[b]I agree PI, even with Iti back - do we really have much of an inside presence? [/b]
Iti may not score much, but he does force the opponent to put a big body on him to keep him from getting those putbacks. He also helps oout tremendously on the defensive end just being in the game and keeping the opponent from driving the lane. Without Iti in the game, Curtis gets guarded by that bigger, taller player and his production likely goes down. It does depend somewhat on who we are playing, but Iti simply being in the game allows Curtis to do a lot more things. I have always wanted to see a +/- stat kept for college basketball, because it’s an instant indicator of how players do in certain situations/with certain lineups. I would wager that Curtis’ +/- in several categories is better when Iti is in the game. He probably doesn’t get as many defensive rebounds with Iti in the lineup at the same time, but his offensive production seems to be much better.