GAME 10 Wisconsin: Geo Baker

[bac2therac]

12/11/19: GEO BAKER 9/18 fg...22 points,

1st half: 3-9 fg, 3 turnovers, missed dunk

2nd half 6-9 fg, 2-3 3 pt fg, 1 block

"Maturity is not by age but by the accepting of one's responsibilities"

Geo Baker's finest moment as a Scarlet Knight. True he has had better stat lines, more points scored and bigger made shots but make no mistake about it tonight was the knight that Geo became a man. We have had hints and teases and we all have wanted Geo to step into that true leadership and be the go to guy and tonight we got it. Geo had been a bit of a disappointment in terms of his stats and consistency with his shot. Even I was starting to get critical after the last couple of games. Going beyond that awful backboard play, Geo made multiple impactful mistakes toward the end of the half that led directly to 5 Wisconsin points and all of a sudden, the RU 8 point lead was evaporated. It was a real bad stretch of play by anyone's standard. I scorched him in the game thread and questioned the whole team's maturity......and that is what makes what happened in the 2nd half so notable and so special.

I do not have any idea what Coach said to Geo in the lockerroom or what is teammates said or what Geo said but Geo did what a leader and a man does when adversity hits. Geo is a great likable kid and a hard worker. His CHOP moment came tonight. He simply put his head down and did all the things he was capable of. Geo came out getting a steal, hitting a 3 and another bucket to give RU their cushion back in the first 5-6 minutes of the 2nd half. Coach gave Geo some minutes to rest for a while and his teammates played hard and followed his lead holding that lead. Geo came back and hit back to back shots including a 3 that put RU up 8 but what was the true turning point of the game is when Geo made a wicked block of a Wisconsin 3 that got the RAC rolling and even though Geo missed the free throws after he was fouled you just knew that he was feeling it. RU would then go through a 3 minute stretch where they were stuck on 59 while its defense played tough. It was Geo down the lane for a lay in and the following it up with another bucket. Geo in the half court such a struggle for RU this year being the go to guy and getting it done. Wisconsin was not done yet getting an unlikely bank for 3 but RU closed it out in the end with unlikely free throws from Myles and a clutch old fashion 3 by Caleb.

I really think Geo's leadership and success was a direct factor for Myles and Caleb late. Myles is a terrrible free throw shooter...at 63-60 with 90 seconds left, it isnt the best place to be. Myles who was a perfect 5-5 tonight and came out strong himself the 2nd half was a monster as long as he could stay out of foul trouble. He simply drilled those free throws. Caleb was has had his own struggles this year getting untracked was smooth as silk for that midrange drive and got the foul. They delivered but make no mistake, Rutgers would not be in that position if Geo did not deliver. There is a reason why every opponent's coach has their defense key on shutting down Geo. They know what he is capable of. We all know tonight. It takes a man to bounce back from that ugly stretch in the first half. It takes a leader to will you team to a win over a traditional Big 10 stalwart. What a knight and what I think is going to be a key moment going forward for this program. It is Geo's team. Maturity is not by age but by the accepting of one's responsibilities. True RU has a lot of depth and alot of options offensively but part of the issue this year is who really is the go to guy. Make no mistake Geo is that guy and I think establishing that will only make his teammates better and perhaps giving Coach Pikiell a few less headaches.


Just to touch briefly on everyone else. As I said Myles was outstanding but its key to keep him from getting that 2nd foul and I thought he continues to pick those silly fouls up in the first half. The refs seemed to be inconsistent tonight to put it mildly so that third foul was a headscratcher. Still Myles had his way in the paint, just 18 minutes but 12 points and 7 boards. He is big asset for this team on both ends. I thought Yeboah did a solid job, moreso offensively in first half,. defensively in the 2nd moreso and ended with a team high 8 boards. I think Mulcahy continues his ascent. The highlight was that putback off a miss and the and one along with a stare down of the Wisky defender. Getting more comfortable out there each game and he had another really nice drive where he just worked his way in for a layup..no fear. I felt Mathis and Harper were off tonight, perhaps not played under control the way they needed to. I didnt like how they didnt finish. I did LOVE how the lineup shifted a bit so they had to defer to Baker and Myles to take shots. Pike who I did heavily criticize in that first half did a much better job at tinkering with the lineup and making sure the right people were taking shots. I thought Caleb was solid tonight in his first start out of the starting lineup and less Young was a big factor in RU not being sloppy with the ball.

