It's still an obvious thing that freshman are going to be wildly inconsistent, even super skilled/talented ones like Harper and Bailey and even Zoom Diallo for Washington.
But there were a lot of people on threads earlier this week, who arent qualified to talk about toughness or talent in terms of basketball, trying to downplay the talent of the 4 RU freshman.
65 total points
(22 of 28 from FT line)
5 of 13 from 3 point range (38.4%)
13 rebounds
4 assists
2 blocks
5 steals
7 turnovers
And with these types of numbers, the roster just needed something from its other contributors, which it did tonight from
JWill timely baskets and plays (2 3s) .
Acuff (1 3 pointer) and decent minutes.
JMike playing within the gameplan.
Martini adding an assist in 16 minutes.
Even a Derkack with a steal and a 3 before the untimely 2 turnovers or rushed passes in the 1st half and total of 5 minutes.
It's very tough to ask for 50 to 60+ points, 15 to 20 rebounds, 5 to.7 assists and 5+ blocks/steals from the freshman in order to win.....especially a B1G road game.....but that's where this roster is right now. Debating how we got here is already obvious, there's little point to argue about nonsense when this was always my reality and where RU sports is, in this NIL environment.
I don't know if there are too many wins the rest of the way unless there's this equation of productivity. But it takes some patience that knowledgeable hoops fans understand is part of the process.
Inconsistent play is most of the equation with freshman, so it's anyone's guess on what to expect the rest of the way. But I'm on board willing to see it play out with freshman logging minutes.
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