20 in the bank

[zappaa]

That has to be Harper’s minimum stat line every night before the game starts or we’re an average BIG 10 team.
Every good team needs an All Star, he’s ours.
If he’s not one of the best wings in the league every night, we’re done.

He gets that even if teams are attempting to take him away, all stars score anyway

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

It's rare that anyone averages 20PPG in B1G play over the years. Anyone that does is considered a national player of the year candidate.

Players 4, 5, 6 etc have to carry more weight to win against Top 10 -20 programs.

 

[NickRU714]

It's rare that anyone averages 20PPG in B1G play over the years. Anyone that does is considered a national player of the year candidate.

Players 4, 5, 6 etc have to carry more weight to win against Top 10 -20 programs.

Some of my favorite threads are randomly throwing out how many points/yards/carries players should get with no actual reference point.

2019-2020 Big Ten
Only 2 players averaged 20ppg:

Luka Garza 23.9 (BIG POY and 1st Team AA)
Daniel Oturu 20.1

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-ten/2020.html

 

[JavaDunk18]

We don’t need a reference point..Point of the comment is spot on. Harper needs to be scoring like he was in the early games. Otherwise team can forget about the tournament. We have too many missed layups and free throws to compensate. Defense was Improved tonight, which even without Harper lighting it up could get us a few wins, But not enough

 

[NickRU714]

We don’t need a reference point..Point of the comment is spot on. Harper needs to be scoring like he was in the early games. Otherwise team can forget about the tournament. We have too many missed layups and free throws to compensate. Defense was Improved tonight, which even without Harper lighting it up could get us a few wins, But not enough

You do need a reference point if you are making a claim "Harper needs to score at least 20pts every game" otherwise the point makes zero sense.
If Harper scored at least 20pts in every game he would average over 25ppg and be a Top 3 scorer in all of college basketball.

Does Harper need to be more consistent?
Yes of course.
Does Rutgers need more consistent production to win?
Yes of course.

But expecting unrealistic numbers isn't going to happen.

 

[zappaa]

Harper needs to be an all B1G player 1st or 2nd team, and needs to play like it .
You people are confused with not having a good game and completely disappearing, vanishing, no impact.
Harper is invisible.
You lose when your best players are invisible.
Don’t even tell me you didn’t think Harper was going to be our best most reliable player every night.

 

[Unionst]

Harper doesn’t have the all around game to be the level of star you’re asking for. He was red hot from three early, now he doesn’t get open looks. He’s not quick enough to blow by guys nor does he have one on one shake and bake moves. He’s strong inside but not tall for either a 3 or 4. He is a good, but not great player. The good news is he will be back next year - he’s not NBA material.

 

[Scarlet Blind]

Ron Harper's shooting turning point and our season IS THE 1st GAME @ Ohio St. Scored 10 in the first half, FG 4-9 3pt 2-4. Took a 48-32 lead at 15:38 left 2nd half, Ron Harper hits 3-3 FG, scoring 8 including his 2nd 3. At this point in the season, RHJ is shooting 61-102 59.8% from the field, and 25-46 54.2% from 3pt range... and The Light Switch and chemistry turned off between team and RHJ.

He finished the last 15:38, FG 1-8, 3pt 0-4. Purdue- his "ankle injury". Last four games, RHJ has shot from the field, 5-15, 5-12, 5-12, 2-13 and 3pt range, 3-8, 1-4, 1-4, 0-5. In this stretch, RHJ is shooting FG 18-60 30% and 5-25 20% from 3pt range. That is a drastic dip in play, shooting and started against OSU, not Purdue or ankle. This drastic change in play or fall down to earth doesn't just happen mid-game, something happened on court, huddle, or sideline.

What happened in the 15:38 in the 2nd half?

