GAME 26 PURDUE : Flush it

[NewJerseyHawk]

cant argue with NJH…except with starting gavin

I am trying to be proactive about not relying on practice reports or offseason rumors about who's playing well or not.

I pushed late last season that game time and results was a good indicator of Simpson starting late last season and while the jury is still out on Simpson, him starting late last year, gave the team a boost. And because he was expected to be a contributing factor in 2023-24
, starting him late last year, gives us a chance to see what he could do, when things breakdown.

We have to find wing scoring and shooting....Hyatt is going to play 20 to 27 minutes irregardless of Mag starting or coming off the bench. Our other wing options are Palmquist or Chol.

I'm not in a position to roll the dice on Mag anymore....I have no idea if Pike is saying he's practicing and he's actually not, but to practice and not play, doesn't seem to add up to me. I don't think a player can opt out of practicing and expect to start, so my guess is, he is trying to practice to stay active.

Gavin probably hasn't earned anyone's trust on the defensive end, but if Mag is limited or out for the bulk of the remaining games, Gavin has to play. Why not show a vote of confidence in him and see what happens??

I am very comfortable with Hyatt also starting and Hyatt as the 6th man. He's developed (to me) into the classic Pike player, that the staff knows what he can or cannot do on a consistent basis and they put Hyatt into position where he can be effective.

We now need Gavin to get knocked around, get his nose bloodied and see what he can do, when pushed beyond his current role. Similar to Simpson last year, this lineup needs a boost or spark of scoring and playmaking from the wing. Might as well give Gavin a headstart into 2024-25 and see what he can do now.

We will still need to see what Bryce Dortch and Dylan Grant bring to the table next year, I would be 100% fine plugging them into compete for Mag minutes next year, alongside Ace Bailey. My guess would be a veteran wing, who's better than Mag is out there, that just can bring more to this lineup.

If we can land a Cam Spencer and have this staff highlight and present what he can do well while masking what he couldn't do......and if we can land a quality guard like Jeremiah Williams in the portal the next year, then I see no reason why upgrading from Mag, would be difficult to do. We don't need an all conference player, we need someone reliable.

We need another wing who can move, cut, create on offense and knock down shots. I think the staff can really teach defensive stuff, if the player is good enough athletically.

Gavin plus a portal wing, supplemented by Dortch and Grant is my formula. I'm not on board with investing NIL resources into Mag....if he wants to stay and compete, I'm fine with that 100%, he would be another building block 4 to 5 year player, who has played well, in spots when healthy at RU.....but I'm not going all in today, if he can't give RU 12 to 14 minutes off the bench, if he's not feeling close to 100% now or into next year. We need another reliable option.

 

[RUbacker]

I feel like we still have a chance

Well that’s not going to happen obviously but we can still work on those players that will be helping us next year like Gavin.

 

[FastMJ]

If Cliff doesn't return and Wolf leaves, it will be interesting to see what we can get in the portal at the 5

Lathan needs to play likely a sizable role, but he is a freshman... relying on a freshman big in the B1G for too big of a role is risky

Ogbole needs to play at least some to develop. You can't teach his combo of size, athleticism, and stength. He is still raw, but I think some are undervaluing how valuable his size and physical presence is for Pike. Rim protection, rebound, dunk. He is so new to the game, he has a chance to make real strides this off season. Remember he was injured this last off season so that hinders development

What kind of talent can we bring in? How much NIL do we have? What kind of role can we promise? Would we prioritize a starting caliber 5 over bringing in another position if money isn't limitless? Or would we spend that money elsewhere and bring in a capable backup type with the plan to play Lathan and Ogbole more?

Someone needs to work with Ogbole on maintaining his composure. When he makes a bad play or a failed rebound he gets frustrated and bad things happen. Afraid he’s going to get a lot of flagrant fouls if he keeps it up.