Defensively RU was very good. Sure there were some open 3s by Wisky at times but overall it was the most consistent RU defensive performance this season. The Badgers never got into any flow and the pressure really bothered them into some turnovers and travels. Quite frankly in a rarity, RU was the physical team bullying a Big 10 opponent and it was good to see. Wisconsin is now 0-3 at the RAC since RU joined the Big 10. It was pretty apparent that RU was the better team so thats why alot of frustration at half time on the game board. Any Big 10 win is a good win, this is a win that most RU fans that RU should win and win they did. You want to defend home court and start to build up the juice in the RAC. It was okay tonight, got loud in the later stages but long way to go and I think the student section needs to filled in and tighter and full at tip off not halftime. I also think they are giving the entire 108 section to the band and that is just ridiculous.

As for SHU, should be a battle as long as RU brings it like they did their last two.

 

[knight82]

Andy Katz said on the BTN post game that the difference between Rutgers and Wisconsin right now is that Wisconsin doesn't have a go to guy and Rutgers does - Geo Baker

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Don't want to kill you BAC......Geo has done this many times before. He has hit game winning big shots before. He has shown guts many times before. This is the same Geo, albeit slightly improved physically I think.

At some point in the next 5 games he will have a 3-11 night and people will question him.

It is possible we could look back and this is the turning point of our season and yes Geo was the guy primarily that did it tonight....he had help though.

 

[RU-ROCS]

Great recap. Pike and the team layed a real egg at Pitt, both coaching and playing Both the coaching and the team’s play the last 2 games are making that seem like an aberration. Hopefully the upward trend continues.

 

[RUDave_01]

Nice recap.
I think the defense was tremendous tonight. When Wisky had to go into a halfcourt offense, there were very few easy possessions. The movement, switching, and double teaming really frustrated Wisconsin's players. Rutgers maintained that intensity nearly the entire game.
It was a solid RAC crowd tonight... there were a few genuinely loud moments late in the game, but not deafening like the RAC is capable of (and we hopefully see on Saturday). They need to squeeze the band into half of section 108 and give the students the back half of it (unless there aren't enough to roll over into it).
It was an encouraging game in that Rutgers held serve and beat a team that they should beat, and looked the part of the better team. Lets hope that the excitement and energy carries over into the SHU game.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Good recap bac. Game was definitely taken over by Geo in the 2nd half. A few additional points in no particular order:

1. I liked Pike’s rotation tonight, including the decision to start Yeboah (who has been playing well lately) over McConnell (who has been struggling). The starters all got 25+ minutes, except Johnson because of foul trouble, while the bench saw 10-17 minutes apiece, except for Doucoure who got just 5). Good balance, and good job sticking with the guys who were impacting the game.

2. I said after the MSU loss that this was an absolute MUST WIN, as I didn’t want to be 0-3 in the gauntlet heading into SHU. Now we can go 2-2 in the gauntlet, something I think we all would have signed up for.

3. Myles just impacts the game on both ends, and was dominant tonight in just 18 minutes. But he has ONE JOB, and that is to stay out of foul trouble. I know there were some questionable calls against him, but he needs to be smarter and more disciplined. We need him on the floor for 25-30 minutes each night in order to have ANY chance against the good teams.

4. Liked seeing some full court press in the 1st half. First time I can remember the press actually having an impact for us. We got steals and multiple TOs due to traveling calls and such.