The Purdue game, this team played together and shot well 81-76, ***FG 28-56 3pt 11-21 FT 14-17*** without Ron Harper on the floor is concerning and more to an internal team problem not revealed. The step up in competition plays its part to the change, OSU 10-3, Iowa 11-2, MSU 8-4 and Wisc. 11-3 but there is something lingering from that game that the player or players involved and Ron Harper need to come together, work it out and save the season. I wish I had some insider info to the problem but it doesn't look good on the outside, the numbers don't lie.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

The problem is not Harper.. it is everything. He's our star, got abused several times with no calls. Reminded me of how Doubt got abused by Michigan in the NIT championship game.. few calls. Big Ten royalty is allowed to abuse the peons. That seems to be throwing everything off.

 

[zappaa]

The problem is not Harper.. it is everything. He's our star, got abused several times with no calls. Reminded me of how Doubt got abused by Michigan in the NIT championship game.. few calls. Big Ten royalty is allowed to abuse the peons. That seems to be throwing everything off.

Last night the refs allowed both teams to play.
No issues with officiating imo

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

We might be better off with 20 touches for Myles on the low post every night.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Last night the refs allowed both teams to play.
No issues with officiating imo

Thank you

 

[Scarlet Shack]

That has to be Harper’s minimum stat line every night before the game starts or we’re an average BIG 10 team.
Every good team needs an All Star, he’s ours.
If he’s not one of the best wings in the league every night, we’re done.

He gets that even if teams are attempting to take him away, all stars score anyway

I agree with this

Last year He was 12/7....and we were 11-9 and number 8 in the league (which is still NCAA) and this average in the league

The Ron Harper that played before he got hurt Getting 18-20 points a game ...made us a top 5 big ten team and worthy of the 4 plus seed

He isn’t capable of that on his foot now . Watch the jumper form, the lack of push off ,
The lack of elevation on his boards.

When healthy ...we will be dangerous again

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

We actually have three starters who've done nothing lately: Ron, Geo, and Mathis. You need to get 30-35 points from them if you're going to keep giving them starters' minutes. I think Mathis and Geo need to earn their minutes and Caleb should see more time.

 

[mikeyo]

Ron Harper's shooting turning point and our season IS THE 1st GAME @ Ohio St. Scored 10 in the first half, FG 4-9 3pt 2-4. Took a 48-32 lead at 15:38 left 2nd half, Ron Harper hits 3-3 FG, scoring 8 including his 2nd 3. At this point in the season, RHJ is shooting 61-102 59.8% from the field, and 25-46 54.2% from 3pt range... and The Light Switch and chemistry turned off between team and RHJ.

He finished the last 15:38, FG 1-8, 3pt 0-4. Purdue- his "ankle injury". Last four games, RHJ has shot from the field, 5-15, 5-12, 5-12, 2-13 and 3pt range, 3-8, 1-4, 1-4, 0-5. In this stretch, RHJ is shooting FG 18-60 30% and 5-25 20% from 3pt range. That is a drastic dip in play, shooting and started against OSU, not Purdue or ankle. This drastic change in play or fall down to earth doesn't just happen mid-game, something happened on court, huddle, or sideline.

What happened in the 15:38 in the 2nd half?

The Purdue game, this team played together and shot well 81-76, ***FG 28-56 3pt 11-21 FT 14-17*** without Ron Harper on the floor is concerning and more to an internal team problem not revealed. The step up in competition plays its part to the change, OSU 10-3, Iowa 11-2, MSU 8-4 and Wisc. 11-3 but there is something lingering from that game that the player or players involved and Ron Harper need to come together, work it out and save the season. I wish I had some insider info to the problem but it doesn't look good on the outside, the numbers don't lie.

Putting 'ankle injury' in quotes is just dumb

 

[goru7]

We actually have three starters who've done nothing lately: Ron, Geo, and Mathis. You need to get 30-35 points from them if you're going to keep giving them starters' minutes. I think Mathis and Geo need to earn their minutes and Caleb should see more time.

Do not put Mathis in your comment. Mathis carried us in the Purdue game to a win we otherwise do not have. Go watch the Iowa game , he played outstanding and dished the ball to his teammates. Dakich was raving about him. MSU tried to do too much and Henry threw 2 shots back in his face. He didn’t sulk. He hit our first 3 to start the second half and offense went away from him the rest of the half. Ohio State second game I did not see whole game but he was not the problem nor did he play enough. Last night , Paul should have sat and Tez should have played . Pike a terrible coaching decision on playing time. Ron should have sat more as well. Now Ron and Geo we can agree on.

