will this group be committed to playing the type of defense that gets big stops in big spots?
As impressive and at times scintillating the offense would look in the first half, a very unimpressive 2nd half defensive effort where arguably Monmouth outplayed RU changed my whole thinking on this recap. Scoring 98 a new Pikiell high I think while you are already taken for granted how awesome your two superstar players are and you are getting contributions from everyone else including a freshmen center would normally produce a lot of positive vibes. Yet I find myself unable to get move off tonights defensive performance...and actually the defensive performance the past two games. Both games RU has allowed its opponents to come in and get into a comfort zone shooting the ball mainly from the perimeter. St Peters put up 42 in the first half last game and finished 10-27 from 3 but started I think 7-15. In that game one guy Randolph particularly was able to stay hot going 7-12 fg, 4-8 3pt fg for 22 points. Tonight, Bashir was unstoppable going for 38 points on 11-23 shooting including a whopping 10-17 from 3 and the Hawks overall were 10-29 but 9-20 at one point. Yes he was incredibly hot and yes the defense was basically giving him everything. It was just too easy and when Bashir was not shooting, there seemed to be too many guys easily getting the ball near the rim or taking uncontested shots. I cannot remember a Pikiell team laying off so much defensively and being so pourous. To give up 51 points to this version of Monmouth in one half, come on guys.
The most damning run came at when RU went up 67-45 but then proceeding to allow a 23-12 run over a 7 minute stretch. Further in was a 10-1 run by Monmouth over 3 minutes that cut the lead to just 79-68 and made us all adjust ourselves in our seats. It was a tough watch because the Rutgers offense was stumbling and bumbling for the first time this game. Obviously Ace was hurting after his earlier dunk play and landed on the floor again after being fouled, he missed both free throws. RU passing was sloppy with a stretch of 4 turnovers and perhaps the wrong people touching the ball. I thought a little too much forcing it to Summerville and dare I say Rutgers actually looked gassed and lethargic for a time. Not unlike how they did vs St Johns in the exhibition game. Obviously a better team there and they were not able to withstand the Red Storms run but to me this stretch felt similar.
In this particularly game RU was never really in danger of losing it but you want to see the D show some lock down moments and while its hard to say being up 16-20 isnt good enough, RU missed on opportunties to truly blow it opened. Seemed like they kept leaving Monmouth hanging around rather than put the nail in their coffin. Hopefully a teaching moment for Pike. He called timeout when they lead got cut to 11 and did at least go back to putting the ball back in the hands of guys who Monmouth could not guard and Dylan and Ace were able to draw fouls and hit a bunch of free throws to give RU some breathing space. A key play by Zak Martini on defense I think was the death knell for Monmouth and unsurprisingly it was Zak who also stepped up with a couple of buckets in the closing minutes and to me was the all around player of the game for RU with 18 points in 26 minutes on 7-10 fg and 4-7 from 3
It sucks that Ace may have got banged up again. Hopefully not serious. He came out right way with that 3 and hit a couple of scintilllating shots that only a NBA talent can make with regularity. 5-10 fg but 6-8 ft, 6 boards, 2 steals in 30 minutes. Pick your poison if you are attempting to guard Rutgers. For about 30 minutes of this game RU could pick their shot. Harper maybe a bit quiet in the first half but came out strutting his stuff with a quick 6 points in the opening minutes of the 2nd half. Another 20 point game on 6-9 fg shooting with 6 boards but got others involved with 6 assists and some of them were beauts. Derkack such a tough distributor with 9 assists tonight including a highlight reel one to J Mike. Also tough on the boards with 6. I will say his defense wasnt great on the perimeter though. Lathan continues to impress with his skills. 10 points on 4-8 fg with 7 boards. Some great signs from him however he is asked to do too much. There was a key stretch for me in the 2nd half where I think Pike was asking too much from him and was hurting the offense. Tough situation because its obvious Ogobole cannot play for more than a few minutes each half. Solid minutes from both Hayes and Davis playing their roles. Hayes with 11 points and 3-4 from 3 in 22 minutes and Davis with 9 showing fearlessness to the hoop and perhaps the best defensive player on the team.
Now in fairness no Jeremiah Williams tonight. At first I did not notice. In the first half the offense was clicking without him and the defense was holding its own. However by games end I realize yeah we need J Will because he just provides something on D that we will not get from Ace or Dylan or for anyone else for that matter. Yet I am not confident this is a good defensive team or it is capable of being a good defensive team. Will the strategy be "let the offense run and roll" and hope that is enough. In non conference games it is. It likely will be enough in some of the Big 10 conference games. It will not be enough in the top half of the league and that is your difference between being a top 4 seed in the NCAA or a 10 seed or even a bubble team. Now its just a small 3 game data point that we have and I do not want to rush in judgments. Merrimack will not tell us much but I wouldnt be surprised if we do see a more concerted focus on D before RU heads out on the road. Going to be a challenge for Pikiell. This is a different type of team with different type of players. There is so much to be excited about but there is still so much to work to for them to fulfill all of the promise we are dreaming about.
