Has nothing to do with not having great shooters and being young? Maybe a little?
I was sitting second row in the second half near the Bryant end and watching Mulcahy on defense. He’s like a floor general on the court. Unbelievably mature for a freshman. What a player he’s going to be for us it’s such a different game from my usual seats in 203 when you watch the banging up close.
The only issue is RU playing faster than it should have against a smaller opponent. It would have slowed the pace, gotten better shots and allowed Myles Johnson to be a big, vs a kid running up and down the court. If.you have a prized big man like Cliff Omoyuri on your roster, who runs like a deer, it doesn't matter.
But the team played faster and that's not what RU will do most of the year. Playing faster when your not uber-athletic, tires you out....which impacts your shooting from distance.
But the team played faster and that's not what RU will do most of the year. Playing faster when your not uber-athletic, tires you out....which impacts your shooting from distance.
100%. Nice to experiment a bit but that was too fast; especially for game 1. They weren’t ready to play at that pace without scoring enough. Too many bad shots.
I think the old b-ball adage be quick but don’t hurry applies perfectly here.
I like both those guys. Yeboah was one of the best guys out there.
I was disappointed that Pike didnt use this game as a way to get Myles a lot of touches
I thought the three newcomers all showed flashes. Mulcahy looked poised and relaxed for his first game. Yeboah has some range and Young some quickness. You can tell Pike is still trying to settle on a rotation and roles. He also said on the postgame radio that Bryant going small took away a lot of our advantages.
I liked his D on the pg but man he needs to dial in all the shoot first tendencies. Not a pg mentality at all.
Unless that changes he is likely a short spurt player as he kills the flow. One fast break Harper was open and he kept it and Harpers face was clear wtf. He needs to really really change to be a big contributor. That was the most disappointing to me. Hoping Doucore had developed a little more as we could sure use another big presence.
Depth is great to have. Still, you should know your top five. Rotations make the chemistry difficult to find.
I am in Philadelphia and did not get to the RAC. Still, very easy to see how comfortable Mulcahy was. If the team is searching for chemistry, he is the answer. Supports teammates, vocal, selfless.
Still hopeful. I always said Young could be a big help if he was selfless. If he is not, he will only hinder team. That was shown tonight.
I am in Philadelphia and did not get to the RAC. Still, very easy to see how comfortable Mulcahy was. If the team is searching for chemistry, he is the answer. Supports teammates, vocal, selfless.
Still hopeful. I always said Young could be a big help if he was selfless. If he is not, he will only hinder team. That was shown tonight.
I thought Yeboah was the only bright soot after Mulcahy, actually. He's calm and seems to understand the game. He was one of the few who wasn't rushing everything out there.
As far as Kiss, during one TO late in the 2nd, the entire team huddled up and he walked about 3 steps away, chewing his fingernails, looking up at the scoreboard. A teammate in street clothes (no idea who this was) grabbed him and redirected him to the huddle. The kid even pointed to the coach as if to say, "Pay attention. This is important."
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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I noticed that as well, think it was a the frosh walk on lobach.
regarding yeboah, I also thought he was a calming presence out there and there were a few times he put the ball on the floor and just looked comfortable and smooth doing it.
Yes you can practice something 1,000 times & if you're doing it wrong get nowhere. Also seems that some of our guys hardly bend at the knees on free throws.
I don't view Johnson as a 1st 2nd or 3rd option....he's not ready for that type of role and needs to be stronger and more sure of his game, to command that status.
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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The video @Richard Schnyderite posted of ron hitting 8 free throws in a row were rapid fire free throws. Maybe the issue is that our guys arent practicing free throws like they shoot them in a game.
I disagree.Yeboah was one of the few players that showed a pulse on offense by making outside shots and finishing around the basket.McConnell was a good rebounder but offensively not so good in this game.
Apparently last night others werent ready either. Magnifies the loss of Gene because we are not planning to get much offense from the 4/5. Yeboah helps but beyond that its a weakness and Pikiell really needs to land these positions next year
Bryant had already played a game------don't minimize that no matter who the opponent is. It's a big deal IMO.
As to Young----anyone who sits a year needs a stretch of 8-10 games to get his game rolling. I don't think you know what you'll have till that happens.
Shooting has to improve from both the floor and the FT line no doubt. When shots fall it's amazing how no one criticizes coaching the offense.
Wins are like newborn babies-----they're all beautiful.
There are 3 winnable games in a row to work on things.
Be patient.