 

[bethlehemfan]

cant argue with NJH…except with starting gavin

Mag when healthy is a better defender than any of those guys. Offense I would agree.

 

[bac2therac]

The Mag situation does need to be addressed. If he stays, Steve needs to bring in a legit 4 to challenge him for the starting role as insurance. No guurantees anymore in the NIL world. Tough choices

Hawk agree with some sentiment but also Morton and Fuerst are pretty big busts. Morton brought in for spot defense now. They are not Mag equivalents. They barely play 10 minutes a game

I liked what I saw from Gavin last night. New wrinkles..like to see more playing time with an elevated role

 

[ScarletNut]

NJH's post confirms what Bac has been repeatedly posting, and which I agree with, that Pike's overall recruiting has been spotty at best. Purdue has 4 star players coming off the bench while we have projects, players coming off injuries and "diamonds in the rough". Pike needs to step it up overall, not withstanding next year's class, and specifically get multiple shooters on this roster. Every team we play has multiple reliable shooters. I'd be hard pressed to say we have any reliable shooters.

 

[RexMantlepiece]

Sometimes you get an ass whipping and that's what that was. They were firing on all cylinders. Tip your cap and move on. I turned it off 2 minutes into the second half.

Focus on trying for the NIT, that would be a great goal for this squad.

Exactly and I truly believe we do it. Win three more in season and a first round big ten tourney game and get to 18 wins.

 

[bethlehemfan]

NJH's post confirms what Bac has been repeatedly posting, and which I agree with, that Pike's overall recruiting has been spotty at best. Purdue has 4 star players coming off the bench while we have projects, players coming off injuries and "diamonds in the rough". Pike needs to step it up overall, not withstanding next year's class, and specifically get multiple shooters on this roster. Every team we play has multiple reliable shooters. I'd be hard pressed to say we have any reliable shooters.

The roster is the issue this year. We are competing with programs that have more fans, more money, way more history. Hopefully this class is the start of building more quality depth but imo people need to kind of see the challenges here in building that type of roster versus the blue bloods we compete with.

 

[ScarletNut]

The roster is the issue this year. We are competing with programs that have more fans, more money, way more history. Hopefully this class is the start of building more quality depth but imo people need to kind of see the challenges here in building that type of roster versus the blue bloods we compete with.

I've been following Rutgers bball/fball since 1973. During the bball heydays in the mid 70's, we were a "brand" and maybe a light blue blood, then we faded, became a bit of a brand again when Wenzel first got here and then drifted into obscurity again. Pike has restored the program and though we may not be a blueblood, we have name recognition in bball around most of the country. Kids don't blow off an offer from RU. Now, our issue is NIL if we want to grow our brand.

 

[bethlehemfan]

I've been following Rutgers bball/fball since 1973. During the bball heydays in the mid 70's, we were a "brand" and maybe a light blue blood, then we faded, became a bit of a brand again when Wenzel first got here and then drifted into obscurity again. Pike has restored the program and though we may not be a blueblood, we have name recognition in bball around most of the country. Kids don't blow off an offer from RU. Now, our issue is NIL if we want to grow our brand.

I have since 75 so you have a couple years on me. I don’t personally feel rutgers was ever a brand in bball although pike is changing that. An eastern brand maybe but not a national brand and definitely not a blue blood of any type. If the 70’s success was sustained maybe but it wasn’t in any meaningful way - just my opinion of course.

 

[jonS]

Started writing this a halftime. Sometimes you are just overmatched and that is okay Rutgers. To make matters worse RU had to travel to Mackey right after Purdue laid an egg at Ohio State, only their 3rd loss of the season. If you didnt think they were going to regroup you were fooling yourself. Purdue ran through their non conference schedule with wins over Arizona, Alabama, Tennessee, Marquette...4 schools in the top 12 seeding list. At their best which you saw tonight, they are the national championship favorites. I know they have slogged off at times and looked beatable and ordinary vs good but not great teams like Northwestern and Nebraska and stunning loss to Ohio State. They have their vulnerabilities for sure but they have the highest ceiling of any team in America. Rutgers came out juiced and aggressive on offense but ran into a buzzsaw. There was nothing Steve Pikiell could have done to prepare or tinker with during the game to change it. Once it was appparent that Purdue was in sync, it was pretty much time to get off the blow and flush this one. No point in dwelling over just 1 fg in last 11 minutes in first half or no fg in almost 7 or letting Purdue shoot 70%, That will not have any bearing on the next opponent.