As impressive and at times scintillating the offense would look in the first half, a very unimpressive 2nd half defensive effort where arguably Monmouth outplayed RU changed my whole thinking on this recap. Scoring 98 a new Pikiell high I think while you are already taken for granted how awesome your two superstar players are and you are getting contributions from everyone else including a freshmen center would normally produce a lot of positive vibes. Yet I find myself unable to get move off tonights defensive performance...and actually the defensive performance the past two games. Both games RU has allowed its opponents to come in and get into a comfort zone shooting the ball mainly from the perimeter. St Peters put up 42 in the first half last game and finished 10-27 from 3 but started I think 7-15. In that game one guy Randolph particularly was able to stay hot going 7-12 fg, 4-8 3pt fg for 22 points. Tonight, Bashir was unstoppable going for 38 points on 11-23 shooting including a whopping 10-17 from 3 and the Hawks overall were 10-29 but 9-20 at one point. Yes he was incredibly hot and yes the defense was basically giving him everything. It was just too easy and when Bashir was not shooting, there seemed to be too many guys easily getting the ball near the rim or taking uncontested shots. I cannot remember a Pikiell team laying off so much defensively and being so pourous. To give up 51 points to this version of Monmouth in one half, come on guys.
The most damning run came at when RU went up 67-45 but then proceeding to allow a 23-12 run over a 7 minute stretch. Further in was a 10-1 run by Monmouth over 3 minutes that cut the lead to just 79-68 and made us all adjust ourselves in our seats. It was a tough watch because the Rutgers offense was stumbling and bumbling for the first time this game. Obviously Ace was hurting after his earlier dunk play and landed on the floor again after being fouled, he missed both free throws. RU passing was sloppy with a stretch of 4 turnovers and perhaps the wrong people touching the ball. I thought a little too much forcing it to Summerville and dare I say Rutgers actually looked gassed and lethargic for a time. Not unlike how they did vs St Johns in the exhibition game. Obviously a better team there and they were not able to withstand the Red Storms run but to me this stretch felt similar.
In this particularly game RU was never really in danger of losing it but you want to see the D show some lock down moments and while its hard to say being up 16-20 isnt good enough, RU missed on opportunties to truly blow it opened. Seemed like they kept leaving Monmouth hanging around rather than put the nail in their coffin. Hopefully a teaching moment for Pike. He called timeout when they lead got cut to 11 and did at least go back to putting the ball back in the hands of guys who Monmouth could not guard and Dylan and Ace were able to draw fouls and hit a bunch of free throws to give RU some breathing space. A key play by Zak Martini on defense I think was the death knell for Monmouth and unsurprisingly it was Zak who also stepped up with a couple of buckets in the closing minutes and to me was the all around player of the game for RU with 18 points in 26 minutes on 7-10 fg and 4-7 from 3
It sucks that Ace may have got banged up again. Hopefully not serious. He came out right way with that 3 and hit a couple of scintilllating shots that only a NBA talent can make with regularity. 5-10 fg but 6-8 ft, 6 boards, 2 steals in 30 minutes. Pick your poison if you are attempting to guard Rutgers. For about 30 minutes of this game RU could pick their shot. Harper maybe a bit quiet in the first half but came out strutting his stuff with a quick 6 points in the opening minutes of the 2nd half. Another 20 point game on 6-9 fg shooting with 6 boards but got others involved with 6 assists and some of them were beauts. Derkack such a tough distributor with 9 assists tonight including a highlight reel one to J Mike. Also tough on the boards with 6. I will say his defense wasnt great on the perimeter though. Lathan continues to impress with his skills. 10 points on 4-8 fg with 7 boards. Some great signs from him however he is asked to do too much. There was a key stretch for me in the 2nd half where I think Pike was asking too much from him and was hurting the offense. Tough situation because its obvious Ogobole cannot play for more than a few minutes each half. Solid minutes from both Hayes and Davis playing their roles. Hayes with 11 points and 3-4 from 3 in 22 minutes and Davis with 9 showing fearlessness to the hoop and perhaps the best defensive player on the team.
Now in fairness no Jeremiah Williams tonight. At first I did not notice. In the first half the offense was clicking without him and the defense was holding its own. However by games end I realize yeah we need J Will because he just provides something on D that we will not get from Ace or Dylan or for anyone else for that matter. Yet I am not confident this is a good defensive team or it is capable of being a good defensive team. Will the strategy be "let the offense run and roll" and hope that is enough. In non conference games it is. It likely will be enough in some of the Big 10 conference games. It will not be enough in the top half of the league and that is your difference between being a top 4 seed in the NCAA or a 10 seed or even a bubble team. Now its just a small 3 game data point that we have and I do not want to rush in judgments. Merrimack will not tell us much but I wouldnt be surprised if we do see a more concerted focus on D before RU heads out on the road. Going to be a challenge for Pikiell. This is a different type of team with different type of players. There is so much to be excited about but there is still so much to work to for them to fulfill all of the promise we are dreaming about.
