Overall I think Young has done a fantastic job of roster building and coaching. And while the loss last night is frustrating in terms of Louisville being that one team we just can't beat, it's still a 2 point loss on the road to a very good team, a loss where our guys really fought like hell to get back in the game when they could have folded. And a loss where we had a decent look to win it at the end. So again, overall I thought the coaching and effort were very good last night.

But the recurring problem I see is with the combination that Young seems to put on the floor repeatedly- the one that always starts the game. IMHO we simply cannot have Bede, Mutts, and Radford in the game at the same time. Period. There is a reason that Alleyne always seems to struggle early in games- Aluma too- and that is because we have a lineup out there where 3 of the 5 guys are complete non-factors when it comes to shooting. The fluky 11-0 starting run last night, which included 3's from guys who should not be shooting 3's, was the extreme exception. The rule has been that when those 3 are in the game together, Aluma gets doubled in the post, and Alleyne can't get any open looks.

My rule would be that if Bede is in the game, Mutts comes out with Radford sliding to 4, and either Cone or Cattoor adding another shooter to go with Alleyne. If you have either Cattoor or Cone in for Bede, then you can afford to have both Mutts and Radford on the floor (but Mutts needs to play closer to the basket and focus more on rebounding and D, less on jacking up outside shots).

Bottom line, I know it's a dead horse, but I just don't get Bede's minutes. At this point, he is what he is. He's not going to magically undergo an Erick Green-like transformation and suddenly develop a scoring ability and mentality. Yes, he may play better one-on-one, on-ball defense than either Cone or Cattoor. But he is such an extreme liability offensively that IMHO that liability outweighs Cone/Cattoor's potential liability on D. You can teach, and learn, defense. You can't teach shooting ability. And valuing defense over offense means lots of low-possession, tight contests where your margin for error is very slim.