2 point reality check

[Knight Time Fan]

First, how has Rutgers performed:
- They played 5 games where winning would have been an upset - Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland x 2 and Iowa. We didn't pull the upset.
- Based on how the season has gone, we played 4 teams that are essentially our peers in conference - Nebraska, Minnesota, Ohio State and Northwestern. We split these 4 games.
- The rest of our games were against a combination of moderate teams and poor teams. We lost one game, one bad loss, Michigan State.

This is a solid, but unspectacular season. As a fan, I would have liked to see us pull the upset in one or 2 of the games we were definite underdogs, and I would have liked us to win the peer games.

The reality check on this is that we are probably not as good a team as some fans wish, but light years better than last year, no?

Second, another reality:

This is a really fragile personnel team. Laney and Copper and ideally Scaife bring the offense, Davis and Holivay the defense (and post defense at that) and really there you have it. Butts and Evans are not in Holivay's league (and her issues have been well documented), Canty has struggled since her injury (and boy, has she had an injury and health hampered career, so instead of complaining we probably ought to be glad she can play at all), neither Hernandez nor the freshmen have shown they really bring anything significantly more to the table at this point in their careers, so . . . As has been said, if one of our scorers is struggling, we likely struggle. Against a team that could give us a competitive game if we were hitting on all cylinders, you get what you get.

Wishing the team were otherwise is a fun exercise for some fans, but I really have always embraced the team that we have. I see one fan complaining that we don't have talent (not true) but other fans complaining that our talent doesn't produce like they should. Well, for example, Scaife hasn't been. But she was. So either there is a mental or physical issue that we don't know about.

And I'm not being an apologist. But I don't see any solutions that I can contribute, even if someone connected to the team wanted to listen to me. So I will continue to root for them to do the best they can, because they are who they are and it can't be changed.

Posted by Doug

 

[RUClassof67]

Doug - very accurate post. At the risk of being called names, I will agree with everything you said.

"Fragile personnel team" - is about as accurate a description as there could be.

I also think mental and physical fatigue plays into this a lot. The travel to B1G sites is totally new and one night trips with late night flights home after a game is taxing.

And as you say, expectations were perhaps a little higher than they should have been. But they are our team and we will support them no matter what the wins and losses say. They are a great group of 18-22 year old women who are getting a good education and being prepared for life in the real world. Watching them play basketball as they do that is a wonderful experience.

 

[scarlettb]

I too agree with you. Your second point is pretty much what I posted in the game thread. I always root for the team to win and am disappointed when they lose, but mostly disappointed for them not in them. Tyler certainly doesn't want to perform the way she has. She is really talented, and I expect her to be back to playing at a really high level at some point - unfortunately it might not be this season as we really don't know what is causing her problem. I hope Rachel is able to play again this season. If she can't, it will be difficult to win many games without her presence the floor. While she hasn't been the offensive weapon everyone expected her to be, she is our best post player and is good on D.

This year it seems there is a lot more parity in wcbb - except for UConn, of course. Duke lost again last night, as did TA&M and Oregon State (to Stanford, who has been very up and down this season too). Let's hope we can right the ship and have a great game on senior night (and beyond).

 

[MC1974]

I also agree, not happy with things right now, but all of the above comments make sense to me.

Knight: I would add Canty to your defensive contributors.

RU67: You may have something there about travel fatigue....the team looks tired (slow for them, which means good but not great speed-wise) and tired legs result in poor shooting, especially shots hitting the front of the rim and free throws.

Scarlett: yes, there is a lot of parity this season and I think there are only a few teams who I would predict a deep run: UConn, S. Carolina, and N. Dame.

Tyler. Could the never ending exposure to cold weather, snow, both at home and in the Midwest present a physical/mental challenge health wise from someone from Arkansas? Just throwing that out there. She has always shot the ball with accuracy and her misses were so close, even a few weeks ago many of her early game jumpers were rimming out. I do think that she feels the pressure (self-induced) to score and carry the offense and when she is on and aggressive she is hard to stop. Her shots last night were getting progressively worse and even when open the misses were way off, air balls, etc.

I would like to see Coach sit Tyler, she has three capable guards to start the games. perhaps insert Tyler into the lineup with a definite plan to screen for her open shots, maybe some more drives to the basket, etc.

