2025-26 Season - Minutes Breakdown

[ACE]

I like doing this for fun before every season, ranking the players based on minutes played. There is so much uncertainty with the roster, but also potential. It's really difficult to see who emerges and how they all fit in. I won't even take a shot at how many minutes each will get, but will simply rank the top 10 from most minutes to least. I think people may have some wildly different rankings..

1) Jones

2) Robbie

3) Green

4) Otieno

5) Thames (this one could vary greatly)

6) Brown

7) Anya

8 McCottry

9 Dunlap

10 Sharma

 

There are so many different variations the more I think about it. I can't believe I have McCottry 8th for example and then I consider moving him up. I would be curious to see what others think.

[VeniceMenace]

57 minutes ago, ACE said:

I like doing this for fun before every season, ranking the players based on minutes played. There is so much uncertainty with the roster, but also potential. It's really difficult to see who emerges and how they all fit in. I won't even take a shot at how many minutes each will get, but will simply rank the top 10 from most minutes to least. I think people may have some wildly different rankings..

1) Brown

2) Robbie

3) Green

4) Otieno

5) Thames (this one could vary greatly)

6) Brown

7) Anya

8 McCottry

9 Dunlap

10 Sharma

 

There are so many different variations the more I think about it. I can't believe I have McCottry 8th for example and then I consider moving him up. I would be curious to see what others think.

Brown listed twice, perhaps Jones in the sixth spot? Sharma and Dunlap may move up but this list looks solid & realistic.

[Crewsorlose]

So is the ranking on how many total minutes they have played or how much they play this season? Either way, I don't see Warlick here. 

For me the real issue this season is how many guys play, not the amount of minutes they play. We saw several A-10 games where Schertz didn't sub once in the 2nd half. In a season with literally nothing to play for after the Thames injury. 

I decided not to renew based on what I saw last season. I like Schertz as a coach and a guy but rotating guys and keeping them fresh may be his kryptonite. I certainly hope McCottry is playing more than Anya (max 15mpg on a good team). Dunlap should be better than both of them if healthy. 

[ACE]

21 minutes ago, VeniceMenace said:

Brown listed twice, perhaps Jones in the sixth spot? Sharma and Dunlap may move up but this list looks solid & realistic.

Sorry - yes Jones 1

[ACE]

8 minutes ago, Crewsorlose said:

So is the ranking on how many total minutes they have played or how much they play this season? Either way, I don't see Warlick here. 

For me the real issue this season is how many guys play, not the amount of minutes they play. We saw several A-10 games where Schertz didn't sub once in the 2nd half. In a season with literally nothing to play for after the Thames injury. 

I decided not to renew based on what I saw last season. I like Schertz as a coach and a guy but rotating guys and keeping them fresh may be his kryptonite. I certainly hope McCottry is playing more than Anya (max 15mpg on a good team). Dunlap should be better than both of them if healthy. 

I was thinking in terms of minutes per game.

I don’t think Warlick makes the top 10. I really like McCottry and yes, he may be too low on my list. 

[slu72]

If healthy I would think Dunlap moves up to top 7. Schertz loves the 3. 

[willie]

Amari will be in the top 3 

[CenHudDude]

1 hour ago, Crewsorlose said:

So is the ranking on how many total minutes they have played or how much they play this season? Either way, I don't see Warlick here. 

For me the real issue this season is how many guys play, not the amount of minutes they play. We saw several A-10 games where Schertz didn't sub once in the 2nd half. In a season with literally nothing to play for after the Thames injury. 

I decided not to renew based on what I saw last season. I like Schertz as a coach and a guy but rotating guys and keeping them fresh may be his kryptonite. I certainly hope McCottry is playing more than Anya (max 15mpg on a good team). Dunlap should be better than both of them if healthy. 

Warlick has to be in the top 10.  The team will be better than I expect if he is not.

[WVBilliken]

Way, way, way too early to guess.  Robbie sure, but the rest, LOL, nobody but the coaching staff has a clue ....

[SLU_Nick]

3 hours ago, ACE said:

I like doing this for fun before every season, ranking the players based on minutes played. There is so much uncertainty with the roster, but also potential. It's really difficult to see who emerges and how they all fit in. I won't even take a shot at how many minutes each will get, but will simply rank the top 10 from most minutes to least. I think people may have some wildly different rankings..