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Do not put Mathis in your comment. Mathis carried us in the Purdue game to a win we otherwise do not have. Go watch the Iowa game , he played outstanding and dished the ball to his teammates. Dakich was raving about him. MSU tried to do too much and Henry threw 2 shots back in his face. He didn’t sulk. He hit our first 3 to start the second half and offense went away from him the rest of the half. Ohio State second game I did not see whole game but he was not the problem nor did he play enough. Last night , Paul should have sat and Tez should have played . Pike a terrible coaching decision on playing time. Ron should have sat more as well. Now Ron and Geo we can agree on.

You think Mathis has played well the last three games? That's what I mean by "lately". He's scored 12 points total on 5-19 shooting. He's had good games in the past, but he's one of the factors in the current slump. And I agree that Paul didn't play well, but Caleb should've played more.

 

[mildone]

I don't think it's anybody's fault, but I see Geo and Harper both struggling and playing well below their capability, even during periods when the team was playing okay last night. Where having Cliff back last night seemed to elevate Johnson's game, having Geo and/or McConnell back seems to have to had the opposite effect on Harper.

Geo's ankle seems to still be bugging him. His lateral movement is way off what I saw from him last season,. and opposing team's scouting reports have picked that up and are going after him. Harper's ankle seems to be less impactful, his movement seems unaffected, although perhaps it's a factor in his outside shooting woes, hard to know. Maybe the same scouting reports are causing opposing D's to focus hard on Harper, taking him off his game?

But somehow, neither player seems to be finding a rhythm in the games. And both seem frustrated, to my eye, even when the game is going okay (end of the first half, for example).

Is it lack of touches? Lack of having the offense revolve around them? Something else?

I feel bad for them. I know they're trying hard. But the games aren't coming to them the way they did last year (for Geo) and earlier in the season (for Ron).

Pike's got his hands full. But despite all the negativity about the game last night, I saw progress in some areas. So it's something to build upon.

 

[rufan4ever]

That has to be Harper’s minimum stat line every night before the game starts or we’re an average BIG 10 team.
Every good team needs an All Star, he’s ours.
If he’s not one of the best wings in the league every night, we’re done.

He gets that even if teams are attempting to take him away, all stars score anyway

It took 6 or 7 games into the schedule for our opponents to figure us out. There is nothing wrong with Harper. The defenses are now guarding the perimeter which is making it difficult to get open looks. We either force bad shots albeit 2-17 whatever it was from 3 point range or try to drive to the hole deep into the shot clock. The only way to counter is to get the ball inside more often giving our bigs the option to kick it back to the perimeter where we should get better open looks.
That being said, we also aren't going to win many conference games shooting 40% from the free throw line and missing virtually every front end of one and ones.

 

[ScottRU93]

What happens to Geo Baker? He seems to be a non factor. Going into year it was a toss up who was best player between him and RHJ. Do we think injury has curtailed him and is still causing him issues?

 

[zappaa]

It took 6 or 7 games into the schedule for our opponents to figure us out. There is nothing wrong with Harper. The defenses are now guarding the perimeter which is making it difficult to get open looks. We either force bad shots albeit 2-17 whatever it was from 3 point range or try to drive to the hole deep into the shot clock. The only way to counter is to get the ball inside more often giving our bigs the option to kick it back to the perimeter where we should get better open looks.
That being said, we also aren't going to win many conference games shooting 40% from the free throw line and missing virtually every front end of one and ones.

One and ones feel like turnovers for us

 

[Scarlet Shack]

What happens to Geo Baker? He seems to be a non factor. Going into year it was a toss up who was best player between him and RHJ. Do we think injury has curtailed him and is still causing him issues?

You start a post “fire pike” and now questioning if geo’s injury is still causing issues?

Seriously ...go rewatch his three point step back at the end of the half and watch his release ...and a couple of his other outside shot attempts

Then go watch the Purdue game Highlights from last year and his form and elevation

You will have A clear answer

 

[ScottRU93]

You start a post “fire pike” and now questioning if geo’s injury is still causing issues?

