Fatal flaw and other dribbles

[bac2therac]

Its shooting. ...I swear I have posted this same title a few times during previous 3 regimes, it applies to this team as well. They cannot shoot. We knew that before. We all hoped it could get better but reality is this is what we have. They cannot shoot 3s and they have no inside presence to generate any offense. Its a team full of complimentary players where only there may be 3 options for offense and much of it comes from circus and luck shots.

This was no more evident than tonight. Despite getting out to a 9 point lead and still up at half, I told several people I would be surprised at a win tonight given the way the offense was struggling and that Northwestern would not play that bad so long. Give major credit to Rutgers D in really harrassing Northwestern in the first half and limited them to 23 and shutting down McIntosh. It allowed RU a chance at this game but it was evident from the dreadful half court offense by RU that it was fools gold. RU made some foul shots and some circus shots in the first half and we saw in the 2nd, they could do virtually nothing, scoring only 11 points in a 11 minutes span.

And while RU played great D, clearly Northwestern laid an egg in that first half as well, RU will even average shooting is up double digits. Even when their opponent had an off night, RU was still overmatched because of their nonexistant shooting. It is what it is, it isnt going to change. Its going to be impossible to win any league games with an offense like this, Northwestern wasnt a bad matchup for RU because the pace would be slower, against some other schools, I cant see how RU can generate enough offense to win except for a one off game where everything clicks.

The big positive to take tonight is that this team will bring defense and effort to the table night in and out. Last year RU lost to Northwestern by 39, tonight by 9. Yes more progress. Lets note Northwestern is a very well coached team who is going to be a NCAA at large contender. There is certainly no shame in losing to them tonight. The first steps toward building a foundation you can see but at this point I dont think we can expect anything else given how overmatched we are in talent on the shooting end. I wouldnt mind following the Collins trajectory with his program, shows how hard you have to work to move up. Northwestern is on the cusp of getting there.

Its going to be up to Pikiell and staff to recruit. Its a broken record. And I totally disagree with some who say we are just a couple players away...we need several shooters and legit big men brought into our program. Each league game I think brings us back to the reality of the situation the hoops program sits in. It has a long way to go and the fans once again must be patient for several more years.

 

[mikefla]

good post BAC

I also post the same thing after every game
Thiam, Doorson, Laurent, SA, Johnson, Williams + CJ .7 players ! 23pts COMBINED
together that doesnt equal ONE good offensive player

Thank God for these two
Sanders.........18pts..............3 REBs....4 assts 1steal .....1 block
Freeman........12pts............15 REBs....2 assts 2steals... 1 block...& the games ONLY 3 pointer

 

[greenknight]

Defense A- offense....well offensive
Between Corey & Nigel 2 of the most un-smart players I have ever seen
They turn the ball over more times on just Stupid Sloppy passes or throwing up plain out of control forced shots that have 95% chance of being blocked by 2-3 separate defenders
Gettys is good getting O rebounds but cannot finish a simple put back. He needs to start playing like he is 7FT tall and not like he's 6FT. I think he would be a pretty dam good ball player if he stopped growing at about 6'6" -6'8" I bet if they let him shoot from 3pt land would probably be better than anyone on team. He has a soft shot and good stroke.
Forget foul shooting this team sucks. More emphasis needs to be put on foul shooting but I guess when you can't shoot beyond 10ft during game it's too much to ask for them to shoot from 15Ft. If I'm coaching this team would be the best conditioned
team in the world...there would be a lot of running after missed foul shots in practice

Still can't figure out how you can be a D1 basketball player on full scholarship and you cannot shoot from 3 Pt land. The worst player on a HS team can knock them down from 3pt land

 

[78CollegeAve]

PIkiell's talent shortage in two words -- Nigel Johnson. Another transfer who lit it up in practice while he was sitting out ... because he was running against the Rutgers defense-less guards. Where are the enablers who said he was B1G, would be a difference maker and could play the 2? The last of EJ's frauds. Replace him with a kid that can shoot and the team's effort would win a few games in the B1G.

