“I’m worried for Steve Pikiell”: Coaching Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper might be challenging for Rutgers HC, claims basketball analyst
- Thread starter Tango Two
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The on ball defense was fine. Obviously they have length. Need to stay engaged off the ball and have a nose for loose balls and rebounds.
I have said before practices began it was going to be a lot to ask Dylan to be a scorer, play defense, and be the primary PG that facilitates the offense.
I really think you will end up seeing a lot of J Williams as the primary PG. when we get inthe red zone (close game with a few minutes left) that changes
I hope that’s the case because I think it makes sense.
That guy has always been bit of a clown. But it's true unchartered territory here with two guys just stepping stone here for a year, there is no molding, buying in to whatever Pike wants to do,etc. They are playing for draft stock and having a good time as bmoc for a year.
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The answer is probably in between these thoughts, my thoughts and those who won't acknowledge it as a concern. These 2 could have went anywhere they wanted but chose this program and coach. I am also hopeful that their draft stock could be partially dependent on their "motors" and quality as men. Obviously putting the ball in the basket at a high rate and efficiency is most important for their draft stock.
Getting hazy but I do recall stuff that both Ace and Dylan said at various times they wanted to come to Rutgers to learn D because that's what they thought they needed to show that they were NBA ready. So I think they are assuming they have the scoring efficiency as a given.
I'll go one further. If JWill and Dylan can learn to work well together and set each other up, and share the ball, we will be a very good team.
Green Rice FIG, I don't think any reasonable fan doesn't recognize that there are questions marks about this team. There was a huge roster turnover. How will the pieces fit together? Will the superstar freshman live up to the hype? Will we get any rebounds 🙂? It will take time for those questions to be answered. In my opinion, Pike is a very good coach and I tend to be an optimistic fan, so I believe that ultimately those questions are going to be answered positively. Based on everything I've seen and heard, I certainly don't think Dylan and Ace are going to turn out to be un-coachable prima donnas.
In any case, whether it's a college or NBA team, it takes actual experience playing together to work things out. It isn't reasonable to expect that we'd have a finished product the first time the coaches rolled the ball out on the court to start practice. My biggest issue is simply people putting too much emphasis on an exhibition game played three weeks before the start of the regular season (at a time when not too long ago we'd be holding midnight madness and celebrating the official start of practice) against what I think will turn out to be a pretty damn good power 5 team in a game played at a very fast pace. Were there issues that need to be addressed? Absolutely, that's the advantage of playing an early exhibition game. I also saw a lot of very positive things in that game.
The team is going to be really tested by the end of November. Hopefully they'll have enough time to gel somewhat in the games leading up to ND. No matter how good we're going to be at the end of the day, we may take some lumps in Vegas. Ultimately the season is going to come down to how we do in conference play. I think we're going to have a different team in late January than we had on October 17th. That's the beauty of sports, we're going to play the games and we'll find out exactly who we are as the season progresses.
I understand having some concerns. I've been a season ticket holder for more than 35 years so god knows I've got plenty of reasons to be concerned deeply ingrained in me. But I'm viewing this season in a very positive way right now. I can't wait to see how the team grows and comes together. I'm looking forward to the excitement Dylan and Ace are going to bring and to following their development. I can't wait to see all of the newcomers and returning players and what they all bring to the table. I'm also going to go on the record again and predict that Emanuel is going to contribute more than a lot of people think.
It's going to be a fun and exciting season. Part of the fun for me is seeing how the coaches and players deal with and adapt to adversity. I can't wait for the season to start. Go RU!
One other consideration here is the competitive fire Ace and Dylan both have. From all I've seen and read, they have that "Eye of the Tiger" type of competitiveness that drives highly talented players to be special. So even if they're only here 9 months and Rutgers is a stepping-stone to the NBA, these are kids that (1) WANT to get better; (2) WANT to WIN; and (3) seem to trust Pike to get to nos. 1 and 2.
I understand what Green, Rice, Farmer, Inman and Griffin is getting at. While I don't think the "I'm too good to listen to you" attitude will prevent us from being a good team this year, I do wonder if egos will get in the way at times.
During the scrimmage, I saw 2 moments that made me go "Hmmmm.".
1. Ace appeared to be arguing with one of the coaches. I don't know if they were commenting on shot selection or if Ace was frustrated over a foul called on him. If he was arguing with the coach, and not listening to the coach, that's a little concerning.
2. I noticed a time Pike was trying to talk to Dylan and "coach him up" after a mistake/poor decision and Dylan was looking the other way and never even looked at Pike. Now he may have heard him but he didn't acknowledge anything Pike told him. No little nod to communicate understanding or anything.
Safe to say The staff has a new challenge this year.
If he trained at Bucky's in Finderne, he could handle Italian AND Chinese.
I didn't listen, but there are concerns for Pike, although I'm not sure they are the ones discussed.
Pike's never recruited this type of talent before. If it doesn't go well, or God forbid, one of the two drop in the draft rankings, he won't be able to recruit this high level kid again. He needs them to hold their draft value. Come out of the season even better, more well rounded players would be even better.
Pike's never recruited this type of talent before. If it doesn't go well, or God forbid, one of the two drop in the draft rankings, he won't be able to recruit this high level kid again. He needs them to hold their draft value. Come out of the season even better, more well rounded players would be even better.
Maybe we would be better off…..
Maybe the way to win in 2025 and beyond hoops is with 22 year olds that have experience playing in college.
