The Curious Case of Dominique Sutton

As a preface, I write this not to single out a player who is playing poorly of late, but merely to correct a misconception that I am seeing in the fan base.

That misconception is that Dominique Sutton has been benched merely for poor performance. While that partly is true, I don't think it's so much a punitive measure on Frank's part as it is a simple fact: Rodney McGruder is a better player right now.

The frosh is defending almost as well as the junior -- and more importantly, without fouling -- rebounding just as well, scoring much better from all points and keeping his poise in critical moments.

Statistical breakdown after the jump.

It's too bad, because earlier in the season, Dom was playing the best ball of his career: Lockdown defense, aggressive to the hoop, making free throws and just plain being a beast on the boards.

Then he got back into his funk, picking up two early fouls in five of our six conference games and getting down on himself like he tends to do. Once that happens, his entire game falls apart and he becomes a tentative turnover machine.

I hope he can figure it out tonight, because we need him. We need all of our weapons. Maybe by writing this, I will reverse-jinx him out of his slump.

Regardless, I think it's pretty clear who the most consistent player has been over the past two weeks. The sooner Dom responds to Rodney's challenge, the sooner we can take the next step as a program.

Minutes

Points

Rebounds