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8-3 and BACK on track ...

Young is, to me, what I call a bible player. He giveth, and he taketh away. He is the kind of guy who can be a spark off the bench or turn it over with bad decisions on two consecutive possessions. Pike is learning how, and when, to use him. Has to be at a point where, if he plays well can extend a lead or spark a come back, but if it goes south get him out in a hurry before it gets out of hand. I think some people here, including myself, thought when he transferred in that he could be an answer as a starting guard but clearly he is not that kind of guy. But, off the bench at the right time he can be a game changer.
 
I truly think J. Young is going to figure it out soon. When weve played bigger teams (MSU, SHU) outside of a few wtf moments he has played superb defense and put a few in the hoop.

He is still figuring out his role and i think it is becoming more evident. Also i love how the kid interacts/shows emotion with the team. You can tell he is having a ton of fun after being kept in captivity for a year lol.
 
2 things I worry about

1. AcceptANCE OF HIS role
2. Teams acceptance of him

You should have seen the expression on one of our players when he made a wrong decision in transition
 
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I think the team will be solid most of the year , but collapses at the end. It will be an epic collapse like losing 4 of the last 5. We have seen this before.
 
2 things I worry about

1. AcceptANCE OF HIS role
2. Teams acceptance of him

You should have seen the expression on one of our players when he made a wrong decision in transition

Very much this.

He needs to understand expectations within the offense, and play to his role. The more he does that, the more trust/faith the rest of the team will put in him. Kicking to the open man on penetration when the defense collapses on him, pulling up on fast breaks when the numbers aren't there, drawing the shot blocker off a big for an assist rather than going up to get blocked, etc.
 
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I think the Young discussion needs to be slightly reframed. After game 1, a lot of people were ready to sit Mathis because he was erratic on offense. I said that he would continue to play because his defensive intensity is too great to be sitting on the bench. So I understand the point about Young's defense, and I agree with it.
All that said, on offense, he has to change the way he plays. I'm not looking for more production. I'm actually not looking for any production. I just need him to be a part of the team. When the balls comes to him, he is driving to the basket 75% of the time, even if there's nothing there. I need him to stop being a negative. That's all. If we get nothing out of him, it's better than the turnover machine we have now.
One more point...I have seen slight improvement in this area over the last 2 or 3 games. We can only hope he continues to improve to become a more team-oriented offensive player.

You never know. Corey Sanders was a more talented version of Young offensively, but he sat often during his two years with Pike because he, too often, drove into traffic and forgot how to pass. Corey found his game in the B1G tournament in his second year with Pike, when he and Geo made a dynamite pair. Hopefully, it won't take that long for Young to learn, and we will see more effective offense from him. Not holding my breath.
 
Mathis and Young have taken more bad shots than anyone else. You can see that they have already made up their mind of what they are going to do before they even cross half court. It's maddening. My wife laughs at me when I start yelling no, no, no, no. They have been extremely poor unless they are out ahead of everyone else.

Mathis did have 1 fast break where he laid it off for Caleb(?) for a bucket. It's a start.
 
Mathis and Young have taken more bad shots than anyone else. You can see that they have already made up their mind of what they are going to do before they even cross half court. It's maddening. My wife laughs at me when I start yelling no, no, no, no. They have been extremely poor unless they are out ahead of everyone else.

Mathis did have 1 fast break where he laid it off for Caleb(?) for a bucket. It's a start.

Mathis had more than one very good assist on Saturday
 
@Scarlet Shack absolutely NAILS IT re: Young and Duncan. If you were in school or already an alumnus, you’ll remember the frustration, if you WERE NOT there PLEASE don’t try to say “but Young this and that” it will never happen.

Now...I’m not saying it WILL happen ...just excellent analysis by the OP and let’s hope he’s right because, if so, BOOM!
 
I think the team will be solid most of the year , but collapses at the end. It will be an epic collapse like losing 4 of the last 5. We have seen this before.

This wouldn't be an epic collapse given the schedule. For our last 5 games, based on current bart projections:

0-5 12%
1-4 33%
2-3 34%
3-2 16%
4-1 4%
 
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What's Young's usage rate? We just need to run the offense through other people when he is on the court. Try to keep the ball out of his hands more until he finds his stride on offense. Pike needs to tell him your D is great. Less is more on offense
 
Mathis and Young have taken more bad shots than anyone else. You can see that they have already made up their mind of what they are going to do before they even cross half court. It's maddening. My wife laughs at me when I start yelling no, no, no, no. They have been extremely poor unless they are out ahead of everyone else.
Use
Mathis did have 1 fast break where he laid it off for Caleb(?) for a bucket. It's a start.
You have been anti Montes in most of your posts and you are just seeing things wrong. He has done much more good than bad. Does he turn it over once in a while, sure, but he makes a few steals and turns it into a dunk. He drives and get fouled. As Choppin posted earlier , Young has been out of control and has 7 charges, but Mathis only one. He is early in his sophomore year and getting better every day. Watch for it
 
Something that has a 33% chance of happening (45% if you count going 0-5 OR 1-4) cannot be an epic collapse, no matter what is on the line.
 