 

[shields]

Thiam is terrible, and BAC remember Corey did not play last year vs Northwestern as Dadika and the other walk-on played.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Superb D in the 1st 18 minutes, below average last 22 minutes. Terrible job on defensive backboards and great job on offensive backboard. Amazing 1st half for Freeman and pedestrian 2nd half. Spectacular job by Johnson on the defensive end...really spectacular, but gruesome on O.

My confidence that a foundation being built is wavering slightly. Few guys on the bench slouching and disinterested. Another really bad defensive game by our best player.

Tough loss in my eyes. You can't win in college basketball without good guard play and making 3s. Right now our guards have potential, but we can't shoot. It's going to be real tough to play D for all 40 to keep opponents in low 60s, especially on the road.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

PIkiell's talent shortage in two words -- Nigel Johnson. Another transfer who lit it up in practice while he was sitting out ... because he was running against the Rutgers defense-less guards. Where are the enablers who said he was B1G, would be a difference maker and could play the 2? The last of EJ's frauds. Replace him with a kid that can shoot and the team's effort would win a few games in the

Don't question johnsons effort? You apparently weren't paying attention when Northwestern had the ball.

 

[mrslate]

My take. Lack of ability to hit threes is killing this team. It is part of the game - like rebounding - and if you can't do it, you can't win.
I like Williams well enough, but when he is off, he can cost you games, as he probably did last night.
Gettys is totally misused. He has skills, but the team does not seem to utilize them. I think this is the biggest mistake Coach has made this year.
Rutgers has too many players who provide absolutely nothing on offense, not even energy. It is probably a miracle that this team is even competitive.

 

[shields]

Thiam, Laurent, Omoruyi can't shoot the ball. Thiam I hope gets better.

 

[RUChoppin]

I'm really not sure what's going on with Thiam.

Over his first 11 games, he averaged 20.6 min/game, 5.8 pts, 1.8 rbs and was shooting 22-59 overall (.373) and 18/51 from three (.353). His shortest stint were two 13 minute outings against Drexel and Morgan St.

Since then,he's been almost invisible. 9.5 min/game (not counting the game he missed due to illness), 1.2 pts, 0.8 rbs and is shooting 2-17 (.118) overall and 1-9 from three (also .111) . He's had four games under 10 min, and the two longer outings of 17 min yielded just 2 points each. Yesterday he played just 5 minutes and didn't take a shot.

Wonder if he's dealing with anything off the court that's distracting him.

 

[RUJMM78]

Coach Pikiell spelled out the problem "can't win if you can't score".Rehashing individual games all comes back to a team of complimentary type players who can't score.More importantly it shows that game coaching can't overcome the absence of talent.Recruiting is far more important because that brings in the players that are on the court.In this game Rutgers had at least 2-3 players on the court all the time that contributed very little on offense which clearly makes the opponents job far easier on defense.
Rutgers played very hard defensively for about 30 minutes which is the only reason the game was close.As Northwestern started to pull away in the last 10 minutes the Rutgers defense became tired and demoralized because of the lack of offense.Northwestern kept getting second/third possessions after missed shots and were outstanding making foul shots.In other words they did what was necessary to win a ugly game while Rutgers floundered with atrocious shooting.This was another winnable game that Rutgers let get away because the offense isn't Big Ten comparable to the opposition.

Fans really need to focus on next season because important changes in the squad must be made.Some scholarship players must be encouraged to transfer to a lower level of competition where they hopefully can be successful.Kicking the can down the road with basically the same squad next season will only produce more disappointing league results.Scholarships are precious and must be used to bring in players that are more talented than what is here now.The coaching staff must shake up the lethargy and recruit players that are difference makers .There is no other way out to gain any relevance in the B1G.Winning matters and status quo so called improvement will continue to fail.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I'm really not sure what's going on with Thiam.

