although the starting five is important, i think the sixth man is even more important. If one of the starting five isn't focused, or has a terrible match-up, the sixth man is often looked to, to fill any number of roles.

The problem you highlight tho probably stems from the parents tunnel vision on their child, rather than their childs team. But, how can you tell a parent not to love their child as much, after all, that is why they are concerned.

While the starting five is important I believe that it is teh finishing five that is even more so. Who cares whether or not you were in the game at the very start or on teh bench. When the game is down to the wire the best players should be on teh court

This is nearly the same argument as:

Is it better to be the 8th/9th player in Div 1 or the 1st or 2nd player in div 2?

I guess the answer is, does it really matter if you are having a good time? If it does really matter then you probably have larger issues.

i agree with statman about starting five

the 8th 9th player is a difficult one and in the case of a bottom age kid i would need a very convincing argument to keep them out of Div 2. I have generally found players in that situation develop more if they have to do a great deal of work in Div 2 rather than benchwarm in Div 1.

in a lot of cases the 6 man is sometimes better than someone on the 5, this is the case as to create a spark when the enter the game. and also have another main option if the team is struggling

i usually keep my form players in the starting 5

not the name players

but it is an ego thing - frnakly coming off the bench can be better than the starters as the opposition may be a little more tired

what i feel important is the balance and team combination and the length of playing minutes once on the court

I wish some coaches would just pick a starting five and stick with it, many coaches I have/had change the roster around every week, the players cannot settle.

i dont mean to gloat, but back in my day, my coach had me starting on the bench, when i would have thought i was definrtly in the top three players in the team. so i approached my coach behind closed doors and asked wot the deal was. he explained to me that he also thought i was in the top three or four players on the team, but due to the fact that we had no depth, and by that i mean the skill level from our 5th to our sixth man declined dramatically, he thort it would be a much better move to have a decent player comin off the bench for a "lesser" player who started. so all in all, starting 5 means jack. everyone has a roll to play.

of course thats what a coach will tell you, but in saying that a coach will not put a liability in to start, if a player is clearly a better player, they will start, ceteris paribus, otherwise, he is just being a diplomat.

point taken about thats what a coach will say. but seriously, it would have only taken a couple minutes of watching a game to see the difference in skill level.

I play starting 5 and trust me it means nothing. Just because your starting 5 dosen't mean your one of the best, all it means that in the play that your coach wants to run at the start of the game you will fit best to start.

some players play better off the bench