Discuss

Fans extra salty
After Nittany beat down
We have chance this week!

Hear me out on this!
Terrapins much slower than
Wolverines, Lions

And in addition
This is let down game for them
After Buckeye loss

Winner plays Syracuse



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20 steals in 5 games. I expected good shooting (including FTs) and good court sense and effort from Cam, but I had no idea how good his anticipation is on defense. He's obviously not the quickest guy and struggles staying in front of quick guards, but he's a very complementary defensive player, who has very quick hands and anticipates passing lanes and ball movement very well, allowing him to get a lot more steals than one would predict. It's fun to watch. When we have everyone back, I wonder if we'll play more zone, given our fantastic length and excellent connectedness as a team (and this might also help us at times with Cam and Paul on the floor together).

Stop SINGING after a Cliff bucket??! I know what he’s trying to do, but it’s so BAD… so corny. Please just stop trying so hard.

Sorry, rant over.

Not sure we will have any surprises but every now and then one pops up. Hopefully they make an announcement soon.

we’ve had a number of issues this season, but there are two areas that I think completely plaque this team/program.

1. Too many dumb mistakes.

I view mistakes as penalties, dropped passes, wrong assignment/not knowing the play.

2. Lack of big plays.

I’d define this as any offensive play 20+ yards. Chunk yardage to put a defense on their heels or flip the field.

You can choose one, but you’ll have to keep the other, which would you prefer to see instantly fixed in 2023?

Check out my signature. Good idea?

Via @Craig Epstein

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Hope all find this Thanksgiving DAY an enjoyable occasion and have a great time during the holiday weelend

It's gonna take some time this time
To get myself in shape
I really fell out of line this time
I really missed the gate


Winning is always better than losing but sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win. RU has been getting by the sisters of the poor in their first 3 games and look impressive even without Caleb McConnell and even Paul being banged up. With both out tonight, it provided an interesting and probably needed challenge against Temple the first real competition RU would be facing this year. Who would fill the void? Can Cliff carry the team on his back and fill the leadership void? Can either one of Mag or Hyatt step their level up to what is needed and expected in their growth as upperclassmen? Is Derek Simpson ready in game 4 to produce under pressure? Can Cam provide what we expect him to provide as an upperclass transfer? Can any of the guy on the bench provide a spark?

Unfortunately the answer to all of these questions was basically no. I am going to start by saying, RU played a pretty solid 2nd half and showed incredible fight (more on that later). However I am going to give credit to the Temple coaching staff for having their team ready to play. Temple was much more battle tested than RU coming into this game and they could smell the shakiness of a RU team that was coming into this game without its point guard and best defensive player. Temple came out with intensity and punched RU in the mouth and RU could not recover until midway through the 2nd half. Predictably RU without any real leadership looked like deer in headlights in the first half. They must have turned it over about 10 times in the first 10 minutes. They compounded these problems by bricking everything on offense and some pretty pourous defense and a serious lack of effort in rebounding. Temple up 15 at half and they basically coasted the rest of the way. The lead got cut to 6 and Temple really came back to earth shooting wise but did just enough to hold on and by the time RU got it to 4, there was simply no time left. Credit the Owls, they were the better team at least for today, better coaching, better game prep, better executiion, better intensity. They deserved the victory

So without Paul and Caleb it is very hard to harshly criticize RU for the loss. Does RU win with Paul playing. Well for one I dont think the start would have been abysmal but some of the same offensive problems might remain. Cannot fault Cliff tonight....19 points, 11 boards, I do not think it was one of his best defensive performances but I would deflect any criticism away from him today. The big question for RU is who will replace the void left by the departure of Ron and Geo. Many have said on this board that Cam and Hyatt and Mag and Derek will provide this. I will exclude Derek from this critique (more on him later). Cam had 17 and 7 of them were at the line. He was 5-12 but a goose egg at 0-5. Seems like a solid game but I think in the first 25 minutes or so, Cam was a non factor and looked unathletic and slow compared to the Temple guards. His game today wasnt good enough, whether that is fair to him or not, this is the big boy league now, he was brought to replace Geo's production shooting the ball. But my focus concerns the play of Mag and Hyatt. If RU is to get back to the NCAA tourney, these two now as upperclassmen need to start producing in major ways. I do not think I am being unfairly harsh on either. They NEED to get better. Hyatt's numbers were not all that bad 4-8 fg. 5-5 ft 13 points, but he was 0-3 from 3 and had 4 turnovers and still getting the sense he is always good force a handful or shots or make a bad decision. Hyatt only had 3 rebounds and I got a sense that not just with him but Temple was just outhustling the entire RU team for those boards. There is still time for him, but this is a game he absolutely must step up in. Mag 3-5 and 9 points but was really bad early forcing things on both ends. He had 3 turnovers and while he came on late in the game with his defense the hole was already dug. Ron is gone. No one is coming off the bench to save Mag and Hyatt. They have to do it. Even when Paul and Caleb come back, Rutgers will need one of these guys to elevate their game. For RU to win tonight, one or both needed to step way up. Didnt happen.

