If he does come back whatsoever it seems like Saturday is the night to do it.

Just seems like we should have a true feel for what we're rolling into the dance with by the team we hit the court in KC.

With Love...this team is absolutely capable of making it to PHX. Without...I think we'll be a likely second weekend exit.

Just my two cents.

Yup we're a better team with him than without. My gut says he plays Saturday. Maybe not big minutes but I bet he plays.

that's a fair point...if he doesn't play until KC thats 4 more days of rest...I just think it's asking a lot for him to come back for the first time in the 'postseason'

Maybe just bring him back Saturday and let him share mins with Miro. Little will be used the rest of the way anyway I believe.

Save him for the Big Dance. Kid is a baller, and I'm sure he can practice shooting FT's and other shots in practice, so I'm not worried about "rust". What would you rather have: a little rusty LL playing in the Madness, or having him play earlier to "knock some rust off" and aggravate the ankle again, and not be ready for some Madness . He's got to have full confidence in the ankle in order to contribute effectively. If that means 2nd game of Madness, then so be it. JAT

Mitch Henessey said:

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I don't want him attempting a comeback until the conference tourney at the earliest. I thought he rushed back to play at BYU. I'd rather him rest the extra 3-4 days and make sure he's truly at 100% (unless this current ankle injury is a completely new one, and not a reaggravation of the previous one).

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Agreed. The rest vs. rust argument sucks, but that's where we're at. Neither option looks good unfortunately. Even if he back to 100%, it will be a challenge to re-integrate him into the rotation and his presence could affect the rhythm of other guys....we need Nunn and Bridges to continue balling out when Love returns.

They've played together. Chemistry is a non issue.

Nunn and Bridges blew up because they had too… that's a lot of offense to replace. People are reading wayyy to much into this. Langston and his instant O are needed. You're acting like he's this giant ball hog and that's laughable

IowaBear said:

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Nunn and Bridges blew up because they had too… that's a lot of offense to replace. People are reading wayyy to much into this. Langston and his instant O are needed. You're acting like he's this giant ball hog and that's laughable

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Langston was a heavy isolation player coming off the bench....an efficient shooter but had the ball in his hands a lot almost every half-court possession. To assume his return won't affect other players is a naive assumption. It will take time to reintegrate him. Unfortunately, we don't have the gift of time with only one regular season game remaining.

Bridges has always always been passive offensively. There's 4 years of data to point too. Nunn was never a huge vocal point of the offense at VCU.
Call me crazy but this is 2 upperclassmen knowing they needed to be more involved offensively when one BU's best offensive weapons went down.
LL is gonna get his touches when healthy and rightfully so because when he's healthy he's one of if not our best guard offensively.

BUCANDOIT82 said:

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They've played together. Chemistry is a non issue.

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This is a naive take IMO. Chemistry, momentum and confidence are always issues for college basketball teams, especially those with four first-year players in their starting lineup.

Outside of one half against BYU, it's been a month since this team had all its weapons. And without Love, others were forced to step up and assume new/bigger roles. It will take a game or two for everyone to settle back into a rhythm when love returns. I would rather those games come now than in the NCAA tournament.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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IowaBear said:

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Nunn and Bridges blew up because they had too… that's a lot of offense to replace. People are reading wayyy to much into this. Langston and his instant O are needed. You're acting like he's this giant ball hog and that's laughable

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Langston was a heavy isolation player coming off the bench....an efficient shooter but had the ball in his hands a lot almost every half-court possession. To assume his return won't affect other players is a naive assumption. It will take time to reintegrate him. Unfortunately, we don't have the gift of time with only one regular season game remaining.

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Langston in the 23 games he has played, has averaged 7.8 shots a game. Not exactly a volume shooter. In fact, we don't have a volume shooter, which means everyone is getting 5-10 fewer shots than they would like. Jakobi avgs. just under 11, RayJ about 10, Jalen 8.8, Jayden just over and Ives just under 7 shots a game
For reference, Keyonte was a ball dominant player. Lace was the biggest example of one in the Drew era.

