Baker

[RUChow]

I know no one likes to say anything negative about him, but he was putrid as our PG tonight. HE'S NOT A PG, at least at this level - can't stop penetration, constantly beat off the dribble and a poor decision maker with the ball in his hands. Mulcahy is better than him right now as a PG and should be thrown to the wolves from day one like Baker was last year, and probably will be. I mean Pike says Mulcahy is the best passer he's seen in his 25 years of coaching. The best passer he's ever seen is not likely coming off the bench for a team that won 7-8 games in league play. Back to Geo - there's a big difference between playing the point vs. slow Iowa guards and their zone, and facing the athleticism of PSU tonight, MSU or Michigan.

And in my mind Johnson answered the question tonight of which freshman has the most potential. Kid could be the best big man in the league three years from now.

 

[Candiru]

Geo deserves any and all criticism about tonight’s performance that he gets. He’s had some great, clutch moments this year, but this was not one of them. He came out with low energy and was outhustled badly for most of the game on a big stage. As a team leader he set the tone for the entire first half. Hopefully he grows from this.

 

[bac2therac]

Geo laid a big stinky egg tonight...however he was not alone. In the first half, only Eugene on one leg came to play. The others woke up in the 2nd...Myles, Caleb, Ron. It was a team loss for sure tonight.

but yes its fair game to criticize Geo tonight, its game 29 of his 2nd season at home in a huge game. He came up empty. Thats not acceptable at this point. Second half, he was better with the effort. Not worried about him long term..it happens to the best of the players...doesnt make it excusable though.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Not a great game for geo but with that said, it’s not a coincidence that other teams go on runs (psu did tonight) when geo exits the game. He gets our guys in the right sets, he understands spacing better than just about anybody along with ron, and hes just a calming presence.

People will rip geo for tonight, some criticism will be warranted (decision making/shot selection last two possessions of the game) but most will be unwarranted and crazy

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I thought EUGENE's effort in the 1st half was shockingly bad...for EUGENE.

2nd half, a different story.

 

[RUChow]

I'm not totally sure Bac that this was all about effort. I think some of these really athletic and quick guards are a mismatch for him

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I'm not totally sure Bac that this was all about effort. I think some of these really athletic and quick guards are a mismatch for him

and a kid in high school is better equipped??

 

[Candiru]

Geo didn’t get on the floor or chase down several loose balls in the first half. No excuse for that. Yes the whole team was flat in the half, but as a team leader he sets the tone and others follow his lead. Bad time to come up empty.

 

[RUChow]

and a kid in high school is better equipped??

Yes, strictly as a PG they are not even close.

 

[S_Janowski]

I thought EUGENE's effort in the 1st half was shockingly bad...for EUGENE.

2nd half, a different story.

The kid is playing on 1 and a half knees! He tweaked his knee again against Iowa.

He clearly doesn’t have the planting and jumping ability he had before.

You need to pay closer attention to things man.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The kid is playing on 1 and a half knees! He tweaked his knee again against Iowa.

He clearly doesn’t have the planting and jumping ability he had before.

You need to pay closer attention to things man.

Do yourself a favor and put me on ignore.

 

[S_Janowski]

Do yourself a favor and put me on ignore.

Nah I enjoy reading terrible takes it gives me a laugh.

 

[bac2therac]

I'm not totally sure Bac that this was all about effort. I think some of these really athletic and quick guards are a mismatch for him

I think he had 20 at Penn State on 7-15 shooting.

I think an issue was he was heavily pursued and hounded, he didnt deal with it well because it was almost as if he was caught off guard that PSU would be so aggressive. He didnt react quickly enough to how he was being guarded. Nobody on RU in the first half did. They totally came in overconfident

 

[bac2therac]

I thought EUGENE's effort in the 1st half was shockingly bad...for EUGENE.

2nd half, a different story.

Well he was the only with a pulse on offense. He did take a horrible 3 point shot late in the first half and not sure if it was him or Myles? responsible for not boxing out an allowing that easy putback layup that gave PSU 2 points at the buzzer of the first half.

I have noticed lately that Eugene is much more of a second half player than first half.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Well he was the only with a pulse on offense. He did take a horrible 3 point shot late in the first half and not sure if it was him or Myles? responsible for not boxing out an allowing that easy putback layup that gave PSU 2 points at the buzzer of the first half.

I have noticed lately that Eugene is much more of a second half player than first half.

He took it personal on a few possessions vs. Lamar Stevens that really hurt us on 2 possessions.

