unless I missed someone, Cullen VanLeer is 2nd in the SEC in minutes played at 32.7 a game. Here are the top four (that's as far as I could find on the NCAA site in this category):
1. Sebastian Saiz, Ole Miss/ 14.5 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 54.5 FG%
2. Cullen VanLeer, Mizzou/ 7.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 33.3 FG%
3. Antonio Blakeney, LSU/ 15.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 45.5 FG%
4. Duane Notice, S. Carolina/ 10.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.0 apg, 35.0 FG%
I know some will view this as piling on Cullen. I'm not trying to. Honestly, I don't blame him. He's being asked to do something he can't do. If the New York Times hired me to cover politics, it's gonna be their fault when I don't do it well (and for the record, CVL is a better D1 basketball player than I would be a political correspondent). I wanted this kid to be really good and exceed expectations. But at this point, it's a hot topic on the board and it's so glaring that it's impossible to ignore. I don't have an explanation.
After telling us two weeks ago Cullen needed to play less, he is not playing less. In the first eight games of the season, VanLeer played 35 minutes or more four times and averaged 32.37 minutes per game. In the last three games, he has played 35 minutes or more twice and averaged 33.33 minutes per game.
I want to be clear: I do not think Cullen Van Leer is the only problem with this team or, honestly, even the biggest problem with this team. But I also have no real idea how Anderson believes that playing him 33 minutes a game is fair to him, good for him or good for the team.
I always say that there is so much we don't know. I don't know who knows the plays, who gets in trouble off the court, who works hard in practice, etc. I know none of that. But I know what I've seen in 11 games and that is that SOME of those minutes have to start going other places (Walton, Barnett and Jackson would be the likely candidates). Anderson has said he'll do it. Now we need to see if he does.
1. Sebastian Saiz, Ole Miss/ 14.5 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 54.5 FG%
2. Cullen VanLeer, Mizzou/ 7.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 33.3 FG%
3. Antonio Blakeney, LSU/ 15.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 45.5 FG%
4. Duane Notice, S. Carolina/ 10.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.0 apg, 35.0 FG%
I know some will view this as piling on Cullen. I'm not trying to. Honestly, I don't blame him. He's being asked to do something he can't do. If the New York Times hired me to cover politics, it's gonna be their fault when I don't do it well (and for the record, CVL is a better D1 basketball player than I would be a political correspondent). I wanted this kid to be really good and exceed expectations. But at this point, it's a hot topic on the board and it's so glaring that it's impossible to ignore. I don't have an explanation.
After telling us two weeks ago Cullen needed to play less, he is not playing less. In the first eight games of the season, VanLeer played 35 minutes or more four times and averaged 32.37 minutes per game. In the last three games, he has played 35 minutes or more twice and averaged 33.33 minutes per game.
I want to be clear: I do not think Cullen Van Leer is the only problem with this team or, honestly, even the biggest problem with this team. But I also have no real idea how Anderson believes that playing him 33 minutes a game is fair to him, good for him or good for the team.
I always say that there is so much we don't know. I don't know who knows the plays, who gets in trouble off the court, who works hard in practice, etc. I know none of that. But I know what I've seen in 11 games and that is that SOME of those minutes have to start going other places (Walton, Barnett and Jackson would be the likely candidates). Anderson has said he'll do it. Now we need to see if he does.