Seriously ...go rewatch his three point step back at the end of the half and watch his release ...and a couple of his other outside shot attempts

Then go watch the Purdue game Highlights from last year and his form and elevation

You will have A clear answer

Just asking for all the know it all’s like you opinion. I know what I am seeing.

 

[Plum Street]

I would settle for the guy being solid before being a star . It’s been a rough stretch for jr

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I agree with this

Last year He was 12/7....and we were 11-9 and number 8 in the league (which is still NCAA) and this average in the league

The Ron Harper that played before he got hurt Getting 18-20 points a game ...made us a top 5 big ten team and worthy of the 4 plus seed

He isn’t capable of that on his foot now . Watch the jumper form, the lack of push off ,
The lack of elevation on his boards.

When healthy ...we will be dangerous again

I don’t have the numbers.....pick a optimistic 3pt shooting percentage for Ron. Apply that to the shots attempted in those games. Probably not 18-20 PPG. The attempts were very quality though.

 

[goru7]

You think Mathis has played well the last three games? That's what I mean by "lately". He's scored 12 points total on 5-19 shooting. He's had good games in the past, but he's one of the factors in the current slump. And I agree that Paul didn't play well, but Caleb should've played more.

My point is Tez has been put on the bench unnecessarily in favor of Paul, a mistake and arguably Ron should have sat a lot yesterday against Wisconsin . We needed a slasher. They couldn’t handle Jacob and they probably wouldn’t have handled Tez. A few bad plays or a missed shot deserves maybe come out for a few minutes and then put back in after assistant talks to you. Especially one of your starters and someone who was playing real well when we had success. He is not in the Ron / Geo shooting slump range plus he does a lot of other things like his 8 rebounds yesterday. Pike made a mistake in my opinion as Paul had one of his worst games and Ron and Geo were right behind.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Last night the refs allowed both teams to play.
No issues with officiating imo

stats were way off in the typical way refs are excused by many.

yes.. Wisconsin is ranked, we are not.. but we were in the paint shooting all night.. and they got all the FTs.. that ain't right. When we shoot from three and have fewer FTs everyone says.. hey.. you have to go inside to get teh calls.. now we go inside and get no or few AND 1s.. hideous.

Rutgers scored 42 of its 54 points in the paint, while Wisconsin had just 18 points.
While Rutgers was 2 for 7 on FTs and Wisky was 16 for 21. Wisky had 9 blocks, Rutgers 4... who was more aggressive? Who was more likely to foul based on those stats?

BTW.. it is not the main reason why we lost... poor play is the reason. We should be smarter than how we played.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

My point is Tez has been put on the bench unnecessarily in favor of Paul, a mistake and arguably Ron should have sat a lot yesterday against Wisconsin . We needed a slasher. They couldn’t handle Jacob and they probably wouldn’t have handled Tez. A few bad plays or a missed shot deserves maybe come out for a few minutes and then put back in after assistant talks to you. Especially one of your starters and someone who was playing real well when we had success. He is not in the Ron / Geo shooting slump range plus he does a lot of other things like his 8 rebounds yesterday. Pike made a mistake in my opinion as Paul had one of his worst games and Ron and Geo were right behind.

My problem is that Tez AND PM are both making bonehead plays now. I think it is more accurate to say that McConnel was given Tez's place.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

What happens to Geo Baker? He seems to be a non factor. Going into year it was a toss up who was best player between him and RHJ. Do we think injury has curtailed him and is still causing him issues?

Geo is a tough question. Yeah.. we played better without him.. but was that an aberration? Is it his injury? Can we bench a captain like that? The players who had taken his minutes during the injury played well and are now playing poorly.. if we put Geo on the bench do they magically play better?

The whole thing is a mess and, imho, it comes down to not having a half-court offense. But I don't know. Never played organized basketball on any level. But it looks like we pass it around until someone tries a one on one (or many) or until they try a pass better done in transition and not against a half-court defense played by a Big Ten caliber team.