Some positives to take tonight. I though Gavin Griffiths had himself a game. He looked more comfortable and he did it on a big stage. Kudos to Pike for giving him an opportunity. I loved how he ran the break. Its a total different wrinkle than we have been used to seeing. No Gavin isnt perfect and it wasnt even a breakout shooting game but little things to look for are important. Making free throws, making long 3s that had Mackey gasping, making passes you wouldnt normally see from him. . These are very very positive developments. Perhaps not differing to others anymore. Especially when it seemed like the starters looked like they were going through the motions once the lead got over 20.

Egbole had his moments too. Work in progress but you see there is something to work with. It is unfortunate that he could not develop in the early season because its trial by fire right now.

Noah making the most of his minutes....Had a quick 8 points including back to back 3s when RU was just down a possession. Good on him for picking up the slack of his teammates. You will get this all year though...he will be good in some games and ghostin in others.

Cliff/Hyatt/Derek were simply awful tonight. That is disappointing but not surprising. Tapes are out J Will now, the surprise factor is gone. He has changed the team for the better but he is not a superman. This team still has all the flaws we have seen all year and without Mag in the lineup they are magnified. Purdue was ripe to expose and exploit them. Again you see how lack of depth with bad luck in portal and subpar recruiting continues to be a theme.

As Im getting to this short recap, RU down by 33 and its been as ugly as a turd can be...and Robbie Hummel just stole my FLUSH IT lines..so documenting that.

Onward and upward......Rutgers definitely has things to play for. Take one game at a time. Return to the RAC against Maryland in a matchup that was favorable to Rutgers down there. Not going to be easy as Maryland is as good on the road as at home. There is a toughness they have that RU will have to match. The NCAA may be far out of reach (just wait til you see the dreadful NET tomorrow) but if RU can get back to how they played during their 4-0 start they could definitely do damage in the Big 10 tourney given the right kind of draw. NIT is well within reach and is probably more appropriate for the talent level on this team. If you are a Rutgers fan I would not get too upset tonight. Losing by 10 or losing by 40 does not change what this team is. Its how they respond to this game that is more important

Maybe one of your better recaps because of its honesty and sober assessments. This is an NIT team. Last night Purdue looked like the best team in the country. When they're hitting on all cylinders , especially from three and with Edey in the paint , they are virtually unstoppable. Their guards are much improved from last year . And kudos to Edey --each year he's improved his game and his foul shooting is vastly better. And I'm glad you singled out Gavin for his play last night. He seemed to play more confidently and results followed. Hummel made good point last night--with COVID giving players extra eligibility, it's tough on a 17-18 year old freshmen to play against 23 and 24 year old players. Rutgers is a different team without Mag and JWill in the lineup. Hyatt's game is just too limited and he's better suited as a 6th man than starter. On to Maryland.

 

[TDIrish27]

There couldn't have been a worse night to play Purdue than last night.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

They will just play out the string and wait for some legit Big Ten players to come in next season.

 

[RUDiddy777]

Sometimes you get an ass whipping and that's what that was. They were firing on all cylinders. Tip your cap and move on. I turned it off 2 minutes into the second half.

Focus on trying for the NIT, that would be a great goal for this squad.

3 weeks ago we didn’t even think that was possible. I’m happy with the post season (did everyone forget when we didn’t even make a non-conference tournament). Plenty of last years NIT teams are back in the top 25 this year. Plenty of bright spots, just wildly inconsistent during what is clearly a transition year.

