I’m aware, but EYBL is playing now so that’s almost a year ago. There will be some rust. Also as high level as the EYBL is, they’re all not five stars there, or power six quality players, so it’s not the B1G. As I said will Grant have a great college career, yes. I’m just skeptical that he can provide significant frosh minutes. Look at Gavin. Also our hope is to win way more games than last year, not just to achieve what last year’s team did. Do I hope Grant is great next year, YES! It’s just a red flag for me expecting too much from him.
Big Man
- Thread starter MCKnight2004
- Start date
Who said he's playing significant minutes other than you? Pike says he expects him to play at the 4 not play 20 minutes.
Thanks for that I didn’t see Pike said that. Still though 15 mins would be significant to me. Hopefully my concerns are unwarranted and wouldn’t it be great if he was so good he did earn 20 mins. I have read other posters saying we’re good at the four because of Grant and I think that’s premature for next year.
If your standard is a team returning nothing but proven starters, then yeah, we’re not gonna live up to that. Neither is Kentucky, or Duke, or frankly anyone.
Where did I say that was my standard? I’m simply saying I’ve seen others say we’re good at the 4 with Grant and I feel that’s premature. Martini and sprinkle some Ace at the four when we go three guards, that’s solid.
It's not shot blocking per se. It's defensive ledge causing shots in the paint to be missed. Our aggressive defensive play on the perimeter requires that on the inside. Foul free defensive presence inside.
right. what good did our "shot blocking 5" do us last year ? what matters is team defense (opponent PPG, %, 3pt%, rebounding etc.) and if our 5 can carry his weight via overall effectiveness, shot blocking doesn't matter. however, that player is not on the roster yet.
I'm sure our shot blocking center had nothing to do with that. 🙄
That is my hypothesis. It might get tested...obviously things are not constant. Non shot blocking newcomers will move the needle. Which way and how much I have no idea.
I meant, what did shot blocking matter to our W-L record ?
And team defense ranking was boosted by the style of offense in our conference.
But yes, we don’t need a shot blocking 5 to be a solid defensive team.
A lot probably. We would have been a lot worse overall team had our defense not been so good.
No it wasn’t.
Perhaps not.
"probably" doesn't pass your usual stats rigor. to make the case like only you can (well, not really), correlate shot blocking and wins and get back to us.
I'd guess at most a weakly + correlation coefficient: .2 to .3
Pretty sure either @RUChoppin or @kcg88 worked out shot blocking vs. defensive efficiency correlation recently. I’m not going to repeat the work now because I don’t feel like it. But a .3 correlation would actually be a fairly significant impact imo.
In BPM a block is worth .703 for a center which is like 5 times as much as a rebound but only 70% as much as an assist.
About Box Plus/Minus (BPM) | Basketball-Reference.com
About Box/Plus Minus (BPM)
www.basketball-reference.com
BPM weights
A rumored nil of 300 grand for supreme cook? An under sized 5 that won’t last as a starter by big ten play.. not a rim protector at all
Should’ve just kept Woolfolk
Should’ve just kept Woolfolk
I’m not saying I like the value of 300k for Cook. But Woolf had to go, could not remotely compete at the 5 at this level
Cook (albeit on a terrible team) at least had a number of nice games against legit comp
How do we know he won’t last as a starter by big ten play? He was a serviceable player in the Big East. He will probably be starter throughout unless Lathan is really good. It’s what bigs cost.
A guy who averaged 27 mpg in the Big East suddenly won't survive in in the B1G which isn't nearly as good?
BTW a lot more 6'9" bigs around college basketball than 7' footers. It's the new normal.
Only 2 players at the 2023 NBA Combine measured at or over 6'10" (without shoes). Zach Edey was one of them.
Clif measured at 6'9" at the G-League Elite Camp (without shoes).
https://www.topendsports.com/sport/basketball/testing-draft-results-2023.htm
https://gleague.nba.com/news/2023-g-league-elite-camp-official-testing-results
I had hope the Wolf would develop, but he was awful last year. I will take Supreme’s 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Could Achor Achor be the new anchor for our defense?
Samford star Achor Achor has announced that he’s entering the portal. The All-SoCon First Team Selection, a versatile 6-9 weapon, averaged 16.1 PPG/58% FGP and 6.1 RPG this past year. Shot 44% from 3-point territory.
He scored 23 points/8 rebs in loss against Kansas.
Samford star Achor Achor has announced that he’s entering the portal. The All-SoCon First Team Selection, a versatile 6-9 weapon, averaged 16.1 PPG/58% FGP and 6.1 RPG this past year. Shot 44% from 3-point territory.
He scored 23 points/8 rebs in loss against Kansas.
He's listed as a forward but all video footage is of him playing as a 4/5 combo. He can play inside, pick and roll and shoot the 3 so max versatility, unlike what we had in Cliff.
Rutgers putting together one of the best rosters in the big ten. Anyone complaining is not paying attention. Everyone in the league has lost big time players to graduation or transfer. Add a big and shooter and this may well be the best roster in the big ten.
None of the portal guys Rutgers got were highly rated or guaranteed to be good. Saying this is one of the best rosters isn’t really based in reality.
300 Grand? That is peanuts these days compared to some other deals. According to some Kentucky posters, Kentucky picked up a guard yesterday from Dayton who was the best 3 point shooter in the country this past year and will pay him $1.5 Million. UConn and Duke balked at his $$$ demands, but Kentucky agreed to that amount.
Missed the mark as usual with these comments. Top players get top dollar...duh.
Has nothing to do with what Cook will land.
You missed the point, maharajah. Your sarcasm detector is not working. Nobody is saying that Cook is worth $1.5 million. But it is crazy that any college basketball player is getting such a fortune for playing for one year.
Last edited:
Cook is A LOT better than Wolf. Not even close.
For the millionth time, we were looking for proven players that are scorers with toughness and leadership to complement the huge talent of the freshman class and players like Jeremiah that were already here for 2024-5.
Pike got exactly what he was are looking for. If you can’t see that, you don’t know how basketball teams work and your post isn’t based in reality.
Giving you a second chance on this. Simple question. Are you really saying that Wolf is better than Cook?
Didn’t know that. Sadexcuse explains it. How freaking sad that he chooses to spend his valuable time on a Rutgers sports board. Think about it. That is major effed up sh!t.
You left out Ace and Martini. We are good at the 4 because of Ace, Martini and Grant.