It was him, half hearted help.....I thought his knee was really a problem after the 1st half, BUT his 2nd half performance told me otherwise.

 

[satnom]

Agree that the first half was a wake up to the system for RU. The athleticism and length shown by PSU was quite different than the more stationary Iowa team RU recently played and RU quickly found that out. RU dug itself a deep hole in the first half and was on the verge of digging itself completely out in the 2nd half. Want to be upset at Myles for not going up strong his last two attempts but the kid gave great effort throughout game and even tapped in the basket that put RU within a point of PSU. They are young and they will learn. Let’s beat Indiana.

Tough game for Geo and he needs to learn you can’t always be the hero and know when it’s your night to pass up the game winner when you’re not hitting it or being keyed upon by the defense. He’ll learn along with the rest of the team.

GO RU

 

[Westcoast]

The whole team was just dead in the first half and first moments of the second. Geo's lazy pass on our first possession of the second was emblematic of their effort to that point. I think it was Harper's pissed off dunks that woke us up. But we just made too many mistakes in the first 21 minutes to get over the hump.

These aren't a bunch of 5 star players that can out talent people. We are a group of under recruited guys that win by effort and heart - and great coaching. We can't afford to take entire halves off and hope to win against BiG teams.

 

[bac2therac]

Agree that the first half was a wake up to the system for RU. The athleticism and length shown by PSU was quite different than the more stationary Iowa team RU recently played and RU quickly found that out. RU dug itself a deep hole in the first half and was on the verge of digging itself completely out in the 2nd half. Want to be upset at Myles for not going up strong his last two attempts but the kid gave great effort throughout game and even tapped in the basket that put RU within a point of PSU. They are young and they will learn. Let’s beat Indiana.

Tough game for Geo and he needs to learn you can’t always be the hero and know when it’s your night to pass up the game winner when you’re not hitting it or being keyed upon by the defense. He’ll learn along with the rest of the team.

GO RU

Myles went 10pts/11 boards tonight...great stat line, I think he and all the RU bigs tend to shy away from taking that shot, Ive seen Carter and Doorson pass the ball out with an easy lay in right there.

Myles will need a mindset shift that says its okay for him to be the man and take that shot, it will come, he is only a freshman

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Myles belongs. Zero problem with. How about that tip in late to cut it to 1

 

[Scangg]

The frustrating part about Geo's game tonight is even if he has just a sub-par game we likely win.

Geo does struggle against the super quick more athletic PGs. This is where Young's quickness and perimeter defense will really help us out next season. When Geo has a game like this Pike can go to Young for more minutes

It's funny how people are still using the "he's in HS" line when Harper Mathis and Caleb were all in HS last year and are contributing huge this season. It's just a lazy thoughtless argument that's being proven wrong on a nightly basis. With PM running the point we won't have games where we score 8 points in over 10 minutes to start the game. Too good of a passer. Too good of a baller handler. Too good court vision. Too good bball IQ. He will find easy buckets for guys

 

[RUforJERSEY]

Going scoreless was inexcusable.

 

[BillyC80]

No doubt in my mind if Myles catches that feed cleanly from Caleb, he dunks it and we go up 1 with about 9 seconds left.

Kinda like a receiver in football who’s looking to run before he catches it, takes his eyes off the ball for a second and drops it.

Can’t fault him too much for passing it out after missing his initial chance. He was almost too far underneath and maybe he didn’t want to get fouled so the ball became like a hot potato for him.

On the other hand Geo has to make that wide open look at the end.

 

[bac2therac]

And Myles and Gene both went for that board on the Caleb miss and that was enough to alter the strength of Myles final shot that was swatted away

 

[goru7]

The whole team was just dead in the first half and first moments of the second. Geo's lazy pass on our first possession of the second was emblematic of their effort to that point. I think it was Harper's pissed off dunks that woke us up. But we just made too many mistakes in the first 21 minutes to get over the hump.

These aren't a bunch of 5 star players that can out talent people. We are a group of under recruited guys that win by effort and heart - and great coaching. We can't afford to take entire halves off and hope to win against BiG teams.

You are giving no credit to Penn State for their terrific first half. They were fast, quick, won all the 50/50 balls and blocked everything near the rim. So I do not think we took the half off but we clearly ratcheted up the intensity in the second half and they was not a hope and a prayer to win , but real multiple chances to win despite that lousy first half.

