Game 19 Ohio State: Brutal

[ColonelRutgers]

Are there some stats that show that the Rutgers offense struggles when this guy is at PG for those 8 mins per game because I have not noticed this negative impact. Actually, you could probably make a case of seeing better ball movement and better shot selection. Of course he does not shoot, which is an issue.

Which one is it:

1. Does Rutgers lose its leads when Souf comes in the game?

2. Does the opponent get or extend its lead when Souf comes in the game?

The other team literally does not guard him when he has the ball. The Dakich kid who was assigned to Souf was standing in the paint when Souf had the ball on the perimeter. Having a guy who can’t or won’t shoot and the other team knows it puts that much more pressure on the other players. It’s like playing 5 on 4.

 

[Rutgers25]

Thiam and Omoruyi. They're more than halfway through their sophomore seasons, it's time to see if they can take on a bigger scoring load.

Unfortunately, Patrick has a point. Freeman at least has the ability to create a shot. Thiam and Omuruyi struggle to create.

We’re really in a lose lose situation with our total lack of scoring options.

 

[PatrickRU92]

Thiam and Omoruyi. They're more than halfway through their sophomore seasons, it's time to see if they can take on a bigger scoring load.

I think we need to set more plays for Thiam (have Corey or Baker drive and then kick it to him) but he has not shown much ability to get open to make his own shots. Love him or hate him, Freeman has done that in the past

Eugene is great this year, I love him, but he isn't going to make any shots outside of 10 feet at this point. Freeman can

Freeman had an awful game vs OSU, and he has had other bad games. Likewise he has had good games too and has been valuable.

This is what we have to live with this season.

 

[kcg88]

I think we need to set more plays for Thiam (have Corey or Baker drive and then kick it to him) but he has not shown much ability to get open to make his own shots. Love him or hate him, Freeman has done that in the past

Eugene is great this year, I love him, but he isn't going to make any shots outside of 10 feet at this point. Freeman can

Freeman had an awful game vs OSU, and he has had other bad games. Likewise he has had good games too and has been valuable.

This is what we have to live with this season.

Thiam seems to make one play a game that makes me say "okay, do THAT more!"

I don't know if it's because he expends so much energy on defense that he can't do it consistently on offense, or if he just needs to get more comfortable, or what. But it's in there... somewhere.

 

[Mr Magoo]

The other team literally does not guard him when he has the ball. The Dakich kid who was assigned to Souf was standing in the paint when Souf had the ball on the perimeter. Having a guy who can’t or won’t shoot and the other team knows it puts that much more pressure on the other players. It’s like playing 5 on 4.

Exactly. It's common sense and Ohio State was all over it.

 

[Agents of KAOS]

Freeman at least has the ability to create a shot.

trying to figure out what shot you're talkin about?

 

[PatrickRU92]

trying to figure out what shot you're talkin about?

he has made plenty of shots on his own. You do watch the games right? He has shown in many games the abliity to fake his man out using his pivot to get his body closer the basket and lay it in. he has shown the ability to hit a 12-15 footer. He has made the 10-12 foot fade away many times. I cringe a little because he's not exactly a dead eye ,but he has made 3 pointers too including at key game moments.

He isn't Karl Malone but he's not a complete wash out either. He has had some very nice games for RU.

 

[Agents of KAOS]

he has made plenty of shots on his own. You do watch the games right? He has shown in many games the abliity to fake his man out using his pivot to get his body closer the basket and lay it in. he has shown the ability to hit a 12-15 footer. He has made the 10-12 foot fade away many times. I cringe

I really cringe that you said this. He only made those so-called shots against weak comp and his shot is really bad, he kicks his leg out like a hitch on those 3s and their like a line drive shot, the shots he does make are the 1s where he leaks out for the slam but under the basket and 7-12 ft out, he's not that great. To me!

 

[PatrickRU92]

I really cringe that you said this. He only made those so-called shots against weak comp and his shot is really bad, he kicks his leg out like a hitch on those 3s and their like a line drive shot, the shots he does make are the 1s where he leaks out for the slam but under the basket and 7-12 ft out, he's not that great. To me!

Who would you rather shoot the ball down low. Doorson? Sa? someone has to do it. In case you haven't noticed we have VERY limited scoring options--from anywhwere on the court. And it got even worse with Williams injury. Shoot I was pissed off that Williams wasn't taking more shots and now even those are gone.

