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GAME 7 MIAMI: Fears

Same can be said for Miami
I agree. But, I am really only concerned with RU. Maybe I am biased, but I think our pressure caused more of the Miami miscues as opposed to us looking so sloppy so many times.....

Best of Luck,
Groz
 
some specifics.....

so a big factor in Miamis win tonight was limiting the touches that Cliff got......Cliff was 7-10, 2-3 first half then 5-7 with alot of shots to start the 2nd half and then Miami was all over him. Playing CCSU and Rider isnt preparing Cliff for the double team coming and Dean Reiber is not the answer as a defender in practice.

ditto for Cam against any guard who is legit.

Now again some of this is Paul but some of it isnt. We have a bunch of players...Hyatt, Mag who can be a hard watch offensively. 8-25 wow...we cant have them taking that many shots



Hyatt and mag are complementary players …last night they were pushed up in the roll that they are not…playing 66 minutes and shooting 25 times.

What I don’t understand is why we chose to sit Simpson ….there was 15 minute available that could have kept spenser , Hyatt and mag at 28-30 and fresher . Even with Paul out

Pike needs to “stop trusting his veterans “ so much and play his bench . This game was lost LAST YEAR….having Hyatt and mag on the bench way too much while the enitre starting five played 33-35 minute …and they didn’t know how to handle the lights on them on the road in the end game while fatigued

We will be in the same place next year if we don’t force wolfolk and Simpson into regular minutes
 
making shots when it counted
Can’t really control that (well outside that missed bunny by Hyatt).

Nobody can say the effort wasn’t there from us. Pike deserves credit for addressing the rebounding issues. Major improvement in that area in this game. If there’s any bright spot that deserves mention - that’s it. We were awesome on the glass.

The loss is disappointing but playing on the road without your PG puts any team at a disadvantage down the stretch of a tight game. Your correct that Caleb failed to put the team on his back down the stretch, but to expect him to be able to jump in and do that (playing a position he doesn’t normally play) fresh off injury in a true road game seems unfair. Think of how Geo and Ron looked in the first few games working their way back from injuries. He deserves a few more games before concluding that he can’t run the offense in tight spots without Paul.

With Paul back - the bench gets an immediate upgrade (only 6 points scored and awful bench defense). Someone not currently on the bench shifts over there. That has to help. There’s reason to at least hope this team can turn a corner at this point.
 
Bitter loss not because we blew a 11 point lead and totally fell apart down the stretch but bitter to me because it confirmed most of my fears I had about this team. For one RU is playing without Paul. He is the floor general and our offense runs through him and his court vision and toughness. I do not know if RU wins this game with Paul. Miami is still a good team (our best OOC opponent) that will likely be a NCAA team. What is bitter for me is the realization of what this team is without Paul. No one is going to feel sorry for RU that they are playing without Paul especially if it goes more games, you either adapt and survive or fall by the wayside. Unfortunately I think without Paul this team is simply not good enough. Big 10 play starts this weekend and we have major issues. Last year the issue turned out to be the uneven interest and play from senior players who we knew were capable and they showed it as the season wore on. This years bunch does not have two stars to fall back on and it really showed tonight.

In the Temple game, this team played some horrible basketball on both ends. While this game RU started out calm and in control, the second part of the second half was almost a repeat of the Temple game. RU had that one point lead but alot of sloppy play on offense missing chippies and relaying on perhaps some fools gold 3 point shooting from Hyatt. The defense was good at causing some steals but at other times was completely porous inside as Cliff was a non entity with just 1 rebound. Offensively Cliff just 2-3 as Miami was going to focus on denying the entry pass to him putting two guys on him while hounding Cam pretty close. Credit the old Geezer Larannaga. His game plan really worked. Try to control RUs top 2 scoring threats and you have a good shot at winning. Why is that? Well I have talked about Hyatt and Mag and Reiber and Miller and Simpson. We are in a situation where we are putting role players in spots where they simply cannot step up and be "the guy" who calms the teams and makes the shot. I am going to hit recruiting hard in this recap because this is why we are where we are right now not being able to overcome the Paul injury. Derek is not ready yet, not even close. Game just too fast for him. He can make a couple of great plays but he is really a 10 minute type guy as a frosh. Miller isnt the answer. Reiber is going to be a non factor in this league. Palm and Chol will never get off the bench. That does not leave much does it? Cam Spencer was brought in to replace Geo/Ron scoring and he did...against sisters of the poor, but in the two games vs Temple and today vs Miami, Cam was totally ineffective, neutralized, shy, whatever you want to call it. His blunder on that possession with the game tied with 1:45 is just inexcusable. Now its a small sample size but I really fear Cam not being able to play against the meat of the Big 10. What is going to happen vs any quick guard ( and someone actually tried telling me that there are no quick guards in the Big 10..rolls eyes). With Paul I think there can be something there with Cam but without him, he is slow, cannot create his own shot, and played timid against the Miami guards.