 

[Scangg]

And Myles and Gene both went for that board on the Caleb miss and that was enough to alter the strength of Myles final shot that was swatted away

Eugene was pissed that ball was coming right to him in front of the rim. He just can't elevate with that knee to get up to grab it and Myles is bigger with those long arms. Wish he gathered himself and went up strong. Frustrating bc if either one of them was there and the other wasn't the both might have scored

 

[mikefla]

I love GEO but
0-10 total points
0-7 at the 3
:flush:

 

[CHR2022]

Geo is gonna drop 25 next game with 7 assists and there will be a thread bashing this thread in a week, college ball is almost always a rollercoaster

 

[Scangg]

If there were college player prop bets I'd take the over on Geo next game. He's gonna come out hot

 

[Candiru]

Geo is gonna drop 25 next game with 7 assists and there will be a thread bashing this thread in a week, college ball is almost always a rollercoaster

Sure hope he does.

No one has said he universally sucks. He played an awful game tonight involving lack of hustle in the first half that largely contributed to a big loss. It was the program’s biggest game in a long time so a bad time for it. He deserves plenty of fair criticism. He took the apple tonight for sure and it cost his team a win. Hopefully he understands that and personally strives to rectify it. I hope he has the stat line against IU you describe. Doesn’t erase tonight, just like tonight doesn’t erase other good performances.

Lack of effort should never happen again

 

[willisneverrana43]

I'm not totally sure Bac that this was all about effort. I think some of these really athletic and quick guards are a mismatch for him

Agree. And combine that with one of his too many ice-cold shooting nights, and you get this game.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

RU fans (Chow) are fine when they want their declaration made regarding a player to try and look like the SportsRadio host or ESPN.

I will ask this quesrion....the starting backcourt contributed 2 total points and the supposedly ineffective Baker didn't score BUT the entire team almost overcame Baker and Mathis contributing just 2 points.

The opponents goal is to stop Baker first....because he's RUs most effective player, catalyst and organizer. Last month, it was Caleb McConnell who was supposed to start over Geo after his big game and now Mulcahy is the next player on your list.

What's dangerous about these comments are not only are they inaccurate, but they place an unnecessary bullseye on a player who doesn't have the scoring ability or shooting ability displayed at the HS level, but he's going to shoot and score in highly leveraged situations in college??

Mulcahy isn't a strong defender on the ball and until he shows a hopeful ability to score, teams are going to make it much more difficult for others to score. Which is actually much worse for the RU team to have a guard (in your.words) that should be the starting PG.

Players are not going to arrive as the "best passer seen in years", if you have no one open to pass the ball to, because teams sag off on you, because you're not showing an ability to shoot or score. At Gill, his passing is highlighted because he has the ball and teams have to play him to score.

At this level of speed and coaching, opponents break down your tape and you are evaluating Baker as the focal point of the offense. And because of that, others are able to score and have space. The actual results are team oriented and the only way I can see Mulcahy thriving is by playing WITH Geo Baker, not in place of him. At least in that situation, Mulcahy will be the least guarded of the 5 starters or most likely to left open to score.

If that happens and Mulcahy takes advantage of being with Baker, Harper, Eugene, Mathis, Caleb on the court, he will help. But the notion that Mulcahy is going to be able to make passes to wide open players who won't be open, is at best questionable.

I am happy Mulcahy is coming, but he has 1 job arriving at RU....work on his jumper, 3 point shot and willingness to score. If he does that, RU becomes a better team. But he is nowhere near the complete player Baker is, until he scores and can prove he can shoot....otherwise his strength of passing becomes muted and he will make RU easier to stop, not harder.

 

[ancienthooper]

Love Geo and don’t think there’s much doubt that right now he is a more complete player than Paul. That may also be the final evaluation when their respective careers are over.

I think the difference is that Mulcahy may be that singular player with the unique ability to make the other players better.

 

[soundcrib]

I love GEO but
0-10 total points
0-7 at the 3
:flush:

In 35 minutes! Cmon Steve.

Give us more Caleb when Geo is laying an egg.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Love Geo and don’t think there’s much doubt that right now he is a more complete player than Paul. That may also be the final evaluation when their respective careers are over.

I think the difference is that Mulcahy may be that singular player with the unique ability to make the other players better.

He has the ability and work ethic....i am certain that this isn't a Ben Simmons/ Sixers situation where we truly aren't playing 3 or 4 vs 5 defenders. One of my contacts knows Paul and raves about him, so my evaluation of his game isn't isolated. He could literally change RU for 12 to 20 minutes a game, where RU goes from shaky in spots to very good.

