I’ve always thought an 8 man rotation is ideal if you have the right guys for it, with a 9th who can produce when needed(injury, foul trouble, certain matchups) as a huge luxury.
It’s tough to go deeper than 8 in big games.
Mintz
Starling
Bell
Benny
McCleod
Westry
Brown
Copeland/Taylor battling for 8th man, but as very different players it’s possible both end up playing solid roles. Depending on Westry’s health, one or maybe both could end up in a much bigger role.
Hima would seem to be on the outside looking in, in a lot of games? But perhaps could anchor the press with his shot blocking, Jeremy McNeil style, in certain games? And will be needed when McCleod or Brown gets in foul trouble.
I have no idea with Cuffe. Would seem to be on the outside looking in for this year, unless he surprises and is better than one of the other guards? Seems we’d have too many guards for all of them to play. Especially when Judah is a clear 30+ mpg guy. There’s only so much time available after that.
Yeah, I agree. You don't see a lot of UConn rosters these days where a guy who is very likely to get a lot of NBA run at some point is playing 13 mpg like Clingan. I think what makes figuring this out a bit tricky is A) not entirely knowing how Red is likely to run things, how we play offensively/defensively, etc.; and B) Having so few sure things in the lineup.
So you have Judah, Brown and I'm guessing JJ as absolute locks to be very integral pieces to everything we do (JJ still has a bit to prove but I have to figure he's a central piece as long as he's healthy). Benny, McLeod, Bell and a healthy Westry will play prominent roles but
how prominent is a bit of a question. Taylor, Q and Hima should be involved but, again, to what extent is really impossible to predict. Cuffe has pedigree but hasn't played in two years and is looking at a potentially crowded backcourt. Carey would seem to be on the outside looking in but I still think his film was intriguing. Health seems to still be something of an issue. Patterson likely won't factor in much.
So where I land as a guess is 30+ for Judah and JJ and I'm guessing 25+ for Brown based on what we saw last year and Griff raving about him in that interview. Not a given, but I'd have to believe there is a big (25ish mpg) role for McLeod just given they went out and got him knowing what else they had coming back. Have to figure Benny is at 20+, maybe 25+, based on the concerted effort they made to bring him back.
A healthy Westry could be a tough guy to keep off the floor even if he has some weaknesses in certain areas and Bell's shooting probably is important to create space for Judah/JJ, so he's in. That's 7. My thought is Q and Taylor battle for a spot that gets a 10-12 mpg type role and then the rest of the guys get run (in real games) in certain situations. Foul trouble gets Hima on the floor; maybe Bell is struggling and we turn to Taylor for some stretches. Or if Taylor is no. 8, maybe Q brings some playmaking against a certain team here and there.
Not sure, but 10 man rotations are usually what you see when you have 10 guys who are either NBA-type kids and/or really, really good, proven college hoops players. I'm intrigued by this group, but we don't really have that ... at least not that we can say for certain.