As you all probably know by now Brandon Davies has been suspended for the rest of the season for Honor Code violations. This makes our already thin frontcourt even thinner and probably hurts our tourney chances; but that doesn't mean we should lose faith. A TEAM does not rise or fall with one man. A TEAM will overcome all adversity thrown at it. And a TEAM will find a way to win no matter what the odds.
Now, with Davies out Coach Rose has several options. He can go small, starting Kyle Collinsworth at the 4 and Charles Abouo at 3. Or Steven Rogers can start at the 4 with either Collinsworth or Abouo at the 3. Another option would be to simply plug in James Anderson at center and keep the rest of the lineup the same.
I've been thinking about it a bit and I'm not sure what I'd do. I would probably not settle on one specific lineup, but determine who starts based on the matchups. If we play a larger team that relies on inside scoring and working in the half court more than a team that favors the outside and transition game I would start Anderson. But if the opposing team is also smaller and more of a jump shooting team I would go small.
Another option would be just to go small and run as much as possible, playing the transition game. This could be advantageous because it could tire the other team down it covers up our height disadvantage. But if the opposing team can slow us down and force us into a half court then we could have multiple matchup problem.
So the coaching staff has multiple options going for them, and has time to make those decisions; it'll be a while before we play a team where this'll be a major problem. Expect them to tinker with the lineups and experiment with game plans. And don't forget to expect the unexpected.
It's not all doom and gloom, we do have other options. And remember Stephen Curry took a team of much less than we have now to the Elite Eight. We much be calm and patient when evaluating the situation the Cougars are in.
What do you guys think we should do? Are there any other options I didn't think of that you prefer? Let's talk about this.
EDIT: Great fan post I wanted to link to here. I think we should all remember that, in the long run, sports don't matter all that much. I'm glad the university stuck to it's guns rather than holding a double standard. They did what was right and I support that.