 

[goru7]

Started out well at 22-21 and all downhill from there. Pike changed his strategy and had Cliff hedging all the way out and he took forever to recover and the scrambling in rotations left Purdue guys open and they knocked down shot after shot and got some offensive rebounds when they missed. Cliff did not play well , did not seem to have any energy going up for rebounds or blocking shots and never became part of the offense. That was a huge gamble in the game plan and a fail with Cliff. We needed him to match Edey.

Hyatt was just terrible and God Forbid he hits a wide open 3 or two , like the Purdue shooters do, that would have stopped the droughts and slowed down the Purdue run. We get a couple of big time threes from him at home but rarely on the road. He also chose to not jump once for a rebound all night. There have been too many games where our guys do not even try to jump to get a rebound and fight for the ball. Last game it was Wolf , this game Hyatt, other games almost the whole team except Cliff ( although he was guilty as well tonight ) and the guards. Our front court has been dismal and pathetic on the boards.

Purdue brought their A game but our scrambling all night on rotations made it worse. They were shooting 80% for a while , then 70% for a while and ended at 63%. Not any team in the country that team would have beat them or come within 10 points last night with the looks they got , the ball movement , and the way they knocked down shots. But still disappointed we kinda let it happen. It wasn’t tired legs , it was bad defensive basketball. The worst defensive effort in the Pike era.

Purdue runs almost the same play every possession with Smith getting a high ball screen and they just let him go and great things happened. When our guard got picked it was over, when Cliff came out too high and too long , ball movement doomed us.
Now why wasn’t Jeremiah put in the exact same situation. He did it repeatedly against Northwestern , a much better defensive team than Purdue , and was successful. Why we went away from it and reverted to iso ball was perplexing. Pike in my opinion has the one offensive thing in his favor , Jeremiah in a ball screen and let him get downhill or dish to wings , cutters , or Cliff on the lob. Going away from it did not help especially with the scoring droughts.
Frustrating year , a lot of games start incredibly slow and down double digits and claw our way back to contention or a win and then yesterday like Minnesota ( good the whole first half , like Wisconsin) but yesterday only lasted 10 minutes to the 22-21 and then falter , droughts , defense failing especially in the last 2 games. This team is very very inconsistent and I think it is why they are driving us crazy.

 

[Scangg]

cant argue with NJH…except with starting gavin

That's the part to agree with

 

[Scangg]

He shoots them at a low percentage all year

18 footers are one thing. If you need to tell a guard they can't shoot a WIDE OPEN jumper 12 feet from the basket then they can't be on the court

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The Mag situation does need to be addressed. If he stays, Steve needs to bring in a legit 4 to challenge him for the starting role as insurance. No guurantees anymore in the NIL world. Tough choices

Hawk agree with some sentiment but also Morton and Fuerst are pretty big busts. Morton brought in for spot defense now. They are not Mag equivalents. They barely play 10 minutes a game

I liked what I saw from Gavin last night. New wrinkles..like to see more playing time with an elevated role

Furst is better than Oskar, Ogbole, Wolf, and Chol. With an expanded role, he's better than Mag who has a role way beyond what he's capable of delivering.

Morton is also better and is competing against better options on the Purdue roster. He's more spot up shooter than athlete, but serviceable in a role that at least threatens the defense.

If Mag doesn't have elite athletic abilities to play lights out defense and he's not a creative player off the dribble that generates shots for others and isn't a knock down perimeter shooter, then what we watching??

The pace of the game and how Purdue played last night, was much different than the RAC or other games. I am not even advocating for the portal, I would be completely fine playing Dylan Grant and Bryce Dortch with Ace Bailey. They're athletic and can make plays.

It would be great to have a bridge guy who can play to supplement the frosh forwards, but I am 100% on board or willing to take my chances with Grant and Dortch and Lathan Sommerville than seeing what might happen with Mag. Mag not playing any minutes, is a huge issue.

