ADVERTISEMENT

Caleb...

I cant believe how much Caleb has improved since the beginning of the season He looked a little Soufish to start but is looking more and more like a future starter.
He looked like a future NBA player last night.
 
It’s almost like people shouldn’t judge 18 year olds off a 15 minute sample size. Many people here gave up on Eugene very early and even last year thought he was just a nice bench piece.
Just like the people who anoint players as All-Americans based on You Tube highlights.
 
Yeah it turns out we're critical when guys don't play well and praise them when they do play well. Wild stuff.

I think you are missing the point. People judged Caleb wayyyyyy too early. He barely played in the beginning and was getting criticized. These young guys are teenagers and they are students too, so sometimes they need a little time to get their sea legs. I think Pike and the staff is doing a phenomenal job bringing these kids along, and the team is benefiting from that right now.
 
Well, how about not judging a true freshmen playing his first few college games.

The narrative was not that he was struggling..it was he was not a P5 player.
Correct. I recall reading posts that he would be a transfer candidate in the offseason after seeing a whopping two games. We’re funny fans. For years we complained that we don’t develop guys, then we want to run them off after a bad game.
 
Just here to take my victory lap on being on Caleb since preseason and even game 1 when it was pretty much universal bash caleb time. The Thiam Kiss truthers looking extra bad and they were soooo arrogant about it.
 
Caleb has the chance to be a Lonzo Ball clone with a jump shot. He has good vision, he just has to get stronger. Another 15 lbs of muscle and he can be a dominant player.
 
The big thing with Caleb is he's playing with confidence. I loved his reaction at the end of the game when he felt he had a tie up and a possession for RU.
According to the coaches, he has an amazing work ethic and should be key contributor next season... and if Harper grows into a 4, we really got something going.
 
Caleb has the chance to be a Lonzo Ball clone with a jump shot. He has good vision, he just has to get stronger. Another 15 lbs of muscle and he can be a dominant player.

Agree. Noticed this too. He also reminds me of D'Angelo Russell. Hoping he can grow into that type of player.
 
guys lets come back to earth. Caleb had one good game. lets hope he continues to develop as a player and gets stronger.

Or we can just bask in the glow of his major breakout game and enjoy his progress. And, by the way, he has had more than one good game.

Everyone knows he is a freshman, and he is going to have ups and downs. I am going to celebrate his ups and root for him when things don’t go as well. Caleb and these freshman are good, they are fearless and they are fun to watch and they are doing this against B1G competition.
 
Last edited:
Not sure over who but kid has earned a starting spot.

Based on one game where neither team ran half court sets?
In a game we lost with terrible defensive numbers.

Caleb is officially the flavor of the week.

Too many fans are judging players off of their best or most recent games.

Remember the Illinois game was like none other we will see. It was a glorified game at the YMCA. Judge him based on how he performs in a structured half court offense.
 
If he can continue to shoot it at a high rate obviously he needs to get minutes.

Unfortunately right now you can't trust him as your primary ball handler for long stints of time. The lineup (not starting) is 0,22,23,5,(2/15)
 
  • Like
Reactions: bac2therac
Or we can just bask in the glow of his major breakout game and enjoy his progress. And, by the way, he has had more than one good game.

Everyone knows he is a freshman, and he is going to have ups and downs. I am going to celebrate his ups and root for him when things don’t go as well. Caleb and these freshman are good, they are fearless and they are fun to watch and they are doing this against B1G competition.

For sure. it is great to get excited but posters arent talking about ups and downs. some posters think he should start over geo and others think he can be like Lonzo Ball and D'Angelo Russell. All i am saying is lets not get carried away.

the truth is Caleb while being good was most likely an after thought on Illinois' scouting report. he had 25 against Illinois, 14 in a loss at Ohio state and 14 against maine. no one wants to talk about the 2 points against purdue and indiana....
 
If you think Caleb has played well one game, you don't know what you're watching. If you can't see Caleb's massive upside, you don't know what you're watching.

The only thing he needs is more experience and more confidence. The confidence will come with experience. He needs more minutes.
 
Based on one game where neither team ran half court sets?
In a game we lost with terrible defensive numbers.

Caleb is officially the flavor of the week.

Too many fans are judging players off of their best or most recent games.

Remember the Illinois game was like none other we will see. It was a glorified game at the YMCA. Judge him based on how he performs in a structured half court offense.


this this this this this this

I know we are all happy over all the freshmen doing well especially Caleb's breakout performance but there is a reason that some players get more time and start over others.

all the freshmen have had their day but NONE of them has shown the consistency yet and that is not a knock on them, they are freshmen so they will not be consistent. Mathis by far has shown the most development and consistency but even after two subpar games we had posters declaring he wouldnt start next year and others have higher ceiling.....

just slow down everyone, feel good about what is going on. Be hopeful that guys like Caleb and Myles and Ron Jr can have as many great productive games as possible but also keep in my mind the limitations that all have right now as inexperienced players.
 
I have been down on Geo based primarily at his poor shooting. Caleb has had a small sample size, but lately he has been putting the ball in the basket lately. That should not be underappreciated.

If you are to tell me Caleb will shot 38%+ from 3 and 45%+ from 2 AND not turn the ball over too much AND not be a liability on defense then there are plenty of minutes available. He will help us if he does this.

I need a bigger sample size with all of our players to get a feel of what they can really do. NJH made a post of some long length of time needed and I find myself agreeing.

The only constants for me right now is that Montez Mathis has the tools to be a disrupting force on the defensive end and has the ability to get to the rim offensively. I don't know how much he can harness the raw ability in to winning games, but he has something that no one on this roster has right now.

I know Eugene can be counted on to rebound, play good interior defense and is an offensive asset in the high and low post.

The rest I really don't have a definitive feel for. I know that on this roster Geo Baker is our most important player because he is the only primary ball handler that can be trusted for long stints of time. On a roster that has more ball handlers I am not sure where he fits. I tend to think with less responsibilities he is a 30 MPG as a starting 2 guard, but I need to see that he is a better shooter than the numbers state. I also think it isnt a given that he wont still be the "1" next year.

I
 
Caleb had a breakout night, and hopefully that helps boost his confidence and gives him more tape to look at in practice. Lots of upside for him, and hopefully he continues to improve.

There are definitely areas that still need work. He turns the ball over more often than anyone else on the team, has more turnovers than assists, and fouls more per minute than any of our other primary guards (Baker, Mathis, Kiss). All things you'd expect of a freshman, which should get cleaned up as he gets more reps.

Great to see his performance, and look forward to more from him. Lots of talent in the backcourt as we head into next year.
 
Let’s not be blind. We have a 13 game sample size against the top half of the Big 10. It is very clear to me that all 4 freshman have gotten better from beginning to now and playing with the most confidence they have had all year. Montez and Ron are already starters and playing minutes. Myles has become Coach’s go to big man ahead of Carter and along with Shaquille Doorson are giving us legimitate offense. Their defense needs to improve as well as their blocked shots numbers. Caleb has shown the ability to handle , much better than earlier in the year (confidence thing), has become our best 3 point shooter, one of the best passers, very decent defender, and can rebound. I fully expect these 4 freshman to increase their playing time and impact these next 7 games as well as the Big 10 tourney. I think the team now thinks they should win every game they play , which has not been the case for a Rutgers team in forever. Confidence is high, and if we can get the turnovers reduced, make a few more bunnies and get someone else like Ron and Geo to just shoot 33% from three we will have a lot of success and get to 500 or above .
 
  • Like
Reactions: Scangg and BillyC80
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT