DJ Foreman

[PhilaPhans]

As I noted in another thread, he's one guy that I really don't have a grasp on in terms of his talent and productivity level.

What did everybody think of his play this year?

What do you think the strengths and weaknesses of his game are?

 

[RU82]

Good athlete. Good rebounder. Poor shooter. But he has a decent handle and isn't afraid to attack the basket where he is pretty good at finishing.

 

[RutgHoops]

Good athlete. Willing passer. Decent rebounder. Pretty good defensive player.

Needs to work really hard on his ability to finish. Wound up with too many awkward "heaves" around the basket. Too good an athlete to be not going strong into contact at the rim.

 

[MadRU]

Has to learn to play bigger with the ball. Too many times he had the ball down low when attacking the basket.

Good passer to to post, has a chance with hard work and added strength.

Will benefit going head to head with Freeman in practice.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

I like him. Hard worker. Good body. Has a nose for the ball. His passing needs to become more crisp. Too many of his passes were picked off for easy scores by opponents this season. His future is bright.

 

[shields]

Needs to get in weight room, but think he will be good.

 

[RUChoppin]

Really didn't see a lot of him this year (only was able to catch a few games on TV), but he reminded me of Salvi at points - good body, hard worker, high athleticism, plays tough defense. Would like to see him add some offensive touch to his game and be more than the spark off the bench that Salvi was.

 

[RUKeystone]

I like him. Hard worker. Good body. Has a nose for the ball. His passing needs to become more crisp. Too many of his passes were picked off for easy scores by opponents this season. His future is bright.

Agree with everything said here.

 

[scarletrat]

there is a player on Michigan State, may wear the same #, and for some reason I can't remember his name, but I wonder if Foreman could eventually be that kind of player

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

He is a very young guy. Nowhere near a finished product ..Wait for it........

 

[Scarlet Shack]

A very raw player with a lot of upside

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

Has a tremendously quick first step, but is terrible finishing at the rim. He is a natural lefty that always tries finish with his right for some reason. Needs experience. Big upside.

 

[bac2therac]

has to work at finishing and finishing strongly. Has to cut back on mental mistakes and turnovers but there is an upside here. With Freeman aboard he will have to time to develop rather than be thrown to the wolves

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

I think he will be a streaky guy this year. Flashes of playing very well and them streaks where he will struggle. Junior year he should put it all together.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

Hope to be proven wrong but I can't envision Foreman ever being a significant contributor. He lacks the size to be a four and although he's good for the baseline reserve layup move he doesn't play big at the rim. He lacks the perimeter skills to be a solid three so to me he's just a bench guy that can give you a spark and maybe be effective if we go to a pressing strategy.

 

[MADHAT1]

With Freeman on the roster, DJ can back him up and gain experience while working to improve his game.

 

[80RU]

Hope to be proven wrong but I can't envision Foreman ever being a significant contributor. He lacks the size to be a four and although he's good for the baseline reserve layup move he doesn't play big at the rim. He lacks the perimeter skills to be a solid three so to me he's just a bench guy that can give you a spark and maybe be effective if we go to a pressing strategy.

I disagree -- he is 6'8" and 230. He did miss a lot of chippies around the rim but still shot about 44%, about 3% less than Lewis. He will learn to simplify the shot around the basket and will be an efficient scorer although not a prolific one. He can hit the occasional 3 pt. shot and the disastrous FT shooting started to really improve towards the end of the season. He can score in transition better than the vast majority of the front court players we have had. He had a more solid freshman season than Kadeem or Lewis. I expect him to be a solid contributor.

 

[Scarlet Knut]

Not sure he will be a starter, but I believe he can play some significant minutes. As some have said, he is young and will grow into his role.

 

[MadRU]

Also, DJ did cause some problems at the top of the press towards the end of the season.

Long arms and athletic in the trap.

 

[SirScarlet]

Good athlete. Good rebounder. Poor shooter. But he has a decent handle and isn't afraid to attack the basket where he is pretty good at finishing.

RU82 - I cant agree with the bolded part of your post. In fact, he was really really bad at finishing this past year. He showed his athleticism by making some nice and crafty moves to the hoop, to then miss a wide open layup.

and the # of times he used his off hand to attempt the layup was maddening.