 

[Scangg]

Furst is better than Oskar, Ogbole, Wolf, and Chol. With an expanded role, he's better than Mag who has a role way beyond what he's capable of delivering.

Morton is also better and is competing against better options on the Purdue roster. He's more spot up shooter than athlete, but serviceable in a role that at least threatens the defense.

If Mag doesn't have elite athletic abilities to play lights out defense and he's not a creative player off the dribble that generates shots for others and isn't a knock down perimeter shooter, then what we watching??

The pace of the game and how Purdue played last night, was much different than the RAC or other games. I am not even advocating for the portal, I would be completely fine playing Dylan Grant and Bryce Dortch with Ace Bailey. They're athletic and can make plays.

It would be great to have a bridge guy who can play to supplement the frosh forwards, but I am 100% on board or willing to take my chances with Grant and Dortch and Lathan Sommerville than seeing what might happen with Mag. Mag not playing any minutes, is a huge issue.

So you are OK with starting JWill with 4 freshman next year?

This is a recipe for disaster Hawk. Stop. We need experience. We also could 100% use Mag's defense next season. There will be plenty of scoring options. He doesn't have to be this offensive playmaker that you're trying to pretend he needs to be. He would be the perfect glue guy next season

 

[Scangg]

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I mentioned in one of the other Purdue threads after the 1st matchup at the RAC, when the topic of Mag came up....and he didn't play well in the 1st matchup and now has missed 2 of the last 3 games completely.....and looked somewhat OK playing for 15 to 18 minutes vs Minnesota.

I mentioned that "Purdue has 5 Mawot Mag type players".....before we get too worked up about Mag or not, is not the discussion. The discussion is about recruiting and how many players across the B1G, may or may not be viewed as "big time players"......I've attached the handful of Top 40 to Top 140 players Purdue has to go to, before discussing 3* players Zach Edey and Braden Smith.

Any of the players listed above, could start, play major roles or would be considered " go to", type of players, if they had expanded roles or responsibilities.

Going all the way back to the 2019 class for Purdue, Mason Gilles hovered around the Top 130 to 140 range with his rating....so fans tonight see a roster of kids at Purdue, that has layers of athletes or players, across 5 recruiting classes.

As a fan, if we want to say

A) RUs defense was exposed or prepared for....that's fine....

B) if you want to say it's "no Mawot Mag", you could try and say that, I guess....

C) if you wanted to say Simpson or Davis weren't good enough, that's no problem

D) If someone wants to think JWill has been "figured out", have at it, I think it's somewhat silly but not in a position to argue with it, after last night or even Minnesota the other night.

The point is, across 5 recruiting classes, Purdue has six forward or wing players who are all better than Mawot Mag.....

They're healthy, which is step one.....

They're more fluid players who are physically more talented.....

They're all capable shooters from 3 (which all have shown either tonight or in other games(.

They're all higher rated, which "could" matter, but it gives you a sense of the talent levels we are up against.

This is to say, that while Gavin Griffiths or Lathan Sommerville, or Bryce Dortch or Dylan Grant all fit this category of Top 150 players, we have to see if they develop into "starters", or if they just become "role players", like the Purdue group listed above.

If the Camden Heide kid from Purdue is around #117 in the Rivals 2022 class, we've now become willing to ask or assume that Mag as a player/Starter, is capable of playing consistently at this level. Right now, as a starter, we need someone with the floor, of a Heide, or a Gillis or someone who can shoot, drive, create from the wings.....

I have no doubt that if we get a legitimate 2 way wing and pair that player with Ace Bailey, RU becomes very different next year. It could look like the JWill impact over the 6 games he's played, just at a higher level or impact.

We have to be realistic about Mag at this point. I'm setting aside what happens or does for happen the rest of this season, which is NOT over.....RU is fully capable of winning out, if things fall into place.

