to the bench, except against Zaga. The three man rotation should have been Mika, Childs and Kaufusi. This would have given Eric more minutes at PF, which is where he wanted to play to prepare for the next level.
Now this year it is yet another big man nailed to the bench in Payton. I don't think it is personal, but there is a pattern and history of Dave Rose giving up on big men (Isaac Neilson) while he is patient with guard types. Look at teams that advance in the big dance you and will see a strong correlation with those teams having size.