Over his first 11 games, he averaged 20.6 min/game, 5.8 pts, 1.8 rbs and was shooting 22-59 overall (.373) and 18/51 from three (.353). His shortest stint were two 13 minute outings against Drexel and Morgan St.

Since then,he's been almost invisible. 9.5 min/game (not counting the game he missed due to illness), 1.2 pts, 0.8 rbs and is shooting 2-17 (.118) overall and 1-9 from three (also .111) . He's had four games under 10 min, and the two longer outings of 17 min yielded just 2 points each. Yesterday he played just 5 minutes and didn't take a shot.

Wonder if he's dealing with anything off the court that's distracting him.

It's the opponent in the court. He has had multiple 3 point shots blocked. He knows he has to be WIDE open to shoot. Tough to shoot with an internal clock going off wondering if you have enough time. Shooting isn't supposed to be that way.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Teams are scouting now and taking away the strengths of Thiam and Mike Williams and it will be up to Nigel Johnson and Corey to take and make a couple of 3's, in order to free up their drives and scores.

I thought Nigel's defense on McIntosh was excellent, but regarding the potential "fraying" based on what the bench looks like, it's not 5-6 games in a row without success and that confidence being built in the first two months, is obviously not going to be the same.

The shots are there in the offense, but the players are not willing/capable/looking to take them.....that's the baseline jumper for Eugene, Laurent and the intermediate jumper between 15-18 feet. There is a "next step", which is player development vs the trap of trying to generate wins with 2.5 to 3 offensive players.

Scouting is the #1 factor that impacts a teams ability to score. If we are fair about what basketball is, it comes down to how many players can handle the basketball, without turning it over moreso than how many shooters you have.

There are players that need to "play more and through mistakes", but they have to go through these mistakes during this season, so they can improve.....that means an extra turnover or two via entry passes by Eugene to the post, or trying to drive/create and getting his shot blocked etc.

If you subtract Sanders ability to generate offense off the bounce, there isn't much else off the dribble beyond Johnson/Williams and Eugene.

The key is allowing Eugene to develop the rest of these conference games....he appears to be the only viable upside/size/strength person that can somewhat generate his own space/draw contact and score. And he is a far from a finished product that is not an elite B1G player, but is the one piece that I can see getting better with more playing time.

Thiam is really that other valuable piece, but I don't see his footspeed or strength allowing him to generate his own offense on his own....he is a catch and shoot option right now and if scouted by the opponent, that aspect is taken away......and there isn't enough confidence in his game to freewheel and attempt to score one on one, when the offense breaks down.

This is the max upside of where RU is today, but Nigel is 2-14 from the field.....if he's 4-14, the game likely feels a little different.....if he's 5-14, RU is in a nail-biter.....Nigel will play better than he did tonight, I don't think 2-14 is a place we'll see him most of the season.

RU for this year and next are only going to thrive, when Sanders and Johnson and Williams can generate 50 points combined....Scouting is going to attempt to keep that number at 40 or less....Can Eugene and Freeman continue to get to a potential 20 points and 20 rebounds combined to get this roster better..???......I don't see any way RU can win, without points from the SF spot.

This roster would look completely transformed with a 5th year SF that is 6'7" with decent shooting range and a complimentary 12-18 minutes a game from Geo Baker as a threat to potentially score at guard. If you have a faster defensive rotation guy to replace Gettys, that likely takes another 3-5 points away from the opponent as well.....(perhaps Doucoure's footspeed is that next option).

The gaps are fixable as we move into next year.....developing Eugene/Laurent or Thiam is what we need to force feed this year....

 

[APKnight]

The game stats were fairly close. NW hit 2 more 3's and 3 more foul shots than us. That was the difference. We didn't get many open 3's. I agree with Coach P that we need to stop forcing it inside all the time and instead penetrate and kick it back out to an open shooter.