1) Jones

2) Robbie

3) Green

4) Otieno

5) Thames (this one could vary greatly)

6) Brown

7) Anya

8 McCottry

9 Dunlap

10 Sharma

 

There are so many different variations the more I think about it. I can't believe I have McCottry 8th for example and then I consider moving him up. I would be curious to see what others think.

I think Sharma is low.  I kind of view him as a Mike McCall type, he’s gonna play defense, hit all his free throws and make winning plays. 
 

He didn’t transfer down a level to be the 10th man in THE premier zero bid league 

[HoosierPal]

My guess

McCrotty will get substantial minutes. He knows the system. He has played with Robbie for season. He can initiate the offense. He is a good rebounder and an able defender. He reads the passing lanes well. His 38% three point shooting is solid, (42% in conference games) albeit a small sample size.  He does need to work at minimizing TO's.

[thetorch]

1. Avila

2. Green

3. Jones

4. Brown

5. Otieno

6. McCottry

7. Sharma

8. Anya

9. Dunlop

10. Kerr

 

[wgstl]

If Thames is healthy

 

1) Otieno

2) Robbie

3) Jones

4) Thames

5) Green

6) McCottry

7) Dunlap

8 brown

9 Anya

10 Sharma

 

As deep is we are at guard, if Dunlap was a top 7 player for a 2 seed I have to think he's that good or higher here.  If thames is limited, put Dunlap at the #4 spot

[Aquinas]

1 Avila

2 Otieno

3 Green

4 Jones

5 Sharma

6 McCottry

7 Dunlop

8 Brown

9 Anya

10 Thames

I like Sharma as a Gibson like player who can also help bring the ball up the floor. Like Gibson I think he will pick up the system quickly and be tough to keep off of the floor.  If Anya plays a lot, we are either in trouble or his shooting has improved dramatically. 

Dunlop could move up. I have to see Thames going at it full speed in practice and games, before I believe he is back. I live in Florida,  but I am from Missouri.

Injury almost always knocks a projected player off or down the list. And in this NIL era, one or more players will want to protect eligibility and not play more than 10 games.

[brianstl]

People are way too low on the amount of minutes Dunlap will get.  Do people really believe he will get the same or less court time than he was getting at St. John's before he got hurt?  He will be in the top 4 in minutes on this team.  I think this is pretty obvious.

[ACE]

1 hour ago, Aquinas said:

1 Avila

2 Otieno

3 Green

4 Jones

5 Sharma

6 McCottry

7 Dunlop

8 Brown

9 Anya

10 Thames

I like Sharma as a Gibson like player who can also help bring the ball up the floor. Like Gibson I think he will pick up the system quickly and be tough to keep off of the floor.  If Anya plays a lot, we are either in trouble or his shooting has improved dramatically. 

Dunlop could move up. I have to see Thames going at it full speed in practice and games, before I believe he is back. I live in Florida,  but I am from Missouri.

Injury almost always knocks a projected player off or down the list. And in this NIL era, one or more players will want to protect eligibility and not play more than 10 games.

Your last point is a good one. I wouldn't be shocked if something like that happens again - like LHJr. last year.

I thought the projected minutes heading into last season with the incoming transfers played out pretty much the way I expected - the injury to Dotzler, though, was the one big wildcard that we'll never know how it would have played out if he was healthy.

But I have had a more difficult time projecting this year's group of incoming transfers. I sort of divide them into two groups - with Jones, Otieno and Green playing bigger roles  and Brown, Dunlap and Sharma playing lesser roles.  I could be completely wrong and it wouldn't shock me if one of those latter 3 plays a bigger role.

I look forward to revisiting this thread about a month into the season to see how it is shaking out.

[WUH]

1 hour ago, brianstl said:

People are way too low on the amount of minutes Dunlap will get.  Do people really believe he will get the same or less court time than he was getting at St. John's before he got hurt?  He will be in the top 4 in minutes on this team.  I think this is pretty obvious.

Right, is everyone else assuming that he will be limited by injuries? 

[HoosierPal]

4 hours ago, brianstl said:

People are way too low on the amount of minutes Dunlap will get.  Do people really believe he will get the same or less court time than he was getting at St. John's before he got hurt?  He will be in the top 4 in minutes on this team.  I think this is pretty obvious.

