To Bench Or Not to Bench. Ron Wilson’s big decision

We’ve all been there. Yelling at our television for the coach to bench a certain player. Or when the commentator announces that so-and-so has been scratched from the line up. We voice our concurrence with the coach’s decision.   Much kudos is passed along to Ron Wilson for his willingness to sit any member of his roster to “send a message”. I will admit I’m not a huge supporter of Coach Wilson but do admire his willingness to use a very old tactic that is not nearly used as often as it once was.   However I believe Ron Wilson is guilty of over-using this tactic. I’m not exactly sure why. My guess is ego. There is no doubt Wilson believes in his abilities and his decisions. You only need watch one post-game press conference to learn this.   Here’s the issue with how Wilson utilizes the threat of benching for poor performance. Firstly the more often you do it the less effective it becomes over time. Secondly, he appears to use it to ... (link)