5. Biggest two points of the night were Myles going 2-2 on FTs. We were only up 63-60 at that point, and those 2 points pushed the lead back up to 5. Absolutely HUUUUUUGGGEEEE.

6. I don’t cringe any more when Mathis takes threes. In fact, when he gets a little room, he actually has a nice looking shot. Went 1-2 tonight, and is now 5-16 (31.3%) on the year.

7. Pike needs to continue the recent trend of running plays for Yeboah. The kid makes plays and is our best 3-pt shooter (10-25 for 40%).

8. Harper frustrates me. He’s been mostly good with his mid-range game, but horrid from 3-pt range (1-4 tonight, and just 9-34 for 26.5% for the year) and only 58.8% on FTs. But, he has been in beast mode defensively and with rebounding, picking some of Eugene’s slack.

9. Geo’s defense was super again tonight, with 3 steals, good perimeter defense, and that great block on a 3-point shot. Unfortunately, Geo needs to play 32+ minutes every night. I had hoped our guard depth would enable Pike to play him only 28-30 mpg, but it’s clear Geo needs to play at least 32-36 mpg. The offense was stagnating a bit when he wasn’t out there, but flows much better with him in there.

10. On to SHU. Make sure y’all arrive early. The traffic getting into the lots is going to be horrid, and we need a full rocking house BEFORE tipoff. Let’s goooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

 

[Scarlet Shack]

This post count is at 5 after a win ...and would be 50 if we lost

Hmmmm......

 

[jtung230]

It was great game, we needed the win and it was at home. Team is getting more physical. Took care of business against a bad Wisc team. Now beat SHU.

 

[goru7]

It was great game, we needed the win and it was at home. Team is getting more physical. Took care of business against a bad Wisc team. Now beat SHU.

Stop with the bad Wisconsin team crap. It is not the vintage great teams but they still ran their sets and we out toughed them tonight. They are struggling on the road like most teams in the Big 10 and like us but at home they beat really good Marquette and Indiana teams by 20 points in blowouts and shot awesome from 3. On the road they are shooting something like 20% from 3 , so when shots go down, a team looks better and when they don’t, a team doesn’t look so good . We held, Brice, Davidson, and Reuvers in check tonight with great defensive efforts and King went off. If all 4 are on, they are not a bad team .

 

[ancienthooper]

This post count is at 5 after a win ...and would be 50 if we lost

Hmmmm......

It’s a “We’re great” game. Lose Saturday and it’s back to “We suck.”

 

[rufeelinit]

A much needed W and Geo was the catalyst in the second half. The end of the first half was discouraging but they came out and got the job done. Some other quick observations:

I noticed that Pike had Mulcahy running point quite a bit when paired with Geo but not with Young. I think Paul contributes to the ball moving more quickly if not always more productively. I am just waiting for him to become more of an offensive threat in some manner to keep the defense honest. Can he hit even a mid range shot with any consistency?

Nice to see Harper with 7 rebounds. We need another guy getting his hands dirty.

I thought our defense was pretty good throughout. I like the intensity in the half court man to man and thought the full court pressure rattled Wisconsin particularly early on. That may be more of an indictment on the Badgers.

To me, Carter is showing some separation from Duke for the back up center role. I have to admit to being a little disappointed in Duke's lack of development. Not getting many minutes but mostly an empty sheet.

I am warming well to watching Yeboah's play. Doesn't matter to me if he starts or comes off the bench but he is a 25-30 minute a game guy.

So a good team effort. I thought the MSU effort was OK as well and would have been enough to beat Pitt. Need to establish this as the baseline with regard to effort and intensity. I expect both not to be an issue on Saturday.