As to Young----anyone who sits a year needs a stretch of 8-10 games to get his game rolling. I don't think you know what you'll have till that happens.
Shooting has to improve from both the floor and the FT line no doubt. When shots fall it's amazing how no one criticizes coaching the offense.
Wins are like newborn babies-----they're all beautiful.
There are 3 winnable games in a row to work on things.
Be patient.
For what it's worth, last year this Bryant team lost by 42 points to Yale and 24 points to Brown.
But they only lost by 5 points at 24th ranked Iowa. Seems they really get up for B1G teams and/or B1G teams don't take them seriously.
https://www.bryantbulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/schedule
But they only lost by 5 points at 24th ranked Iowa. Seems they really get up for B1G teams and/or B1G teams don't take them seriously.
https://www.bryantbulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2018-19/schedule
I understand Iowa sleepwalking through a December 29 game just like I understand Rutgers sleepwalking through the post-Thanksgiving game against Boston U last year.
But doing it the first game of the season raises some red flags.
It's only one game but Mulcahy was the only player who impressed me last night. This kid is going to need to be on the court pretty soon. Young looks like a nice rotation player, nothing more. He looked very much like the player I remember with Texas a couple of years ago. Again, it's only one game but in that game I can't say that I saw any player who improved from last year.
I disagree with people who say thank God we are playing a soft schedule. This team needs to get its ass kicked. That's how you learn and get better. Playing close games against Bryant, Niagara, etc. only prepares you to lose to Pitt and Seton Hall and puts you a month behind other teams.
I disagree with people who say thank God we are playing a soft schedule. This team needs to get its ass kicked. That's how you learn and get better. Playing close games against Bryant, Niagara, etc. only prepares you to lose to Pitt and Seton Hall and puts you a month behind other teams.
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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Kyk1827 (@kyk1827) Tweeted:
Paul Mulcahy is going to be a good one https://t.co/VX1vku4rsU
this was such a good play. Catches at the foul line, sees defense has backed off, puts it on the floor and left handed finish. By January i could see him being our starting PG. mulcahy-geo-caleb-ron-myles will probably be our best 5 man lineup
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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Ya know what, I remember watching that game. Bryant tied the game with 3 minutes left and i had thought that they were going to win at that point. Then I think tyler cook had a nice bucket and a big defensive play to win by 5.
college basketball is weird, never know whats going to happen. If we hit just 6 more free throws and go 6-22 from 3 instead of 3-22 we win by 17
'
Just a great play by the young kid. Great play. Very happy for him. Good player, GREAT person. Give him a follow on twitter and you will see what I am talking about.
Baker and Mathis hit our last two shots. Harper made one at 2:46 then put up a brick later. Geo is the guy i want with the ball late
I really like him at the foul line against the zone. Going forward, he's going to need to show he can hit that little turnaround shot from inside the foul line so the defense doesn't just ignore him. We probably won't see much zone after this month, however.
Actually, you are probably right. we will see some because we can't shoot. However, B1G teams really don't play that much zone.
Basketball from HS on up is about the threes now.. at least in competitive games. We need to be better at it... and defend it better. I hope last night was an aberration and we will see progress on that point.
I like the experimental aspect of it. I'm sure the players wanted to try it. Now they may see the value of all that conditioning more. Learn their limits, work harder to get over them when they play a minor opponent who had more in the tank at the end than they did.
It was really fast paced, almost too fast for an opening night. I sat close up in the second half watching them bang off screens and I’m thinking, wow, this is Bryant they are playing.
But every team in D1 has players. I give Bryant credit because after the first few minutes, even though the score didn’t show it; I thought this would be a complete blow out. Bryant played well and I think they end up having a decent season.
I'm not sure you can say Bryant was unconscious from 3. They shot it like 40+ times and made 14. Bryant didn't care if Rutgers was challenging the shot. This is to be expected from lower D1 schools as they try to equalize the playing field. As Rutgers plays more high major schools don't expect teams to chuck and duck at a rate even close to this. It will be more of a balanced attack.
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
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Youre right. I guess it was those 2 guys who couldnt miss from 3 when it counted. One of them was like 5-7 and the other like 5-10?
Agreed.. me too.. I saw promise in what Rutgers was doing even though the score did not indicate it. I was shocked Bryant got it close enough to win it.
I also think Pike was correct in post-game to keep it positive.. he saw a lot of positives and was upbeat.. I think that's the right thing to do. We'll know soon enough if we need to find the..
