Eddie has to loosen the reins

[goru7]

Unfortunately,I have seen the last 3 home games against Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue and have come to the conclusion that Eddie has to loosen his reins on this team. Having 28 points in 28 minutes is not my idea of watchable basketball. The film is out and our half court sets are not working and our offense looks forced not fluid. Eddie has to let our team go up and down where Mack, Daniels and Étou are more comfortable and can get up better shots than we are taking in the half court pseudo- Princeton offense. Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State is an Nba Coach like Eddie and his team goes up and down and plays a beautiful brand of basketball and the players shoot threes in transition and on the run. Their defense sucks but their offense is better. It is clear that Eddie is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and the players he has do not have the IQ or the focus or the discipline to run the offense plus they re better in transition. If he can somehow get them to play transition defense where they appear lost and he can have Kadeem run back and actually guard his man so there are no open shooters we will score more and the product would at least be watchable.
He also could go Zone once in a while since our guards cannot defend dribble penetration and we give up so many open threes defensively that it is laughable. I think our talent is better than they are playing like robots, uncomfortably and not to their strengths and Eddie has to change something. The last 5-6 games especially at the Rac have been torture. Eddie please change something, Mack and sometimes Jack are not even close to the players they were last year and if they were we would not have the current 9 game losing streak.

 

[Aggs]

We don't have the shooters or athletes like Iowa State. I agree we look better at a faster pace - think Maryland game - and frankly the half-court stuff is a disaster, but we still manage to mess up spacing on fastbreaks and other things like finishing at the rim or having the shooters to spread the floor.

This post was edited on 2/13 6:11 PM by Aggs

 

[bac2therac]

The half court is a disaster but so is transition...eddie needs to find ways to tweak the offense...this is not the nba..the shtick of having the players figure it out for themselves is an epic fail

 

[goru7]

Aggs,, they will get better the more they do it. Spacing has to be coached. You cannot tell me one player on this team that is playing to their strengths, not ONE. Scoring 50 points a game is Neanderthal !

 

[PatrickRU92]

Iowa state is awesome and everyone on the team can shoot the ball.

Offense wins championships.

 

[Aggs]

Originally posted by goru7:
You cannot tell me one player on this team that is playing to their strengths, not ONE.

You're not making me feel any better

 

[goru7]

Patrick, I know. You are in California and it looks brutal on Tv, but at center court with the Rac as a morgue it is worse. Although the crowd was smaller for Purdue the team gave them nothing to cheer about until 4 minutes were left. it has been brutal. Eddie has succeeded in making Mack look bad or ordinary and not reaching double figures in 2 of the last 3 home games. His lack of emphasis on defense or transition offense or defense is killing this team. I agree we are not as talented as the top of the conference but any team with Mack and Jack should never ever lose 9 in a row. The kids have lost all confidence and you cannot shoot if you have no confidence. The number of missed layups and foul shots have nothing to do with talent it has to do with confidence and focus. The players have neither now. So So depressing!, especially since we have shown we can play with some of the better teams in the country and win and now we are a shell of what we were at the start of the New Year!

 

[higgins3]

The spacing has been fine. Good spacing but not enough players who can penetrate gaps and use the spacing to their advantage.

We have good guards, but sometimes they don't realize the options they have when they drive.

 

[Aggs]

Eddie is taking a zen-like approach with the players, making it a positive work environment, but what are the season ticket holders getting in return?

How do you explain a losing streak as long as Fred Hill Jr. , or 14-minute field goal droughts, or the fact Purdue fans were audibly laughing at Rutgers performance at the game last night?

No one said it was going to be easy but games like last night are not helping the program move forward, in my opinion.

It's just hard to stay positive. Eddie's doing an admirable job with the locker room as noted, but if the fans don't believe in the program then it's not going to matter.

This post was edited on 2/13 6:48 PM by Aggs

 

[bac2therac]

Originally posted by Aggs:
Eddie is taking a zen-like approach with the players, making it a positive work environment, but what are the season ticket holders getting in return?

How do you explain a losing streak as long as Fred Hill Jr. , or 14-minute field goal droughts, or the fact Purdue fans were audibly laughing at Rutgers performance at the game last night?

No one said it was going to be easy but games like last night are not helping the program move forward, in my opinion.