Back to Hyatt, for every good thing that Hyatt does there is still a bad thing and half that he does. Travels, turnovers, bad shot selection and of course the kicker, missing a point blank layup that could have tied the game at 63 with 51 seconds left late. He is what he is. I do not think its going to change. He provides some energy, plays pretty good defense and can rebound but asking him to pick up the slack for the loss for Ron...no good. And thats why the lack of recruiting factors in here. I can excuse Derek because his a frosh. Woofolk will have his moments but again he is a freshmen. We lost Geo and Ron and brought in an underrecruited point guard who needs another year and a transfer from the MAAC. Because of this we are severely limited. Yes it will get better once Paul comes back but I am not so sure we have enough anyway, certainly the team will have to be in prove it to me mode.

I said at half that Cliff needed to step up period and that he did for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half grabbing boards and points...10 points in the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half and 7 rebounds in the first 6 minutes or so and then inexplicably was yanked by Pike and that was the turning point. Cliff went from dominant in a zone to a disappearing act the last 10 minutes. Credit Larranaga for getting his team back focused on preventing the pass to Cliff. It worked. Cliff would make only one and take only 2 the rest of the way. INEXCUSABLE THAT CLIFF DID NOT TAKE ONE SHOT IN THE FINAL 9:13 IN THE GAME.....THAT IS ON PIKIELL. I AM SORRY. HE WAS OUTCOACHED BY THE 73 YEAR OLD WHO HAS OVER 700 VICTORIES. In fact, RU made only 2 of its final 14 fg attempts and just two fgs in the last 8 minutes. In that stretch RU was outscored 19-5 and in the last 16:46 this really wasnt a game....RU was outscored 33-15...thoroughly dominated at both ends. Despite that they still had a shot to pull out the victory but reality was you cannot play that poorly for almost the entire half and pull out the win. Caleb had 5 turnovers including a major blunder late but did hit a tying 3. I know he is trying to do too much at times, he had a tendency in other years to do stuff like that as well but Caleb couldnt gather to the team and calm them at the end and it was sad to watch the team just feebly go down by 7 by games end. There were several opportunities for RU to wrest control of this game and they blew each and every one of them. In the end, Miami perhaps buoyed by their elite 8 run last year were the ones to step up and take the game. They deserved it. They kept coming and then closed it out.

Can I say I HATE HATE HATE that creampuff schedule that featured only one real challenge. Great to blow these teams out and look like we have a polished offense but the two game vs Temple and Miami scream otherwise. Those little mistakes that RU can easily overcome like scoring droughts vs Columbia and letting a 11-2 CCSU run to open the 2nd half turn into much bigger problems in a game like tonight. Miami had a great coach, lots of options on offense, good shooters and a quickness and athleticism that makes RU look slow. Nothing screams my frustration about the schedule more than not even being able to come up with a recap for Central Connecticut State because why..because why are we even playing them after playing 4 other cupcakes. So thrown to the wolves now in two games against an okay but not ncaa bound Temple, RU really does not show moxy or polish and the hunger I talked about from earlier recaps is only there in a couple minute spurts. When they are bad they get really bad....and now Indiana comes in and yes they have been RU's bitch for a while now. But Indiana is better than they have been and there is no Ron or Geo to hit daggers like in previous years. The RAC is a big advantage and Indiana coming in ripe for a letdown after playing UNC gives us some hope. The fear is can we elevate our game and match Indiana for a full 40 minutes. We can do it in spurts but without Paul all our flaws are shining. If you have NCAA aspirations, a loss to Indiana puts enormous pressure for RU to take 2 of its next 3 of its tougher 5 game stretch. Saying look what happened last year is avoiding the elephant in the room. Until Paul comes back I will continue to have my fears. Things can unravel pretty quickly with the opponents to come and RU yet to show they can beat anyone with a pulse
Well said bac !!
 