 

[toby83]

True that feeding Gettys back to basket in the post all game long wouldn't work...But the offense needs to do it more often. They actually doubled him when he posted with ball one time in second half...He passed it out and there was some ball movement and space.

 

[78CollegeAve]

Don't question johnsons effort? You apparently weren't paying attention when Northwestern had the ball.

No one is questioning anyone's effort last night. But Pikiell needs a lot more than defense out of that position. Many posters thought that Johnson would be a scorer because he had a couple ... yes, a couple ... good games at KSU and he looked so good in practices. He may be a fine young man, but he's a marginal, back-up 1 on any other B1G bottom feeder. Pikiell doesn't have much choice to use him, but to think that RU invested a 3-year scholarship to get 2 years out of him? Another just wow.

 

[GoFish2]

I'm really not sure what's going on with Thiam.

Over his first 11 games, he averaged 20.6 min/game, 5.8 pts, 1.8 rbs and was shooting 22-59 overall (.373) and 18/51 from three (.353). His shortest stint were two 13 minute outings against Drexel and Morgan St.

Since then,he's been almost invisible. 9.5 min/game (not counting the game he missed due to illness), 1.2 pts, 0.8 rbs and is shooting 2-17 (.118) overall and 1-9 from three (also .111) . He's had four games under 10 min, and the two longer outings of 17 min yielded just 2 points each. Yesterday he played just 5 minutes and didn't take a shot.

Wonder if he's dealing with anything off the court that's distracting him.

Or...the competition improved pretty drastically.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

No one is questioning anyone's effort last night. But Pikiell needs a lot more than defense out of that position. Many posters thought that Johnson would be a scorer because he had a couple ... yes, a couple ... good games at KSU and he looked so good in practices. He may be a fine young man, but he's a marginal, back-up 1 on any other B1G bottom feeder. Pikiell doesn't have much choice to use him, but to think that RU invested a 3-year scholarship to get 2 years out of him? Another just wow.

Nigel was the 2nd best player on the court last night.....wearing a red uniform

 

[bac2therac]

Coach Pikiell spelled out the problem "can't win if you can't score".Rehashing individual games all comes back to a team of complimentary type players who can't score.More importantly it shows that game coaching can't overcome the absence of talent.Recruiting is far more important because that brings in the players that are on the court.In this game Rutgers had at least 2-3 players on the court all the time that contributed very little on offense which clearly makes the opponents job far easier on defense.
Rutgers played very hard defensively for about 30 minutes which is the only reason the game was close.As Northwestern started to pull away in the last 10 minutes the Rutgers defense became tired and demoralized because of the lack of offense.Northwestern kept getting second/third possessions after missed shots and were outstanding making foul shots.In other words they did what was necessary to win a ugly game while Rutgers floundered with atrocious shooting.This was another winnable game that Rutgers let get away because the offense isn't Big Ten comparable to the opposition.

Fans really need to focus on next season because important changes in the squad must be made.Some scholarship players must be encouraged to transfer to a lower level of competition where they hopefully can be successful.Kicking the can down the road with basically the same squad next season will only produce more disappointing league results.Scholarships are precious and must be used to bring in players that are more talented than what is here now.The coaching staff must shake up the lethargy and recruit players that are difference makers .There is no other way out to gain any relevance in the B1G.Winning matters and status quo so called improvement will continue to fail.

This post should be pinned at the top of the board

 

[bac2therac]

I'm really not sure what's going on with Thiam.

Over his first 11 games, he averaged 20.6 min/game, 5.8 pts, 1.8 rbs and was shooting 22-59 overall (.373) and 18/51 from three (.353). His shortest stint were two 13 minute outings against Drexel and Morgan St.

Since then,he's been almost invisible. 9.5 min/game (not counting the game he missed due to illness), 1.2 pts, 0.8 rbs and is shooting 2-17 (.118) overall and 1-9 from three (also .111) . He's had four games under 10 min, and the two longer outings of 17 min yielded just 2 points each. Yesterday he played just 5 minutes and didn't take a shot.

