Game 1 Thoughts/Comments

[RUcrazee]

It's a starting point.

Pieces are there,....just a question of how long will it take for them to gel.............It is just too many players to find playing time for. It is really tough to see so many players get so few minutes. There is no way to play all these players who need to get to play at this point. Not enough minutes to go around. It is hard for some to get a rhythm going when playing time is so disjointed.

This dilemma may turn into the biggest story of the season NCAA-wide because so many teams are dealing with the same thing. As the season gets going, will players be okay with so much less playing time and touches/shots? Going from focal point of a team to being just one piece of the puzzle may be a tough transition for some of these transfers.

Some of the answers in this post game conference leave me a tad bit worried. I would have thought the ballhandling duties would be more clear by now. I didn't hear anyone ask about Shug Dickson not playing. I hope that she can be a stabilizing force for the team going forward. Jailyn did a great job of organizing the team.She and Lasssiter bring a lot of intangibles with their experience.

Seems like they have a lot of work to do with so little time to figure it out. I kinda wondered if they would come up with a more simple offensive set that the transfers could pick up quickly, allowing them to play more instinctively. Lasha looked totally lost. We have to get her up to speed quickly.

Those who earned extra minutes consideration going forward IMO, ...............Liz Martino, Jailyn Mason, Sakima Walker, and Osh Brown

Sayawni got a lot of time and did a lot of good things with it.

Joyia and Tyia are gonna have to be better. I expected better footwork from Tyia. On the positive side, she did show confidence in her jumpshot. I guess we can give Joyia the benefit of the doubt after being out for so long.

I'm still hoping to see Chyna get more time so we can see what she can do.

It's too many players to have to juggle. Tim's got quite a challenge ahead.

 

[RUsty Screw75]

Is Shut Dickson with the team

 

[eso1989]

Looking at the box I noticed our lone freshman got no time. Is she injured?

 

[ho26rus]

Looking at the box I noticed our lone freshman got no time. Is she injured?

It would be hard to vision she not red skirting. I feel certain that conversation has already been had

 

[APKnight]

I was surprised Lasha didn’t play well. I still have high hopes for her. She’s gotta adjust I guess.

 

[rimsky]

Looks a typical preseason against weaker opponents. Maryland is playing 3 Top 10 opponents. I wish we played stiffer competition to get the ladies ready for the Big 10 season.

 

[RC66]

In fact, I thought it was a great out-of-conference, get-ready-for-the-season first game.

St. Peter's, though small, looked to be a tough, well-coached, in-shape, swarming-pressure-defense team, baseline-to-baseline on every play for the whole game.

Our high turnover stats were, imo, due to three things: (1) we haven't nearly gelled yet; (2) coach was insisting on lots of passes before any shot: and too many of them were made into traffic when an open perimeter shot was there for the taking; and (3) St. Peter's did, in fact, play great defense for a non-P5 team.

For a fan, those same three things made it hard to get any idea of who is going to wind up being the go-to pg on this team.

 

[OntheBanks]

Watched entire game on BTN+.
I felt that I was watching my grandson's 5th grade team playing.
Twice I saw a guard on the wing driving to the basket, forward was boxing out a defender giving a guard a clear path to the hoop. Then, the forward moved away from her block causing the guard to be stopped from a layup. ????
Typical play from the team as it has been for many years. Very good defense but nobody can shoot. Most scoring came from fast breaks.
Can't believe there are 5 grad transfers on the team and also 3 Redshirt seniors.
Only 1 Freshmen on the roster. What will we have next year?
Looking like a long year coming up in B1G play.
Keep in mind I've been watching since Grentz became head coach.

 

[Bon1674]

Is Shut Dickson with the team

Yes. She was suited up on the bench.