It is July, so everyone's projections are correct.  Schertz will correct us all in November.

You can say the same thing you have about Dunlap for Brown, Green, and Sharma.  Did they transfer 'down' in order to play fewer minutes or have a lesser role?  Nope.

Did Warlick reup so that he could waste his sophomore season by getting only mop up time?  (No one has him on their top 10 list.)  Did McCrotty come back with the aspiration to start?  If Thames is healthy, will he play more than the 16 mpg he did last season. Did Anya come back expecting to play 28 mpg? Lots of questions. 

I added up the mpg for all 11 returners.  They totaled 235 mpg. So right away, several aren't going to play as much as they did last season.  This number counts for zero minutes for the freshmen.  In Stu's article, Kerr is quoted "Schertz wants me to be a Trigger and create actions and run the offense like Robbie". At the scrimmage, Hudson showed he can play D1 ball.

Avila, Anya, Brown, Otenio, and Jones were more or less all full time starters last season.  Otieno is maybe our most reliable rebounder and by far our best rim protector.  How long can you keep him on the bench?  Jones had the most assists last season of any current Bill, with 109. He shot an acceptable 36% from deep.  He will play a lot.  So 'deepest team ever'?  I think we have said that for the last 5 seasons.  Who sits and who plays?  Who gets minutes because of their defense?  Schertz has said many times "offense starts with defense".  Any redshirts for freshmen or any player coming off an injury?  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and it gives us something to discuss for the next 4 months. 

I credit Earl Austin for this quote, but I think he repeated it from someone else.  "It's not the coach's job to make the players happy.  It is the players job to make the coach happy."

[willie]

3 hours ago, HoosierPal said:

It is July, so everyone's projections are correct.  Schertz will correct us all in November.

You can say the same thing you have about Dunlap for Brown, Green, and Sharma.  Did they transfer 'down' in order to play fewer minutes or have a lesser role?  Nope.

Did Warlick reup so that he could waste his sophomore season by getting only mop up time?  (No one has him on their top 10 list.)  Did McCrotty come back with the aspiration to start?  If Thames is healthy, will he play more than the 16 mpg he did last season. Did Anya come back expecting to play 28 mpg? Lots of questions. 

I added up the mpg for all 11 returners.  They totaled 235 mpg. So right away, several aren't going to play as much as they did last season.  This number counts for zero minutes for the freshmen.  In Stu's article, Kerr is quoted "Schertz wants me to be a Trigger and create actions and run the offense like Robbie". At the scrimmage, Hudson showed he can play D1 ball.

Avila, Anya, Brown, Otenio, and Jones were more or less all full time starters last season.  Otieno is maybe our most reliable rebounder and by far our best rim protector.  How long can you keep him on the bench?  Jones had the most assists last season of any current Bill, with 109. He shot an acceptable 36% from deep.  He will play a lot.  So 'deepest team ever'?  I think we have said that for the last 5 seasons.  Who sits and who plays?  Who gets minutes because of their defense?  Schertz has said many times "offense starts with defense".  Any redshirts for freshmen or any player coming off an injury?  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and it gives us something to discuss for the next 4 months. 

I credit Earl Austin for this quote, but I think he repeated it from someone else.  "It's not the coach's job to make the players happy.  It is the players job to make the coach happy."

I find this very thoughtful. Can a team have to many good players? If you think you are good enough to play and don’t can you be a good teammate? Can Schertz play 10 players much less the freshman and keep the team cohesive? Maybe he can convince the freshman to redshirt? This is not going to be easy but I guess it’s a good problem. 

 

[thetorch]

Sharma, Brown, Green, Dunlop, Jones, McCottry & Thames

3 spots for 7 players.  2 players on that list won't play at all this season and will probably not be on the team past January.

Really don't understand the hate for Anya.  He shot over 60% from the field last year, 65% from 2.  He is a plus rebounder and defender.  Yeah he can't shoot FTs.  He barely shot 2 FTs a game.  He is a starter level A10 big.  He can fill in for Avila in a pinch with his passing and ballhandling.  He's our 3rd big, which gives us the best and deepest big man rotation in the A10.  He's going to play big minutes off the bench.  18+ a game. 