I am getting sick of losing OOC games that matter. It hurts our resume chances big time and IMO Cam might not be a starter by mid season. His lack of athleticism showed vs Temple and now Miami. But we are expecting him to guard Purdue, Michigan, Iowa? No way.

The offense has no flow and is missing something rn.
Yes. The Starting Point Guard is missing.
 
Bitter loss not because we blew a 11 point lead and totally fell apart down the stretch but bitter to me because it confirmed most of my fears I had about this team. For one RU is playing without Paul. He is the floor general and our offense runs through him and his court vision and toughness. I do not know if RU wins this game with Paul. Miami is still a good team (our best OOC opponent) that will likely be a NCAA team. What is bitter for me is the realization of what this team is without Paul. No one is going to feel sorry for RU that they are playing without Paul especially if it goes more games, you either adapt and survive or fall by the wayside. Unfortunately I think without Paul this team is simply not good enough. Big 10 play starts this weekend and we have major issues. Last year the issue turned out to be the uneven interest and play from senior players who we knew were capable and they showed it as the season wore on. This years bunch does not have two stars to fall back on and it really showed tonight.

In the Temple game, this team played some horrible basketball on both ends. While this game RU started out calm and in control, the second part of the second half was almost a repeat of the Temple game. RU had that one point lead but alot of sloppy play on offense missing chippies and relaying on perhaps some fools gold 3 point shooting from Hyatt. The defense was good at causing some steals but at other times was completely porous inside as Cliff was a non entity with just 1 rebound. Offensively Cliff just 2-3 as Miami was going to focus on denying the entry pass to him putting two guys on him while hounding Cam pretty close. Credit the old Geezer Larannaga. His game plan really worked. Try to control RUs top 2 scoring threats and you have a good shot at winning. Why is that? Well I have talked about Hyatt and Mag and Reiber and Miller and Simpson. We are in a situation where we are putting role players in spots where they simply cannot step up and be "the guy" who calms the teams and makes the shot. I am going to hit recruiting hard in this recap because this is why we are where we are right now not being able to overcome the Paul injury. Derek is not ready yet, not even close. Game just too fast for him. He can make a couple of great plays but he is really a 10 minute type guy as a frosh. Miller isnt the answer. Reiber is going to be a non factor in this league. Palm and Chol will never get off the bench. That does not leave much does it? Cam Spencer was brought in to replace Geo/Ron scoring and he did...against sisters of the poor, but in the two games vs Temple and today vs Miami, Cam was totally ineffective, neutralized, shy, whatever you want to call it. His blunder on that possession with the game tied with 1:45 is just inexcusable. Now its a small sample size but I really fear Cam not being able to play against the meat of the Big 10. What is going to happen vs any quick guard ( and someone actually tried telling me that there are no quick guards in the Big 10..rolls eyes). With Paul I think there can be something there with Cam but without him, he is slow, cannot create his own shot, and played timid against the Miami guards.

Back to Hyatt, for every good thing that Hyatt does there is still a bad thing and half that he does. Travels, turnovers, bad shot selection and of course the kicker, missing a point blank layup that could have tied the game at 63 with 51 seconds left late. He is what he is. I do not think its going to change. He provides some energy, plays pretty good defense and can rebound but asking him to pick up the slack for the loss for Ron...no good. And thats why the lack of recruiting factors in here. I can excuse Derek because his a frosh. Woofolk will have his moments but again he is a freshmen. We lost Geo and Ron and brought in an underrecruited point guard who needs another year and a transfer from the MAAC. Because of this we are severely limited. Yes it will get better once Paul comes back but I am not so sure we have enough anyway, certainly the team will have to be in prove it to me mode.

I said at half that Cliff needed to step up period and that he did for the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half grabbing boards and points...10 points in the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half and 7 rebounds in the first 6 minutes or so and then inexplicably was yanked by Pike and that was the turning point. Cliff went from dominant in a zone to a disappearing act the last 10 minutes. Credit Larranaga for getting his team back focused on preventing the pass to Cliff. It worked. Cliff would make only one and take only 2 the rest of the way. INEXCUSABLE THAT CLIFF DID NOT TAKE ONE SHOT IN THE FINAL 9:13 IN THE GAME.....THAT IS ON PIKIELL. I AM SORRY. HE WAS OUTCOACHED BY THE 73 YEAR OLD WHO HAS OVER 700 VICTORIES. In fact, RU made only 2 of its final 14 fg attempts and just two fgs in the last 8 minutes. In that stretch RU was outscored 19-5 and in the last 16:46 this really wasnt a game....RU was outscored 33-15...thoroughly dominated at both ends. Despite that they still had a shot to pull out the victory but reality was you cannot play that poorly for almost the entire half and pull out the win. Caleb had 5 turnovers including a major blunder late but did hit a tying 3. I know he is trying to do too much at times, he had a tendency in other years to do stuff like that as well but Caleb couldnt gather to the team and calm them at the end and it was sad to watch the team just feebly go down by 7 by games end. There were several opportunities for RU to wrest control of this game and they blew each and every one of them. In the end, Miami perhaps buoyed by their elite 8 run last year were the ones to step up and take the game. They deserved it. They kept coming and then closed it out.

