GAME 21 Purdue: Awakening the Sleeping Giant

[bac2therac]

Relish this moment! Bask in it! Savor it! Because from here everything is going about to be TURNT UP. The sleeping giant is awake and he is growing exponentially. Rutgers is now 16-5 and 7-3 through the first half of the conference slate good enough for third place but just a half of a game out of first place. FREAKIN UNBELIEVABLE. Rutgers is on the verge of making something special happen and they have situated themselves with that 7-3 start to be in a golden position as the 2nd half of conference play awaits. No need to repeat how many years our long suffering fans have waited. For me I just wanted to get to the midway point and get to it at 7-3 before jumping head first in whats to come. Proceed optimistically, know that there is a ton of work still to do but know that this team is has already proven it is more than capable of reaching its final goal. Each win makes the next game an even bigger game raising the stakes even higher. RU isn't going to win every game especially in a league as brutal as the Big 10 but we are now at the point with a large enough sample size to realize that yes Rutgers is one of the best teams in this league. The standings do not lie. Neither do our eyes. Rutgers now is going to go through a media pressure cooker where there will be an enormous attention paid on the program and their potential to make history. Embrace these expectations. Do not fear them. Rutgers is every bit as good as the attention they will be getting. These moments are what we have dreamed of for almost 3 decades..wow. I am getting goosebumps. This is what we signed up for. An eruption has taken place at the RAC. This long dormant program has risen. This sleeping giant has finally awakened and he and isn't going back to bed anytime soon.

Tonight the win over Purdue was the first time that RU has beaten the Boilermakers in league play. Let's stop and consider the meaning of that. Lets savor this....Purdue had won the Big 10 regular season title 2 of the past 3 seasons. They were a shot away from making the Final 4 last year. They laid a 50 point haymaker back at the RAC vs an Eddie Jordan led RU back 5 years ago. Historic night. We stood toe to toe and outplayed a tough physical defensive minded well coached basketball program. We started measuring progress by beating some of the middling programs over the past couple years but when you start winning bunch of games like RU has done against some of the traditional top half Big 10 programs you know that you have arrived. There are 3 schools that RU has yet to beat and what do you know, RU plays two of them back to back coming up. Stakes become even higher as RU hits the road.

As for the game, while I think most RU fans were nervous as the 17 point lead whittled away to just 3 late in the game, I think this was the typical Rutgers grind out a win by getting a lead based on playing strong half court defense and causing turnovers leading to easy buckets. RU I believe had a 24-9 advantage in fast break points. RU won this game in the first half where they forced Purdue into 11 turnovers and also by flustering them and drawing fouls. I really loved Pike having this team prepared on both ends. This wasnt a hangover start like Nebraska. This team was locked in from the get go and their opponent was several rungs better than Nebraska. RU rose to the challenge and built up a 16 point lead that ended up 12. RU controlled the tempo and basically shut down Willliams, Haarms and Stevanovic and if not for little known Proctor, RU may have been up as much as 20.

At halftime I thought the key things to watch were turnovers, fouls but also rebounding. Boards were even at halftime but geez Purdue just wallopped RU on the boards 39-29 in the final stats and especially on the offensive boards where they cleaned up 15-6 and I think it was plus 8 in the 2nd half. Major credit to Painter. I thought he coached an excellent 2nd half in who should get the ball and in trying to manage with guys in foul trouble. He got Purdue to draw some fouls on RU and get to the line more. He rode Williams for a while there but I thought Purdue really executed their defense and RU made a bevy of costly turnovers in a key juncture that allowed Purdue to really get the game back to a 2 possession game.