Wonder if he's dealing with anything off the court that's distracting him.

Thiam, Doorson, Diallo, Eugene, and Sa giving virtually nothing and Laurent in most games dooms this team,. They have no chance to win when you have 6 players contributing nothing offensively in terms of points. I said earlier that Thiam, Sa, and Eugene had the most upside of the team and needed to be developed so I agree with NJHawk...need to see more of them playing through mistakes even if it makes the score look worse. Certain players on this team are what they are, they either arent going to get better or probably headed elsewhere after this year.

 

[PatrickRU92]

I am not down on this staff in the least. we are hampered by horrible recruiting from past regimes.

Still, and down vote me if you must (oh wait this isn't reddit), the ONE thing that really worries is why we just accepted a commitment from a guard who isn't a good shooter. Scratching my head. And PLEASE don't tell me its because we need a "true point guard". You absolutely MUST MUST MUST be able to shoot from the perimeter (and the FT line for that matter) to be an effective PG.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

If Eugene is a "poor man's" Dane Miller, then we have an option to shoot for down the road as a comparison....not as talented as Dane was athletically, but similar skill set to refer to. It's not ideal, but it is a piece that can do a lot of things well, without possessing that perimeter threat.

RU needs what NW has in Victor Law, their Top 100 4* SF.....he is by far their best player with upside, while the guards there draw the attention as scorers, Law will be piece that determines whether NW makes the dance or not....

 

[bac2therac]

I am not down on this staff in the least. we are hampered by horrible recruiting from past regimes.

Still, and down vote me if you must (oh wait this isn't reddit), the ONE thing that really worries is why we just accepted a commitment from a guard who isn't a good shooter. Scratching my head. And PLEASE don't tell me its because we need a "true point guard". You absolutely MUST MUST MUST be able to shoot from the perimeter (and the FT line for that matter) to be an effective PG.

yeah that worries me too because on already offensively challenged team you will be replacing one guard that perhaps has some offense (Mike or Nigel) for a point guard that brings zero offensive capabilities. Is the trade off going to work...and its not like he was highly sought after.

 

[bac2therac]

If Eugene is a "poor man's" Dane Miller, then we have an option to shoot for down the road as a comparison....not as talented as Dane was athletically, but similar skill set to refer to. It's not ideal, but it is a piece that can do a lot of things well, without possessing that perimeter threat.

RU needs what NW has in Victor Law, their Top 100 4* SF.....he is by far their best player with upside, while the guards there draw the attention as scorers, Law will be piece that determines whether NW makes the dance or not....

we have the big guy coming so thats great but hopefully he can reclassify and come in 2017 because to me the center spot is an ultimate disaster with whats returning.

 

[greenknight]

Thiam, Doorson, Diallo, Eugene, and Sa giving virtually nothing and Laurent in most games dooms this team,. They have no chance to win when you have 6 players contributing nothing offensively in terms of points. I said earlier that Thiam, Sa, and Eugene had the most upside of the team and needed to be developed so I agree with NJHawk...need to see more of them playing through mistakes even if it makes the score look worse. Certain players on this team are what they are, they either arent going to get better or probably headed elsewhere after this year.

None of the have any hands. Many turnovers because the cannot catch a pass
The problem with Doorson is that he plays even smaller than Gettys

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

we have the big guy coming so thats great but hopefully he can reclassify and come in 2017 because to me the center spot is an ultimate disaster with whats returning.

He's more of a thoroughbred that can erase some of the shot attempts that Diallo and Gettys cannot close ground on or elevate to defend.....but is another player that is not an offensive strength, but a valuable piece we need.

We need a 5th year SF that can extend the defense or progress from Eugene the rest of the year....

 

[NeverOddOrEven33]

The worst part of this is that we don't have any guys who are knockdown shooters coming in. Geo Baker's ceiling is maybe a shade higher than Nigel Johnson's. Doucoure is a big man which, admittedly, is a need. Souf Mensah... I'm still not entirely sure why Pike took that commitment.