It's just hard to stay positive. Eddie's doing an admirable job with the locker room as noted, but if the fans don't believe in the program then it's not going to matter.



This post was edited on 2/13 6:48 PM by Aggs

he is writing his obituary as coach handling this team with kid gloves. Fred Hill was as bad as a coach as you could find but his teams did find offense at times, I mean this team plays a style of offense only a mother could love. The 14 minute drought is unheard of but not surprising because we can probably find at least 6 other games this year where RU was in a 8-10 minute drought with just a fg or two

Its one thing if this was happening against just Big 10 schools but it happened in the non conference slate too.....40-11 run by Sacred Heart anyone? I mean I just cannot forget something like that was allowed.

Right now most fans are taking the approach of not really saying whats on their minds and want to give Eddie as much time. They are entitled to their opinion for sure. There is a segment that's pretty vocally deciding already that they see little to get behind. Give us a recruits, give us improvement. Wisconsin has faded from memory now, unfortunately it meant diddly squat but will be talked up when the pundits talk about Wisky getting a one seed. What is perplexing is the team actually puts out better performances on the road than at home, given the hometown fans basically nothing to enjoy. There was no RU chant two of the last 3 games at the RAC and the students have given up after showing for two games.

at Michigan represents the only real chance to win a game as they are sputtering but past history shows playing Rutgers is the tonic for all your ills.

 

[78CollegeAve]

Eddie would make a helluva tee ball coach. I don't see better results at a higher tempo. No depth, limited ballhandlers. Lose 60-50 or 95-70. What's the diff?

 

[goru7]

The difference is the games become enjoyable to watch again..Right now struggling to score 50 points a game is not basketball it is torture to watch. Maybe just maybe Daniels athleticism shows through and Mack and even Mike Williams hit wide open threes in rhythm and we get a chance to upset teams.. The only reason we upset Wisconsin is that we hit enough shots to get to 67. If we score 50 we lose.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Having Jack catching and dribbling up top is a recipe for disaster. I would rather see high screens for Daniels and Williams. I also don't think the spacing is great at least from what I've seen. We also don't work very hard to get the ball in the paint wchich would help the shooters square up. one of the reasons the shooting is so horrible is guys are not square and/or drifting. We also take quick jumpers from guys who cant even make free throws. all in all no-one seems to have a sense for what others can do at least reasonably well offensively as there is almost no noticeable effort to put people in good situations.

 

[Mr Magoo]

No doubt the offense is a mess and the more deliberate that we run it, the worse we look. A lot of this is due to the fact that this team is so fundamentally unsound. They do see the court, they don't see players jumping the passing lanes and rarely do even open players catch the ball in position to shoot it. Watch how often they are catching the ball with one hand, slightly behind them, or off of their shoe tops. It looks like a bad AAU team.

 

[billhobo]

Eddie does NOT make Mack look bad. Being 5-foot-9 in a league where every shooting guard's about a half-foot taller and as athletic has more to do with it. Jack, on the other hand, I think floats to much; sometimes there, sometimes somewhere else.

The more-disappointing, and troubling, thing for me to watch is a guy like Williams, who has zero confidence. It doesn't augur well for the future.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

Originally posted by bethlehemfan:
Having Jack catching and dribbling up top is a recipe for disaster. I would rather see high screens for Daniels and Williams. I also don't think the spacing is great at least from what I've seen. We also don't work very hard to get the ball in the paint wchich would help the shooters square up. one of the reasons the shooting is so horrible is guys are not square and/or drifting. We also take quick jumpers from guys who cant even make free throws. all in all no-one seems to have a sense for what others can do at least reasonably well offensively as there is almost no noticeable effort to put people in good situations.

Anybody notice where Jack was playing both ends during that final productive stretch? As the announcers (once again) pointed out he is best when he starts inside and then takes his game outside.

As for D...he was back to playing the 5 inside and was EXTREMELY active defending the paintand did a great job deneying the ball. I made the point early in the season that not having him in there was a big change for the worse (IMO).. effected his bounds and blocks..and his D is not good away from the basket.

Having him back inside would open up the outside...to me the biggest miss of the season with regard to game plan and coaching.

 

[LotusAggressor]

Loosening the reins means nothing if the players you have can't defend, rebound, pass, run a half court offense, or shoot.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[RUAEPI]

Everyone except delusional fans on this board knew this was going to happen this year. And guess what...it may happen again next year too.