But these games come down to who makes plays. Rutgers made some just enormous stops....a Geo steal, Myles block, Yeboah steal, Myles board and then yet another Myles play stealing the ball from Boudreux up 5 to seal the game. Defense won this game. When in doubt it was the bread and butter...the grind out Rutgers pounding nails style. Then RU finished at the free throw line, Geo and Ron hit a pair each and Caleb was money on all 6 of his. 12-13 overall, 16 points, 7 boards..wow. Whats amazing is it seemed like everyone contributed something at some point. Earlier Yeboah was had a great first half but was quiet in the 2nd but his one shot for 3 gave RU a 9 point cushion they desperately needed. I thought in the first half Montez was directly responsible for RU getting that double digit lead. At 26-19, he hit a 3 and then baited Thompson into fouling him and all of a sudden it was 30-19 but more than that, Purdue got flustered and got called for a slew of fouls. It all started from Mathis. Carter gave important minutes. Doesnt have to be pretty and I thought he got way too many touches offensively but its the minutes that are important here. I think Harper had his moments but was sort of quite in the latter stages of the 2nd half. Mulcahy not his best night and Young well not sure if he possibly got hurt but I would say the 5 turnovers in just 11 minutes is why he rode the bench. Credit Pike for realizing that but again did he hurt his head?

I know some are concerned about losing a 17 point lead and yes given the blown leads happened twice in a row you wonder why its happening. Well honestly i think its that last piece of the puzzle that the team needs to learn. RU is great as the hunter but as the hunted is still learning. Purdue is not the type of program to just lie down like that not when they are a little desperate to get as many wins as they can. I can almost point to one play that RU messed up on at 44-27, where Harper stole the ball after Yeboah hit 3 free throws, RU went for the kill but instead of getting a bucket to go up 19, Harper turned it over and after that Purdue went on a 14-5 over 5 minutes, to cut the lead to 8. Its those little plays that might cause a huge swing. Or going 4 or 5 times with empty possession, turnover and fouls, not even taking shots, those are the kind of things that the team has been guilty of the past two games. Sometimes you just need a bucket to stem the tide a bit. I thought tonight RU did a better job of responding hitting some 3s that they really needed and even though Purdue kept chipping away, RU never lost the lead tonight. I truly think they learned from the Nebraska and you saw it at the end with how the defense just stepped up late.

This team continues to awe in the manner which they keep grinding and doing their thing with no superstar and not looking pretty at times. I think RU fans should feel really really proud of this program and its coaching staff and the hard work the players put in keeping to their task. I have been saying lately that in the Big 10 you are only as good as your last win and as bad as your last loss. At 7-3 RU has proven they are more good than bad. RU is now on the precipice of deliverance shedding all remaining demons. Get ready everyone. Get ready for the bright lights. Get ready for the spotlight. Get ready for the fight. The mother****ing sleeping giant is up and he is taking names and numbers






Gather 'round us, join with the band
Together we're stronger, together we'll stand
Say what can you do, well, we've got a plan
And we're gonna take you to the promised land

It's time to remember, it's time to move on
They've pushed it too far, they don't know what they've done
If it's a fight that they want then it's a fight that they'll get
We never lose, honey so place your bets

Long ago and far away
We had a voice, you know that we had a say
We won't live for yesterday
Ready or not, we're gonna have our way



We got the numbers, yeah, we got the might
We got the strength and we got the right
We got the reason, yeah, we got the night
So wake up the sleeping giant

Not one more minute, not one more day
We've waited too long, can't let our chance slip away
We won't stop 'til we get it, we won't stop 'til we're done
We'll bite and we'll claw until they've lost and we've won

We took all we're gonna take
It's got to stop, you know there's too much at stake
Who the hell are they to say
What we can do and how we can play

[REPEAT CHORUS]

Whoa
Wake up the sleeping giant
Whoa
Wake up the sleeping giant

Let's push to the limit, so let's push 'til we're home
We've been good too long, they wouldn't leave us alone
It's our rights they're abusing, it's our right to fight back
So rally the troops and let's start the attack

[REPEAT CHORUS]

Whoa
We got the numbers, you know we got the might
Whoa
Wake up the sleeping giant
Whoa
We got the reason and we're ready to fight
Whoa
Wake up the sleeping giant

 

[King of S]

What?

 

[Scangg]

Welcome Bac! I told you I would save a seat for you. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Scangg]

Great game. Love this team. Really wanted this Purdue win since they dropped 100 on us.

The rebounding all of a sudden seems to be falling off a bit which I'm sure Pike will address.