 

[goru7]

12/11/19: GEO BAKER 9/18 fg...22 points,

1st half: 3-9 fg, 3 turnovers, missed dunk

2nd half 6-9 fg, 2-3 3 pt fg, 1 block

"Maturity is not by age but by the accepting of one's responsibilities"

Geo Baker's finest moment as a Scarlet Knight. True he has had better stat lines, more points scored and bigger made shots but make no mistake about it tonight was the knight that Geo became a man. We have had hints and teases and we all have wanted Geo to step into that true leadership and be the go to guy and tonight we got it. Geo had been a bit of a disappointment in terms of his stats and consistency with his shot. Even I was starting to get critical after the last couple of games. Going beyond that awful backboard play, Geo made multiple impactful mistakes toward the end of the half that led directly to 5 Wisconsin points and all of a sudden, the RU 8 point lead was evaporated. It was a real bad stretch of play by anyone's standard. I scorched him in the game thread and questioned the whole team's maturity......and that is what makes what happened in the 2nd half so notable and so special.

I do not have any idea what Coach said to Geo in the lockerroom or what is teammates said or what Geo said but Geo did what a leader and a man does when adversity hits. Geo is a great likable kid and a hard worker. His CHOP moment came tonight. He simply put his head down and did all the things he was capable of. Geo came out getting a steal, hitting a 3 and another bucket to give RU their cushion back in the first 5-6 minutes of the 2nd half. Coach gave Geo some minutes to rest for a while and his teammates played hard and followed his lead holding that lead. Geo came back and hit back to back shots including a 3 that put RU up 8 but what was the true turning point of the game is when Geo made a wicked block of a Wisconsin 3 that got the RAC rolling and even though Geo missed the free throws after he was fouled you just knew that he was feeling it. RU would then go through a 3 minute stretch where they were stuck on 59 while its defense played tough. It was Geo down the lane for a lay in and the following it up with another bucket. Geo in the half court such a struggle for RU this year being the go to guy and getting it done. Wisconsin was not done yet getting an unlikely bank for 3 but RU closed it out in the end with unlikely free throws from Myles and a clutch old fashion 3 by Caleb.

I really think Geo's leadership and success was a direct factor for Myles and Caleb late. Myles is a terrrible free throw shooter...at 63-60 with 90 seconds left, it isnt the best place to be. Myles who was a perfect 5-5 tonight and came out strong himself the 2nd half was a monster as long as he could stay out of foul trouble. He simply drilled those free throws. Caleb was has had his own struggles this year getting untracked was smooth as silk for that midrange drive and got the foul. They delivered but make no mistake, Rutgers would not be in that position if Geo did not deliver. There is a reason why every opponent's coach has their defense key on shutting down Geo. They know what he is capable of. We all know tonight. It takes a man to bounce back from that ugly stretch in the first half. It takes a leader to will you team to a win over a traditional Big 10 stalwart. What a knight and what I think is going to be a key moment going forward for this program. It is Geo's team. Maturity is not by age but by the accepting of one's responsibilities. True RU has a lot of depth and alot of options offensively but part of the issue this year is who really is the go to guy. Make no mistake Geo is that guy and I think establishing that will only make his teammates better and perhaps giving Coach Pikiell a few less headaches.


Just to touch briefly on everyone else. As I said Myles was outstanding but its key to keep him from getting that 2nd foul and I thought he continues to pick those silly fouls up in the first half. The refs seemed to be inconsistent tonight to put it mildly so that third foul was a headscratcher. Still Myles had his way in the paint, just 18 minutes but 12 points and 7 boards. He is big asset for this team on both ends. I thought Yeboah did a solid job, moreso offensively in first half,. defensively in the 2nd moreso and ended with a team high 8 boards. I think Mulcahy continues his ascent. The highlight was that putback off a miss and the and one along with a stare down of the Wisky defender. Getting more comfortable out there each game and he had another really nice drive where he just worked his way in for a layup..no fear. I felt Mathis and Harper were off tonight, perhaps not played under control the way they needed to. I didnt like how they didnt finish. I did LOVE how the lineup shifted a bit so they had to defer to Baker and Myles to take shots. Pike who I did heavily criticize in that first half did a much better job at tinkering with the lineup and making sure the right people were taking shots. I thought Caleb was solid tonight in his first start out of the starting lineup and less Young was a big factor in RU not being sloppy with the ball.