Can I say I HATE HATE HATE that creampuff schedule that featured only one real challenge. Great to blow these teams out and look like we have a polished offense but the two game vs Temple and Miami scream otherwise. Those little mistakes that RU can easily overcome like scoring droughts vs Columbia and letting a 11-2 CCSU run to open the 2nd half turn into much bigger problems in a game like tonight. Miami had a great coach, lots of options on offense, good shooters and a quickness and athleticism that makes RU look slow. Nothing screams my frustration about the schedule more than not even being able to come up with a recap for Central Connecticut State because why..because why are we even playing them after playing 4 other cupcakes. So thrown to the wolves now in two games against an okay but not ncaa bound Temple, RU really does not show moxy or polish and the hunger I talked about from earlier recaps is only there in a couple minute spurts. When they are bad they get really bad....and now Indiana comes in and yes they have been RU's bitch for a while now. But Indiana is better than they have been and there is no Ron or Geo to hit daggers like in previous years. The RAC is a big advantage and Indiana coming in ripe for a letdown after playing UNC gives us some hope. The fear is can we elevate our game and match Indiana for a full 40 minutes. We can do it in spurts but without Paul all our flaws are shining. If you have NCAA aspirations, a loss to Indiana puts enormous pressure for RU to take 2 of its next 3 of its tougher 5 game stretch. Saying look what happened last year is avoiding the elephant in the room. Until Paul comes back I will continue to have my fears. Things can unravel pretty quickly with the opponents to come and RU yet to show they can beat anyone with a pulse
Good comments bac. I wouldn’t press the panic button yet but I am concerned the offense became stagnant there in the second half and guys kind of spit the bit and of course in end game the two guys that always carried us are now gone (note they didn’t always execute either). That said role type players tend to shine at home so let’s hope we get a little mojo back at the rac and Paul gets back sooner rather than later.
 
Hyatt and Mag play the minutes that they do because we don't have anyone better than them at their positions. Yes you are going to get WTF situations with them but they were not alone last night. How many times did Caleb turn the ball over by going into the lane leaving his feet and making a pass to no one in particular?

Yes Paul is important and until we see a couple of games with the team at full strength we won't be sure what this team is capable of. Substitution patterns are important. We have to sub even if we are going to ask the starters to play 34-35 minutes. Even the Crispin noted a couple of times that Pike must be looking just to survive a couple of minutes given who he had out there. A five that includes Miller, Mag and Dean is playing short handed on offense. Woofolk also struggled last night. We need a more consistent Cliff on both ends.

On offensive we seem to go through this every year where it is really not clear early on what we are trying to accomplish in our half court sets. If Cam is going to be successful there needs to be plays run to get him open looks. I still see too much dribbling without a real purpose instead of moving the ball. We are not talented enough to beat guys off the dribble. Maybe Simpson can do that in time but not yet.

I was not overly impressed with Miami and thought we were the better team for the first 28 minutes. Certainly was not a hostile road environment yet we were unable to maintain our poise and composure down the stretch.
 
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Pike needs to “stop trusting his veterans “ so much and play his bench . This game was lost LAST YEAR….having Hyatt and mag on the bench way too much while the enitre starting five played 33-35 minute …and they didn’t know how to handle the lights on them on the road in the end game while fatigued

We will be in the same place next year if we don’t force wolfolk and Simpson into regular minutes
I agree in theory. I don’t know in real life.

Games need to be won now.
Games needed to be won last year.

Simpson isn’t ready right now to have the ball in his hands. I am not, as a fan, willing to lose games getting him experience. Indiana made life hell for the UNC guards.

Simpson has already left games and had to be consoled by teammates.
 