On the other hand, we have to start to think about maybe starting Gavin Griffiths in these last 5 games and bringing Hyatt off the bench and Mag has to be considered at best, a game time decision the rest of the season.

Can any RU fan, still trust and believe that they are willing to start Mag in 2024-25 AND count on him to be healthy?? And is he the type of athlete that Purdue puts on the floor......Like I said, Purdue has FIVE or SIX Mawot Mag types.....and 4 of them are just flat out better players.

We have to upgrade that position for next year, whether it's with the 2 freshman in Dortch and Grant AND a portal bridge guy, to compliment Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, JWill etc....

Fire away and I'm sure the "Mag is essential to the RU defense" will shoot this down, but does anyone really feel that Pike, Knight and staff, can't teach a better, more fluid athlete than Mag, how to play good defense??

We are already at a depth disadvantage but that gets fixed over a 3 year period with better HS recruiting....we need to upgrade from Mag, if we want to improve the rest of this season and into 2024-25......he's simply not good enough, or healthy enough to be relied upon.

This post essentially says Pike should recruit only 4 star players and up. Great analysis. I'm sure Pike never thought about recruiting better players before and was turning down 4 stars left and right to grab Oskar and Chol instead

 

[bac2therac]

Furst is better than Oskar, Ogbole, Wolf, and Chol. With an expanded role, he's better than Mag who has a role way beyond what he's capable of delivering.

Morton is also better and is competing against better options on the Purdue roster. He's more spot up shooter than athlete, but serviceable in a role that at least threatens the defense.

If Mag doesn't have elite athletic abilities to play lights out defense and he's not a creative player off the dribble that generates shots for others and isn't a knock down perimeter shooter, then what we watching??

The pace of the game and how Purdue played last night, was much different than the RAC or other games. I am not even advocating for the portal, I would be completely fine playing Dylan Grant and Bryce Dortch with Ace Bailey. They're athletic and can make plays.

It would be great to have a bridge guy who can play to supplement the frosh forwards, but I am 100% on board or willing to take my chances with Grant and Dortch and Lathan Sommerville than seeing what might happen with Mag. Mag not playing any minutes, is a huge issue.

Furst isnt better than Mag and neither is Morton..come on,,,,these guys were highly touted and have already been passed over. Painter uses them for spot situational minutes now but I do agree they would be playing major minutes here and probably are as good as Hyatt, which is pretty sad for Pikes roster management

 

[Shelby65]

NJH's post confirms what Bac has been repeatedly posting, and which I agree with, that Pike's overall recruiting has been spotty at best. Purdue has 4 star players coming off the bench while we have projects, players coming off injuries and "diamonds in the rough". Pike needs to step it up overall, not withstanding next year's class, and specifically get multiple shooters on this roster. Every team we play has multiple reliable shooters. I'd be hard pressed to say we have any reliable shooters.

it's not that we don't have shooters. we don't run a team offense to get anyone open to shoot. by far and away our biggest problem is relying on isolation plays and a stark lack of passing ability/interest.

Was Hummel the color-guy last night who said Purdue's offense was "surgical" ? Our roster is simply incapable of high level team offense, and that starts with Simpson and to a lesser extent Davis. Fine if you blame Pike's recruiting too, but those guys are too damaging. On most possessions they don't involve the others nearly enough. They only want to shoot.

 

[ScarletNut]

it's not that we don't have shooters. we don't run a team offense to get anyone open to shoot. by far and away our biggest problem is relying on isolation plays and a stark lack of passing ability/interest.

Was Hummel the color-guy last night who said Purdue's offense was "surgical" ? Our roster is simply incapable of high level team offense, and that starts with Simpson and to a lesser extent Davis. Fine if you blame Pike's recruiting too, but those guys are too damaging. On most possessions they don't involve the others nearly enough. They only want to shoot.