Defensively RU was very good. Sure there were some open 3s by Wisky at times but overall it was the most consistent RU defensive performance this season. The Badgers never got into any flow and the pressure really bothered them into some turnovers and travels. Quite frankly in a rarity, RU was the physical team bullying a Big 10 opponent and it was good to see. Wisconsin is now 0-3 at the RAC since RU joined the Big 10. It was pretty apparent that RU was the better team so thats why alot of frustration at half time on the game board. Any Big 10 win is a good win, this is a win that most RU fans that RU should win and win they did. You want to defend home court and start to build up the juice in the RAC. It was okay tonight, got loud in the later stages but long way to go and I think the student section needs to filled in and tighter and full at tip off not halftime. I also think they are giving the entire 108 section to the band and that is just ridiculous.

As for SHU, should be a battle as long as RU brings it like they did their last two.

Great emphasis on Geo in the recap. We all have been waiting for Geo to have one of these dominant games and now as a junior we were disappointed this wasn’t happening every night. We feel that way because we believe he is capable of these games and they should not be an aberration but rather a regular occurrence . You might be right that “ he became a man tonight” and if so , it is the missing piece to get us over the top to the promised land .

Like you , I was really cursing under my breath at his last 4 minutes of the first half, which cost us like a 10 point swing . It started with the ill advised alley oop that led to their 3, followed by losing the ball to Davidson then fouling him and he knocked down 2 shots, then being stripped at the end of the half, and I did think he was fouled but he did not run back and they hit the 3 at the buzzer to take their first lead of the game. That 8 points plus our not scoring for an additional swing allowed Wisconsin to end the half on a 9-0 run that had us trailing by 1 in a half we dominated. He also missed a wide open three.

However , in the second half , he came out aggressive and looked for his shot with no hesitation, which I have been clamoring for him to do all year. He was 9-18 from the floor and I Hope his taking 18 shots is not a one time thing and happens every game. . It doesn’t have to be 18 shots but it must be double digits like 12-16 shots a night , mostly on drives and mid range . His mid range game and drives have allowed him to shoot almost 50 % from 2 and should continue. If he hits an occasional three or a bunch of them great but he is tall enough to get his mid range shot over anyone . He has to be aggressive like that every game .. Happy for him as well as he is a great kid trying to lead and keep everyone involved .

Myles is an absolute beast on both ends of the floor and needs to touch it more. We started the second half with 2 pick and roll alley oops from Geo, that should be a staple of one of our plays. He caught several passes n traffic and his hands are phenomenal. The guards have to give him the ball more not less. The other threads naming that ref Curry and asking him to be banned is a good idea because he called all 4 ofMyles ‘ fouls on him and 2 on bullshit offensive rebounding fouls where he was taller than the Wisconsin guys and reached for the rebound. The other call he is getting is the moving screen call , which should be blamed and should have been corrected by now,,on our guards. They have to wait for him to set the screen and stop stationary before they start their move. Caleb and Jacob and even Geo to a lesser extent have to stop doing it as we desperately need Myles to stay on the floor . His knocking down those 2 big foul shots with a minute left up 63-60 was also so clutch . Another great kid that is getting hosed by the refs every game but fighting through it.
The best players on the court tonight was 1) Geo, 2) Koby King, 3 ) Myles. As Meatloaf said “2 out of 3 ain’t bad”.
Finally , Coach has a tendency to either forget or bury a couple of guys , maybe after they make a mistake, and keeps them pinned to the bench for 6-10 minutes. He is doing it to Caleb and Mathis and it must be corrected as they are both in our top 4-6 players. A tribute to Caleb to be sitting for so long and to come in and hit that old fashioned three point play on the teardrop at a critical part of the game . He has to do more to allow both of their offensive games to flourish not less .
Now let ‘s go to war against Seton Hall on Saturday as John Rothstein just tweeted , Armageddon!!!!

