And yet he kept doing it... I seriously hope coaches corrects this.
Clearly, we don’t have a true, center presence
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Yeah because if you don't do something you never get better at it. He's worked hard over the summer to develop his game further. His shot (including FTs) looks much better.
And it was a charity game. You saw some things last night that I doubt they do during the regular season with some of the passes, etc.
1. There is nothing you can tell about anything from an exhibition that bad no regular rotations.
2. I will say I haven’t seen an RU center make a post move like Sommerville made on that turn around jumper like EVER. Thing of beauty.
2. I will say I haven’t seen an RU center make a post move like Sommerville made on that turn around jumper like EVER. Thing of beauty.
I hope your right.
But we literally started the game with two Davis reckless drives into traffic.
Right where we left off last season.
This works both ways. We don't really know what the actual rotation and minutes distribution will be. For instance, is Derkack really going to play 30 minutes a game and Martini only 11? Also, JWill only 16 minutes. My best guess is that he gave JDavis and Derkack extended minutes to see what they look like in the team dynamic. Also guessing that Martini will get more minutes at Center when real games start.
That was my pre pre pre season prediction.
If we dont end up having good options at the 5 why not put your best 5 players on the floor.
Definitely not ideal. Not something Ace the NBA player wants to be doing. Also he would get banged up a little. He is our shot blocker though.
No matter what we do at the 5 EVERYONE 1 thru 5 needs to help out on the defnesive glass. Ace and Dylan are going to need to get 10 defensive rebounds per game at least and not 6.
Martini is undersized and is not a shot blocker and in his career hasnt been a good defensive rebounder (statistically).
I have seen a grand total of 35 or so game minutes this year, what i saw last year, and statistics. I still think Ogobole is the best option at the 5. Now i am definitely concerned.
I only saw 17 mins of highlights on YouTube and not the game but the highlights made it seem like we dominated until the last 5 mins of the game. That looked like when Dylan got his 4th foul and the wheels came off. Especially on being able to make shots and rebound.
Pretty much. Towards the end of the game Harper got caught defending in the paint a lot which was not ideal because he would sort of let guys just go up for a layup (understandably so because he didn't want to foul out)
When you look at our points scored (don't have possession numbers) this is not a game to focus on offensive problems.
With that being said.....
I am wondering aloud....what kind of roles does a JWill have on a team that really isn't looking for a leader with the ball in his hands. Dercack and JaMike are also similar in that they are combo guards that really aren't good (call a spade a spade, they are bad) perimeter shooters. We have a lot of pieces, but how are they going to fit.
With that being said.....
I am wondering aloud....what kind of roles does a JWill have on a team that really isn't looking for a leader with the ball in his hands. Dercack and JaMike are also similar in that they are combo guards that really aren't good (call a spade a spade, they are bad) perimeter shooters. We have a lot of pieces, but how are they going to fit.
Jwill can come off the bench and play ball dominant point guard w Ace and Harper off the floor.
Jmike can not play on this team. Need to see more from Dercack but might end up sitting if Acuff gets healthy and right.
Clearly should not be starting.
Early games it won’t matter because we have to much talent.
Pike has to be smart and not play favorites
I would agree that both jWill and JMike shouldn't be starting.
Unfortunately we have to worry about defense.
JaMike can play 25 MPG in my book, but he needs to not look like Simpson putting his head down and driving in to the lane. That can NOT happen.
I’m
On defense without a shot blocker Jmike will get destroyed in the block and guys taking him to the rim (see last night). No doubt he is an high energy good perimeter defender but huge problem on offense. He’s not a power 5 guard but love his attitude for the team.
Smart coaches will run zone against us to slow Dylan and Ace. Allow JMike and JWill open looks. Have to put shooters around the scorers. Points and assists will go up and yes we will sacrifice on our defense.
Pike get it right evolve or die(figuratively)
Can’t shoot all teams will leave him open and double Ace and Dylan like last night. Too small to drive, can’t create a shot and can not shoot.
On defense without a shot blocker Jmike will get destroyed in the block and guys taking him to the rim (see last night). No doubt he is an high energy good perimeter defender but huge problem on offense. He’s not a power 5 guard but love his attitude for the team.
Smart coaches will run zone against us to slow Dylan and Ace. Allow JMike and JWill open looks. Have to put shooters around the scorers. Points and assists will go up and yes we will sacrifice on our defense.
