Great to sit back and watch some hoops after the long Covid pause. Even better to watch a game where you could relax and not worry about the final score. This one as expected was not competitive and was effectively over about midway through the first half when it was apparent that RU could basically get any shot on offense they wanted and Maine just was not going to have enough firepower to keep up. Yes it was only a 16 point and yes the intensity level was extremely low but this was never a game. Maine cut it to 10 early in the 2nd half but RU was never once seriously threatened after that.
About intensity, yes it was pretty dreadful. However given this team had not played a game for 18 days and there had been very little practice leading up to this game, I really cannot get worked up over the low energy and lack of any semblence of intensity on defense. To RU's credit the intensity was there when it matter and it was in that first 5-10 minutes where RU jumped on Maine with some hot shooting and built their confidence. Props to Pike and company for getting this team ready to play at the tip off. True it did wane from there but really this easily could have been a 25-30 point win with just few stops made here or there. Not too concerned with that. I do not think Rutgers fans are surprised by winning only by 16. I expect a much tighter effort on D in two days. The real games are Michigan and Nebraska coming up so prep time vs Maine and CCSt are really not what is being worked on.
My one criticism would be what we already know, Rutgers is not getting much at all from the bench. That is been a consistent and nothing today changed my opinion on that. What we did get was Paul finally getting into a rhythm on those wing 3s. Hit all 4, 5-7 fg, 4 assists 14 points. Hopefully it buoys his confidence level but hard to extrapolate from a game against the lowly Maine defense given that everything will move at a faster pace vs Big 10 level competition. Tip your hat to Paul because I think he was struggling mightily the last few games before the pause. Individually Ron was his solid self on offense 19 points, 7 boards, 6-8 shooting and hit some 3s early. Geo provided energy and some 3s early before sputtering with his shot in the 2nd half. 5 assists leading the team who had a whopping 21 in total. Remember Geo was out of hamstring and flu and then perhaps covid and he only played that SHU game after missing a few so his conditioning much less than the rest of team at this point. Caleb more effective in the 2nd half than the first and nailing 7 of 8 treys seems to have really bounced back from his funk. Cliff hit a couple of jump shots further away so that was good to see. Good to see Oskar drain a 3. Mag struggled a bit to get into the flow. Jaden Jones continues to just bad 3s. Hyatt save for one basket didnt see much time. Unfortunate that in a game like this we couldnt get the bench players more time or a breakthrough performance but maybe vs CCSU.
Thank you Coach Pike and staff for getting the team through covid and appreciation to the players for making it another year with covid protocols. At least RU went through it around this time and not later in the season.
Maybe 2K there tops today if that, had no issues with check ins but remember not alot of people and daylight so it was easy to do. They do accept photos of your card if anyone wants to know. I do not think that shutting down concessions and allowing no food is sustainable once we get into Big 10 season...and quite frankly what other schools or professional venues have done this. Certainly not the NBA so hopefully RU rectifies that situation for Michigan.
About intensity, yes it was pretty dreadful. However given this team had not played a game for 18 days and there had been very little practice leading up to this game, I really cannot get worked up over the low energy and lack of any semblence of intensity on defense. To RU's credit the intensity was there when it matter and it was in that first 5-10 minutes where RU jumped on Maine with some hot shooting and built their confidence. Props to Pike and company for getting this team ready to play at the tip off. True it did wane from there but really this easily could have been a 25-30 point win with just few stops made here or there. Not too concerned with that. I do not think Rutgers fans are surprised by winning only by 16. I expect a much tighter effort on D in two days. The real games are Michigan and Nebraska coming up so prep time vs Maine and CCSt are really not what is being worked on.
My one criticism would be what we already know, Rutgers is not getting much at all from the bench. That is been a consistent and nothing today changed my opinion on that. What we did get was Paul finally getting into a rhythm on those wing 3s. Hit all 4, 5-7 fg, 4 assists 14 points. Hopefully it buoys his confidence level but hard to extrapolate from a game against the lowly Maine defense given that everything will move at a faster pace vs Big 10 level competition. Tip your hat to Paul because I think he was struggling mightily the last few games before the pause. Individually Ron was his solid self on offense 19 points, 7 boards, 6-8 shooting and hit some 3s early. Geo provided energy and some 3s early before sputtering with his shot in the 2nd half. 5 assists leading the team who had a whopping 21 in total. Remember Geo was out of hamstring and flu and then perhaps covid and he only played that SHU game after missing a few so his conditioning much less than the rest of team at this point. Caleb more effective in the 2nd half than the first and nailing 7 of 8 treys seems to have really bounced back from his funk. Cliff hit a couple of jump shots further away so that was good to see. Good to see Oskar drain a 3. Mag struggled a bit to get into the flow. Jaden Jones continues to just bad 3s. Hyatt save for one basket didnt see much time. Unfortunate that in a game like this we couldnt get the bench players more time or a breakthrough performance but maybe vs CCSU.
Thank you Coach Pike and staff for getting the team through covid and appreciation to the players for making it another year with covid protocols. At least RU went through it around this time and not later in the season.
Maybe 2K there tops today if that, had no issues with check ins but remember not alot of people and daylight so it was easy to do. They do accept photos of your card if anyone wants to know. I do not think that shutting down concessions and allowing no food is sustainable once we get into Big 10 season...and quite frankly what other schools or professional venues have done this. Certainly not the NBA so hopefully RU rectifies that situation for Michigan.
