And I'm really surprised all you guys are giving out hard numbers as if 3, 4, 7, 12 were actually hard facts.  None of them are and I suspect all of you know that.  Good rules of thumb, yes.  But no more than that.

The minimum number is based on all those factors that make a player "unique".  I've had a high work ethic player that was receiving playing time develop a point in a category I wasn't even practicing.   I've also had a player lose a point over the course of the season when I was putting 10 minutes into the category because he was a 1 WE player I signed to balance classes and he never saw the court.

kujayhawk is correct.  in my experience, each player determines how practice time effects improvement.  i tend to look at high WE players.  i've never had a problem with maintaining at a 7.  if a player has a low OVR category and a low possibility of improvement, i may not put anytime on that specific area.  some of it is trial and error.  the more you pay attention to how it effects players; the more you will have a feel for how it effects the players you tend to recruit.

I agree with kujayhawk.  But I think those numbers arent really given as hard numbers, but rather what is expected with a WE of 50 or there abouts.  
But I give 9 minutes to FT for a maxed out player if his we is 50, down to 8 or 7 if the WE is 75+.

I've really been paying attention the last few seasons and WE really makes a HUGE difference for a maxed out player.  I can give 0 to LP or PER on a 75+ WE and not lose anything, but I think you need 4 minutes if their WE is below 45 or so.  Same ratios with the other Cats. 7 mins for a 50 WE but only 4-5 mins for a WE of 75+.

Posted by kujayhawk on 10/27/2011 12:30:00 PM (view original):
And I'm really surprised all you guys are giving out hard numbers as if 3, 4, 7, 12 were actually hard facts.  None of them are and I suspect all of you know that.  Good rules of thumb, yes.  But no more than that.

The minimum number is based on all those factors that make a player "unique".  I've had a high work ethic player that was receiving playing time develop a point in a category I wasn't even practicing.   I've also had a player lose a point over the course of the season when I was putting 10 minutes into the category because he was a 1 WE player I signed to balance classes and he never saw the court.

You are correct, kujay.

Can't speak for anyone else, but mine was meant as a more of a general guide applicable to most players, but it's not an ironclad number.

How about this from seble's 5/4/2010 devchat?

When a player hits the hard ceiling for a skill, will any practice minutes need to be spent in order to maintain that level? (jetsons - Hall of Famer - 2:12 PM)
There is a minimum number of minutes to maintain each rating even after capping out. That number is 7 minutes for everything but Perimeter and Low Post which are 3 minutes each.

Posted by theeyetest on 10/27/2011 10:16:00 PM (view original):
How about this from seble's 5/4/2010 devchat?

When a player hits the hard ceiling for a skill, will any practice minutes need to be spent in order to maintain that level? (jetsons - Hall of Famer - 2:12 PM)
There is a minimum number of minutes to maintain each rating even after capping out. That number is 7 minutes for everything but Perimeter and Low Post which are 3 minutes each.

I guarantee that if you follow that no category will ever drop once you've reached the maxxed out message. 
I also know from experience that if you drop to zero while technically the category may drop, it does so at such a slow rate that you'll likely never notice a change, and if so, it is extremely rare for a drop to be larger than 1. Given my testimonial (and other's that re similar) and the chat from the developer, you must decide how you want to handle the situation for your own team...

I think we all understood that the prac minute numbers were variable on other factors. I just didn't think that was necessary to explain on a web forum. Especially since the guy asking was fussyd and he's been around long enough to get that. You could input any of the suggestions here and figure out in one season what the truth is or what works for you.