 

[richthedentist]

Watched entire game on BTN+.
I felt that I was watching my grandson's 5th grade team playing.
Twice I saw a guard on the wing driving to the basket, forward was boxing out a defender giving a guard a clear path to the hoop. Then, the forward moved away from her block causing the guard to be stopped from a layup. ????
Typical play from the team as it has been for many years. Very good defense but nobody can shoot. Most scoring came from fast breaks.
Can't believe there are 5 grad transfers on the team and also 3 Redshirt seniors.
Only 1 Freshmen on the roster. What will we have next year?
Looking like a long year coming up in B1G play.
Keep in mind I've been watching since Grentz became head coach.

I agree judging how this team played last night it’s going to be a long season and next year’s going to be worse

 

[RUClassof67]

I think part of the plan last night was to get as many minutes as possible for as many players as possible to see what combinations would work. We certainly aren’t there yet. But as others have said, I see talent on this team. It’s a matter of trying to find the right number of minutes for each player. i agree that they certainly looked like a team that hadn’t played together and that’s because they haven’t.

It also should be noted that SPC is a veteran team which played well at the end of the season going into the 3rd round of their conference tournament. They finished at 13-15 and returned everyone. I’m not saying they are world beaters just that they have played together for a lot longer than we have.

Ugliest stat of the night was the 59 combined turnovers (34 for them, 25 for us).
Most interesting stat was that we had 21 assists on 22 baskets! That’s crazy.

 

[MADHAT1]

If we are going by this first game as how the season will be, lets look at the positive and see this is the first real time the team played together in a regular team setting and getting a better feel of how each other acts under game day pressure.
Liz stepped up as a leader , Osh did some board damage and Sakima did OK herself, even if didn't shoot very well and did turnover the ball too much
Though St. Pete might not be a powerhouse, Rutgers did force 34 turnovers, also made 21 steals and held the opponent to just 22.2% shooting from the floor..
Also for the game 14 different players saw time , which might help in the long run and that time on the floor will help the players get used to each other's game better and keep from from continuing the sloppiness the Peacock game had
Getting game playing time will make this team mesh and have a good season.

Those thinking the first game play decides the season and this win shows RU's into a long one should think about this.
The transfers who left , based on their first game stats playing for their new programs , look like bench material and not the type of talent that we should consider a loss to the RU roster.
But in reality: one game doesn't make a season and those players have too much talent to play the whole season like they played their first game of this season

 

[RUtrumpet92]

Thanks for the game reports. I won't worry too much about this season until a few more games go by. We have so many players learning how to play together that it may take some time. Hopefully film study will help them learn how to better support one another when it will matter to the outcome of a game.

I am concerned for sure about next season. Only one freshman on the roster, losing who knows how many of our minutes from this season, and an uncertain coaching situation. Things could get ugly fast.

Still, it is good to be 1-0.

 

[Knight Time Fan]

I think part of the plan last night was to get as many minutes as possible for as many players as possible to see what combinations would work. We certainly aren’t there yet. But as others have said, I see talent on this team. It’s a matter of trying to find the right number of minutes for each player. i agree that they certainly looked like a team that hadn’t played together and that’s because they haven’t.

It also should be noted that SPC is a veteran team which played well at the end of the season going into the 3rd round of their conference tournament. They finished at 13-15 and returned everyone. I’m not saying they are world beaters just that they have played together for a lot longer than we have.

Ugliest stat of the night was the 59 combined turnovers (34 for them, 25 for us).
Most interesting stat was that we had 21 assists on 22 baskets! That’s crazy.

I didn't watch but looked at the box score - I thought exactly what you said at the beginning of your post. An effort to get players on the court, see what works, and all that.

Arizona actually did exactly the same thing. Luckily for Rutgers, they have at least the next 3 games to continue to work on things against "weak" teams. Arizona plays #6 Louisville this week. On national TV. Yikes.

Like Rutgers, my local Wildcats is also trying to work in a lot of new pieces; unlike Rutgers they have a very experienced starting lineup, but after that it is players that either don't play a lot or are new. And, as I say, like Rutgers, an abundance of them.