I agree in theory. I don’t know in real life.

Games need to be won now.
Games needed to be won last year.

Simpson isn’t ready right now to have the ball in his hands. I am not, as a fan, willing to lose games getting him experience. Indiana made life hell for the UNC guards.

Simpson has already left games and had to be consoled by teammates.

I believe he was yanked after another of those dunk attempts from 12 feet away
 
Very tough game to watch. Zero identity without Paul and who knows how much even with.

Mag and Andre are being asked to do too much (yes, recruiting) but multiple times they had me screaming at the tv. Dean’s been disappointing but at least he preserves my voice.

Serious doubts whether or not we’ll be NCAAT bound. We’re counting on a lot out of Paul which could be a pipe dream.
 
I'm surprised there is so little mention of all the fast break layups by Miami and there was no adjustments by Rutgers .Easy baskets are difference makers in close games where Rutgers is shooting bricks at crunch time.

The offensive woes are not surprising because of the lack of go to scorers at crunch time.Harper and Baker are gone and Hyatt and Mags are really complementary type players taking too many shots .Its simple math where Rutgers has great difficulty scoring even 65 points on the road which isn't enough to win.The goal has to be at least 70 points a game to have some margin for scoring droughts.The problem is recruiting has not brought in players that can create and make shots off the dribble.Spencer needs a point guard that can pass him the ball in the corners for open 3 pointers.His scoring only 3 points and Cliff being stopped at crunch time was simply too much to overcome offensively .

Losing on the road has become too commonplace The Star Ledger reports Rutgers has a road record of 10-25 the past three regular seasons,Such futility leaves a very small margin for getting a NCAA bid.It took a 3 pointer by Harper against Indiana to obtain one of the last NCAA bids.
 
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it's pretty simple, we all said "who can bail us out end of shot clock", after losing the two guys who could do something in that situation. so basically we don't have any 1-on-1 face to basket threats on offense. it's tough to score at this level without that. basketball is not that complicated. how many times did we have a guy with the ball even get half step on his man on way to basket, where help D had to rotate over? i don't even remember seeing that once. christ even just a couple quick dribbles makes an off ball guy sag too much and maybe you create a shot. lot of old schoolers hate the one-on-one stuff, but that's basketball.
 
I agree in theory. I don’t know in real life.

Games need to be won now.
Games needed to be won last year.

Simpson isn’t ready right now to have the ball in his hands. I am not, as a fan, willing to lose games getting him experience. Indiana made life hell for the UNC guards.

Simpson has already left games and had to be consoled by teammates.
I am with Greene on this one. Freshman on the road in the BIG 10 or against a legitimate Power 5 team , including Miami who had 3 good guards , Was not the spot to play Simpson 20-30 minutes . He isn’t ready and certainly not as our point guard , nor defensively. We didn’t really need him , if our guys made our uncontested layups , did not make the turnovers that led to pick 6’s on 3 occasions ( Hyatt 2 times and Caleb 1) and Cam hits just 1 of those second half threes . Really a shame because unlike the Temple game where we didn’t play well throughout and had the worst first half in a couple of years, we played well for long stretches and were controlling the game against Miami until the last 5 minute melt down.
 
I believe he was yanked after another of those dunk attempts from 12 feet away
Sounding like an old man......

What happened to fundamentals?

Why can't he pull up and take and make a 6 footer?

Separate question......In what calendar year did it become OK to take layups on the left side of the court with your right hand?
 
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it's pretty simple, we all said "who can bail us out end of shot clock", after losing the two guys who could do something in that situation. so basically we don't have any 1-on-1 face to basket threats on offense. it's tough to score at this level without that. basketball is not that complicated. how many times did we have a guy with the ball even get half step on his man on way to basket, where help D had to rotate over? i don't even remember seeing that once. christ even just a couple quick dribbles makes an off ball guy sag too much and maybe you create a shot. lot of old schoolers hate the one-on-one stuff, but that's basketball.
that is Simpson, but......
 
I believe he was yanked after another of those dunk attempts from 12 feet away
Simpson doesn't know what he can't do, which is fine for a freshman. The real issue is that he's the only guy who can dribble into the lane so that's our only option.

The 2P% light didn't go for Geo until between his sophomore and junior years. He was 38% and 36% as a freshman and sophomore and then 49%, 51%, and 46% for the rest of his career. He figured out or it was explained to him what was working and what wasn't, and to his credit he made the necessary improvements. I hope it happens more quickly for Simpson but sometimes it never happens at all.
 