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I liked the fact the 5 that finished the game were guys here last year and recruited out of high school. I count Mulcahy here last year because he was.

Baker
McConnell
Mathis
Harper
Myles/Mulcahy

 

[jtung230]

Stop with the bad Wisconsin team crap. It is not the vintage great teams but they still ran their sets and we out toughed them tonight. They are struggling on the road like most teams in the Big 10 and like us but at home they beat really good Marquette and Indiana teams by 20 points in blowouts and shot awesome from 3. On the road they are shooting something like 20% from 3 , so when shots go down, a team looks better and when they don’t, a team doesn’t look so good . We held, Brice, Davidson, and Reuvers in check tonight with great defensive efforts and King went off. If all 4 are on, they are not a bad team .

5-5 team

 

[goru7]

5-5 team

5-0 at home and 0-5 on the road. Go check out their home and away stats. Plus they just beat an undefeated Indiana team by 20 the game before they played us.

 

[RW90]

Don't want to kill you BAC......Geo has done this many times before. He has hit game winning big shots before. He has shown guts many times before. This is the same Geo, albeit slightly improved physically I think.

At some point in the next 5 games he will have a 3-11 night and people will question him.

It is possible we could look back and this is the turning point of our season and yes Geo was the guy primarily that did it tonight....he had help though.

Not to mention the defenses and defenders change from game to game.

 

[jtung230]

5-0 at home and 0-5 on the road. Go check out their home and away stats. Plus they just beat an undefeated Indiana team by 20 the game before they played us.

I said it was a great win. You have to win the games your supposed to win. That’s not an easy thing in basketball. Btw, your stat really helps my point not yours.

 

[MadRU]

I want to mention Caleb's defense here. He has very good footwork and quick hands. If he gets physically stronger and is focused, he will be a high impact defender. He has the tools on that end of the floor.

 

[toby83]

i feel like Geo has been taking too many step back threes this season...with the extended line, not an easy shot

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I want to mention Caleb's defense here. He has very good footwork and quick hands. If he gets physically stronger and is focused, he will be a high impact defender. He has the tools on that end of the floor.

Needs a ton of strength. Lacks lateral quickness. Right now his ceiling is an adequate defender. His length and willingness to defend is everything right now

 

[MadRU]

Needs a ton of strength. Lacks lateral quickness. Right now his ceiling is an adequate defender. His length and willingness to defend is everything right now

Disagree with his lateral quickness. Focused on him yesterday and his footwork was great at times, beat his man to the spot. He does need strength as I mentioned but he has the footwork and hands to be a impact defender.

 

[Good-Knight]

The difference between Coach Pikes and me (and probably Jordan, Rice, Hill, Waters and Bannon) is that I'd sit Geo after the backboard pass fiasco. One thing I learned as a player, is that coaches don't like players to make them look bad by showing signs of being a poorly coached team. Credit to Pikes for keeping his ego and emotions in check. I surely would not have. I'd have given him the full on Bobby Knight stare down and sit down. Credit for Geo for getting his act cleaned up after that.

Credit to Mulcahy for bringing the ball up court. That definely keeps mileage off Geo's odometer and makes him fresher in the second half.

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

Why Wisconsin didn't get Kobe King(#23) more touches down the stretch is beyond me. That kid is a straight baller. No one on our team could handle him 1 v 1.

I don't see this game as a turning/launching point for Geo. We've seen him take over games before. Let's hope with his experience, maturity, and stronger body we see these types of games more often. BUT, let's not forget, Geo is the focus of our opponent's defense. Their #1 priority is to stop Geo. Unless you're a future lottery pick, 20+ points/night just isn't a reality.