 

[RUcrazee]

Those who earned extra minutes consideration going forward IMO, ...............Liz Martino, Jailyn Mason, Sakima Walker, and Osh Brown

Also meant to include A. Sidibe in my original post in this thread. She played under control and finished strongly off some nice assists. Like in other games I've seen her in, she doesn't try to do too much, a steady player.

And although E. Lafayette picked up some fouls, we still need to see more of her. Especially if she can shoot that three as smoothly as she did last night. Nice looking form on it.

It is just too many players to find playing time for. It is really tough to see so many players get so few minutes. There is no way to play all these players who need to get to play at this point. Not enough minutes to go around. It is hard for some to get a rhythm going when playing time is so disjointed.

With this reality, when we get to the conference schedule, our rotation needs to be down to 10 players max. IMO. If we can get to where we are blowing some teams out early enough, the last five or six off the bench can get some time. We seem a ways away from that point though.

 

[RUgrad]

I think the reason for playing so many players is because he doesn't know who the best players are yet. Eventually he will settle on a starting 5 and a bench rotation. Until then, against these easier teams, I think we will continue to see a lot of players used.

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

I think the reason for playing so many players is because he doesn't know who the best players are yet. Eventually he will settle on a starting 5 and a bench rotation. Until then, against these easier teams, I think we will continue to see a lot of players used.

That’s one hell of an approach…feel bad for this coach; maybe he will be spectacular in his coaching or maybe the poor stuck-ee until whenever our actual coach comes back…let’s hope it is the former! 🤞

 

[wngarbarini]

Both the men and women did not look very good in their openers. They better get a lot better or there will be a lot of vicious posters here.

 

[RUcrazee]

Although both the men and women struggled a bit in their openers, they were not alone. On the women's side Michigan barely won in OT,.......Baylor, Tenn, UCLA, and Virginia Tech all won in close games against teams they probably thought would be easy victories.

Also, I thought the officiating may have contributed to the ugliness of last night's game. They weren't calling anything at the beginning......in a game between two full-court pressing teams. Then at a certain point after a few tussles and stare downs occurred, they tried to clean it up.

 

[MADHAT1]

First game of every season, for just about every HC, is used to se how the players mesh with each other and possibly give every player time in the game to see how they interact with the rest of team.
Practice before season starts gets an idea of what the starting line up probably will be and players capabilities game time, but the play in the early games makes the HC see what team ajustments must be made and if players exceeded expectations or didn't do the job like that they were expected to.
What some fans might see as chaos , might be just getting a firm handle on each players game day capabilities in the early games ( before conference play) by giving each player enough minutes
to properly judge how their game is real time ( while going for the win) so that coach knows the players to start and the players that will be trhe best back-ups to be part of the rotation .
That's my take

 

[rubaseball78]

Watched entire game on BTN+.
I felt that I was watching my grandson's 5th grade team playing.
Twice I saw a guard on the wing driving to the basket, forward was boxing out a defender giving a guard a clear path to the hoop. Then, the forward moved away from her block causing the guard to be stopped from a layup. ????
Typical play from the team as it has been for many years. Very good defense but nobody can shoot. Most scoring came from fast breaks.
Can't believe there are 5 grad transfers on the team and also 3 Redshirt seniors.
Only 1 Freshmen on the roster. What will we have next year?
Looking like a long year coming up in B1G play.
Keep in mind I've been watching since Grentz became head coach.

1 soph on the roster?

 

[MADHAT1]

1 soph on the roster?

more than just 1 and more than one junior..
But there are a lot of players that will need replacing next year , just like every year players use up their eligibility and need to be replaced.
High School talent is one way and with the new transfer rule it seems bringing in experienced college players by them transferring in is becoming more common

 

[rubaseball78]

more than just 1 and more than one junior..
But there are a lot of players that will need replacing next year , just like every year players use up their eligibility and need to be replaced.
High School talent is one way and with the new transfer rule it seems bringing in experienced college players by them transferring in is becoming more common

It was intended to be sarcastic comment. I’ll have to do better next year. After 1 game I’m not worrying about next year.

