I've got a couple players on my team (DII Le Moyne in Crum) who have really been on my case lately about not getting enough playing time. These two are my 11th and 12th men - they are simply back-ups I use to keep my other guys from getting too fatigued. They're both now threatening to quit the team if they don't get more minutes.


http://www.whatifsports.com/hd/PlayerProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=0&pid=2848536

http://www.whatifsports.com/hd/PlayerProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=0&pid=2889476


First and foremost, when I recruited these guys I never promised them anything - never guaranteed them minutes or starts. Davis is pretty much the worst player on my team - I should have redshirted him as a freshman because he ended up being academically ineligible most of last season, even though I assigned him 10 study hall minutes per practice. Eastland isn't bad, but I have more than enough depth at the PF spot this season, as I have two senior PFs. I will need Eastland next year and will likely have him start at PF.

I really wish there was some way to respond to players when they get into these moods. If I had some way of promising Eastland now, in the middle of the season, that he'd be a starter next season, he'd probably stop complaining. If I could tell Davis that he can expect 10-15 minutes per game next season, perhaps that would shut him up.

Namely, I'd like to tell both of these guys how SELFISH they are being! I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but right now I'm in a position to take Le Moyne to the NT for the first time since season 46 in Crum. That is a very, very long drought for a school. The other 10 guys on my team play their butts off and deserve the minutes they are getting. If I gave Davis and Eastland 10-15 minutes per game, Le Moyne is going to lose a couple additional games, and may not make the NT. That wouldn't be fair to my other players and wouldn't be fair to the school. Heck, I caved and gave Davis lots of minutes in our most recent game (17 minutes) and his stat line was pathetic. I barely won the game - it really came down to free throw shooting, and I got awfully lucky to win by 4 against arguably the worst team in the N-10.

Here's your tl;dr: I refuse to give these two guys extra minutes - they will each get about 4 minutes per game (I use target minutes and have them each set to 4-8 mins). My question is, should I expect both players to quit at some point? I've already got 5 scholarships I'll have to fill next season - if they both quit, I'll have 7. Will I receive extra recruiting money if they quit? I can't imagine trying to fill 7 scholarships with enough recruiting money for 5. Also, I really wish there was a way to respond to players who complain about playing time (I know there was a thread on this recently, maybe a month or two ago, but this is an annoying issue IMO).

If they quit, you'll get recruiting money for them. But you'll only get enough money for 6 players..that's the limit

Will they quit? Noone really knows...it's a chance we take when we can't sooth their fragile egos. 

Ah well, I guess I'd better hope only one of them quits, or neither! Thanks man.

They do have quite fragile egos... the main reason Eastland wants more playing time is so it'll be easier for him to pick up girls...

I'd let them quit.  Neither is good at DII, and Davis is a huge liability in a man with that ath/def.  Let them leave and try to find better players next season.

There are a few issues here. First anytime your using targeted minutes and set a Jr or So under 10 minutes your guaranteeing yourself the complaint. Freshmen don't complain. With the 6 point drop in WE so far they shouldn't leave. However there may be a lot more WE drop be the end of the regular season. WE drop has to be more severe for them to leave. 

You had four blowouts this year, if you had set your end of game setting to allow subs more time in blowouts, they may have gotten a few more minutes. The way the game is set up I am not a fan of targeted minutes. You create your own problems if any nonfreshman is set under 10.  Plus it's not usually going to go well for you against decent FB or Press teams.

Posted by dan2044 on 11/11/2014 4:06:00 PM (view original):
I'd let them quit.  Neither is good at DII, and Davis is a huge liability in a man with that ath/def.  Let them leave and try to find better players next season.

FWIW Davis is still in the blue for both ath and def, so perhaps by his senior year he'll be good enough to be a role player/solid backup, but I won't be shedding any tears if he leaves. Recruiting him was probably a blunder on my part - live and learn, I suppose. 

Posted by coachvegas44 on 11/12/2014 12:15:00 AM (view original):
There are a few issues here. First anytime your using targeted minutes and set a Jr or So under 10 minutes your guaranteeing yourself the complaint. Freshmen don't complain. With the 6 point drop in WE so far they shouldn't leave. However there may be a lot more WE drop be the end of the regular season. WE drop has to be more severe for them to leave. 

You had four blowouts this year, if you had set your end of game setting to allow subs more time in blowouts, they may have gotten a few more minutes. The way the game is set up I am not a fan of targeted minutes. You create your own problems if any nonfreshman is set under 10.  Plus it's not usually going to go well for you against decent FB or Press teams.

I've never been a fan of giving backups more time when the game is out of reach - I used to be, but when I was coaching at Utica a few seasons ago, I recall some game my team was playing that was "out of reach," and thus my backups were given more minutes. We narrowly lost that game, and if I had kept my better players in, we could have won. As such, I'd rather have a blowout. If I had more talented subs on my team, that would be a different story, but beyond my top 7 guys I don't have a lot of talent on my team. Quite frankly, I'm amazed that my team is in the position it is in right now - we've gotten a couple of lucky breaks. We could easily be 11-6 right now and staring at a PI berth.

Interesting about sophs and juniors complaining when using targeted minutes and not giving them enough, I wasn't aware that that usually happened. Thanks for your insight coachvegas.