Looks like senior Derrio Green has become the odd man out in the Charlotte 49ers' backcourt rotation.
Green is averaging career-lows in minutes (19.6) and points (7.0) this season. But it's been the past four games that have been the most telling about where Green stands in Charlotte's guard hierarchy: He's no longer starting and didn't play against Fordham on Saturday (a 69-62 Charlotte) victory, the first time that's happened in his career.
In this four-game stretch (Temple, Xavier, La Salle, Fordham), Green is averaging 10 minutes and 2.0 points. He didn't score at La Salle on Wednesday, when he played four minutes.
These aren't numbers normally associated with Green, who led the 49ers in scoring last season (13.1) and averaged 35.4 minutes per game.
Why has Green's role diminished so much? He's not the kind of defender coach Alan Major wants and his always-suspect shooting has finally caught up with him.
Green didn't start against Temple because he violated undisclosed team rules, according to coach Alan Major. He was on the bench again against Xavier, Major said, because of his perimeter defense. Against La Salle, Major said Green played so little because "he's probably not shooting it as well as he wants to."
Major has made no secret of the fact that he values size on the perimeter. At 6-0, Green is 4 inches shorter than freshman Terrence Williams, who has taken up many of Green's minutes. And Green has never been even an adequate shooter (34.9 percent his first two years and 31.9 percent this season). Deuce Briscoe (last season's starting point guard who lost his job to freshman Pierria Henry) has started the last four games (he had 12 points against Fordham).
Green is one of those guys who's not a great shooter, but he's always been able to score. He was Charlotte's most dynamic player last season, a gutsy penetrator who found ways to help the 49ers win more than a few games (Xavier, Fordham, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Wright State and Mercer).
But this has been a different kind of season for Green. Will he play his way back into more minutes in the rotation? Time, which is running out, will tell.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
49ers' Derrio Green: Odd man out in backcourt?
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27 comments:
Green has always been a streaky shooter,have seen him when he's red hot but more times than not he's been ice cold. Shooting is the easy part of the game playing defense takes energy and desire on every play. Hate to see this happen to him but Major has to see what the young kid got so he can determine what he needs for next year.
Derrio is a defensive liability, he dribbles too much on offense and while his shot selection has improved, he still can't fill it up enough to make up for his other short comings. I'd still prefer him on the floor to the turnover prone freshman Williams.
Poor defense+low basketball IQ= bench time. Derrio's a smart young man, just not on the basketball court.
Majors time is running out too.
Williams is simply playing better than Green right now. He is a rebound hog and goes strong to the basket. As a freshman he does make mistakes, but his ceiling is a lot higher than Green's. Niner Nation is very appreciative of Green's work, but building a better future means some older players have to step aside.
Anon 10:36,
More wins this year vs. last = improvement. It takes time to build a winning program.
Confidence seems low. Missed layups and just doesn't look comfortable on offense often dribbling and not pulling the trigger even when open. Partly on the coach IMO. He was aGood player under Lutz.
Still think Green is critical to making any type of run this season.
If size was the issue Briscoe wouldn't see the court.
With the exception of Davidson, this year's team hasn't won a game against anyone that is on the level of competition as Tennessee, Xavier and Georgia Tech. Derrio was instrumental in the games they won last year when the 49ers only had a half roster. With a full roster and a record of 11-11 (3-6 in conference) at this point in the season, I would rather have a more experience guy in the game like Derrio. He has proven that he knows how to finish a game. He has been sitting on the bench way too much this season.
Anon 10:54 PM
Size is an issue. Major repeatly talks about length. Briscoe is a junior and Derrio is a senior. Briscoe will be in the same situation next year.
Derrio Green has always been a scrub. He shoots five times more than he should. The team is better off without him and I am glad he is about to graduate so I do not have to see him play anymore. He makes freshman mistakes as a senior such as travelling and double dribbling. He is not as good as Colby Lewis.
MAJOR disaster. 5-20 in last 25 league games. Even Hal Wissell did better.
Green belongs on the bench! Guy has always been a scrub and will grad a scrub. He has missed almost as many fast break layups as he has contested three pointers. Sucks it had to happen his Sr. year, but it had to happen.
This season is over! There will be no late season run! Give the fresh some experience PT. Derio is the last part of Bobbys awful 2006-2010 recruiting clusterphuck that completely killed the program. Time to rebuild.
SICK of people saying more wins this yr equals better performance. NO. When you squeak by the 300 RPI teams early on and lose to 2 of them, that doesn't mean a thing. Play a real schedule and go .500 OOC, that would be respectable. Major is the worst coach in the A10, bar none.
The Lutz bashing is comical. Easily the two most gifted players (JB and Braz) are Lutz recruits. Nobody Major has inked comes close their talent. When JB and Braz are gone, we may win 5 games.
8:34am ----- totally agree
Agree with 8:43AM
Just because Chris Braswell and Javarris Barnett have more "stars" doesn't mean that Lutz was a good recruiter. You can't go by stars.
This year's recruiting class by Major is one of the best recruiting classes of all time for Charlotte. And next year's class is even better!
One more time for those who are a little slow (and this is so painfully obvious ) you don't judge a rookie coach or his recruits over a period of 2 years. I don't know if Major is going to turn out to be successfull or not and neither do you who criticize. He's trying to install an entirely different style of play and a new mindset. That stuff ain't going to happen in a hurry.
You people realize Lutz rarely played JB. He was the 10th man. Major gave him a chance and he has made the most of it.
10:22....you might have meant well, but you're clueless if you think this years freshmen is ANYWHERE close to being Charlotte's best class ever. Ever heard of the 2000-2001 class with guys like Demon Brown and Rodney White in it, among others. So many others to name as well. Come on man!
3:18, JB didn't play much for Lutz as a freshman because he wasn't very good. He improved the next year and played a good bit for Lutz that year. BTW, most players improve and get more PT as they get older.....duhh!
JB was a favorite of Lutz. Everyone knows that Lutz loved a 4 man out offense with a PF that could shoot along the perimeter. When JB the guard had the growth spurt to become JB the forward, it probably made Lutz giddy.
Remember, JB bulked up a lot and Lutz always was quick to praise him (unlike the true doghoused players like Jerrell Lewis, etc). But Barnett was always stuck behind Lamont Mack early on.
He played pretty well against GWU late in the year (during the skid that got Lutz fired). In that late feb game at least, he played more minutes than Spears, Wilderness, or Braswell and scored 12 pts w/8boards. But, yeah, Lutz hated him and Lutz was a total asshole to him.
It's very easy to imagine Lutz starting Barnett as a senior with a green light to shoot, imho. But we'll never know.
4:01 ... You're the one who's clueless!
If Major isn't a better recruiter than Lutz, then why is Major coaching this team?!?
Yeah, I'd rather have Braswell, Barnett, and Briscoe over Lester, Clayton, and Clark. Whatever dude!
When Major brings in another top recruiting class, we're going to beat up the A10. And I guarantee you that we'll be in the NCAA Tournament once we dump the dead weight. I can't wait until Braswell is gone
4:54...Major probably has the same attitude as you - can't wait until Lutz players are gone. That is why this team looks so dysfunctional.
4:08, you're all kinds of crazy.
4:54 and 6:08......no way could you be actual 49er fans and be that clueless about our teams/coaches. Nice try trolls.
Derrio is a beast. If he's not playing as well it's because the coach has diminished his confidence by being inconsistent with his miniutes. He's the best player I ever played with or against.
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