i have a gut feeling we get more consistent production out of our backcourt next season. I’m sure that’s not the popular opinion but it’s my gut feeling. And this in no way is trying to minimize the player that sanders is.
Baker/Mathis > Sanders/Baker?
- Thread starter ouchmyknee
- Start date
There is a huge difference between the way sanders played at the beginning of the season, and the way he played in his better games and at the very end. The 20% 3-pt shooting for the whole year, etc. is irrelevant. What we are losing is the potential of a more consistent senior year where he performed at that high level much more often. Will be impossible to replace but Pikiell has to move forward.
Baker was already playing WAAAAY too many minutes. Now we're going to ask him to do that again and have a freshmen replace Corey's minutes ?! Depth is an issue. And nobody should be expecting Mathis to replace what Sanders could do on both ends of the court. Although not consistently - when he was on, we could beat anyone in the country.
Consistent production is different than the title of this thread...
I think we could get more consistent production. I don't think we will get > production.
I think we could get more consistent production. I don't think we will get > production.
Corey was shooting about 22% from the three-point range. The last several games, he abandoned 3-point shooting, except maybe in desperation at the end of the clock. That made him a great deal more effective. His mid range game flourished. Seriously doubt that he would have been an effective 3-point shooter had he stayed. Well, he would have worked on it over the summer. Like he hadn't worked on it after his freshman and soph years? Like they didn't tell him at the combine two years ago that the lack of a 3-point shot was a major factor in his unreadiness for the NBA?
TL
TL
While it seemed like that step back jumper from just beyond the foul line was money in the B1G Tourney, it's one of the worst shots you can take in basketball.
Depth is an issue until we see how the last 3 'ships are used.
I agree Higgins. It is not disparaging of Corey to say I think the team will be better next year. The staff inherited small guards and an undersized four in Freeman (along with less than athletic centers in Diallo and Doorson). The way they want to play is to rotate guys with length and athleticism. We are getting there. The three guards we have today (Geo, Kiss and Mathis) are all long and all defend. The frontcourt will be deeper with the additions of Johnson, Carter and Harper, and the continued development of EO and Thiam. We need another guard and I'm sure we will get one.
Huge difference. Baker with a year under his belt should be able to handle the increase in minutes. Yes Mathis will be a freshman. All this is mute until we see where the two scholarships go. If we get a grad transfer I think we will be fine
Absolutely. I feel as confident as you do about the players now. We just need a servicable guard and I think we could be better next year. Like you said, Kiss, Geo and Mathis all defend. That is a great starting point.
ScarletKid2008,
Please stop with the playing too many minutes already. I say the same thing every year. Why is that players on all other teams are able to play 34-38 minutes? Duke players(Trent and Duval) play almost every minute of every game. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT TALENT HERE. We know that the Duke players are more talented, but there is no reason why OUR players can't play the same amount of minutes. It is just a matter of conditioning.
Best of Luck,
Groz
Please stop with the playing too many minutes already. I say the same thing every year. Why is that players on all other teams are able to play 34-38 minutes? Duke players(Trent and Duval) play almost every minute of every game. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT TALENT HERE. We know that the Duke players are more talented, but there is no reason why OUR players can't play the same amount of minutes. It is just a matter of conditioning.
Best of Luck,
Groz
It's not just a matter of conditioning, it's also a matter of strength.
Bakers freshman body was not meant to play 35 minutes in the BIG and he definitely started hitting a wall towards the end of the year.
Can't wait to see what a year of S&C will do to his game.
Trent played 33.8 mpg and Duval played 29.7 mpg. The only player on Duke who averaged more than 34 min was senior Grayson Allen with 35.6
There are only 6 players in the Big Ten who averaged more than 34 min per game this season, and just 3 averaged more than 35.