 

[bac2therac]

I menntioned in another i almost thought after misses tonight in the 2nd half we seemed to not crash the boards but rather got back to play D

On the offensive end there a lot of rebounds Purdue seemed to get in that last 5 minutes for 2nd chances. They have alotvof size abd well coached. We are going to have to absorbs punches and we did tonight

 

[HeavenUniv.]

Maranda Curtis is all in. George Ducas is all in. Rare Earth get ready !!! :Rutgers

 

[RU MAN]

BAC great post. We all need to enjoy the ride. And remember, this team is so damn young. We start 4 sophomores. As you stated, we've been better as the hunter. Now the kids need to learn how to handle the pressure of success and being the hunted.

Onward and upward. On to the Garden and a date with Michigan. I hope Simpson plays and even Livers gets his minutes. I think our kids are primed for a win in the Garden. Go RU!

 

[Scangg]

I menntioned in another i almost thought after misses tonight in the 2nd half we seemed to not crash the boards but rather got back to play D

On the offensive end there a lot of rebounds Purdue seemed to get in that last 5 minutes for 2nd chances. They have alotvof size abd well coached. We are going to have to absorbs punches and we did tonight

It seems like we aren't relentlessly attackingntge offensive glass the way we did earlier in the season. Do you think this is Pike's coaching wanting to prevent transition offense and set up the D? I feel like we need to get back to that a bit more

 

[shields]

Wanted to beat Purdue, went to that beatdown by Purdue 5 years ago. Nice win.

 

[newell138]

Whats odd is that unlike some of our previous games, I was not nervous at the end. I just knew they would find a way to win

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Our defense of their high screens was amazing in the 1st half. So good that Painter stopped it in the 2nd half. That is why Williams saw so many more touches in the 2nd half.

credit Myles and perimeter defenders.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Something to consider since we have fans just taking a 5 second stat heard and running with it, out of context.

"RU is 13th out 14 for 3 pt shooting %

Well, if you look at it closer, one would think RU is lagging way behind the rest of the B1G....it's eye opening to see how close RU is to most of the B1G and how "quick takes" can fool fans.

30.9 % RU
34.5 % MSU
33.6 % Wisc
30.9 % Indy
33.8 % Neb
33.1 % Pur
32.3 % NW
32.3 % Min
35.2 % Iowa
31.9 % MD
31.3 % Illini
31.9 % PSU
38.2 % OSU
34.2 % MICH

Its not a drastic difference but we are probably talking 2 or 3 pointers made over 21 games, to go from 13th in B1G to something in the middle of the pack.

Geo Baker....deemed by some posters as a "poor shooter"....probably not accurate.

BAKER- 18-72 from 3 point range for all games up to Iowa....4-8 from 3 in last 2 games.

YOUNG started 3-26 from 3 point range up until Caldwell....10-21 from 3 from the Caldwell forward.

MATHIS started 5 -24 from 3 point range through the 1st Nebraska game...shooting 7-14 from 3 since that game.

HARPER 9 - 29 from 3 since 1st Nebraska game...(31% from 3)

HARPER 12 -41 from 3, for games prior to Nebraska game 1st game...29.6%....relatively the same most of the season.

CALEB...22 -30 from FT line up until last night.....goes 12-13 from FT line. Goes from 73% to 80% FT shooter in 1 game.

I didn't include Yeboah because he's been pretty steady in taking the shots within the offense.

The staff and players deserve a lot of credit for improving during the teeth of the B1G schedule.

 

[zebnatto]

I do think the blown leads (getting ahead by approx 15 only to have the opposition close down the stretch) is worth keeping an eye on. Two in a row but seems like more over the past half dozen. That’s a new kind o of problem to have.

 

[RUDead]

It seems like we aren't relentlessly attackingntge offensive glass the way we did earlier in the season. Do you think this is Pike's coaching wanting to prevent transition offense and set up the D? I feel like we need to get back to that a bit more

I feel like teams are preparing for us better and know that keeping us off the glass is a key to beating us.

 

[RUBigFrank]

"RU is 13th out 14 for 3 pt shooting %

We do well with three point shooting if we limit it to 12-16 attempts per game.