 

[bac2therac]

He's more of a thoroughbred that can erase some of the shot attempts that Diallo and Gettys cannot close ground on or elevate to defend.....but is another player that is not an offensive strength, but a valuable piece we need.

We need a 5th year SF that can extend the defense or progress from Eugene the rest of the year....

spot on with that...we need a 5th year guy to be a bridge player because its the same team next year basically plus one.....this team will not learn to shoot overnight and the schedule will be tougher non conference, likely looking at another sub 500 finish.

 

[RUChoppin]

Or...the competition improved pretty drastically.

It did (and he was also 0-2 against Miami in 23 min played, too), but it seems to have affected him more than others... and Pike seems to recognize that, and has chopped his minutes.

Not sure if it's just defenses keying on him, if his confidence is shaken a bit, or if he's distracted by something off the court... or something else. Regardless of cause, he's had his name on a milk carton the last 7 games.

 

[RUChoppin]

We need a 5th year SF that can extend the defense or progress from Eugene the rest of the year....

Any "Jerome Coleman"-esque Juco or 5th year guys out there at SF that can provide immediate offensive firepower?

 

[zebnatto]

May have been mentioned above: the size of our guards factors in. In any half court set you're not gonna get many uncontested 3s with guards our size. (A 6'4" guard who rises upon his J is a different thing.) Not that we make the open ones anyway--see Corey's wide-open airball, for example.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Let's be real honest here....it is real obvious the lack of a 3 or SF or wing or whatever you want to call it has hurt us over the years. It is no coincidence, there are a finite amount of them. Plenty of undersized guards available.

If you think you will find a decent 3 as a 5th year guy you will end up with a JJ Moore that the original school wants NO piece of.

 

[higgins3]

Let's be real honest here....it is real obvious the lack of a 3 or SF or wing or whatever you want to call it has hurt us over the years. It is no coincidence, there are a finite amount of them. Plenty of undersized guards available.

If you think you will find a decent 3 as a 5th year guy you will end up with a JJ Moore that the original school wants NO piece of.

They have to focus on Thiam and building him. He could be that guy, but he needs more work on his frame and energy level. They have to focus on Thiams game.

JJ moore is in the D league and is scoring at a high level.Has the frame,intensity, and athleticism.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Its shooting. ...I swear I have posted this same title a few times during previous 3 regimes, it applies to this team as well. They cannot shoot. We knew that before. We all hoped it could get better but reality is this is what we have. They cannot shoot 3s and they have no inside presence to generate any offense. Its a team full of complimentary players where only there may be 3 options for offense and much of it comes from circus and luck shots.

This was no more evident than tonight. Despite getting out to a 9 point lead and still up at half, I told several people I would be surprised at a win tonight given the way the offense was struggling and that Northwestern would not play that bad so long. Give major credit to Rutgers D in really harrassing Northwestern in the first half and limited them to 23 and shutting down McIntosh. It allowed RU a chance at this game but it was evident from the dreadful half court offense by RU that it was fools gold. RU made some foul shots and some circus shots in the first half and we saw in the 2nd, they could do virtually nothing, scoring only 11 points in a 11 minutes span.

And while RU played great D, clearly Northwestern laid an egg in that first half as well, RU will even average shooting is up double digits. Even when their opponent had an off night, RU was still overmatched because of their nonexistant shooting. It is what it is, it isnt going to change. Its going to be impossible to win any league games with an offense like this, Northwestern wasnt a bad matchup for RU because the pace would be slower, against some other schools, I cant see how RU can generate enough offense to win except for a one off game where everything clicks.

The big positive to take tonight is that this team will bring defense and effort to the table night in and out. Last year RU lost to Northwestern by 39, tonight by 9. Yes more progress. Lets note Northwestern is a very well coached team who is going to be a NCAA at large contender. There is certainly no shame in losing to them tonight. The first steps toward building a foundation you can see but at this point I dont think we can expect anything else given how overmatched we are in talent on the shooting end. I wouldnt mind following the Collins trajectory with his program, shows how hard you have to work to move up. Northwestern is on the cusp of getting there.

