations. If he is isolated against his man late in the shot clock, he will typically defend the ball very well, and his quickness helps him close out on players and jump passing lanes. Pledger isn't contributing that way, at least not from what we've seen from him leading up to this year. There is a lot of talk on this board about this team being defense first and playing with pace, but if that is the plan then it is reasonable to suggest that Pledger would necessarily need to have a reduced role.
Now, that being said...that reduced role should not, and almost certainly will not include him starting games on the bench.
I believe everything I wrote about Pledger above to be true, and I can't imagine the scenario in which this team benefits from him coming off the bench as a course of habit. This argument that he is only a shooter is either intentionally obtuse to inflame other board members, or it is being made by someone who is significantly uninformed, either from not watching enough of Pledger's minutes or not knowing enough about basketball.
Pledger is a remarkably versatile, intelligent and skilled offensive player. He is limited athletically, to be sure, but this only effects his ability to finish contested shots at the rim and his ability to use his dribble to escape pressure defense. Those are holes in his game, to be sure, but as a wing scorer its hard to complain about much else.
First of all, the guy is not just a "shooter." He is a remarkable shooter. The efficiency with which he scores, particularly as a player who gets so few easy points at the rim, is remarkable. This is especially true when considering the considerable lack of offensive talent on the team last year. The argument that he put up good "stats" because someone had to score is uninformed, but its doubly bad when combined with the argument that he only scored off of action created by his teammates. Both of these can't be true, and its my assertion that neither of them is.
He did not just stand around on the perimeter waiting to be passed the ball for unguarded looks. Usually when he had a catch late in the clock, he had to shoot (and oftentimes made) contested shots. But so little of how he scored actually came from those situations its almost a waste of time to mention. He truly is an elite player away from the ball. He uses his strength very well when trying to get open and he really makes very hard cuts through screens. If you noticed last year, teams eventually stopped trying to chase through the screen almost totally. And if Grooms had the ball, his man was almost always cheating to the screen side, denying the passing angle.
None of this mentions how good he was in post ups last year. He was pretty clearly our best post up player last season. His relative size and strength is really hard for most teams to handle with wing players. Furthermore, while he isn't quick enough to blow by defenders, he is smart with his dribble and uses his strength to get good looks in the midrange when isolated. This guy is a very skilled, versatile offensive player.
A lot of weight has been given to comments by Kruger in these various posts. Well, lets not forget his comments from last season in which he repeatedly praised Pledger for being a versatile and creative offensive player. Lets also not ignore that when Pledger was on the floor last year, most of the offensive action revolved around getting the ball in a position to shoot. Last season, Kruger knew that his best offensive weapon was Pledger. So unless you think a superior offensive player has been added to this year's roster (a dubious suggestion), then its hard to believe in a scenario in which that same coach reduces Pledger's role so significantly.
If depth is truly going to be a strength of this team, then why bring a player in off the bench who is much more suited to half-court execution? His lack of athleticism is only magnified coming off the bench if one of your philosophical goals is to wear down the other team. And none of this factors in any of the clear limitations often faced by first year players, nor does it address the obvious disconnect it would likely create with an accomplished senior.
Lets take the Kruger comments for what they are...preseason comments. We will probably see different lineups early in the season, that I can agree with. But the notion that Pledger will not be depended on heavily this year for the success of this team doesn't seem to come from a reasonable set of observations.