 

[MADHAT1]

It was intended to be sarcastic comment. I’ll have to do better next year. After 1 game I’m not worrying about next year.

sometimes it's hard for me to tell on this board.
But that's on me, not you.

 

[richthedentist]

It was intended to be sarcastic comment. I’ll have to do better next year. After 1 game I’m not worrying about next year.

I would be very worried about next season I think you have 8 players leaving at the end of this year and you have a coaching situation that is at best unknown going forward and you could see that this year as you only recruited one freshman this spells disaster going forward

 

[MADHAT1]

I would be very worried about next season I think you have 8 players leaving at the end of this year and you have a coaching situation that is at best unknown going forward and you could see that this year as you only recruited one freshman this spells disaster going forward

not really.
Every year upperclassmen need to be replaced, sometimes a large amount, sometimes not sop much. But it's a yearly part of the game
If only 1 freshman becomes a soph , there are the sophs that help as juniors , along with the juniors becoming seniors..
Replacements come from the High School talent or now it's becoming more and more through transfers by many programs now because how easy it has become to transfer.
No worries about next season, because the next season has always been unknown for most programs after players leave and need to be replaced.
It's not like it doesn't happen every year.

The coaching situation is this, if CVS returns , a known winner and HOF coach is back.
If Tim has RU looking good this season and Viv doesn't return, he'll be the HC next year
and will have a contract as HC for a few years after it.
If Stringer doesn't return and Eatman didn't work out , a new HC will be hired for people to praise or want to hang before contract is dry

Everything isn't doom and gloom because of Tim coaching instead of Stringer and team losing players .
Every year players are replaced and their replacements eventually need replacements sooner or later . It's part of the game

 

[RUcrazee]

With such a large roster this year (16 players), losing the 8 seniors still leaves a strong core of young players here (provided none of them transfer). It will almost be like getting back to normal, number of players-wise.

Eight players will remain plus the one recruit(A. Bates) already signed. Nine is a good number to have going into the off-season in this new portal era. You have room to sign more HS recruits if this season goes well and/or bring in experienced transfers.

I would think the decision whether to lean more toward transfers vs HS recruits depends on how well those 8 players, who return next year, play this season. And also, if we can get our targeted HS recruits. We need to entice them with impressive wins this season.

Seven of our eight players that will return next year will have 2-years experience in CVS' system ( if we continue with CVS or Tim as coach). Not a bad situation to be in. Tyia will have four and Joyia three years experience due to their redshirt years. Everything should run a lot smoother offensively and defensively.

 

[RUtrumpet92]

The coaching concern is: if CVS does not coach next season and it's not Eatman, you are not hiring that new coach until April. How is he/she going to properly recruit for next year's class when starting that late? So you could have a situation with one recruit signing this year and a good chance of a weak class next season. That could thin out the talent pool quickly such that two years from now, we are relying on... ? Let's hope it does not come to that.

 

[MADHAT1]

The coaching concern is: if CVS does not coach next season and it's not Eatman, you are not hiring that new coach until April. How is he/she going to properly recruit for next year's class when starting that late? So you could have a situation with one recruit signing this year and a good chance of a weak class next season. That could thin out the talent pool quickly such that two years from now, we are relying on... ? Let's hope it does not come to that.

the same as whenever a coaching change happens.
But let's see at the end of this season what develops and if it's a good one, Tim will be back , one way or another.
For years it was CVS 'name that brought in the recruits , with facility upgrades recruiting should be easier .

I understand looking pessimistically at the future and problems that might arise, but the optimistic POV is that a good season will take care of them.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Both the men and women did not look very good in their openers. They better get a lot better or there will be a lot of vicious posters here.

You and your core group of vicious posters will trade vicious comments and everyone else will ignore them....and just talk basketball.

Imagine that.... Vicious comments aimed at a group of young ladies playing the game for their school. Do the vicious comments come before or after you Kick Your Dog?