Time for change has passed

With road games against Minnesota, Iowa and Ohio State and a highly anticipated visit from Purdue to Assembly Hall, IU needed and captured a breakout win against Penn State.\nBut can IU carry the momentum into those next contests?\n"I hope so," junior guard Dane Fife said. "If we don't, we're screwed."\nThe defense led the win, but the major surprise of the evening belonged to interim head coach Mike Davis.\nDavis changed his starting lineup and bench rotation yet again.\nHe played freshman A.J. Moye, usually a spectator, 30 minutes, while starter Jeffrey Newton and contributor Jarrad Odle watched the entire game from the bench. Freshman George Leach also received playing time after seeing action in only nine previous games.\nWhy would a coach change his rotation with the heart of the Big Ten season in the imminent future?\nA coach should be making changes within the first 10 games, finding what works and what doesn\'t, looking for player combinations that will spark his team.\nThe 18th game of the season is not the time for these changes. If Davis wants to be successful the rest of the year and on into post-season play, he'd better know something that no one else does.\nNow is not the time for experimentation.\nFind something that works, and use it. If benching Newton and Odle and playing Moye and Leach is something that will win games, do it.\nGranted, Moye did play well, scoring nine points and pulling down eight rebounds, four offensive, but Leach saw only seven minutes of action and was a nonfactor.\nIn his post-game press conference, Davis spoke of the lack of effort given by his players, saying that he shouldn\'t be begging them to play. They should want to play, he said.\nApparently Newton and Odle weren't giving the effort. Rather than bench them, try motivating them; it's included in the job description of coach. If one thing doesn't work, do something else.\nThe major point is that with a new coach, a new offense and a team that features no seniors, some stability will be necessary for IU's culmination of talent to eventually peak.