Penn State vs. Michigan (Rec Hall 7:30 p.m.) BTN+

Having Allison Cathey sub in as a six rotation player for the first time all year was an interesting change.

Yes.  And in the back row as well.

So I'm assuming that White and Hampton were receiving serve while Cathey was in the front row. Who was receiving serve when Cathey was in the back row? Jonni Parker? (My impression is that PSU is really short on serve receivers.)

Even tho RR has publicly criticized Cathey, he continues to play her periodically so that she will continue to have chances to improve. Which tells me that she is probably doing pretty good in practice, as RR has said numerous times that he plays those players who have done well in practice the prior week. I've noticed that even tho he might have some strong words with a player after they screw up, he gives players 2nd and 3rd chances as he's well aware of needing to develop players. (After all, he's only coached for 40 years )

On a side note, developing players has frequently been a topic with the Chicago Bulls. Phil Jackson did a good job of that. In the Bulls 1991 championship year, on their first West Coast trip, the 1st team would get a lead of 15 or so points in the first quarter. The 2nd team would come in and promptly lose the lead. This happened for most games during the trip. BUT by the playoffs, the 2nd team had developed enough that they were able to rescue the first team in a game when the first team just did have it and hold their own the rest of the time. Dick Motta (1968-1976) would seldom play younger players. And when the Bulls under Motta had a chance to go to the finals, they lost to Golden State 4-3. Motta had only played 7 players (maybe 8, one of which was Chet Walker who only played 20 or so minutes), and they just ran out of gas. Tom Thibodeau (2010-2015) also had a dislike of playing younger players and seemed to only play them when injuries forced him to.  Both Motta and Thibodeau were excellent coaches except that they didn't develop players well and so had a problem with depth on their teams.