 

[LBusDoor90]

I menntioned in another i almost thought after misses tonight in the 2nd half we seemed to not crash the boards but rather got back to play D

On the offensive end there a lot of rebounds Purdue seemed to get in that last 5 minutes for 2nd chances. They have alotvof size abd well coached. We are going to have to absorbs punches and we did tonight

But on the road, the immediate retreat to defense is what coughs games like this up. The modest lead we had early in the 2nd half at Illinois evaporated because we didn't crash.
Is this a byproduct of the view held by many here how fouls are more quickly called on visitors and an intentional coaching strategy?

 

[pmvon]

B

I feel like teams are preparing for us better and know that keeping us off the glass is a key to beating us.

Agree, in general teams are becoming better prepared for us. I guess that’s part of being the hunted vs the hunter.

On a side note, I do like the chopping wood for Schiano and pounding nails for pike. Together they are building R house.

 

[RUChoppin]

What I loved last night, and the announcers even commented about, was that there was no way for Purdue to key in on 1-2 players to lock them down like in previous years. Trying to lock down one player just lets another rise up, because there's much greater depth of talent on this team than I think I've ever seen since becoming a fan while at RU in the late 90s.

There were frustrating points where a great defensive effort for 25+ seconds led to a slow rotation on a corner three that they buried, when I felt we'd played great defense and still gave up a 3. And then Baker's dagger from the corner late in the shot clock showed that we can do that, too. And when Yeboah calmly buried three FTs after being fouled in nearly the same spot. Just great moments.

Another element, which the board is unsurprisingly silent about, is that we did get the benefit of a favorable whistle in more than a few spots last night. Sure, there were some calls that went against us, but it felt like there were more that broke our way than not. This might stem a bit from our overall quality of play, where we've grabbed a bit of respect and don't always feel like we end up on the short end of judgement calls, and might stem a bit from a raucous RAC crowd that lets the refs hear it regularly.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Shout out to the big donor sitting courtside who the ref asked security to toss after he gave them an earful for a stretch of crappy calls

 

[RUChoppin]

Shout out to the big donor sitting courtside who the ref asked security to toss after he gave them an earful for a stretch of crappy calls

I told my wife at the end of the first half when the fouls were 9 to 3 in favor of us that we were going to get a much harsher whistle in the second half, and we definitely got a stretch where the tide turned a bit... but we regained our composure, and things swing back in our favor a bit more near the end.

Big difference between the teams last night was how they handled some of the questionable whistles. I felt like we had much more composure when a call broke against us and just got right back into our game... whereas Purdue started getting frustrated, which broke down their composure and led to pressing too much on offense and some dumb fouls on defense.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Also, I want to see Ron post up a lot more. He is a tremendous finisher around the basket and very crafty

 

[richthedentist]

Also, I want to see Ron post up a lot more. He is a tremendous finisher around the basket and very crafty

I agree I wrote that during the game especially towards the end of the game when we couldn’t score

 

[RU from Jersey]

Wanted to beat Purdue, went to that beatdown by Purdue 5 years ago. Nice win.

Not to bring back a bad memory, but wasn't that the game that Purdue had more rebounds than RU had points? Nice to see how far RU has come.

 

[rufeelinit]

These games are never easy. I was impressed with the defensive effort by both teams. We forced 18 turnover and they forced 14 from us. We did not make a FG in the last 6:40 of the game and took only 44 shots all night (18 in the second half). We won the game with defense and by hitting enough FT's. Caleb was terrific at the line and can contribute in a variety of ways.

Certainly not going to complain about the officiating although I did think it was another game where there was a half time adjustment. Myles had no fouls in the first half and then had 4 with more than 5 minutes still to play. I was very concerned when he limped off in the second half and relieved when he came back.

Young had 5 TO's but I would be interested in knowing if he sustained some type of head injury that precluded him playing. When Purdue was in foul mode late in the game you would have thought he would be one of the five on the floor regardless.

For Purdue, Williams was a beast at times and #3 knocked down a lot of shots. Painter is a good coach and it shows in how they run their sets to create good shots. Having said that our defensive intensity was good throughout. Not overly concerned about the rebounding trend yet. The effort was there, some times you have to tip your cap.