Langston is important to us as a player who can power up shots closer to the basket, getting to the foul line. His presence should open up shots on the outside for Jakobi, et al. He isn't shooting a lot of 3s, but is averaging 49%.

I didn't say Langston is a volume shooter. But we would isolate him a ton in the post and on the wing. We ran most of our half court sets through him. The rhythm of the offense is completely different with a ball-dominant player like Love on the floor. I love Love, but it will take a minute for our chemistry to develop upon his return.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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I didn't say Langston is a volume shooter. But we would isolate him a ton in the post and on the wing. We ran most of our half court sets through him. The rhythm of the offense is completely different with a ball-dominant player like Love on the floor. I love Love, but it will take a minute for our chemistry to develop upon his return.

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Again, the numbers don't show that. 7-8 shots a game, so we might be talking about 4-5 isolations a night.

It is going to take a game or two to get Langston back into things--physically, mentally. If the rest of the team has a problem adjusting, we have bigger problems.

It's not always volume of shots that show offensive useage. Shot attempts don't tell the whole story. Many possessions go through him, we isolate him and he puts his head down to drive or kicks out. He is a very efficient offensive player and we are better with him. But with the ball in his hands that much, it can affect other players. It will take a minute for the rest of the guys to find their rhythm in unison with him.

Mitch Henessey said:

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I don't want him attempting a comeback until the conference tourney at the earliest. I thought he rushed back to play at BYU. I'd rather him rest the extra 3-4 days and make sure he's truly at 100% (unless this current ankle injury is a completely new one, and not a reaggravation of the previous one).

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Guessing CSD doesn't bring him back until late conference tournament. At least I hope so.

Stefano DiMera said:

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Fyi I participated ina Zoom call for Bear Foundation members with coaches Jaikus, Brooks, and Simons.

Brooks said definitely Langston will be back and it's looking sooner than later.

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They said the same thing last time, and it was disaster. Let him heal up for as long as possible, and when he does come back, wrap the crap outta that ankle

When he returns to the lineup (if fully healthy) it will be as though he was never gone and no transition will be necessary. These guys have practiced and played many games together already this season.

Shakesbear said:

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Stefano DiMera said:

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Fyi I participated ina Zoom call for Bear Foundation members with coaches Jaikus, Brooks, and Simons.

Brooks said definitely Langston will be back and it's looking sooner than later.

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They said the same thing last time, and it was disaster. Let him heal up for as long as possible, and when he does come back, wrap the crap outta that ankle

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We're running out of time for him to "heal up as long as possible" and still make an impact. At some point, if he feels good and healthy, you have to test out the ankle. Otherwise, you'll be waiting until the offseason, when he'll have all the time in the world to rest and get fully healthy.

When he feels good and the team's medical staff feels he's healthy enough to play, he should be back on the court. The "abundance of caution" stage is over. We either need to get Langston reintegrated into our lineup in time for everyone to find a rhythm together before the tournament or know that he won't be available for/able to contribute at a high level in the tournament before it starts.

If he's healthy enough to do so, he needs to play in the Big 12 tournament IMO. Waiting to bring him back for the tournament and potentially introducing an unnecessary disruption to the momentum we've built in his absence would be a bad idea IMO because the margin for error is so slim.

I'd rather everyone get a game or two to play together before the Madness, so we're not seeing curveballs for the first time in our most important games of the year.

BUCANDOIT82 said:

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When he returns to the lineup (if fully healthy) it will be as though he was never gone and no transition will be necessary. These guys have practiced and played many games together already this season.

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That's not really how sports -- and especially basketball -- work. Roles are really important. When guys know and feel comfortable with their roles, they play much better and more confidently. Every major lineup change comes with the potential to introduce confusion in this regard and disrupt rhythm.

I want Langston Love back. The best version of this team has him playing and scoring in bunches. But we need to get him back before the NCAA tournament, if it is at all possible. I don't want anything happening for the first time in our opening game of the NCAA tournament. Rhythm and routine are good things this time of year. Unknowns are bad.

It is scary. I find myself agreeing with you way too much lately.

I often agree with him & often with you as well.