Derek Simpson may have grown some wings with a 10-10 free throw shooting night vs UMass Lowell with some ice in his veins in crunch time but it was obvious the speed of the game and situation he was put in tonight, he was not ready. Yes its going to take some time for him. A dreadful 1-11 shooting night although he did get that one very late to cut it to 4. Derek is clearly the future and you can see the talent that is there. Still tonight is a great learning experience for him. I could remember Geo having some of these games way back. For the whole team itself tonight is not one of those burn the tape games. Its a game where lessons can be learned from the mistakes made early and some positives taking how RU showed some resiliency in adversity. Down 18 or 19, coming back to get it to 5-6 even as they still shot the ball poorly and without your two biggest floor leaders. There is something to be said for that. I think RU may have had only about 3 turnovers in the last 30 minutes after 10 in the first 10. I hope this group can learn something about the mental challenges to how you need to start a game. In some ways the game may have been lost in their lack of confidence from the opening tip. Valuing possessions...this game was winnable late. RU was lacking that leader to stick a landing tonight. Pikiell will get more out of a loss today than he would with a win I think.

The Pikiell wheel needs to spin at full strength. Take two out and it took a total regroup until deep in the end to finally settle down. Rutgers needs to get both back to hope to have any success. I am okay with tonights loss overall simply because of how they came back in the 2nd half and didnt pout and curl up in a ball. RU wasnt as good as they looked in their first 3 and not as bad as how they played in the first half. With the injuries and still the uncertainty of filling the void of Ron Harper plus trying to put years onto Derek Simpson in just a few games...


Its going to take some time this time,
But it's going to take some time this time
And I can't make demands
But, like the young trees in the winter time
I'll learn how to bend
After all the tears we've spent
How could we make amends?
So, it's one more round for experience
And I'm on the road again
And it's going to take some time this time
And I can't make demands
I'll learn how to bend

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The player threw a court length pass and it just missed going in the basket. It wouldn't be a 3 pointer since the player was standing out of bounds. So would it be a do over and where would the ball be put, back on the end line or at mid court or would it just go to the possession arrow?

Mike and Richie dive into Rutgers 55-10 loss at home on senior day vs Penn State. They discuss what went right (not much) and what went wrong (hint, a lot). They then dive into recruiting, both the class of 2023 (two new offers) and in the transfer portal (today was a busy day for the staff. They close by discussing Rutgers 72-66 loss at Mohegan Sun against Temple on Friday night before previewing Rutgers/Rider MBB tomorrow night.

Mike and Richie dive into Rutgers 55-10 loss at home on senior day vs Penn State. They discuss what went right (not much) and what went wrong (hint, a lot). They then dive into recruiting, both the class of 2023 (two new offers) and in the transfer portal (today was a busy day for the staff. They close by discussing Rutgers 72-66 loss at Mohegan Sun against Temple on Friday night before previewing Rutgers/Rider MBB tomorrow night.

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Anyone notice the msm has skipped thanksgiving & went right to Christmas? They’ve been playing Christmas music and showing Christmas movies for at least a week

Man… I get that we’re not into the conference play, trust me, but this kid may have been an absolute STEAL by Pikes.

RUTGERS 71 Rider 58

How many board members do we have? If everyone donated $100 a month to the Knights of the Raritan I’d think that would put us in decent shape?

I certainly can ‘t donate $50,000 a year but $100 a month is a drop in the bucket. What am I missing here?