Ford Considering Lineup Changes
Matt Pilgrim Due More Minutes
By John Helsley
jhelsley@opubco.com
Travis Ford may be tinkering with his lineup. If not Wednesday night, soon.
Coming off consecutive road losses at Oklahoma and Baylor that saw OSU’s shooting slump again doom the day, the Cowboys coach said he’s been pondering some changes.
Ford may take one more look at his standard lineup against Colorado, since the Buffs send out a starting five featuring four guards. Still, expect some changes in playing time, with Matt Pilgrim’s on the upswing, possibly taking away from the scuffling Keiton Page, who has made just 3-of-16 shots in conference play.
I asked Ford about the possibility he’d make some lineup changes, or if he was committed to sticking with status quo.
Ford’s response:
I don’t like what I’ve got going. You’re question has been thought about a lot in the last 48 hours, believe me. A lot of scenarios have gone through my head on which direction to go and change and trying to mix things up a bit, for a lot of reasons — whether to get a guy’s attention or this might just be better, the different lineups I’ve looked at.
There’s no question, Matt Pilgrim needs to be playing starter-type minutes. And you hear all the time, it doesn’t matter who starts. And as a coach, you really know that and you understand that and that is an absolute 100 percent truth. But you know starting lineups can motivate people and can do different things.
With that said, I don’t know yet, for the fact that I don’t know who I would take out right now. I know who I would like to take out and motivate and do some things, but I don’t know if it’s the right time, right place to do it.
You could start Matt Pilgrim and Marshall Moses and move Obi to the 3, but I don’t know if that’s the answer for Obi at the 3. I don’t think that helps our team particularly just to try to get bigger. I don’t know if that’s the answer right now. But it’s no question, things have been going through our head after losing two in a row. We don’t want to make too many changes right now, but it’s been a thought. (Pilgrim) will play starter minutes.
Some decent insight from Ford on what he’s thinking, as well as what goes into making moves and how guys fit — or don’t fit — into certain slots.
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Comments
Ford you get paid the big bucks….make a decision and make it happen. The Crowds at GIA are counting on it.
Two road losses in this years big 12, and you all (including helsley) are ready to jump ship. They are doing pretty good this year considering the fresh faces, replacing considerable talent, and the strength of the conference. What does that 105-1 big12 home court advantage mean to you, really? Page is a big part of that success, just in a slump, but unquestionably one of the best shooters in the country. This team is good and capable of playing against top quality opponents, they will surprise some people this year….maybe rely a little more on a zone defense to offset size difference, but Ford is more than capable of winning with this team.
No one should be blame for every game. Every player can have personal issues or pressures that might affect the game, but to blame one for the loss of the whole game is absurd. Where then is the essence of this saying, “Together We Stand, Divided We Fall”?
After watching in disbelief that Ford actually assigned Page to guard a 6-10 Baylor player, I am thrilled to hear that he has “thought about that a lot” and is willing to match up his players better based on the opposition. The run from Baylor early in the 2nd half that ultimately beat the Pokes began with ridiculously easy baskets that were all post-up plays against Page. There was simply no where to hide him against that line-up and it was obvious! Page is also struggling with his shot because he is not getting the wide open looks from last year without the benefit of Eaton’s penetrations. He has a role on this team – but Ford’s former proclamation of putting his “best 5″ out there regardless of the situation clearly needs adjusting.