Expecting anyone to average 34-38 min is not a recipe for success.
my take....RU was not going dancing next year or even to the NIT..they were likely to be trying to fight over 500 overall and get to 7-11 in league with Sanders...year 3 was never the year....I am okay with the loss of Sanders because it allows the program to take the natural course that Pikiell wants to bring it to. People may laugh at accelerate the timeline but there is merit to it. With Sanders the overall growth of the program gets stunted because Sanders as the focal point next year and then gone the next year..well then what happens. I think alot of the angst comes from the fact that some here believe next year would be some kind of Nebraska like season..well I just disagree in the possibility of that happening. Remember with Sanders RU won only 3 league games. Consistency is underrated. Sometimes consistency is better for your program than flash or high ceilings but disappearing in half the games. Its up to Pike to try to fill in the holes right now so the team can be competitive as possible next year. He has to land a great 2019 class...that is mandatory, losing Strickland hurt no matter who tries to spin otherwise. The rebuild was never about year 3. RU will survive without Sanders and they may be the better for it in the long run and I will take long run over a short run warm fuzzy anytime.
there were a few of those this year actually. Its a long rebuild, no one should be surprised of the struggles in year 3 which was always progged to be an issue because of graduation losses and the liklihood of Sanders being gone
you are right, its all about recruiting, we may have the same record next year which wasnt very good this year but Pike HAS TO RECRUIT...Sanders leaving early changes nothing about what he has to do here
Agree it’s a long rebuild . But this is basketball, not football. When do you draw the line ? 5 years , 7 ?
Well, Sanders departure should help to temper some unreasonable fan expectations, at least.
at year 5 you are going to know where we are headed...if recruiting has dried up and the team still hasnt it over 500 then yes its in trouble....the earliest they could hit the NCAA is year 5 but it could be year 7. Pike will not get fired if he has the team going to the NIT in year 6
I ageee. But it’s starting to look like recruiting has dried up at year 3. A couple more years and we will see .
true....long term...never was about year 3, always had concern over this year. Program needs depth and talent...Pike is on the clock for landing a big recruiting haul the next two years
The one thing we are going to miss badly is Sanders ball handling. Full court presses and traps were useless against us. We needed to hold onto the ball for a last second shot you knew who was handling that ball. Indiana tried to foul him with a few seconds left, one of the best dunks ever. I'm not saying that Baker and possibly Mathis are bad ball handlers, but Sanders was on another level. Probably the best since I've been watching the team in the mid 90's
Yes you could lean on Sanders to handle the ball but it was by necessity more than anything else. I will state for as athletic as Sanders was at MSG, his FT shooting and 3 PT shooting are huge drags on his overall numbers...he has 20PPG athleticism that came in at 14PPG, with wild swings in production.
A normal JUCO guard can get you 10PPG, 75-80 from FT line and 30-32% from 3....ideally your 3-4 guards or the SF spot are all at 10-14PPG and all shoot 70-80% from FT line...i don't know why we are downplaying Mathis, he's capable of stepping right in and giving you points. Just need a normal 3rd-4th guard.
This program needs positive momentum and to have a decent year next year to keep the build going and get better recruits interested in the program. Losing Corey slows the momentum because on March 30th 2018 I do not see a player on the roster or an incoming 2018 recruit who replaces Corey. Maybe we get lucky and fill our 3 open scholarships with players who will make our team better and not miss Corey. Until that happens that's a blow to our team and could very well hurt future recruiting if we regress next year on the court.
What did John Cheney’s Temple players average?
What did the Cuse players average this year?
Can't dismiss the loss of 3 or 4 senior contributors along with Corey.
Freeman, Williams, Sa and to a lesser extent Dadika all gave us valuable minutes to go along with Corey's time on the court.
Next season's OOC games will be crucial to the learning curve of the newcomers as well as their chemistry with the returning players.
With a tougher OOC schedule including more road games, finishing with a better record than this year will require great coaching and overachieving by the players and the team overall.
Freeman, Williams, Sa and to a lesser extent Dadika all gave us valuable minutes to go along with Corey's time on the court.
Next season's OOC games will be crucial to the learning curve of the newcomers as well as their chemistry with the returning players.
With a tougher OOC schedule including more road games, finishing with a better record than this year will require great coaching and overachieving by the players and the team overall.