I agree with how they play the game but whose fault is that? Pike has to pound it in to them or else take them out of the game. I disagree that we have shooters. Even open shots are too frequently missed.

 

[Shelby65]

I agree with how they play the game but whose fault is that? Pike has to pound it in to them or else take them out of the game. I disagree that we have shooters. Even open shots are too frequently missed.

Sure, at the end of the day it’s Pike’s fault just like it’s Schiano’s fault that QB1 is terrible. But if we’re speaking of the players who do more harm than good and hold their teams back, it’s Derek Simpson and Gavin Wimsatt who are the main problems.

 

[ScarletNut]

Sure, at the end of the day it’s Pike’s fault just like it’s Schiano’s fault that QB1 is terrible. But if we’re speaking of the players who do more harm than good and hold their teams back, it’s Derek Simpson and Gavin Wimsatt who are the main problems.

I mostly agree. JWill was the only one to distribute the ball like a true PG which allowed Cliff to get involved in the offense which wasn't happening prior to his play. But we need enough outside shooters to open up the floor and its just not there.

 

[Shelby65]

I’ll add that Noah is a decent PG too, but his height and defensive shortcomings (and Pike’s preference for D ahead of O) keep him on the bench more than the selfish chuckers we’re talking about.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

That's the part to agree with

1. Can i ask for 1 more loss before flipping the switch
2. can he come off the bench and still play 25+ minutes, he doesnt deserve to start

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Furst isnt better than Mag and neither is Morton..come on,,,,these guys were highly touted and have already been passed over. Painter uses them for spot situational minutes now but I do agree they would be playing major minutes here and probably are as good as Hyatt, which is pretty sad for Pikes roster management

they are probably a bit better than hyatt

 

[bac2therac]

they are probably a bit better than hyatt

Overall yes

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Overall yes

When hyatt isnt making his 3s……..

3rd year now he stops making them once calendar turns February

 

[goru7]

When hyatt isnt making his 3s……..

3rd year now he stops making them once calendar turns February

Not all of February as he hit big threes in the wins against Wisconsin and Northwestern . But again those are home games. Now not overwhelming at home like 4-7 but it is the road games where he is literally wide open at a crucial stage of the game , to expand our lead or stop a drought , and he misses. The road woes are the killers.

 

[scarletpumpernickl]

I’ve never seen a team score almost every time down the floor like this. This felt like the Harlem Globetrotters against the Washington Generals.

The amount of offensive talent on Purdue in comparison to Rutgers is both awe inspiring and depressing.

For some Purdue possessions, our defense was even worse than the Washington Generals - it was NBA all-star game defense!

 

[Nycrusupporter]

18 footers are one thing. If you need to tell a guard they can't shoot a WIDE OPEN jumper 12 feet from the basket then they can't be on the court

Well, that’s really the issue. Until he starting hitting it, other teams will let him take it all day long.

 

[RUJMM78]

Started out well at 22-21 and all downhill from there. Pike changed his strategy and had Cliff hedging all the way out and he took forever to recover and the scrambling in rotations left Purdue guys open and they knocked down shot after shot and got some offensive rebounds when they missed. Cliff did not play well , did not seem to have any energy going up for rebounds or blocking shots and never became part of the offense. That was a huge gamble in the game plan and a fail with Cliff. We needed him to match Edey.

Hyatt was just terrible and God Forbid he hits a wide open 3 or two , like the Purdue shooters do, that would have stopped the droughts and slowed down the Purdue run. We get a couple of big time threes from him at home but rarely on the road. He also chose to not jump once for a rebound all night. There have been too many games where our guys do not even try to jump to get a rebound and fight for the ball. Last game it was Wolf , this game Hyatt, other games almost the whole team except Cliff ( although he was guilty as well tonight ) and the guards. Our front court has been dismal and pathetic on the boards.