We have an excellent staff of PG coaches in Pike, Brandin Knight and very good competition in practice to go against in the new practice facility in Geo, Mathis, Young McConnell and others. I will be shocked if Pike or Knight allow Paul to falter or become a net negative on the court. Because if you're not able to stretch the defense to go with his passing abilities and he isn't a reasonable defender, it becomes difficult to see him being consistent.

In year one, Mulcahy has the ability to ease into the flow and rotation by being consistent in small pieces of playing time. But to expect him to learn on the job at the expense of this roster of building talent, isn't happening.

He will be part of the build, the better he is as a scoring threat and shooting threat, takes RU from a 15-16 win area, to 18 to 19 games or more.

 

[RUDead]

RU fans (Chow) are fine when they want their declaration made regarding a player to try and look like the SportsRadio host or ESPN.

I will ask this quesrion....the starting backcourt contributed 2 total points and the supposedly ineffective Baker didn't score BUT the entire team almost overcame Baker and Mathis contributing just 2 points.

The opponents goal is to stop Baker first....because he's RUs most effective player, catalyst and organizer. Last month, it was Caleb McConnell who was supposed to start over Geo after his big game and now Mulcahy is the next player on your list.

What's dangerous about these comments are not only are they inaccurate, but they place an unnecessary bullseye on a player who doesn't have the scoring ability or shooting ability displayed at the HS level, but he's going to shoot and score in highly leveraged situations in college??

Mulcahy isn't a strong defender on the ball and until he shows a hopeful ability to score, teams are going to make it much more difficult for others to score. Which is actually much worse for the RU team to have a guard (in your.words) that should be the starting PG.

Players are not going to arrive as the "best passer seen in years", if you have no one open to pass the ball to, because teams sag off on you, because you're not showing an ability to shoot or score. At Gill, his passing is highlighted because he has the ball and teams have to play him to score.

At this level of speed and coaching, opponents break down your tape and you are evaluating Baker as the focal point of the offense. And because of that, others are able to score and have space. The actual results are team oriented and the only way I can see Mulcahy thriving is by playing WITH Geo Baker, not in place of him. At least in that situation, Mulcahy will be the least guarded of the 5 starters or most likely to left open to score.

If that happens and Mulcahy takes advantage of being with Baker, Harper, Eugene, Mathis, Caleb on the court, he will help. But the notion that Mulcahy is going to be able to make passes to wide open players who won't be open, is at best questionable.

I am happy Mulcahy is coming, but he has 1 job arriving at RU....work on his jumper, 3 point shot and willingness to score. If he does that, RU becomes a better team. But he is nowhere near the complete player Baker is, until he scores and can prove he can shoot....otherwise his strength of passing becomes muted and he will make RU easier to stop, not harder.

Bingo!

Chambers even said it pre game. He was going to stop geo. That kid did a great job on him defensively and it worked. Everyone else played tight and we got in a big hole. The pressure obviously got to them in the first half. Second half was the opposite and we lost by one.

Typical roller coaster of a young team, but they are resilient and learn fast. If PM can contribute at a high level this team will be very good next year. I think Geo will make improve again in the offseason and PM will be brought along slowly.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

NJH nails it regarding Paul.

His ability to knock down open shots is going to be REALLY important. Everything gained by making people better with passing goes out the door if he doesn't need to be worried about as a scorer

I will stay on record as saying I have no idea what type of player he will be. I can see him as a major bust and i can see him as a potential starting point guard one day.

 

[RUJMM78]

The whole team was just dead in the first half and first moments of the second. Geo's lazy pass on our first possession of the second was emblematic of their effort to that point. I think it was Harper's pissed off dunks that woke us up. But we just made too many mistakes in the first 21 minutes to get over the hump.

These aren't a bunch of 5 star players that can out talent people. We are a group of under recruited guys that win by effort and heart - and great coaching. We can't afford to take entire halves off and hope to win against BiG teams.

Yes,it takes effort,heart, great coaching and most important the opponent playing down to Rutgers scoring average which is in the 62-67 point range.

 

[AshCatchEm]

Geo was the definition of lazy last night..it was pathetic

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Going scoreless was inexcusable.

He went scoreless because he missed 10 shots. The excuse is he missed the shots. The team not diving on the floor after a loose ball is inexcusable. Missing jump shots is always excusable. Statisticly it happens.

 

[Scangg]

He went scoreless because he missed 10 shots. The excuse is he missed the shots. The team not diving on the floor after a loose ball is inexcusable. Missing jump shots is always excusable. Statisticly it happens.

Bad games happen. Missed shots happen. 0-10 is different. If you're the leader of a team you find a way to get some buckets. He only had 2 assists too so he wasn't creating much for others either.