Should be another fun one Saturday in MSG. To have this neutral site game count as a Michigan home game is just another opportunity for us to take advantage of a break going our way. Hopefully we continue to cash in as we have thus far.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

ZERO minutes with both Haarms and Williams in the game.

I thought Painter could have went in with the hammer when Myles went out with the injury and/or fouls. Obviously Painter looked at it from a Rutgers POV and how would he defend.

 

[goru7]

BAC, tremendous post and I welcome your optimism. You are all in.
First, one of the more incredible things our team exhibits is the ability to get big leads against these top Big 10 teams . Some threads are looking it as a negative that we blow a lot but not all of the lead , but to me this is the single biggest accomplishment this young team has done this year in the so-called year ahead of schedule for Pike. We have been up by at least 10, but mostly by 14-17 against Seton Hall, Wisconsin,,Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska twice and twice in one game , And Purdue . We have spurt ability that we have not had since Ricky Shields, Jerome Coleman or Quincy Douby could hit back to back threes to propel us to big leads. It is so damn impressive and the thing that makes us a damn good team. We have even shown it on the road at Illinois and at Iowa and during our comeback that fell short at St. Bonnie’s .that we can really play outstanding in spurts. This is something we have almost never done before. It is fueled by defense, getting out in transition and hitting shots , all things that real good teams do. It is the single thing I am most proud of this team and the Coaches for this season .
Although it is a concern, that we cannot hold big leads and we go in droughts, we almost never blow the lead. Even last night I never thought we would not win . This team has changed my years and mindset of Rutgers always blowing it or giving it away. The Team always does enough to win as 15-0 proves. They have a quiet confidence and I never sense panic which Pike has to be given tremendous credit for instilling that in these players. As a result, as a fan I am starting to think we will win, which is another incredible thing this team has done to this fan base. The team has a good chance to win every game which could not be said for many years or in Pike’s first 2 years and only slightly shown last year for a portion of the year . We have a real chance to win the Big 10 this year , which is the most incredible thing and will make Pike not just Big 10 Coach of the year but National Coach of the year. Wow!!!!!!!!

 

[G- RUnit]

Also, I want to see Ron post up a lot more. He is a tremendous finisher around the basket and very crafty

Being saying that all year. He should be camped underneath. 4-10 and 0-3 yesterday, Rough shooting month.

 

[RU89]

Shout out to the big donor sitting courtside who the ref asked security to toss after he gave them an earful for a stretch of crappy calls

Kyk, no surprise that you would like that

 

[216 Row E]

Great recap again bac, pretty exciting times:Chop banana:

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Three things to add:
First, some people thought the kids would have tired legs. Can we please put that whole idea to rest. These are 19 - 20 year old kids. Remember when you were that age? I played all day, every day.
Second, we held Haarms, Stefanovic, and Eastern to a total of 4 points. That's pretty incredible.
Third, remember that even a 12 point lead can disappear to just a six point lead with two quick threes. So, it's a concern, but how the team responds is more important than losing a big lead.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

@bac2therac these are getting too long I couldn't get through the whole thing haha. But in case you didn't point it out, Yeboah coming from the weak side to yank the ball from #50 in the post late in the game was HUGE. Yeboah continues to step up when we need him most on both ends of the floor. Timely 3's, heady plays on D, timely rebounds, when we're in a scoring drought he puts it on the ground and take it to the hole. He's been such a HUGE addition and he goes about his business so quietly.

Also, shout out to shaq who did a heckuva job spelling myles and doing some dirty work against guys he was giving up a ton of size on.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Three things to add:
First, some people thought the kids would have tired legs. Can we please put that whole idea to rest. These are 19 - 20 year old kids. Remember when you were that age? I played all day, every day.
Second, we held Haarms, Stefanovic, and Eastern to a total of 4 points. That's pretty incredible.
Third, remember that even a 12 point lead can disappear to just a six point lead with two quick threes. So, it's a concern, but how the team responds is more important than losing a big lead.

great points all around. The tired legs things for college kids always cracks me up. People don't realize these kids played 6 games a weekend at aau tourneys.