Pike get it right evolve or die(figuratively)
Interesting and not saying you’re wrong . However, why not run zone against us to neutralize Ace and Dylan driving? Force others to make outside shots?
Cliff doesn’t have anywhere near the offensive talent of Ejiofor.
Only 1 game as a sample size....I didn't see a lot of Ace finishing at the rim. Seems like he likes to settle for a fade away or a perimeter shot.
As far as Dylan.....I still need to see more of what the success rate is when Dylan gets to the paint. He does show the ability to pass off the bounce and he did finish and has the size. This is 2024 and it is a game of 3 pointers. I think the line needs to be guarded and I have to trust my interior players to make the right rotations in a timely matter and see what happens from there.
JWill is a backup lead guard on this team. The sooner Pike acknowledges this the better - he can’t play favorites this season. JWill’s foot speed defensively is going to be a problem this season in his current role and his offensive set isn’t needed with Dylan and Ace on the floor.
JMike is this teams Montez Mathis - lockdown guard defender, will have hot and cold stretches offensively. He will probably be the X factor in some wins and the reason for some losses.
Derkack is similar - I think Pike was testing to see if he could be the backup PG last night and the answer is no. He seemed scared to dribble with his left hand and had a bunch of turnovers and drives into traffic where he created kick outs but didn’t find them.
JMike is this teams Montez Mathis - lockdown guard defender, will have hot and cold stretches offensively. He will probably be the X factor in some wins and the reason for some losses.
Derkack is similar - I think Pike was testing to see if he could be the backup PG last night and the answer is no. He seemed scared to dribble with his left hand and had a bunch of turnovers and drives into traffic where he created kick outs but didn’t find them.
St. John’s defensive game plan was entirely focused on Ace and Dylan. Every time Ace got the ball anywhere below the 3 point line, St. John’s immediately hard doubled. Ace seemed a little caught off guard by it and didn’t always do the right thing, sometimes he should have passed out quicker and also should have split the defenders and gone to the basket, but they also fouled him a lot and were putting him on the line. Every time Dylan drove, St. John’s collapsed three players in the lane. If other teams play the same way, there will be a ton of open shots available for everyone else. Even with all that defensive focus, they scored 27 and 20 respectively, and St. John’s is bigger and more athletic than most of the teams we will see this year.
Cliff just needs to get the ball within 5 feet of the rim and then use his quickness and long arms for the dunk. Easy points for him against Ogbole.
Martini picked up two quick fouls early in the first half and sat as a result. Otherwise he would have played more.
The game fell apart mid 2nd half. They started taking a few 3 point shots and missing and St. John’s converted a lot of those misses into baskets and chipped away at the lead.
Also, 21 offensive rebounds is not acceptable. That was another factor that allowed St. John’s to stay in the game.
Pikiell reassured us all that E was going to be a difference maker and yeah, just like a lot of his coach speak, it isn't realistic and it does not seem like he will be impactful.
Rebounding will have to start being by committee. BIG has a lot of good centers, and right now I am not sure how the team will match up.
Rebounding will have to start being by committee. BIG has a lot of good centers, and right now I am not sure how the team will match up.
Remember the Final Four year, we started the season with Mike Palko as the starting center. Then this freshman kid named James Bailey got most of the minutes going forward with Palko getting very limited minutes off the bench most of the rest of the way. And Bailey wasnt the player he would become in later seasons, but he gave us what we needed from that position with guys like Sellers and Dabney leading the way. I can see a parallel to that here.
Ace and Dylan won't both be off the floor for basically any minutes all season. It wouldn't make any sense for Pike to sub them both out at the same time. JWill should be in if Dylan is out
If teams play zone, Hayes and Martini will be in the game to bust it
Ace needs to figure out how to attack the rim and get some easy buckets
I don't think you're understanding how players develop. It all happens in the magical offseason. That's when unseen practices and the occasional team-released video offer important opportunities for fans to muse into existence a fantasy story of improvement and development. As the season progresses? C'mon. Games aren't off-season practices and drills. What opportunities could games offer to develop?
Og will get probably 22-25 minutes at the 5 a game. EDIT - his minutes may reduce depending on if/how Lathan is able to play defense with effectiveness. Martini will definitely play more than 11 minutes a game that he was in for St. Johns. Just a guess that Pike will pair Martini and Ace in a 4-5 mix/switch. Also guessing that with the exception of Ace & Dylan - Pike will situationally flex the lineup game to game.
