Coach Saul Phillips needs to find Ben Vander Plas more minutes.
That’s not an opinion, and it’s not a far-fetched cry in favor of Vander Plas. Phillips said it himself Monday following Vander Plas’ 14 points in Ohio’s 81-73 win over Campbell in The Convo. The redshirt freshman has earned more playing time through two games.
“I’ve got to find more minutes for him,” Phillips said. “I’m simply not playing him enough right now. It’s a long season so I’ll get that figured out.”
Vander Plas missed all of last season with a foot injury. Now in his first two collegiate games, he’s finding success for the Bobcats. His 14 points came in just 18 minutes of action Monday, and he had 16 points in the season-opening win over Wilberforce last week.
Those numbers were posted in his first two career games. But for Vander Plas, he is just starting to get comfortable on the floor.
“The comfort level is pretty high,” Vander Plas said. “All the guys on the team, every time I catch the ball, if I’m open, they want me to shoot it.”
Teammates like when Vander Plas lets the ball fly, probably because it goes in. He was 4-of-7 from 3-point range against Campbell. All four of those 3s were in the first half — a pair of back-to-back shots that cut into a Campbell lead. They were big shots.
Phillips knew Vander Plas could play at a high level; it wasn’t a secret. Nothing that Vander Plas is doing comes as a surprise. Of course, Phillips also can admit that Vander Plas would have helped the Bobcats tremendously last season, when they battled through injuries all year and couldn’t find their footing.
“I can’t say enough about the kid,” Phillips said. “He would’ve helped us out a ton last year.”
But the college game is different for Vander Plas. He was never a 3-point shooter in high school, because he didn’t have to be. At 6-foot-8, he was always bigger than everyone. He could impose his will down low. But now, with a healthy Jason Carter in the paint, Vander Plas’ role is much more dynamic.
Carter and Vander Plas feed off each other. Chemistry came naturally for the former roommates, so they didn’t need any time on the court to gel together. They used last season’s injuries to form a bond; they sat on the bench together. Now, Carter plays inside but has range. Vander Plas is the inverse.
They make each other’s jobs on the court easier.
“It opens up everything,” Carter said. “It opened up driving lines for me tonight. It opened up the post, especially for Doug (Taylor), too. Everyone was able to get to the rim because we were able to spread the floor.”
Without veterans Jordan Dartis and James Gollon for the foreseeable future, the Bobcats will need Vander Plas to make Carter’s life easy in the paint.
And no matter how it happens, Carter and Vander Plas will need to be on the court together.
Don’t take that as opinion. Just ask Phillips.
“Ben is going to log a lot of minutes in a Bobcat uniform by the time this bad boy is done,” Phillips said.
