You're not doing Lazenby any favors when you try so hard to defend him; all it does is open him up for further criticism. I made it pretty clear my opinion on him before we signed him, but I'm willing to move on and accept him as part of the team. He may very well be a great practice player, improve our academic standings, and be an all-around positive influence.
But let's not pretend his minutes are productive. He has as many fouls as he does points, and has more turnovers than made baskets. He has given us a mild contribution in rebounding, but unless his fouling is strategic, that's his only contribution in the minutes he's played. I don't think Lon is giving him minutes because he thinks he benefits this team. I think he's getting minutes as incentive to keep working hard in practice, and to hopefully develop into a decent player next year. This team doesn't need him for the depth. We didn't need more depth even without Doolittle, and could honestly have lost an additional player or two before he'd see the court for any meaningful NCAA tournament minutes.
Also, I've never been a fan of "the coach said it, so it must be right." Yes, I feel pretty safe assuming that Lon knows more basketball than anybody on this forum, but the same is true for Capel. Most people on here still groan about some of the guys Capel let on the team, and I'm assuming even he'd own up to that. Additionally, it takes the point out of the forum. We can't complain about any missed calls, because the refs are more highly trained than us? We can't complain about lack of effort, because we're sitting on a couch? What's the point of a forum if we have to agree with everything?
But let's not pretend his minutes are productive. He has as many fouls as he does points, and has more turnovers than made baskets. He has given us a mild contribution in rebounding, but unless his fouling is strategic, that's his only contribution in the minutes he's played. I don't think Lon is giving him minutes because he thinks he benefits this team. I think he's getting minutes as incentive to keep working hard in practice, and to hopefully develop into a decent player next year. This team doesn't need him for the depth. We didn't need more depth even without Doolittle, and could honestly have lost an additional player or two before he'd see the court for any meaningful NCAA tournament minutes.
Also, I've never been a fan of "the coach said it, so it must be right." Yes, I feel pretty safe assuming that Lon knows more basketball than anybody on this forum, but the same is true for Capel. Most people on here still groan about some of the guys Capel let on the team, and I'm assuming even he'd own up to that. Additionally, it takes the point out of the forum. We can't complain about any missed calls, because the refs are more highly trained than us? We can't complain about lack of effort, because we're sitting on a couch? What's the point of a forum if we have to agree with everything?
