What is the main purpose of "red shirting" a player in this game? I normally play my freshman for at least 2- 6 mins a game. So I am not sure if this is beneficial or not. Any ideas?

I use it when I don't think the player will get much playing time do to low ratings or several guys ahead of him on depth chart but shows good potential (either future starter or could become solid backup). I also use it if I have two guys at the same position that would graduate together to get an extra year rather than have both graduate the same time then one will play one more year. I try to use it on one them his freshman or sophomore year to get them separated and then I have another year to recruit that position to find the right guy.
Once you redshirt them they are no longer eligible to play that season but do practice with the team thus making their knowledge of your system better and they also have their ratings develop the year they redshirt so the next year they are more valuable to your team.

NCAAhoops wrote:I use it when I don't think the player will get much playing time do to low ratings or several guys ahead of him on depth chart but shows good potential (either future starter or could become solid backup). I also use it if I have two guys at the same position that would graduate together to get an extra year rather than have both graduate the same time then one will play one more year. I try to use it on one them his freshman or sophomore year to get them separated and then I have another year to recruit that position to find the right guy.
Once you redshirt them they are no longer eligible to play that season but do practice with the team thus making their knowledge of your system better and they also have their ratings develop the year they redshirt so the next year they are more valuable to your team.

Ahhh ok. I didn't know they could play one more year after the redshirt year. Makes perfect sense now. Thank you. Yeah, one year I had 3 PF Freshman, and I just played them without thinking about the redshirt. Good to know that they don't lose a year. Thank you very much for the information. This dang game got me addicted!! Made it to the NCAA tournament one time so far with Texas Southern!!

If you have a talented freshman that is unlikely to get a lot of playing time because of upperclassmen at his position (s), it's best to "red-shirt" him so that he gets a year of learning your system and stats improvements (he'll still participate in practice and get all the benefits) without losing a year of eligibility.

One thing to keep in mind is that you're taking a risk by redshirting a player because he may be someone who wants to play right away, even if the players in front of him are more talented, and he may decide to transfer at the end of the season.

The other answer to why redshirt, are for transfers. I have had a lot of transfers the last couple of season due to early draft eligibility.

the most important reason for red-shirting a player is because he has raw talent, but won't likely get much playing time his first (or second) year because of experienced players ahead of him. By red-shirting him you usually (but not always) avoid the frustration he might get from sitting on the end of the bench, but more importantly, he learns your system and develops his game without losing a season of eligibility. Talented 5th year seniors are a gold mine!

A lot depends on the distribution of your classes as well. You don't want 5 or 6 players graduating out of the same class...if i have a class of 5 freshman, and only 2 seniors on the team, you'd better bet I'm going to find a good reason to red-shirt 1 or 2 of them!

jfsolo23 wrote:One thing to keep in mind is that you're taking a risk by redshirting a player because he may be someone who wants to play right away, even if the players in front of him are more talented, and he may decide to transfer at the end of the season.

that is true. but if you didn't red-shirt him and he spent the year on the end of the bench anyway, because of the more talented (actually, probably more experienced) players in front of him, would he be any less likely to transfer?
Actually, I've only had one 5 star player ever transfer out of my school because I red-shirted him. I always figure it's his loss, not mine. You recruit the players you can recruit, you promise them only the things you can reasonably promise them (e.g. playing time, discipline), and it usually works out. Just because a kid wants playing time, and you promise him playing time, doesn't mean he'll get pissed off at you because you red-shirt him as a freshman. He'll be much more likely to transfer after his red-shirt freshman season if you then STILL keep him on the end of the bench!