[willie]

11 minutes ago, thetorch said:

Sharma, Brown, Green, Dunlop, Jones, McCottry & Thames

3 spots for 7 players.  2 players on that list won't play at all this season and will probably not be on the team past January.

Really don't understand the hate for Anya.  He shot over 60% from the field last year, 65% from 2.  He is a plus rebounder and defender.  Yeah he can't shoot FTs.  He barely shot 2 FTs a game.  He is a starter level A10 big.  He can fill in for Avila in a pinch with his passing and ballhandling.  He's our 3rd big, which gives us the best and deepest big man rotation in the A10.  He's going to play big minutes off the bench.  18+ a game. 

I agree with you on Anya. Opposing coaches don’t game plan enough to know when to automatically fouls him. Just can’t play him at the end of close games. 

[brianstl]

1 hour ago, thetorch said:

Sharma, Brown, Green, Dunlop, Jones, McCottry & Thames

3 spots for 7 players.  2 players on that list won't play at all this season and will probably not be on the team past January.

Really don't understand the hate for Anya.  He shot over 60% from the field last year, 65% from 2.  He is a plus rebounder and defender.  Yeah he can't shoot FTs.  He barely shot 2 FTs a game.  He is a starter level A10 big.  He can fill in for Avila in a pinch with his passing and ballhandling.  He's our 3rd big, which gives us the best and deepest big man rotation in the A10.  He's going to play big minutes off the bench.  18+ a game. 

Only one of those 7 guys was a rotation player for the number 10 team in the country last season before he had surgery.  Gibson led the team in minutes last year.  Dunlap is two inches taller and better defensively.  He is going to get minutes.

[thetorch]

3 hours ago, brianstl said:

Only one of those 7 guys was a rotation player for the number 10 team in the country last season before he had surgery.  Gibson led the team in minutes last year.  Dunlap is two inches taller and better defensively.  He is going to get minutes.

FWIW what I've heard is Green is an auto starter and big minutes player.  The other 2 wing players impressing coming out of early practices are Jones and Sharma.  Not much buzz on Brown or Dunlop.

[billiken_roy]

13 hours ago, thetorch said:

Sharma, Brown, Green, Dunlop, Jones, McCottry & Thames

3 spots for 7 players.  2 players on that list won't play at all this season and will probably not be on the team past January.

Really don't understand the hate for Anya.  He shot over 60% from the field last year, 65% from 2.  He is a plus rebounder and defender.  Yeah he can't shoot FTs.  He barely shot 2 FTs a game.  He is a starter level A10 big.  He can fill in for Avila in a pinch with his passing and ballhandling.  He's our 3rd big, which gives us the best and deepest big man rotation in the A10.  He's going to play big minutes off the bench.  18+ a game. 

come on torch.   you know basketball.   i was all for anya at the beginning of the season.   then we saw he is the worst free throw shooter maybe in billiken history.  opponents were more than happy to foul him and let him shoot free throws.   takes a lot of suckiness to make us rather have french at the line.  now add to it that 65% is pretty much all layups.   so this all added up to our opponents not guarding him if he was more than 4 feet from the basket.   that let them double on our shooters and totally broke down the advantage of what Schertz wanted to do.  by the end of the season we were using mccottrey and warlick as much as anya as power forward.   

if anya shows he can do more offensively that layups and putbacks he'll play.  he is a good defender and a great rebounder.   but we cant play him at the expense of our offense being broken like he caused last year.   

[BIG BILL FAN]

14 hours ago, thetorch said:

Sharma, Brown, Green, Dunlop, Jones, McCottry & Thames

3 spots for 7 players.  2 players on that list won't play at all this season and will probably not be on the team past January.

Really don't understand the hate for Anya.  He shot over 60% from the field last year, 65% from 2.  He is a plus rebounder and defender.  Yeah he can't shoot FTs.  He barely shot 2 FTs a game.  He is a starter level A10 big.  He can fill in for Avila in a pinch with his passing and ballhandling.  He's our 3rd big, which gives us the best and deepest big man rotation in the A10.  He's going to play big minutes off the bench.  18+ a game. 

It’s more than not being able to make ft’s. It’s hard to play a 5 out offense when Anya’s man can always sag to the middle because he knows he can’t shoot the 3.