One more point, I think, that may be obvious but I want to mention my opinion anyway. Our offense. We mostly settle for open jumpers now and Laney and Copper have been shooting well. However, I watch a lot of games and I see most teams pass into the paint several times during a possession, kick out to an open three point shooter, isolate the post player for a one-on-one play to the basket, back door layups, and drives by the guards for an open layup. We PASS the ball around the perimeter, not dribbling behind picks, not drawing the defense to overcompensate to one side of the court, and by passing rather than dribbling we NEVER pick up touch and reach fouls. We toss poor passes into the post, and the post recipient of most passes drops it or has it stolen. I never see the post player kick out to an open shooter.....I rarely see an open three point shooter, including Cynthia. Etc. etc.

Either we don't have the players to do all of the above or the coaches are struggling. However, this team is loaded with experienced very talented starters. Our offensive "plays" are either non-existent, sloppy, or what have you, but this should be corrected but it is probably too late.

Watch the next time we play a decent team and compare our offensive execution with the opponent's.

 

[RUChoppin]

This team has high upside, but is inconsistent.

At times we look like we could easily make a Sweet 16 run or better. At times we look like we're a one and done in the tournament.

When I see the team when they're clicking on all cylinders, I'm optimistic that we could make some noise and are legitimately a Top 10-15 team in the country. When I see the team over the last couple of games, I don't see us as a Top 25 team at all.

An injury to Hollivay, and we get abused inside. Scaife/Canty struggle a couple of games, and our offense dries up. Collapse the middle with a zone, and we can't hit from outside. "Fragile" is a good way to put it.... high upside, but things have to fall just right. Otherwise, we get broken.

Right now, I'm thinking we don't make it out of the Round of 32.

 

[78CollegeAve]

That was a solid original post. I really like Scaife and I see her as the motor for this team. Other players can have an off night and it isn't necessarily contagious. But if Scaife isn't in the flow, RU just can't beat anyone average or above. I hope that a little break between the regular season and the B1G tournament will get Scaife back in the groove. It's been an exciting team to watch ... at times this season, and equally excruciating at other times. RU is due for a ride this year, isn't it?

 

[bchops]

I said many times this season-the bench needed to play more- I think many of the starters are tired- with the travel, the league competition and lack of rest. When they put 100 points up on the board the starters were still playing late in the game- why. Said then that the team might not have the legs come late in the season and I believe that is what is happening.

 

[RU MAN]

"One more point, I think, that may be obvious but I want
to mention my opinion anyway. Our offense. We mostly settle for open
jumpers now and Laney and Copper have been shooting well. However, I
watch a lot of games and I see most teams pass into the paint several
times during a possession, kick out to an open three point shooter,
isolate the post player for a one-on-one play to the basket, back door
layups, and drives by the guards for an open layup. We PASS the ball
around the perimeter, not dribbling behind picks, not drawing the
defense to overcompensate to one side of the court, and by passing
rather than dribbling we NEVER pick up touch and reach fouls. We toss
poor passes into the post, and the post recipient of most passes drops
it or has it stolen. I never see the post player kick out to an open
shooter.....I rarely see an open three point shooter, including
Cynthia. Etc. etc.

Either we don't have the players to do all
of the above or the coaches are struggling. However, this team is
loaded with experienced very talented starters. Our offensive "plays"
are either non-existent, sloppy, or what have you, but this should be
corrected but it is probably too late."

This. Excellent observation MC. I thought Stringer finally "got it" when it came to offense, but we are struggling mightily now and we seem to have resorted to previous years, where we pass the ball on the perimeter as the clock ticks down and we're forced to either chuck it up or even if it's a good shot, we don't have enough players near the basket for an offensive rebound, so we end up one and done.

I don't see enough penetration by our guards. I don't see enough movement on screens in the high and low posts and especially when many teams now zone us, we should be getting the ball to our high post player and working on backdoor plays, kick outs, and low post passes. But we're not consistent in that. Yes, some of the blame fall on our players, but much of the blame has to fall on Stringer. She has never been known for her offense and many times it shows.

Also something else to consider. Stringer is excellent at pre-game planning. But when things suddenly change during various ebbs and flows on the game, her in-game adjustments are sometimes head-scratchers. I really hope they can get their mojo back in time, but in the words of Yogi Berra, "It's getting late early."

 

[RUCONN]

I am honestly speechless. i could excuse the MSU game but this one was ridiculous/ Yes Northwestern is a very good team but they are not 20 points better than Rutgers,