 

[goru7]

Hopefully we must stop with the bash threads to our players. First it was Young, then Geo, then Caleb , then Montez and then Paul . Geo is our Captain and had some rust from the injury. Jacob was sitting out for a year until he was getting in his groove. Caleb and Montez are sophomores getting better every day and I would not want any other sophomore in the country than those 2 and our other 2 , which in my biased opinion are the best 4 sophomore teammates in the country. Paul is a freshman that has done a lot of good things and has struggled at times as freshmen do. They are here this year and next and some the year after that year. Enjoy their growth and development as this year is already special, and next year can be even more special. A constructive criticism is always fair game but downright threads saying so and so is terrible has to stop if you are a real fan. For example, I thought Ron should have camped down low and went to work on the block and stopped hoisting three pointers off balance that caused him to go 0-3 from that range. He is one of our best players and has the potential to be All league in the next 2 years , but we can talk about his game without bashing. The young players will get older and more experienced going through the wars. In fact, part of our success this year was because the 4 freshman and Geo have been through the Big 10 wars before and will get more comfortable going forward. Sorry for the rant but starting to get sick of the threads that continue to pop up.

 

[RutgersLarry]

Great write-up, love reading um!

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Hopefully we must stop with the bash threads to our players. First it was Young, then Geo, then Caleb , then Montez and then Paul . Geo is our Captain and had some rust from the injury. Jacob was sitting out for a year until he was getting in his groove. Caleb and Montez are sophomores getting better every day and I would not want any other sophomore in the country than those 2 and our other 2 , which in my biased opinion are the best 4 sophomore teammates in the country. Paul is a freshman that has done a lot of good things and has struggled at times as freshmen do. They are here this year and next and some the year after that year. Enjoy their growth and development as this year is already special, and next year can be even more special. A constructive criticism is always fair game but downright threads saying so and so is terrible has to stop if you are a real fan. For example, I thought Ron should have camped down low and went to work on the block and stopped hoisting three pointers off balance that caused him to go 0-3 from that range. He is one of our best players and has the potential to be All league in the next 2 years , but we can talk about his game without bashing. The young players will get older and more experienced going through the wars. In fact, part of our success this year was because the 4 freshman and Geo have been through the Big 10 wars before and will get more comfortable going forward. Sorry for the rant but starting to get sick of the threads that continue to pop up.

Fair points, but some people go over the top deriding a poster who in fact is just giving constructive criticism. A few weeks ago, I wrote that Mathis needed to play better and more than a couple of responses told me that basically Mathis could do no wrong and how dare I criticize him. Well, he did need to play better and he has. I've also said that Yeboah needed to be more consistent and, lately, he has been a big time contributor, even though he kind of disappeared for a stretch. That being said, the give and take on this board is fantastic overall and is part of the fun involved with this special season that RU BB is having .

 

[216 Row E]

Hopefully we must stop with the bash threads to our players. First it was Young, then Geo, then Caleb , then Montez and then Paul . Geo is our Captain and had some rust from the injury. Jacob was sitting out for a year until he was getting in his groove. Caleb and Montez are sophomores getting better every day and I would not want any other sophomore in the country than those 2 and our other 2 , which in my biased opinion are the best 4 sophomore teammates in the country. Paul is a freshman that has done a lot of good things and has struggled at times as freshmen do. They are here this year and next and some the year after that year. Enjoy their growth and development as this year is already special, and next year can be even more special. A constructive criticism is always fair game but downright threads saying so and so is terrible has to stop if you are a real fan. For example, I thought Ron should have camped down low and went to work on the block and stopped hoisting three pointers off balance that caused him to go 0-3 from that range. He is one of our best players and has the potential to be All league in the next 2 years , but we can talk about his game without bashing. The young players will get older and more experienced going through the wars. In fact, part of our success this year was because the 4 freshman and Geo have been through the Big 10 wars before and will get more comfortable going forward. Sorry for the rant but starting to get sick of the threads that continue to pop up.

Great post goru7, think you can add coach Pike's to the bashing list, people were ready to run him out of here 2 months ago.

 

[Scangg]

Something to consider since we have fans just taking a 5 second stat heard and running with it, out of context.

