Pretty much loved everything I saw tonight. For starters FDU was not very good although they were very scrappy and opportunistic playing toe to toe with RU in first 12-14 minutes of the game. Remember RU beat FDU by a similar margin last year but that was with Sanders/Freeman/Williams.. This year Rutgers was basically putting out a whole different team full of youth and I think we didn't know exactly what to expect with so many newcomers. There was a little bit of a slow start early and the defense was a more than pourous including rebounding but you can chalk that up to a bunch of newcomers trying to gel together and settle down. This to me was what was so impressive about this game, it was how quickly the team got more comfortable playing with each and noticably better and more dominant as the game wore on. Six players in double figures...SIX....12-20 on three pointers...the most ever made in the Pikiell era. 11 scholorship players played and all scored. Tonight was like night and day from last year. These are Pikiell's players...the era of Freeman/Sanders and disjointed offenses are over. Truly the program can move forward now and you saw glimpses of how. Not perfection but it does not need to be on game 1
Geo Baker....LEADER as a soph no question about it. What was so great is that he didnt even have a great shooting night but still got 14 but was able to hand out 7 assists. RU didn't need his scoring because he distributed the ball well and got everyone involved.
Peter Kiss...will be fan favorite of students....7-9 shooting/3-4 on 3s, 17 points. Leading scorer, brought big time emotion and huge new offensive option which this team desperately needed. Havent had a guy like him for a while on the banks....test will be if he can bring against Big 10 competition, I think he can.
Eugene.....14 and 10 double double. Very important for him to pick up where he left off last year.. How many players in the past have you seen at RU that do not take the next step. Eugene seems ready to take another leap. Yes 5 turnovers not good but....
Ron Harper Jr....7-8 fg 15 pts and 5 boards in just 17 minutes...get out...Impressive start, way exceeded my expectations. That is how you get your feet wet. Athleticism!
Montez Mathis....struggled mightily early but settled in as the game wore on. still ended up with 10pts/5 rebs....and the back to back alley oops where he and Harper traded assist and slams really gives a taste of what the future holds for this program
Myles Johnson...some nice touches for basketball...Looked ready and capable defensively with 3 blocks. and 5 boards.20 very solid minutes
Doorson...great D..3 blocks and 6 boards in just 17 minutes. Going to enjoy the role he is going to play for this team inside
Issa Thiam...when he hits those 3s...they looked better and he was hitting them. Its going to be his roll this year. Going to be an X factor.
Caleb McConnell...good to get minutes...9, at this stage all he needs to be is servicable.
Shaq Carter...well very interesting he didnt play until late so apparently he must be behind in practice but he was fairly hyped so we shall see if he catches up
Doucoure...just 6 minutes. Many were high on him last year but we shall see if he can take the next time. Its just the first game but the limited minutes may mean he is well behind the others but depending on the matchup he should get more.
Coach Pikiell and staff did a real good job tonight with substitution patterns, love the distribution of minutes as Geo was the only one over 30 and 8 players saw 17 or more minutes. I liked how Pike was patient with this team as they fought through some gelling issues in the first half and then had them ready to pour it on late
some random stuff
32-3 run from 53-42 to 85-45...when was the last time you saw a RU team do that
tonight just felt different..for the first time since Rice's year I felt I was watching a real team. The athleticism and ball movement was a marked change from recent times.
bring the marching band every game
I am more optimistic on the season than I was coming in. But yeah this team will struggle at times because of youthful mistakes....however I am more confident that they are capable of knocking off Big 10 competition when things are clicking.
announced attendance 5,521.. very very solid for a rainy night although it might be inflated by a few hundred
Geo Baker....LEADER as a soph no question about it. What was so great is that he didnt even have a great shooting night but still got 14 but was able to hand out 7 assists. RU didn't need his scoring because he distributed the ball well and got everyone involved.
Peter Kiss...will be fan favorite of students....7-9 shooting/3-4 on 3s, 17 points. Leading scorer, brought big time emotion and huge new offensive option which this team desperately needed. Havent had a guy like him for a while on the banks....test will be if he can bring against Big 10 competition, I think he can.
Eugene.....14 and 10 double double. Very important for him to pick up where he left off last year.. How many players in the past have you seen at RU that do not take the next step. Eugene seems ready to take another leap. Yes 5 turnovers not good but....
Ron Harper Jr....7-8 fg 15 pts and 5 boards in just 17 minutes...get out...Impressive start, way exceeded my expectations. That is how you get your feet wet. Athleticism!
Montez Mathis....struggled mightily early but settled in as the game wore on. still ended up with 10pts/5 rebs....and the back to back alley oops where he and Harper traded assist and slams really gives a taste of what the future holds for this program
Myles Johnson...some nice touches for basketball...Looked ready and capable defensively with 3 blocks. and 5 boards.20 very solid minutes
Doorson...great D..3 blocks and 6 boards in just 17 minutes. Going to enjoy the role he is going to play for this team inside
Issa Thiam...when he hits those 3s...they looked better and he was hitting them. Its going to be his roll this year. Going to be an X factor.
Caleb McConnell...good to get minutes...9, at this stage all he needs to be is servicable.
Shaq Carter...well very interesting he didnt play until late so apparently he must be behind in practice but he was fairly hyped so we shall see if he catches up
Doucoure...just 6 minutes. Many were high on him last year but we shall see if he can take the next time. Its just the first game but the limited minutes may mean he is well behind the others but depending on the matchup he should get more.
Coach Pikiell and staff did a real good job tonight with substitution patterns, love the distribution of minutes as Geo was the only one over 30 and 8 players saw 17 or more minutes. I liked how Pike was patient with this team as they fought through some gelling issues in the first half and then had them ready to pour it on late
some random stuff
32-3 run from 53-42 to 85-45...when was the last time you saw a RU team do that
tonight just felt different..for the first time since Rice's year I felt I was watching a real team. The athleticism and ball movement was a marked change from recent times.
bring the marching band every game
I am more optimistic on the season than I was coming in. But yeah this team will struggle at times because of youthful mistakes....however I am more confident that they are capable of knocking off Big 10 competition when things are clicking.
announced attendance 5,521.. very very solid for a rainy night although it might be inflated by a few hundred