 

[Night Man]

Two disclaimers here: 1) very happy with Pikiell overall, and 2) OSU is really good...

but there is a pattern over these two years of just absolutely not showing up for home games every few games... and the manner in which these no-shows are manifesting is not a result of the dearth of good shooters on the team, so spare me the argument that team shooting ability is the cause of everything that happens at either end of the floor.

I'm not turning this into its own thread because I don't think it's a major storyline of the program in this tenure so far, but I'm hoping it's purely a function of the personalities we've had these two years. This team fights so much harder than the teams we saw under FHJ and EJ but those are really low bars to clear. RU will eventually need some level of consistency in winnable games if we're going to make the NCAAs in our lifetime, and this pattern will absolutely prevent that. So it had better be temporary.

 

[bac2therac]

Two disclaimers here: 1) very happy with Pikiell overall, and 2) OSU is really good...

but there is a pattern over these two years of just absolutely not showing up for home games every few games... and the manner in which these no-shows are manifesting is not a result of the dearth of good shooters on the team, so spare me the argument that team shooting ability is the cause of everything that happens at either end of the floor.

I'm not turning this into its own thread because I don't think it's a major storyline of the program in this tenure so far, but I'm hoping it's purely a function of the personalities we've had these two years. This team fights so much harder than the teams we saw under FHJ and EJ but those are really low bars to clear. RU will eventually need some level of consistency in winnable games if we're going to make the NCAAs in our lifetime, and this pattern will absolutely prevent that. So it had better be temporary.

this is a fair and good post. Teams always are going to throw in clunkers..unfortunately RU has thrown in 3 this year at home and two were against low level bad MAAC programs. We have a low bar for sure which is okay given from the depths we were in under Jordan, however I think this is the last season to fall back on that kind of stuff. I know next year will probably be tough record wise because of losses and we will have alot of young players but I think the fanbase will have to shake off the low bar of just wanting to play hard or give it a competitive try and move the goalposts forward a bit.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I think it is almost impossible for a team's intensity batting average to be 1.000 Us fans, especially me, have a very difficult time with this in the short term. I expect next year we will be even better with our intensity batting average as Eugene and Duke and Souf take on more leadership roles. The absence of a player or 2 will help in this regard.

OSU is good, but not that good.

The Mike Williams injury is MAJOR. At worst he eats minutes (not belief) and at best he is the heartbeat of the team. Personally I think this is an injury we don't recover from.

 

[Night Man]

this is a fair and good post. Teams always are going to throw in clunkers..unfortunately RU has thrown in 3 this year at home and two were against low level bad MAAC programs. We have a low bar for sure which is okay given from the depths we were in under Jordan, however I think this is the last season to fall back on that kind of stuff. I know next year will probably be tough record wise because of losses and we will have alot of young players but I think the fanbase will have to shake off the low bar of just wanting to play hard or give it a competitive try and move the goalposts forward a bit.

yes, thanks, and I'm thinking of last year as well w/ PSU and Iowa... that's a team we beat on the road and a team we were right there with on the road, and they just rolled us at home. Hartford last year too... there have been poor performances in the OOC against teams that just don't have enough to beat RU... there is no shortage of these games unfortunately.

GRF... definitely not looking for 1.000. I know it still may be taboo in some circles to invoke his tenure in a positive light but how often did Rice's teams get blown out like that in Y1 and Y2 before he really lost the team in Y3? They always stunk it up against UofL but other than that, they were in pretty much every game.
Maybe Waters is an instructive example here and gives us a hint as to whether it's the makeup of the roster rather than the staff's ability to motivate.... because in the better 3 of Waters' 5 years they laid fewer than 5 eggs at home (Yale NIT, St. John's and Providence in his last year, maybe 1 or 2 more, definitely none in 2003-4) and in the crappy 2 years he had, they would have games like that 40 pt loss to a mediocre Nova in 2003. On the road was a much different story. I know Pike's teams have been a zillion times better than Waters' on the road, but consistency on the road without consistency at home is not the way to maximize your win total, road games are just not as winnable when you look at the typical performance of an opponent at their place vs. at yours. Pike will have to defend the home court with more consistency if he's going to get it done here. A little bit of that is our (fans) fault. But home court advantage exists in sports even when there's a lack of fan support. Sorry that was long.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

We match up terribly with Iowa with Mike Williams. Without him it is so much worse.

I am expecting to be blown out Wednesday night. How do you attack a zone with our personnel

Hit wide-open threes and dunk! [winking]