Time Is Now (Or Never)

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basket...ncaab-mbd&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report This is a good summary of the Gophers (so far).

Tubby on Westbrook

Is Westbrook just a pill or what? Why won't he simply play defense or at least look like he is busting his butt trying?

Pretty straight forward quote from the article: “He’s [Westbrook's] gotta defend better,” Smith said. “It’s as simple as that. If he defended better, he’d be on the court.”

I don't get it.

The player is not bigger than the coach

It seems pretty clear to me:

Hypothesis # 1 -> Lawrence is stubborn as (insert animal of your choice, e.g., "Mule")

1) You can talk about "tuning out the coach(es)" all that you want. Logical progression from ignoring the coach(es), in *any* sport at any level, = BENCH TIME. Refer to any major pro sport or the two major college revenue sports for examples, over and over and over. Amount of bench time may vary. But.....

2) Lawrence will use up his eligibility in ~ 7-9 more games. Tubby will be here ~ 5-10 more years, whatever he chooses. Who will still be around after this all plays out,a nd this season is a bad memory? This "fight" reminds me of Libya vs. the United States Navy back in the mid-1980s. Lawrence is in the analogous position of the Libyan Air Force....

3) Also - as stubborna s he is, Lawrence cannot out-stubborn Tubby. He can choose to conform to Tubby's 'requests', or *not*. His choice. Impact to his prospective future ball-playing career. Again, his choice. But he is not going to *Win*. Tubby's requirements for more playing time seem pretty clear.

4) Alternative explanation which also seems to fit the facts that we see = Lawrence is *dumb*. A more charitable explanation is that he has a higher opinion of his abilities/"game" than others do. This influences his behavior. However, the feedback loop seems to still indicate a > amount of bench time. Again, the amount is up to Orlando Smith.

Also, the sad by-product of all this is a fractured team which loses most of the conficdence it once had and certainly seems to lack any cohesion.

Another possibility....

Is it possible that he has finally realized he no future in the NBA and is acting out? Logical people figured this out a long time ago but I think I've seen quotes recently (can't remember where) of him talking about a future in The League.

I'm not sure what the deal is...

But...did anyone know that he's Brian Westbrook's cousin?