Its going to be up to Pikiell and staff to recruit. Its a broken record. And I totally disagree with some who say we are just a couple players away...we need several shooters and legit big men brought into our program. Each league game I think brings us back to the reality of the situation the hoops program sits in. It has a long way to go and the fans once again must be patient for several more years.

Bac ...this is a good post

It's a shame...because this team does EVERYTHING else well except not make a high enough percentage of good looks at the basket....

If we did we would have three more wins than we currently have

But the game is called BASKETball for a reason

The good news is I think if we keep getting the same amount of good looks ...I think we will start to hit some and win some of everything else remains equal. We aren't a good shooting team but we are not nearly as bad as the funk we are currently in...it's mind blowing how low the percentage of shots we are hitting right now that are good looks and that will moderate some over 18 confrence games

 

[rufeelinit]

I am getting less confident that having all of these guys back next season is a good thing. We play a lot guys but do not have good depth. I have never seen a team with three guys over 6-10 who cannot finish from close and are just as likely to have their shot blocked as put it on the rim. I watched the first 35 minutes but gave up at the end because I knew we were done. Also thought that Freeman and Sanders looked like they were out of gas several times in the second half.

 

[RU MAN]

Personally, I think Pikiell needs to cut bait with some of these kids and look for a temporary fix at SF from the juco ranks (I know, I know, easier said than done) who can hit from the outside. Going forward, Pikiell needs to recruit pure shooters first before worrying about their defense. Defense can be taught with effort and guile. Shooters are more difficult to find.

One of the posters above mentioned why Pikiell recruited the JUCO PG Mensah. I have written about this before and I think Pikiell wants a true PG who dribble drives and can kick it out to Corey, Williams and possibly Nigel in their natural two positions and even showing a three guard look like Villanova did about five years ago, which was very effective at times.

Look, the bottom line is, we desperately need shooters. Pikiell and staff are very good at the fundamentals, but we need pure shooters (and probably from the JUCO ranks, ala Jerome Coleman) who can step right in and inject the offense with scoring. Going beyond that, Pikiell MUST get at least two shooters in the 2018 class. I also hope our new center becomes part of the 2017 class.

 

[RUJMM78]

I am not down on this staff in the least. we are hampered by horrible recruiting from past regimes.

Still, and down vote me if you must (oh wait this isn't reddit), the ONE thing that really worries is why we just accepted a commitment from a guard who isn't a good shooter. Scratching my head. And PLEASE don't tell me its because we need a "true point guard". You absolutely MUST MUST MUST be able to shoot from the perimeter (and the FT line for that matter) to be an effective PG.

There is a urgent need for talent upgrades at every position.As to point guard I agree any new commitment must be a scorer as well the leader in running the offensive plays.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I am not down on this staff in the least. we are hampered by horrible recruiting from past regimes.

Still, and down vote me if you must (oh wait this isn't reddit), the ONE thing that really worries is why we just accepted a commitment from a guard who isn't a good shooter. Scratching my head. And PLEASE don't tell me its because we need a "true point guard". You absolutely MUST MUST MUST be able to shoot from the perimeter (and the FT line for that matter) to be an effective PG.

.....or have lights out scorers and perimeter at the 2,3, and a 4th guard/wing in the bench.

 

[LotusAggressor]

True that feeding Gettys back to basket in the post all game long wouldn't work...But the offense needs to do it more often. They actually doubled him when he posted with ball one time in second half...He passed it out and there was some ball movement and space.

Passed it out to who to do what? Playing inside out only works if you have players who can shoot.

 

[toby83]

Passed it out to who to do what? Playing inside out only works if you have players who can shoot.

Don't have to shoot first when they are rotating, fake put on floor now there are options.