As Shania Twain sang...
That don't impress me much (oh, oh, ooh)
So you got the brains, but have you got the touch?
Now, don't get me wrong, yeah, I think you're alright
But that won't keep me warm in the middle of the night
That don't impress me much
Uh-huh, yeah, yeah
How to judge these first four games is tough. Competition has been against beyond weak sauce. Many schools around the country including just about everyone in Vegas has already squared off against tougher. Tonight Rutgers did the bare minimum to win against a vastly overmatched but spirited Merrimack. That on the heels of a sketchy defensive performance against Monmouth and a death struggle vs St Peter's. 4-0...all wins and certainly Ace and Dylan are as adverstised that is for sure. The question is whether this team is just playing down to its competition and will show up and buckle down for some real impressive play when the big lights come on in Vegas. That is a BIG IF....IF IF IF....we just do not know. The ranking says 24 but I do not see it yet. Might be better off going into Vegas with a bit of disrespect and falling out of the top 25
What I do know is this team is not playing defense a lick and its disheartening to see. Merrimack is not a good offensive team. They were futile from 3 going 4-24 but its not because RU disrupted their offense. Merrimack had a plethora of open 3s all night that were just brick after brick. Meanwhile on 2s they were very good especially early. In fact at one point they were shooting 8-10 on 2s and 2-10 on 3s for 10-20 overall. Give tons of credit to Clark. RU made another player an unstoppable superstar until he cooled off badly late. He went off for 22 points in all 40 minutes on 10-19 shooting. RU was outscored in the paint 40-32 and it seemed like there waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many easy looks either backdoor or just on a pass where RU was just clueless on where the ball was going. Yes RU did get a couple stops late in the game when it was a 3 possession game but I never truly got the feeling that RU was again all that interested overall in getting stops. That for a Pikiell team is alarming. There is no more pounding nails that is out the window. My concern is what is going to happen next week when RU simply cannot outscore the competition. Do you think Notre Dame or Alabama is not lickin their chops at Rutgers post defense. Ogbole had his best game tonight with 7 boards and 6 points but shouldnt he given the competition. He is better than Lathan on defense. I am coming around to what GRF has been saying. Lathan is brutal on D and has not progressed there as of yet
Now let me slip in some positives. Ace Bailey was smooth tonight and pretty much why Rutgers won the game. 23 points and 10 boards, 9-15 shooting. He is hitting shots that normally Rutgers players would take and never make. Ace makes them look easy. No one can take the Rutgers Ace in the hole this year. He is an absolute difference maker. Combined with Harper who didnt have his best game on either end but did come on late to end with 14 points and 8 boards, very very solid in the end. These two obviously are as adverstised and no one can question just how good they are and how they will win games for Rutgers either single handedly or as a duo. The problem is the supporting cast and thats what does not impress me much. Sure they looked solid against Wagner and put up some nice numbers vs St Peters and Monmouth but I felt tonight collectively was a step backwards for everyone except for Ogbole.
For starters J Will, okay I know he is banged up a bit but how is he fitting in right now. It seems our offense is slowed with him in and while he can bring some defensive intensity at times, J Will level of play seems a few steps down from last season Sorry 2 points and 2 turnovers on 1-4 shooting is not what you want from a guy you were counting on to bring some experience and leadership. J Mike supposedly our best defensively player was flat out abused tonight in just 11 minutes. Derkack who I had lauded as a solid tough player seemingly tried to do too much to show up his former team. Some bad choices and just atrocious defense in spots. Summerville just way too many touches in this game...why are we forcing the ball so much to him especially with the zone and he loves to hold on to it, doesnt he rather than kick it out. Too many sloppy possessions against the zone not working for the right shot. I am not all that interested in Lathan having to score all that much considering Ace and Harper so why is Pike trying to force it to him. Hayes and Martini were just okay at best tonight. I thought they could have been utlilized more attacking the zone but RU just seem unprepared to play it tonight.
Pike did not coach one of his best games or do the best game prep and if any game screamed for less Lathan/Emmanuel and more Zak it would have been this game. I shudder that Pike still had to be coaching this team up just 7 points late in the game. How this happened I have no idea but this team has yet to find any killer instinct to shut the door on a team when they have them on the ropes. This time up 65-51 yet RU would throw out a bunch of mistakes. Turnover by Ogbole and Lathan and then Ace. Some ill advised quick 3s by Jordan were unforgivable. This is another red flag. Where is the leader late? When opportunity arises, who is going to say lets finish this off. Yes RU did hold sway after the timeout. It was Dylan who came out took a shot, got his own rebound and putback for a dunk, then he got the offensive rebound. on the other end, rebounded Jordan awful choice for 3 for the lay in. There will be times yes its Dylan or Ace doing it but expecting them to have to carry the leadership role as freshmen phenoms perhaps isnt the ideal situation. I just question the team ball concept right now. You have guys who individual can make incredible plays, some who are role playing for outside shots but is this supporting cast good enough to do the little things that win you games. There have been opportunities to see these things that past 3 games but RU has fallen short of the mark every time.
Yes they won and they have won 4 but folks, these are not good teams RU is facing. To be up only 7 with 150 seconds left at home to Merrimack when you have two top 5 NBA draft picks on your team makes you wonder. Normally I do not consider exhibition games but I cannot get that St Johns game out of my head because of how it went down and 4 real games later I have yet to see any improvement on the approach. Talent alone won the game tonight, not effort, not defense, not coaching. Next week you cannot rely on just talent. They all have talent. Will the effort show, will the defense show, will the coaching show. This group is probably needing a reset loss. It may come Sunday or it may come vs Notre Dame but I bet you the team and staff will be better off for it. Or I could be completely wrong and a light switch goes off next week when the Vegas lights shine. The next two weeks of 5 games finishing off with a Big 10 opening road tilt at Ohio State are certainly going to provide more clarity than these first 4 games. Pike will know what he has and he can work from there
