According to the podcast he was injured before the season and played through the injuries.
Mulcahy was 29th out of 30 B1G guards in PPG
- Thread starter NewJerseyHawk
- Start date
Are you saying he was completely healed before he returned?
Paul clearly wasn't 100% for much of last year, which was apparent to anyone who watched the games and didn't just catch the box score the next day.
I don't know about the preseason injury - but that hit against UMass was a bad shot to his shoulder, and he had to leave the floor and miss games. Not long after he came back, he took another shoulder shot and left the floor for a time but not the game, and he was grabbing at his shoulder in other games.
To what extent that hindered him, there's no way to know - but he definitely was dealing with at the very least some shoulder discomfort throughout at least a portion of the season.
I don't know about the preseason injury - but that hit against UMass was a bad shot to his shoulder, and he had to leave the floor and miss games. Not long after he came back, he took another shoulder shot and left the floor for a time but not the game, and he was grabbing at his shoulder in other games.
To what extent that hindered him, there's no way to know - but he definitely was dealing with at the very least some shoulder discomfort throughout at least a portion of the season.
Mike said he came into the season hurt which we didn't know before... on top of the shoulder and various other injuries listed after the season was over
It’s all besides the point. It’s very unlikely we’re going to add a comparable guard for next season, let alone a better one. So losing him is a big loss for us.
This is where I'm at.
Losing Paul the skillset? Not overly concerned as I was expecting (hoping?) he would play significantly less minutes this year.
Losing Paul the bench depth this late? Ya that's a problem - after already losing Miller, Oskar and Dean with no backfill.
However, I don't see it as huge since were not replacing a starter or key piece (to me).
OP consistently disregards the replacement value of players. Mags loss was huge largely due to the fact that he was replaced by a little more Hyatt and a lot more palmquist. The same applies to mulcahy. The team is once again in a precarious position where 1 injury is going to derail the season. Maybe pike can pull a rabbit out of his hat, but do you really see anyone coming here with offers from Kentucky, notre dame, Gonzaga, etc.?
Depth definitely hurt us last year but Paul was not coming back to accept a lesser role after being a 3 yr starter logging 30 plus min/game. Ogbole already improves our depth at center as he will be a better defensive presence in the paint vs Reiber. I'm confident Davis will give us more than Miller at guard. Do we need more depth, yes. We don't necessarily need players with offers from Kentucky, Gonzaga or even Notre Dame to be superior to the bench we had last year. I'm thinking the staff will plug those holes ... even at this late date.
Whether you view him as the “starter” or not, he represented playable depth at the 1-4. Seeing what happened when we lost the depth of Mag, I think you may be underestimating this depth. It’s possibly offset by potential chemistry issues that could have arisen if Paul wasn’t happy with more of a floating role. I get that.
Regardless, no matter how many people want Mag and Hyatt to be able to be used as backcourt players, they just can’t. Neither of them are close to good enough ball handlers to play the 1 or 2. Gavin is a wild card though I haven’t heard much about him playing the 2 and I’m guessing and that’s probably not the plan. I’m also assuming we’re not getting anyone much better than Miller from the portal this late. That would mean Simpson and Noah starting together with true frosh Davis as the primary pure backcourt back up for both. We’re extremely thin now in the backcourt.
Paul was going to start and play major minutes lol. Such nonsense in this thread.
So assume hypothetically Paul and Cam stayed. Fernandes was brought in to play PG. Gavin is locked in as a starter and Hyatt is spelling Mag. Who starts at the other guard spot? Paul or Cam?
I felt Paul would be more of a 6th man type, PG when a slower pace O needed and as a point forward .
Mag probably wouldn’t have started. It’s going to take time for him to find his legs. Would’ve been Noah, Cam, Paul, Cliff and either GG or Hyatt starting.
Am I the only one who thinks that Cliff's all-around game will improve without Paul?
actually you might be partialy right because Paul probably wouldn't be a good fit as a PG in the uptempo game Pike probably will be running in the2023-24 season that will be good for Cliff's game
You're right, Paul was impacting his ability to develop a low post game with all those passes above the rim for dunks.
Hurt, mentally broken, burned out, who knows but the idea he was a great player last year is fantasy. There were games when he struggled to get the ball up the floor against a light press.
Not sure his overall game improves as that's more individual work and development but I think Cliff will be more productive in an uptempo offense for sure
It also looks like Fernandes is a really good passer as well so I'm sure we will see plenty Fernandes to Cliff lobs this year. Fernandes is also a better player for the PnR bc he is actually a threat to score so the defense can't just only worry about Cliff
Last year was the only year he was ever hurt in his basketball life, which started at 5 years old and never missed
a game, And still did all he could to not miss games, including playing hurt. No reason to hate on the guy.
He never made excuses, so just stop.
Griffiths threw a good amount of lobs in EYBL play, fast break, PnR - Taylor Bowen (FSU) was a good lob target but Cliff is 10x that. Griffiths hit other teammates too. I'll bet we see that Griffiths/Cliff connection a lot.
2022-23 Big Ten Basketball Preview Series: Top Ten Point Guards
Three:
Paul Mulcahy of Rutgers. Paul is quite highly respected in this league and his play last year while teammates were injured was a huge reason that Rutgers had the late season success they did. One of the bigger guards in the league, one of the smartest guards in the league, and Paul was second in the league in assists last season. Paul is a guy that opposing crowds love to hate but his team loves him and I think he is going to have a big year.
https://247sports.com/college/minne...review-series-top-ten-point-guards-190276647/
Clif screen for Fernandes drive.
Kick out to Gavin in the corner when his defender cheats into lane.
Hard closeout on Gavin to stop the 3.
Pump fake, dribble drive.
Lob to Clif's when his guy comes to help on Gavin.
If no help then an easy 15ft shot.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
I've been saying it for years, in the minds of our fans he was extremely over rated.
The good Paul showed up for one 5 game stretch in 4 years
Oh yeah I’m sure we will see that
In addition Hopefully Griffiths sets some ball screens with Cliff in dunker spot. And GG is the ball handler coming off screens too. Back Screen the screener etc
So many possibilities I hope it’s not the same thing over and over like last season
I did and got ripped for it. This kid got a complete pass no matter how bad he played by most of our fans.
Should do the same comparison for Mr. Bakers play last few years.. when being hurt was a commonplace excuse for total no shows and inconsistent play and do digressing performance and accolades.
The point guard scoring argument is just an angle to further trash the guy while everyone knows he wasn't going to play PG and why he chose to move on.
He's gone yet folks are still piling on. I don't get the need .
Ever watch the Rockets when Harden and Capella were so good together?
I have visions of that with Gavin and Cliff. A man can dream.
