Moses to Play vs. UL-Lafayette

[Guest Rob Marshall]

why are we panicking like this? there goes our best dressed red-shirt and one of our many entertaining thread topics on the message board!

[orumom]

RM,

I couldn't have said it better myself. No more GQ among the redshirts.

[tbone77]

Does anybody know if Moses automatically loses redshirt status by being placed on the active roster? Personally, I hope he is only going as an emergency reserve if he can indeed preserve his redshirt even after being placed on the active roster. LA-Lafayette is not an important game in the larger scheme. Sure we want to win, but the Tulsa fish-wrap reported today that the injuries to JB and Chris were not too bad. They will probably be back in time for Utah St. I would prefer to see Moses for the next three years in a more prominent role. In any case, he is a super kid and I wish him the best.

[MadAdder]

Also, if he does play, but plays in less than 25% of the team's games, is it possible for him to get hurt or "hurt" and get a redshirt that way?

[ORUTerry]

If he can contribute and help us win games..... play him. If not, do not play him. I hate to lose his red-shirt year, but we may need him (and his shooting) more than we realize. Just hope his defense has gotten better. The kid is very athletic and gives us great size on the perimeter.

The decision should ultimately be his to make.... with input from the coaches.

[Guest Mount Baldy]

Why all the crying about losing Moses for the next three years if he comes out of red shirt? You folks act like Moses is Michael Jordan. Who cares if we only get him for two more years instead of three? We have plenty of other players coming in. We can't sacrifice winning games now so Moses can have another year. He's not that important in the long run. So it shall be written...so it shall be done.

[tmh8286]

See, Terry, it wasn't so hard to stick your neck out, was it? Actually, you brought to light a thought that I hadn't had before - that they may be looking to Moses as much for an offensive spark (his shooting) as needing him to fill in for the injured players.

If he's as good a shooter as reported, maybe he can get our outside game going again. If we can have another go-to guy, it might take some pressure off of Ken, which I think might help him get back on track.

[tmh8286]

Would someone please club Moses over the head with his walking stick and see if they can knock some sense into him?

As we've seen in the past, like in the case of Chad Wilkerson, a red shirt early in the career of some of these players pays off with a greatly more mature and capable player in his fifth year. I disagree completely that Moses is not that important in the long run. He's a decent player now who will only continue to improve. We get him now as a decent player or the get him later with the potential of him being a great player. That's why we need to keep him in red shirt.

But there is one other thing to consider, and that is the fact that when they decided to redshirt him he had three more guards in front of him than he does now. The problem is, all three of them will probably be BACK in front of him in a short time, and he will have given up a year of eligibility in the meantime.

[vcboy2000]

The issue is not about Moses being important or not being important in the long run. Every player deserves respect and consideration of what is best for their career. That is why i think that Scott told Mo that the team could use him, but ultimately left it up to Moses to make the decision.

I think it is an incorrect assessment to say that when the other guards come back Moses will be on the pine. We don't know that. He could bring a whole different dynamic to the game that could possibly change our situation for the better. Or who knows if Chris Riouse didn't aggrevate his shin splints again. Or when Meloy will return. Or if Eric will get hurt down the line. Isn't JB playing with a lil back strain. All I'm saying is we can't look into the future and say Moses is making a stupid mistake. None of us know how this thing will play out. I am proud of him for stepping in when he feels he is needed most. My level of respect for him as a person justs went to an even higher level.

[tmh8286]

JB, a three year starter, will likely be back as a starter; Chris Riouse, a senior, will likely be early off the bench; Drew Maloy, a sixth year senior paying his own way to be a part of this team, and with Scott Sutton obviously in his corner, will be getting as much PT as Scott feels he can allow, as soon as he's healed.

I've caught a lot of heat for saying it in the past, but I'll say it again here - Scott Sutton, and many if not most other D1 coaches, favor their senior players whenever they can, because those kids have paid their dues and deserve every chance they can get to play.

Sure, your right, vcb, we can't see into the future and know if this will be the right choice for Moses; but based on the things we CAN see, it doesn't seem to me like it is. Also, I have nothing to gain one way or the other, it's Moses' interests that I'm talking about.

Ultimately, if Moses is happy with the decision, that's all that matters. Nothing said on the message board makes a bit of difference in that regard.

[ORUTerry]

From a practical standpoint, we would down to seven healthy players tonight at Louisiana Lafayette without Ehambe on the bench. We could literally be in a position of not having enough players to finish a game (not likely but possible) or have a post player playing on the perimeter. It is an unfortunate situation.

I appreciate Ehambe making a decision that will help the team - at a possible detriment to his (and ORU's) long term career. That said, we may look back and say that this was a great decision based on how much he has contributed to the season.

[TrueBlue82]

We need someone to come in and "spark" this team from the outside. Ken has not been "Ken" this year, Chris has provided an occasional spark in the early season but is now hobbled with injuries, and Drew (who came on late last year) will apparently not be available for an extended time.

I do think that the coaches were looking for more than an "insurance policy" to fill out the bench, but someone to contribute. Based upon what they saw in practice, they felt Moses could potentially provide that spark. And, I assure you, if he does contribute and "spark" this team, he WILL continue to play, no matter who comes back.

So, assuming JB, Chris and Drew are all unavailable, who starts tonight? Fowlkes at PG, bringing Ken back to shooting guard? Or Ken at PG, with Fowlkes or Ehambe or Yemi to replace Meloy's spot in last week's game?

[Guest Blevins]

Do any of you understand the difference between PLAYING seven guys and HAVING seven guys?

[orumom]

Blevins,

Please provide us with a documentary on what you percieve that difference to be.

[Guest Blevins]

Here's a good example:

Last season, UMKC played only seven players most nights. They had 12 on the bench, but chose to play seven and sometimes eight.

When you go into a game with only seven players, it changes things. Take last Sunday's game for example. If we had dressed seven players, we would have been forced to play the final 3 minutes of a tight game with no one on the bench. You can't do that.

[ORUTerry]

.... that was the point I was trying to make. I guess I was not clear enough. Unfortunate that we have injuries the compel us to take Ehambe out of red-shirt, but fortunate that we have a quality player available.

[ORUIsbig]

All this would be moot if we would have kept Mike Morgan!

Morgan could have come off the bench and not screwed up for 10 minutes for this one game, then we would not have this discussion.

Sending home 3 walkon's was a bad idea. Who would of thought, Walkons would be so valuable? I know there is no room at the end of that bench, but those guys sat there all year last year for nothing. Where are they when we need them!

[ORUTerry]

They wanted Stewart to come back but he decided to go on with his life and live a normal student existence....