Why doesn't Polla redshirt

[cyberthoth]

He's got talent but he's not gonna see many minutes with Lattin and McNease.

Anyone know why we're not redshirting him? He could be a real load in that extra year.

 

[coolm]

because he's gonna go play in europe

 

[tmeyer3307]

I was kind of thinking he will get 5-10 min a game for the first month of the season and when Doolittle gets back he won't get any. I mean Lattin is in foul trouble like 90pct of the time so I may be wrong there..

 

[BoulderSooner]

I was kind of thinking he will get 5-10 min a game for the first month of the season and when Doolittle gets back he won't get any. I mean Lattin is in foul trouble like 90pct of the time so I may be wrong there..

dooltitle will have very little effect on polla's min

 

[BoulderSooner]

and i would guess he is playing to get min and experience because we need a 3rd C some times and he will be the back up C next season

 

[chuckb]

I was kind of thinking he will get 5-10 min a game for the first month of the season and when Doolittle gets back he won't get any. I mean Lattin is in foul trouble like 90pct of the time so I may be wrong there..

:facepalm

Lattin was phenomenal last night. He'll play 3 great games and 1 bad one and yet some people just love to go after him. I guess he's not an All-American so why bother playing him at all?

 

[atlantasooner]

I think the M'Baye experience taught Lon that redshirting (due to transferring in this case) and Euro players is not a great fit.
Polla after his 4th year is gone. He's heading back to Finland to play pro ball.
I think their leagues have a cap on the number of foreign players. So home grown talent has roster spots.

 

[Darwin]

Lattin needs to be on the floor to finish close games with less than 4 fouls. There will be nights he will have to sit more minutes than Muni can handle plus Polla will be a better match up at times. Hannes will help this year. Two centers is plenty 97% of the time if you are playing Kelvin tempo but one way all this depth can make a difference is playing fast and causing the other team depth issues.

 

[usedtobe1]

I still have hope for Polla this season. Remember he just got to the US a couple of days before the Australian trip, so he really hasn't practiced with the team until the October practices began. He sets great picks and I like the way he rolls to the basket. He brings something to the game that Lattin and Muni don't have, so I think there will be games where he gets meaningful minutes when they need a bull inside. Heck, he almost had better stats last night than Muni had even though he only played 4 minutes versus Muni's 16 minutes.

 

[tmeyer3307]

:facepalm

Lattin was phenomenal last night. He'll play 3 great games and 1 bad one and yet some people just love to go after him. I guess he's not an All-American so why bother playing him at all?

Never said that Lattin was bad and not going after him. He just gets in foul trouble every other game and it gets frustrating.

 

[sheepdogs1]

:facepalm

Lattin was phenomenal last night. He'll play 3 great games and 1 bad one and yet some people just love to go after him. I guess he's not an All-American so why bother playing him at all?

As stated by others, he has shown to be a player who gets in foul trouble thus it's not "people going after him," but more like he goes after himself by chalking up the fouls.

 

[SoonerinNC]

Other than for injuries and transfers red shirting is almost extinct.

Polla has improved significantly from his world tournament games. He is much more aggressive and is learning to use his size. He does set devastating screens and rolls to the basket very well. Really like his game face as well.

 

[vbdad]

He is playing because one or both of the guys could get in foul trouble. It has happened way to much. Also there is the possibility of injury to anyone. He provides us something the others don't with just being big and very strong.
He set a bone crushing pick last night.

The the pro ball in Europe is also a big concern.

 

[coolm]

Why redshirt him? I'd keep him in the loop and let him enjoy the successes as this team builds momentum over the next 2 years. His play is so solid and you dont just give up the goat bringing him in.

Instead of trying to get McNeace and Lattin to play under more control I say let them go all out and have Polla there as the very reliable filler. McNeace and Lattin are best when they're playing **** to the wall and Polla is a known factor inside. His game is obviously different than theirs but he's reliable and steady so it's a known factor. As long as HE understands how important that is and is happy then I am all for him playing. To heck with RS'ing.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Oftentimes, the primary reason to redshirt a freshman post player is to let them develop physically so that they won't get pushed around by the more mature players they face in the games. That is not an issue with Polla. Also, the young man can play. He is not a project. He is already a "load" around the basket.

As others have noted, Polla already plays a "solid" all-around game for a college center. In very limited minutes, he has shown that he already may be the best rebounder on the team. He appears to have good basketball instincts. Even if his minutes are limited this season, it makes sense to play him. With Polla active now, OU has three (3) centers that can contribute in different ways, but all can contribute in positive ways. This is an advantage to be exploited now as most teams can only dream of this much depth at the 5.

As others have noted:

1. The experience he gains this year will make him more battle-tested next season as a sophomore, when he will be needed as one of the top two 5s on the team.

2. If he does go pro in Europe in 3 or 4 years, it would be silly to throw away a redshirt now for a 5th year that will never come.

 

[opsooner]

Designated hack man for certain teams with bigs who can’t shoot FTs. Plus he gets better as the year goes on. Depth is a good thing.


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[Matthew G]

Depth and knowledge that Polla will go back to play pro ball in Europe. Not sure he goes to OU if he thinks he's getting a redshirt.