Btw.... I had no problem with the alley oop attempt in the first half. I'm sure it's something they've done in practice many times. I love it when teammates show confidence and belief in each other. If it was the final 5 minutes of a tight game, different story.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The difference between Coach Pikes and me (and probably Jordan, Rice, Hill, Waters and Bannon) is that I'd sit Geo after the backboard pass fiasco. One thing I learned as a player, is that coaches don't like players to make them look bad by showing signs of being a poorly coached team. Credit to Pikes for keeping his ego and emotions in check. I surely would not have. I'd have given him the full on Bobby Knight stare down and sit down. Credit for Geo for getting his act cleaned up after that.

Credit to Mulcahy for bringing the ball up court. That definely keeps mileage off Geo's odometer and makes him fresher in the second half.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!

These are the things you want to see. I'll live with when they don't work. If he missed a dunk doing a 360 then it is a different story

 

[goru7]

I said it was a great win. You have to win the games your supposed to win. That’s not an easy thing in basketball. Btw, your stat really helps my point not yours.

No it doesn’t because you said they are a bad team. If you said they are really struggling on the road or at neutral sites that would make more sense but they are 5-0 at home , are still 54 in Kenpom and ahead of us, came off a 20 point blowout win over undefeated Indiana, so it is a Quad 2 win , so my point is your post referring to them as a bad team is bullshit and said to minimize the win last night. You do have a tendency to do that in your posts, kinda like your back handed compliments about Coach Pike.

 

[ru66]

It’s a “We’re great” game. Lose Saturday and it’s back to “We suck.”

fans blowing with the wind--that's why you should not pay attention to the "pseudo" experts-on and off wagon with win or loss

 

[jtung230]

No it doesn’t because you said they are a bad team. If you said they are really struggling on the road or at neutral sites that would make more sense but they are 5-0 at home , are still 54 in Kenpom and ahead of us, came off a 20 point blowout win over undefeated Indiana, so it is a Quad 2 win , so my point is your post referring to them as a bad team is bullshit and said to minimize the win last night. You do have a tendency to do that in your posts, kinda like your back handed compliments about Coach Pike.

I'm just calling it like I see it. I struggle to find compliments for Pike. But I do give him credit when due.

 

[G- RUnit]

Great review of Gio.

1. Loved the retro jerseys.
2. Loved the Scarlet RU warms ups even more. Was skeptical of Adidas and unlike others have no use for the Ohio State look alike football uniforms, but the retro uniforms in Football and now Hoops have been great. Just don't charge ridiculous prices ($150 really?) if fans want to purchase.
3. Horrible Officiating last night. We played so well and refs kept Wiscy in the game. Some of the calls were mind boggling. One of these games I want Pike to go off and get a T because we have been getting the short end of the stick for too long... and it was a home game. Make up calls in the last minute don't count either.
4. Our foul shooting was awful again. Ugh. Even Mulcahy missed two. Ugh! At least Gio was smooth.
5. Hate Johnson at the top of the key setting ill advised picks and screens and getting cheap fouls. Can't happen. Too valuable. I keep him down below. Even despite foul trouble he had another very good dominating game.
6. Love Harper underneath getting rebounds and driving. His ill advised threes/fouls however let Wiscy back into game after 9-0 start. If that was Young this board would go ballistic. No more threes. Stay in the paint.
7. As for Young, despite the critics on this board, he provided a nice spark. He is the quickest player at RU since Darris Griffin. Two blow by lay ups were things of beauty, Wiscy could not cover him. And even on his misses he opened up the court which led to easy put backs by RU. Sure he is out of control at times but there is speed and he plays some great D.
8. Caleb was quietly very good and as Pike noted had the shot of the game. His mid range shot might be the best on the team.
9. Mathias was steady again and may be the one player on the team whose shot has visibly improved.
10. Mulcahy getting more confident and showing he is going to be great play maker.
11. Yeboah efforts getting little notice but he almost had a double double in a very nice game.
12. RU defense. Loved the press. We are playing so many guys so why not? We clearly wore Wiscy down. We cause so many turnovers. Make opponents work and tire them out.
13. RU rebounding was very very good.
14. Defense on Wiscy big guy was great. He did nothing.
15. One foul by Doucoure was bit head scratching to say the least. LOL!
16. As noted above, Wiscy was picked to finish 6th in the league and blew out Indiana and Marquette. They are very good shooters. A very nice win over a decent B1G team
17. We own Wiscy at the RAC! And we should of or could have won at MSG.
18. RAC was rocking. Saturday should be a zoo.
19. Seton Hall will be fascinating. They are big and long and sadly often dirty. However with Mathias, Caleb and Young think we can frustrate Powell somewhat. RAC will be rocking and if we hit some shots we can beat them. Guessing Schiano will be in the R House! Show SHU what big time athletics is all about.
20. Amusing incident in 113 with several "older" sober affluent RU fans getting into it over standing up and down in front. Was almost uncomfortable as a full fledged 60 year old donnybrook was on the verge of breaking out. Gotta like the passion I suppose.