Purdue brought their A game but our scrambling all night on rotations made it worse. They were shooting 80% for a while , then 70% for a while and ended at 63%. Not any team in the country that team would have beat them or come within 10 points last night with the looks they got , the ball movement , and the way they knocked down shots. But still disappointed we kinda let it happen. It wasn’t tired legs , it was bad defensive basketball. The worst defensive effort in the Pike era.

Purdue runs almost the same play every possession with Smith getting a high ball screen and they just let him go and great things happened. When our guard got picked it was over, when Cliff came out too high and too long , ball movement doomed us.
Now why wasn’t Jeremiah put in the exact same situation. He did it repeatedly against Northwestern , a much better defensive team than Purdue , and was successful. Why we went away from it and reverted to iso ball was perplexing. Pike in my opinion has the one offensive thing in his favor , Jeremiah in a ball screen and let him get downhill or dish to wings , cutters , or Cliff on the lob. Going away from it did not help especially with the scoring droughts.
Frustrating year , a lot of games start incredibly slow and down double digits and claw our way back to contention or a win and then yesterday like Minnesota ( good the whole first half , like Wisconsin) but yesterday only lasted 10 minutes to the 22-21 and then falter , droughts , defense failing especially in the last 2 games. This team is very very inconsistent and I think it is why they are driving us crazy.

The answer is the lack of talent/shooters.Purdue is a bad matchup for most teams because of Edey and teammates that make 3 pointers.Rutgers offense simply can't sustain scoring for more than 8-10 minutes before a scoring drought starts,

 

[Scangg]

1. Can i ask for 1 more loss before flipping the switch
2. can he come off the bench and still play 25+ minutes, he doesnt deserve to start

1. Yes, for sure. I am actually with you on this if Mag plays. If Mag doesn't, still rolling with Hyatt? I may prefer Oskar? #FreeChol?

2. Yes, even if he doesn't start, one more loss and Gavin should be getting 25+ unless he's having a terrible game

 

[goru7]

The answer is the lack of talent/shooters.Purdue is a bad matchup for most teams because of Edey and teammates that make 3 pointers.Rutgers offense simply can't sustain scoring for more than 8-10 minutes before a scoring drought starts,

Stop looking at last night where Purdue was almost perfect and look at the games they have lost or struggled. There are a few 4-19 from 3 nights in there. We didn’t do anything to make them go 4-19. Which was disturbing and disappointing.
I already said Pike should have run Jeremiah pick and roll with Cliff often but did not and one reason for the drought(s). Purdue ran the same or a variation of the Pick and Roll with Smith and Edey all night , like they do almost every night , and we played it differently and it hurt our defense. Plus they were red hot.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

1. Yes, for sure. I am actually with you on this if Mag plays. If Mag doesn't, still rolling with Hyatt? I may prefer Oskar? #FreeChol?

2. Yes, even if he doesn't start, one more loss and Gavin should be getting 25+ unless he's having a terrible game

Number 2…..ummmmmmm. How is he getting to 25 minutes then?

 

[Scangg]

Number 2…..ummmmmmm. How is he getting to 25 minutes then?

If he plays more like he did last game

One more loss and Griffiths play becomes the most important part of the rest of the season that I'm watching for at that point basically

A Gavin late season breakout gives much more reason for optimism for an amazing season next year

 

[RUDiddy777]

Sure, at the end of the day it’s Pike’s fault just like it’s Schiano’s fault that QB1 is terrible. But if we’re speaking of the players who do more harm than good and hold their teams back, it’s Derek Simpson and Gavin Wimsatt who are the main problems.

Simpson was being asked to do too much before JWill returned.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If he plays more like he did last game

One more loss and Griffiths play becomes the most important part of the rest of the season that I'm watching for at that point basically

A Gavin late season breakout gives much more reason for optimism for an amazing season next year

He was 2-7! He is taking 30 foot shots. We have really lowered the bar for Gavin.

If we judged Gavin like we do Derek or Hyatt we would be saying Pike needs to have the talk in the offseason