Yet there are people still saying it was time for Cliff to move on. Some people have no clue.
Pike's program is built on defense. Every time we lose our top perimeter defenders our defense barely misses a beat. Length has been a big piece. Culture is definitely a big piece. The one constant has always been a shot blocking 5.
Last night was 1 game, but it just smacked me in the face how important the shot blocking 5 was.
Cliff definitely was frustrating at times on offense and you know if he stayed he wouldn't have liked a reduced role. There is no doubting in my mind how crucial him and Myles has been to our D.
I thought coming in to the season a Top 40 defense was likely even without him. I still don't want to take one game and change my thinking. Last night defintely had me worried about our defense in 2024-25. I believe 1 of 2 things has to happen.
1. Ogobole has to figure it out
2. Ace has to sacrifice for the team and be the defensive 5 and play D on the interior and play against guy that outweigh him by 70-100 pounds
No matter what happens Dylan and Ace have to buy in and attack the defensive glass AND Pike has to keep their minutes manageable.
Teams don’t stop practicing when the season starts. They’ll also be watching game film and getting instruction from coaches in-between games.
Based on watching the exhibition game I would be worried playing future teams that ran a similar St.Johns offense with player and ball movement that left wide open lanes for dribble drives to the basket or passes to the corners for open 3 point shots.Rutgers defenders failed to switch defensive assignments to stop the weave offense.Uconn runs a similar offense that is hard to defend.B1G Ten teams not so much with the traditional post player setting screens at the top of the key for guards to shoot 3 pointers or drives to the basket.
Not sure if you were at the game. I did not see Shot Blocking as the problem on D last night. The interior D on initial drives was actually OK. The issue was allowing too many easy 2nd and 3rd chance points off of misses. Not sure if this was Og's positioning issue or lack of rebounding support/blocking out by other players (or maybe both). Film for Pike will tell the story and hopefully he will address & correct with the team for future games.
Wait a second. Are you saying that the most significant development, practice, and honing of skills happens during the season? C'mon.
We did dominate. St. John’s had their starters in the whole second half and after the first 7 minutes we dominated the game. They couldn’t handle us offensively. They only had an early lead because of offensive rebounding put backs. But the great news is our great freshman outplayed the older St. John’s starters for almost 30 minutes. Then Dylan got in foul trouble and then one shot and done or turnover and done and their big played great and ate. I am not concerned one bit about the final score or how we blew a comfortable lead on an exhibition game.
The concerning part is the rebounding or lack thereof. Big E wasted space last night defensively , offensively , not converting 2-3 times , and rebounding. Our guards surprising did not rebound at all nor did ACE. That is correction number #1. It was obvious from Pike ‘s post game presser that he hardly coached this game and let them have fun , ran almost no plays and ran high puck and roll with Dylan and Ace all night. So not a regular game at all. Pike also didn’t get everyone involved , did not play Grant and Dorsch and very suprised about Grant , since I saw him in practice 2 times and he is going help this team. Also , suprised Latham saw so little time with Big E struggling but again an exhibition. PJ not being on the floor enough in the second half was again because it was an exhibition. Pike was rewarding JMike and Jeremiah , who have been real good in practice and especially JMike who has made big strides ( could not tell yesterday with his 2-3 drives into the trees) but that was what Pike seemed to do.
Jordan , Pj , Martini, Grant and Latham , who were so little of last night except for PJ in the first half , will be big contributors to our team. Better Team defense in the paint and all 5 guys rebounding will improve the negatives we saw last night.
We also saw 2 NBA talents , something that has not been said around here in too damn long. The runs and incredible spurts this team will go on this year gives us a real chance to be there at the end and definitely contend for the BiG 10 championship .
Folks it was an exhibition. Glass is half full.
Our center is big and strong but doesn't go up and attack the glass. That part I don't understand as he doesn't have much basketball skills but with his frame he should be a strong rebounder.
JMike has worked on his shooting hard over the summer and from watching 2 practices he is shooting better . He hit a nice corner shot last night. What he has to stop doing is driving into trees !!!! His shot is much improved and you will see it in games. He is not a knock down shoote but improved. He did not play smart last night v
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