 

[MadRU]

GEO

 

[goru7]

I'm just calling it like I see it. I struggle to find compliments for Pike. But I do give him credit when due.

Just calling you out like you deserve to be. You have very little clue how hard it is to recruit here, or to coach in the Big 10 and we have found a coach that has made us competitive in 3 years coming off being the laughingstocks of college basketball , like that loser Ash made us in football., who almost burned our football program to the ground in a little over 3 years. Do I disagree with his rotations at times, sure and that is a nice message board discussion, but your flat out bullshit negative Coach talk, is so not called for . Perspective is important in life. We are not Duke or Kentucky and we do not cheat !! What he has done in the strongest Big 10 in a while is truly remarkable.

 

[rufeelinit]

Why Wisconsin didn't get Kobe King(#23) more touches down the stretch is beyond me. That kid is a straight baller. No one on our team could handle him 1 v 1.

I don't see this game as a turning/launching point for Geo. We've seen him take over games before. Let's hope with his experience, maturity, and stronger body we see these types of games more often. BUT, let's not forget, Geo is the focus of our opponent's defense. Their #1 priority is to stop Geo. Unless you're a future lottery pick, 20+ points/night just isn't a reality.

Btw.... I had no problem with the alley oop attempt in the first half. I'm sure it's something they've done in practice many times. I love it when teammates show confidence and belief in each other. If it was the final 5 minutes of a tight game, different story.

Agree on King. He looked like a smooth player and seems to be significant strides this year. I wonder if Montez can elevate his game in a similar manner at some point. Speaking strictly from an offensive skill perspective.

Regarding Geo’s alley pop attempt for Montez off the backboard, I actually thought he put MM in a decent position to finish. Not easy but if grabs the ball cleanly he could have flushed it. If that works it’s an ESPN top ten highlight for the day, week and month!

 

[jtung230]

Just calling you out like you deserve to be. You have very little clue how hard it is to recruit here, or to coach in the Big 10 and we have found a coach that has made us competitive in 3 years coming off being the laughingstocks of college basketball , like that loser Ash made us in football., who almost burned our football program to the ground in a little over 3 years. Do I disagree with his rotations at times, sure and that is a nice message board discussion, but your flat out bullshit negative Coach talk, is so not called for . Perspective is important in life. We are not Duke or Kentucky and we do not cheat !! What he has done in the strongest Big 10 in a while is truly remarkable.

I set a very low bar for Pike. I thought he made progress and gave credit for finally not finishing last in the B1G last year. I also said Pike will show progress if we can get in any post season play (CBI). I can live with those goals but let's not pretend that he is doing something great here.