Lucas

I hate to see Lucas so unhappy. It's obvious he is having zero fun on the court. Last year's darling has become HCBS's goat. I truly hope they can resolve the issues. He seems to be struggling without Ellis as his "counterpart." Bragg and other possibilities can't fill the void Perry left, leaving Lucas lost, in my opinion.

Is it possible he sees his starting slot and possibly playing time going away? IMHO this could be good for the team but obviously disheartning for Lucas. Tough to be a senior sitting on the bench, but talent is talent.

Interesting thought, but do you think he thought that at the beginning of the year (before the first game) or is it that he feels it more now because he's not playing as well. And is he not playing as well because he's adjusting to life without playing alongside Perry. I say that b/c Ellis demanded lots of double teams which left a lot of room for Landen to get dunks and layups. Because Carlton Bragg isn't as strong offensively, Lucas isn't getting as many openings.

Those were my thoughts, Port. It's a whole new world playing without Perry, and it must be very difficult to adjust.

Seems like he's also adjusting to a new kind of officiating. What was once allowed (bodying up to get position) seems to be called more often. Kind of hard to play aggressively when the rules (or how they're being called) are in flux. It's especially hard to be aggressive the way Self wants you to, when you're not sure what's going to be called on you.

Perry's absence is certainly a contributing factor, but with our backcourt, it's not like somebody else isn't picking up doubleteams.