"RU is 13th out 14 for 3 pt shooting %

Well, if you look at it closer, one would think RU is lagging way behind the rest of the B1G....it's eye opening to see how close RU is to most of the B1G and how "quick takes" can fool fans.

30.9 % RU
34.5 % MSU
33.6 % Wisc
30.9 % Indy
33.8 % Neb
33.1 % Pur
32.3 % NW
32.3 % Min
35.2 % Iowa
31.9 % MD
31.3 % Illini
31.9 % PSU
38.2 % OSU
34.2 % MICH

Its not a drastic difference but we are probably talking 2 or 3 pointers made over 21 games, to go from 13th in B1G to something in the middle of the pack.

Geo Baker....deemed by some posters as a "poor shooter"....probably not accurate.

BAKER- 18-72 from 3 point range for all games up to Iowa....4-8 from 3 in last 2 games.

YOUNG started 3-26 from 3 point range up until Caldwell....10-21 from 3 from the Caldwell forward.

MATHIS started 5 -24 from 3 point range through the 1st Nebraska game...shooting 7-14 from 3 since that game.

HARPER 9 - 29 from 3 since 1st Nebraska game...(31% from 3)

HARPER 12 -41 from 3, for games prior to Nebraska game 1st game...29.6%....relatively the same most of the season.

CALEB...22 -30 from FT line up until last night.....goes 12-13 from FT line. Goes from 73% to 80% FT shooter in 1 game.

I didn't include Yeboah because he's been pretty steady in taking the shots within the offense.

The staff and players deserve a lot of credit for improving during the teeth of the B1G schedule.

This is why it was easy to see this team was legit good and only had room to improve earlier in the season. We were shooting as bad as possible and winning games. We were always going to regress to the mean and shoot better. So obvious

Also, I want to see Ron post up a lot more. He is a tremendous finisher around the basket and very crafty

Please can we get this going. Ron and Caleb too have size advantages fairly often. Paul has also shown the ability to score in the post. Go to this more and of course Myles too. Post touches open up everything

great points all around. The tired legs things for college kids always cracks me up. People don't realize these kids played 6 games a weekend at aau tourneys.

And the rest of the league is all playing a similar schedule. Factor in that we are the deepest team and have no one playing huge minutes and we should be the team with the fresher legs anyway. Its nonsense.

 

[goru7]

Fair points, but some people go over the top deriding a poster who in fact is just giving constructive criticism. A few weeks ago, I wrote that Mathis needed to play better and more than a couple of responses told me that basically Mathis could do no wrong and how dare I criticize him. Well, he did need to play better and he has. I've also said that Yeboah needed to be more consistent and, lately, he has been a big time contributor, even though he kind of disappeared for a stretch. That being said, the give and take on this board is fantastic overall and is part of the fun involved with this special season that RU BB is having .

I called you out because you said you cringed when Montez took a shot. I mentioned he is an elite athlete that has no plays run for him, which I know to be a fact, and has to find his offense on his own , instead of being run off of curl screens. He rebounds like hell, plays excellent in your face defense, is an underated passer , is not a hog when he gets the ball and is our toughest player . He spent a good part of the off season working on his shot and I would think his numbers from 3 in conference bears that out. Just because he misses a shot and the other team goes on a run , he doesn’t have to be the one blamed .The other day he even pulled up and hit a mid range instead of driving all the way to the hoop . He is a sophomore 1 and a half years in and getting better every day. His passing lately has been outstanding . That is what experience does for a good player. I understand your frustration as we have all been frustrated for many years but Montez Mathis is one of our most important players. We have in my opinions the 4 best sophomore teammates in the country. There will be ups and downs.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Three things to add:
First, some people thought the kids would have tired legs. Can we please put that whole idea to rest. These are 19 - 20 year old kids. Remember when you were that age? I played all day, every day.
Second, we held Haarms, Stefanovic, and Eastern to a total of 4 points. That's pretty incredible.
Third, remember that even a 12 point lead can disappear to just a six point lead with two quick threes. So, it's a concern, but how the team responds is more important than losing a big lead.

Why did Myles quads cramp?

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Why did Myles quads cramp?

Got me. Maybe he didn't hydrate enough, or maybe it wasn't cramps, who knows? Do you?