I certainly don't count myself among the most knowledgeable here, so please know I don't try to sound that way. I think some are seeing the small picture or the big picture while Tony Bennett is seeing (and working) the whole picture. In the ACC tourney, we had the opportunity to accomplish a couple of things. First, win our second consecutive tournament, second reacclimate our team to having one of our best two players back in the lineup. Some choose one over the other. I think CTB did a great job at keeping his eye on both, with a slight preference for one. I think his coaching and intensity showed he wanted to win the tournament, but I think his allocation of minutes showed he wanted to get JA back just a little more. He played Justin 26 minutes in the 2 games and he had zero effect on the game. We, IMO, clearly would have beaten UNC had he played Devon Hall those minutes that Justin played. But TB played Justin, but not enough to give us no chance. I thought he did an excellent job of balancing getting Justin minutes and trying to win. We were there in the last minutes with a chance to win, but more important, JA won't be starting from scratch next week. A year ago after the Tenn. Game, I stated, and caught some flack for saying TB had used the OOC schedule to learn his team. I think this was similar, in that he wanted to win, coached to give his team a chance to win, but not with winning being the top (only) priority. It is past of his brilliance, that his coaching isn't always just about one thing. I look for a very good run in the NCAA. We, again IMO, would have been much better with Hall playing this weekend, but will be better with JA next weekend. Both are or were important, but next weekend is more so. Great job by TB again.
