Has anyone ever validated or tested if tempo has any effect on player rating growth rate? The idea being your bench guys for example get more minutes playing uptempo and less playing slow down impacting the rate of gain on their ratings. I could even modify the question to just minutes in general. I know that their role would impact something like WE which then impacts growth rate, but is WE the only thing that could impact the rate?

I have been running slowdown all season for my Campbell team in Knight and its hasn't affected my freshman's growth. I think it's WE and minutes played. I have a PG who has been playing almost 40 mins every game and he has progressed very fast whereas my other freshman who come off the bench and don't get as much playing time have progressed slower. I've also noticed the more they play their WE can increase too.

No direct correlation.

Playing time affects growth rate but you can have that at any tempo.

No matter what tempo you run, the game is only 40 mins long.

Playing time does affect growth. Running uptempo, generally speaking, means more PT opportunities for the bench. Running slow down, generally speaking, means less PT opportunities for the bench. It isn’t a primary concern for me, and doesn’t play much role in how I set tempo. I do think about depth in this way when deciding whether I’m willing to make promises, though.

That's kind of what I was figuring, but it would have been an interesting concept. Something like uptempo equals more possessions leading to increased growth or something.