Originally Posted by CT Flyer
I was told on this board that red shirting, other than medical and academic, doesn't happen in college basketball anymore. Last year I suggested this type of development plan for Pierce and was told it won't happen because nobody red shirts anymore for just pure development.
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What makes Gonzaga different from every other NCAA Sweet 16 team
Eleven of the 17 players on the Bulldogs’ roster have redshirted during their time here. The other 15 teams still alive in the NCAA tournament have an average of 2.93 such players.
Yet Gonzaga has figured out how to turn the redshirt year into a recruiting tool. Player development is one of the program’s core pillars, and Knight presents redshirting as a problem-solving exercise that is different player to player and often day to day. The weight room isn’t a place to brag or turn into bodybuilders, but just one of dozens of tools for the players’ benefit.
“We literally try to not leave any stone unturned,” said Mark Few, Gonzaga’s head coach, “whether it’s nutrition or sleep or DNA predisposition to weights to speed, agility, flexibility, yoga.
“Capping out their potential has always been the goal. If you’re not getting the top five or 10 or 15 players in the country — which we don’t get coming out of high school — you focus on, Let’s get these other guys that we evaluate properly and know how hungry they are and their potential and then let’s do it that way.”
Why it works
The notion that the best player on the roster could be unavailable for game competition may seem like a risk of the redshirting strategy, but it’s really the point.
“What’s made it work is we have a culture of ownership and responsibility,” Lloyd said. “Those guys know they’re redshirting for a reason, and I always tell them the redshirt needs to be your ‘because’ year. Because you redshirted, you were able to do this. It’s not a wasted year. Your mindset needs to be at the end of your career, because you redshirted, you were able to do this, this and that.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...t-16/99481738/
I highly, highly recommend reading the whole article
