I won't forget this...

[tomegun]

Another thing to keep in mind: if little Johnny is finally in the game, he wants to score too. Keeping your starters in and scoring is different than putting your subs in and scoring. That could be the highlight of someone's basketball career if they don't normally get in the game.

[Adam]

I heard a great perspective on this a few years ago during discussion of an intrastate blowout game at the D1 level. If the team getting destroyed is as talented as the winning team, it's their responsibility to throw in the towel. In this case, the winning team shouldn't be faulted for playing hard to keep their lead and even expand it. However, if the winning team is vastly superior, then you can (not necessarily "should") put more onus on the winning team to call off the dogs, so to speak.
A coach who's been around for 17 years isn't likely to be easily offended by this. 1 minute left in a 20 pt blowout? I've seen some pretty big comebacks (had a great one this year), but never seen 20 points made up in one minute. The only thing that could possibly need addressing at this stage of a game is sportsmanship.

[Red_Killian]

Originally Posted by tomegun

Another thing to keep in mind: if little Johnny is finally in the game, he wants to score too. Keeping your starters in and scoring is different than putting your subs in and scoring. That could be the highlight of someone's basketball career if they don't normally get in the game.

I resembled that remark in my HS playing days.....garbage time was my time to try to shine....or at least not screw up too bad.