Jordan has made it pretty clear that he wants to run, but he doesn't have the horses. This team cannot control the ball and TO's are our worst nightmare. Running just makes bad decision even worse.



This post was edited on 2/15 1:21 PM by RUAEPI

 

[goru7]

Ruaepi, if you think running will make things worse then u are not watching this team. With the exception of one half of basketball against Wisconsin, this offense at home at the Rac has been torture. The individual talent of each player is not being utilized in this system. Taller teams are taking Mack out of the half court offense but in transition he puts up 20 a game not less than double figures like he has in 2 of the last 3 games. Our biggest problem in transition is transition defense which is non- existent , which can be fixed with good coaching. Jack just roams after a made or missed basket any 9-10 times his man is open and the rest of the guys have to scramble and it is a cluster-f---! Fix and demand getting back and we will look better. We cannot win scoring 50 points a game but we have a chance scoring 65-70. Losing is hard enough but ugly basketball makes it worse!

 

[higgins3]

Anybody notice where Jack was playing both ends during that final productive stretch? As the announcers (once again) pointed out he is best when he starts inside and then takes his game outside.

As for D...he was back to playing the 5 inside and was EXTREMELY active defending the paintand did a great job deneying the ball. I made the point early in the season that not having him in there was a big change for the worse (IMO).. effected his bounds and blocks..and his D is not good away from the basket.

Having him back inside would open up the outside...to me the biggest miss of the season with regard to game plan and coaching.

1984, spot on. He gets his confidence inside, than takes that confidence in his shot to the outside. Like you said, if it's reverse it's bad.

His best games have been inside. His interior post up defense has gotten a lot better, but his transition defense and defending a 3 leaves a lot to be desired. Just looks lost and sometimes can't identify his man.

 

[RUAEPI]

Originally posted by goru7:
Ruaepi, if you think running will make things worse then u are not watching this team. With the exception of one half of basketball against Wisconsin, this offense at home at the Rac has been torture. The individual talent of each player is not being utilized in this system. Taller teams are taking Mack out of the half court offense but in transition he puts up 20 a game not less than double figures like he has in 2 of the last 3 games. Our biggest problem in transition is transition defense which is non- existent , which can be fixed with good coaching. Jack just roams after a made or missed basket any 9-10 times his man is open and the rest of the guys have to scramble and it is a cluster-f---! Fix and demand getting back and we will look better. We cannot win scoring 50 points a game but we have a chance scoring 65-70. Losing is hard enough but ugly basketball makes it worse!

We can agree to disagree on this one. I think we lose either way. This team cannot win an up and down game. Don't get me wrong, I love some of the stretches that we have shown. Jordan himself said he wanted to play faster....it hasn't worked consistently. That being said, Jordan is clearly teaching towards the future.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Originally posted by RUAEPI:

Originally posted by goru7:
Ruaepi, if you think running will make things worse then u are not watching this team. With the exception of one half of basketball against Wisconsin, this offense at home at the Rac has been torture. The individual talent of each player is not being utilized in this system. Taller teams are taking Mack out of the half court offense but in transition he puts up 20 a game not less than double figures like he has in 2 of the last 3 games. Our biggest problem in transition is transition defense which is non- existent , which can be fixed with good coaching. Jack just roams after a made or missed basket any 9-10 times his man is open and the rest of the guys have to scramble and it is a cluster-f---! Fix and demand getting back and we will look better. We cannot win scoring 50 points a game but we have a chance scoring 65-70. Losing is hard enough but ugly basketball makes it worse!

We can agree to disagree on this one. I think we lose either way. This team cannot win an up and down game. Don't get me wrong, I love some of the stretches that we have shown. Jordan himself said he wanted to play faster....it hasn't worked consistently. That being said, Jordan is clearly teaching towards the future.

Give him a full roster and a few shooters than judge Jordan.

 

[goru7]

Chopping , my point is that the players will be better shooters in the open court. Once he has a full roster, I would expect him to start winning consistently. But right now not one of our players are playing to their strengths, not Mack, not Jack, not Daniels, not Williams, not Foreman, not Doorson. . When u continue to hope they will play better at this pace you might be waiting forever.