Mathis is 31 for 75 from 2.
I'd estimate he has 15 breakaway scores.
He is 15 for 30 when he takes a quality shot.
The remaining 30 shots have been terrible looks/decisions.

If he can make a better decision 3-4 times a game, I think we have a chance at being a tourney team.

Young has been worse. He probably has 6-7 bad looks/decisions per game.

We aren't a great shooting team. We need as many quality looks as possible.
 
Something that has a 33% chance of happening (45% if you count going 0-5 OR 1-4) cannot be an epic collapse, no matter what is on the line.

How is something 33% because some random website with guys that live in parents basement say so?
Bottom line is if you are in the tournament with 5 to play and you lose lots . Well you collapsed . It’s not like we are playing golden state, we are playing peer conference teams . Just get it done
 
How is something 33% because some random website with guys that live in parents basement say so?
Bottom line is if you are in the tournament with 5 to play and you lose lots . Well you collapsed . It’s not like we are playing golden state, we are playing peer conference teams . Just get it done

I'm not saying it's exactly 33% because his model says so.. but these models are good and provide reasonable estimates.

The bottom line is a bubble team gets like 1.75 of those 5 games on average. If we come in needing 3-2 (or even 2-3) and fail, that's not an epic collapse. It's a slight disappointment at worst.

Also Bart Torvik is a lawyer who owns his own firm, not sure why you think he is a "guy that lives in his parents basement".
 
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Just more broadly, the schedule takes a brutal turn starting 1/28 with Purdue and it's going to be annoying when we go from something like

14-6 (5-4)
to
18-13 (9-11)

and have to listen to people bitch about how that is some kind of "collapse". That's the EXPECTED outcome.
 
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I'm not saying it's exactly 33% because his model says so.. but these models are good and provide reasonable estimates.

The bottom line is a bubble team gets like 1.75 of those 5 games on average. If we come in needing 3-2 (or even 2-3) and fail, that's not an epic collapse. It's a slight disappointment at worst.

Also Bart Torvik is a lawyer who owns his own firm, not sure why you think he is a "guy that lives in his parents basement".

Listen I am predicting epic collapse and I will know one when I see it. I am not wrong often when it comes to rutgers sports . I hope I am wrong this time . I want a team we can be proud of .
 
If you are going to predict standard things and call them epic collapses then you will be "right" I suppose. I predict an epic collapse whereby we win less than 24 games this season.
 
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Just more broadly, the schedule takes a brutal turn starting 1/28 with Purdue and it's going to be annoying when we go from something like

14-6 (5-4)
to
18-13 (9-11)

and have to listen to people bitch about how that is some kind of "collapse". That's the EXPECTED outcome.

Lol. Like I said we aren’t playing against the golden state warriors or Lebron James . Win and take care of business and against your peer institutions. Let’s hope we are still playing for a tournament berth by then
 
If you are going to predict standard things and call them epic collapses then you will be "right" I suppose. I predict an epic collapse whereby we win less than 24 games this season.

You notice you’re the only one arguing with me in this thread . Most of the people here know my track record . Like I said not wrong too often when it comes to these things .
 
Mathis is 31 for 75 from 2.
I'd estimate he has 15 breakaway scores.
He is 15 for 30 when he takes a quality shot.
The remaining 30 shots have been terrible looks/decisions.

If he can make a better decision 3-4 times a game, I think we have a chance at being a tourney team.

Young has been worse. He probably has 6-7 bad looks/decisions per game.

We aren't a great shooting team. We need as many quality looks as possible.

Mathis is 31/75 overall, he is 26/57 (.456) from 2P range.
Young is 26/80 overall, he is 23/57 (.404) from 2P range.

They are 9th and 10th on the team in 2P%.

From an eFG% perspective, they are also 9th and 10th. Mathis is .447 and Young is .344.
 
I will sign on the dot for 7-3 right now to get to 15-6. However the key is how does the team respond to pressure and being the hunted. The early Big 10 schedule is much easier than the last stretch of games which is absolutely brutal. So RU might amass the gaudy record but might not be ready for what comes down the pike.

I think that Nebby/PSU duo is huge to sweep because we can lose them both actually and that would deflate everything. Beating those two has RU going in with house money at Illinois, then 4 of 5 at home looks sweet
I'd sign up for 15-6 in a heartbeat, but we have to be more focused game in, game out, to follow up these last two wins with wins at Nebraska and home against a very good PSU team. I'm just not sure we're there yet, but I'm dying to find out.
 
If we win our next 4, including PSU, then there is a definitive and clear path to the post season. If we don't, we have to win games where we are a big underdog to do it.
 
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