Few players at the college level can not play for a while, then come in and be productive. In the NBA, that's one of the reasons teams will keep a veteran or two around at the end of the bench - they know those guys can sit for days or weeks at a time, then hop off the bench and play solid minutes in a pinch. But that takes years of training and knowing how to prepare yourself without getting practice or game reps.
Sam hasn't had that yet. Since the last KSU game (January 13), Sam played just the closing seconds of the OU game (less than a minute of court time). That was 16 days prior. He probably had no idea he would be called on last night, and doesn't yet know how to prepare himself to go 2-3 weeks without playing, then come in and contribute.
The secret, of course, is to not look to contribute by scoring. Defense first. Rebound second. Hustle third. You don't want to hustle first because that will lead to being out of control. Defend first. You don't want to hustle second, because you still might be too eager. Rebound second. Then hustle.
The defense makes you focus on the gameplan. Where are you supposed to be. How are you supposed to guard this guy. What are the defensive principles.
Rebounding makes you focus on fundamentals. Boxing out. Positioning. Not simply standing and watching. Doing your work early.
Then you engage the effort. Once your mind and fundamentals are engaged, that's when you can do extra work to try and steal a possession or two.
Getting a good sweat working on defense and the glass will settle your nerves so you don't shoot the ball to Larned.
Same goes for Silvio. He should focus on protecting the rim and trying to grab every available defensive rebound, which means he has to box out every time.
Once you do that, the rest will come in time. It's easier said than done, though.