I believe these items are very fixable with practice. the raw talent is there and he is still young.

I am very excited to see this kid develop.

 

[RUChoppin]

RU82 - I cant agree with the bolded part of your post. In fact, he was really really bad at finishing this past year. He showed his athleticism by making some nice and crafty moves to the hoop, to then miss a wide open layup.

and the # of times he used his off hand to attempt the layup was maddening.

I believe these items are very fixable with practice. the raw talent is there and he is still young.

I am very excited to see this kid develop.

Agree. He seemed to have the tools in the toolbox, but didn't quite have the refined skillset yet to use them effectively on a consistent basis. I only saw him in action a few times, but I remember thinking "wow that was a nice move!... buuut, you've got to finish". Loved his energy, though - should be fun to watch, and easy to root for.

 

[NYSportsFan]

As I noted in another thread, he's one guy that I really don't have a grasp on in terms of his talent and productivity level.

What did everybody think of his play this year?

What do you think the strengths and weaknesses of his game are?

I think DJ is one of those glue guys that teams need. comes in with high energy, can rebound, ball handle a little, does the little things. like choppin just said, he's easy to root for. on a separate note, i love how eddie has re-tooled this roster in 5 months. it will be interesting to see how this team meshes in the coming months and like someone mentioned in another thread, if they maybe do an overseas trip to get the team to really gel

 

[higgins3]

Remember he only averaged 15. minutes a game. I think he will provide great competition and give us a good return this year. He had some good games this year, just needs more minutes. like you guys mentioned, has to finish around the basket. If he did that, he would've had 14 pt games in some games. Needs more size to be a four. Big fan though. I like hs athleticism and willing to drive to basket hard. Great first step.

 

[willisneverrana43]

Remember he only averaged 15. minutes a game. I think he will provide great competition and give us a good return this year. He had some good games this year, just needs more minutes. like you guys mentioned, has to finish around the basket. If he did that, he would've had 14 pt games in some games. Needs more size to be a four. Big fan though. I like hs athleticism and willing to drive to basket hard. Great first step.

He played a good bit last year and never much impressed. While it takes big men more time to develop, some never do and I'm not sure that Foreman fully fits into the big man category. My hope is that he develops into a useful role player.

 

[Rokodesh]

talented kid with a big upside. Needs to finish better at the basket but that'll come with experience from practice. Would like to see him put on another 10 pounds of muscle to be able to push some guys around the paint. Overall I think he's going to be a good player for us. I think he starts to put it together towards the end of this soph season going into JR year.

 

[knights1212]

I think DJ played very well when he got decent minutes. His foul shooting was about 27% for much of the season. Near the end of the season he began to get some more minutes. When he did I think he made like 14 of 15 foul shots and I think his free throw percentage went up to about 45%. I like that he drives hard to the basket and hustles back on offense as well as defense. He seems like a real positive player. He also plays tough defense on inbounds plays and rebounds pretty well too. He is a guy who I think has a bright future with RU. He did have some difficulty at times finishing near the rim but I think with a little more strength and experience this will improve. I think he and Deshawn Freeman can give us two good power forwards.

 

[mikefla]

Good athlete. Good rebounder. Poor shooter. But he has a decent handle and isn't afraid to attack the basket where he is pretty good at finishing.

I agree

There were games when he was the only guy attacking the basket. He can get out of control, but he had very little help late in games.

 

[linzalonic]

DJ started to break out in the last weeks of the season. The proverbial light has started to brighten for him as the game slows down for him, and as his confidence increases. Last season he was often tentative, wild, unsure of what to do or how to finish a play.

He has repeatedly shown natural ability to drive to the hoop & to look for open teammates. Anyone critiquing his trouble finishing & his occasionally-intercepted passes should remember that he was a rather green freshman. And whoever said above that he's a poor shooter has not seen him in practice nor did they watch the final stretch of B1G games, when his FT & FG shooting was vastly improved (due to confidence IMO).

I'd like to see better defense & rebounding, but the effort is there. He'll improve.

Bonus points for his mini-fro & red bandana look last year - total doppleganger for Woodstock-era Jimi Hendrix.