So.... I guaranteed two current freshman starts, and I feel great about them rating wise. However their IQs are awful right now. I'm stacking practice time to boost them up as fast as possible.

How many games do you think I could get away with not starting them without there being any conflict? I would still be getting them their guaranteed minutes. I would just feel more comfortable with my team at the beginning of the year with higher IQs getting more playing time.

Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks :)

Every player is different, but I believe the general rule to keep a player with promised starts happy is 80-85% of games.

I was told the threshold is 80% starting. Personally I have only done 2-3 games so I can't vouch for the accuracy of that number.

Great! Thanks guys!

80% will work for most guys. Some might even settle for 75%. Some will get unhappy at 80%

Watch out for any decline in WE - thats a bad sign. Watch especially for emails complaining about lack of starts - if that happens, start them until they say they are okay

One thing to do is to start them against teams you have no chance of beating or teams you can beat anyway but dont start them in games you think will be your closest

Posted by metsmax on 4/22/2017 7:24:00 PM (view original):
80% will work for most guys. Some might even settle for 75%. Some will get unhappy at 80%

Watch out for any decline in WE - thats a bad sign. Watch especially for emails complaining about lack of starts - if that happens, start them until they say they are okay

One thing to do is to start them against teams you have no chance of beating or teams you can beat anyway but dont start them in games you think will be your closest

it's a variable number? i'll be damned.

tangent: how frequently (a % estimate is fine) do guys transfer after broken promises?

Posted by ab90 on 4/22/2017 7:32:00 PM (view original):

Posted by metsmax on 4/22/2017 7:24:00 PM (view original):
80% will work for most guys. Some might even settle for 75%. Some will get unhappy at 80%

Watch out for any decline in WE - thats a bad sign. Watch especially for emails complaining about lack of starts - if that happens, start them until they say they are okay

One thing to do is to start them against teams you have no chance of beating or teams you can beat anyway but dont start them in games you think will be your closest

it's a variable number? i'll be damned.

tangent: how frequently (a % estimate is fine) do guys transfer after broken promises?

I have found that most guys don't transfer if the promises are close. I promise 20 minutes all the time and when the guys come in at 15 most don't transfer. Same thing with starts....

If you are really far from what you promised I find they mostly go....

One danger of not starting kids you've promised starts to early in the year is that if they get injured later in the year and are forced to sit out games, it will throw your percentage off.

A chessy way to get around starts is to give a kid zero SH minutes and hope he goes ineligible.

Posted by Trentonjoe on 4/23/2017 9:47:00 PM (view original):
A chessy way to get around starts is to give a kid zero SH minutes and hope he goes ineligible.

Haha... Spoken like a NCAA athletic director.

Posted by rednu on 4/23/2017 9:44:00 PM (view original):
One danger of not starting kids you've promised starts to early in the year is that if they get injured later in the year and are forced to sit out games, it will throw your percentage off.

Thanks for the heads up, good call.

I usually start them for 21 games. I also go to minutes instead of fatigue, so that they play the minimum amount I have promised them while my more experienced players get more minutes.

Posted by chapelhillne on 4/24/2017 12:34:00 PM (view original):
I usually start them for 21 games. I also go to minutes instead of fatigue, so that they play the minimum amount I have promised them while my more experienced players get more minutes.

I've struggled with minute rotations before. I like the general idea of having that extra control but how do you account for foul trouble? I just feel safer with fatigue at this point cause fouls can heavily vary from game to game.

Posted by fluff_nasty on 4/24/2017 9:51:00 AM (view original):

Posted by rednu on 4/23/2017 9:44:00 PM (view original):
One danger of not starting kids you've promised starts to early in the year is that if they get injured later in the year and are forced to sit out games, it will throw your percentage off.

Thanks for the heads up, good call.

No problem. I figure if I can't be anything else, I can be the bad example that others can learn from the misfortunes of :)

Posted by Trentonjoe on 4/23/2017 9:47:00 PM (view original):
A chessy way to get around starts is to give a kid zero SH minutes and hope he goes ineligible.

Holy ****. That's genius. I really do not understand these little intricacies nearly as well as you guys.