Rutgers dominated basically the middle 18 of that game. That Miami run of 14-2 within 1 min 42 seconds around the 7 min mark changed it. Those points basically game from turnovers sparking transition baskets. In the Halfcourt until that point miami struggled and had multiple turnovers during the second half.
I think most of those turnovers from during that stretch and beyond came from not realizing that officials were not calling anything questionable on reaches (Hyatt and Mags got stripped a few times on the mid post and wings) and also the passing to the post was atrocious. Miami would front the post and their help side defensive was very quick on the lobs. I think pike should have used some screening action to help with getting cliff the ball late in those situations. Maybe having Paul would have made a difference late in those areas which could have resulted in a W.
 
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I like this team, but the margin for error with injuries is razor thin. I think this team can be very good with Cliff-Paul-Caleb-Cam on the floor. I'll reserve criticism for Cam's game last night since he essentially played 40 minutes of PG. I am fine with Mag OR Hyatt, but not Mag AND Hyatt. I think Hyatt needs to have a similar role to last season where he can come on for 10 minutes and hit a 3 and grab some boards. Just too many turnovers and lapses for him to play 25 mpg.
 
I am getting sick of losing OOC games that matter. It hurts our resume chances big time and IMO Cam might not be a starter by mid season. His lack of athleticism showed vs Temple and now Miami. But we are expecting him to guard Purdue, Michigan, Iowa? No way.

The offense has no flow and is missing something rn.
I wouldn't say that Cam is not athletic. He played lacrosse at the attack position in HS at one of the top schools in the country and had D1 offers to play but chose basketball instead. Last night, he had to bring the ball up court which makes it harder when you are also responsible to be a shooting guard. Most of his shots hit the front of the rim which is an indication of fatigue. He had an off night and will be better when Paul returns.
 
I've said it from the beginning that this team has to play faster offensively.
We don't have anyone that can create his own shot at the end of the shot clock like Geo or RHJ.
We need to push the ball and look for the first good shot, get Spenser some transition 3's
Pike sees the game through defensive eyes only and that was ok with good one on one players.
This team will be closer to 500 if we don't learn to create shots as a team.
Guys that can only play defense but kill us offensively cannot be on the court with this team
Pike needed to alter his thinking with this team and devote more time to offense.
All that being said, we are without Paul and Pike team's usually get better as the season goes on
Pike is a great coach and without a doubt the best guy in America for the job
He will figure it out as will Caleb, Cliff, Spenser and Paul
 
And the insult to injury is that Kevin Willard’s Maryland team blew Miami out on a neutral court!
 
And the insult to injury is that Kevin Willard’s Maryland team blew Miami out on a neutral court!
Yes they did. Hit a bunch of threes and never looked back. Thought when Cliff hit his 3 we were going to do the exact same thing.
 
I’m in on just about anything that reduces Mag and Andre’s minutes way down from 66. If the question is, “who do you want to take those minutes, Antoine and Dean?” My answer is yes. In my opinion Mag and Andre are guys you can count on to lose games for you. I think Antoine and Dean totaled twelve mins last night. I’m even good with a lineup of Derek at point, Caleb and Cam at wings, Cliff at five, and Reiber/Woolfolk/Hyatt/Mag at the four.
 
I’m in on just about anything that reduces Mag and Andre’s minutes way down from 66. If the question is, “who do you want to take those minutes, Antoine and Dean?” My answer is yes. In my opinion Mag and Andre are guys you can count on to lose games for you. I think Antoine and Dean totaled twelve mins last night. I’m even good with a lineup of Derek at point, Caleb and Cam at wings, Cliff at five, and Reiber/Woolfolk/Hyatt/Mag at the four.
We need an option where I can "secretly like" a post. Like this one. It's brutally harsh but I secretly like it and wouldn't want to publically acknowledge that I like the post.
 
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will cam spencer become the noah vedral for this board to give up on. geez........to slow, to do this and, that.... the same bullshit........unreal. i get it, we are emotionally involved......it's a long season..........let it play out.
 
I drove a couple of hours to the game and sat next to a long time Miami season ticket holder. He was very impressed with the Rutgers team and was genuinely surprised that Miami beat them. Although we both agreed that Wong was easily the best player on the court, he thought we had a decided talent advantage. He also was extremely impressed with the Rutgers fan turnout and said over the years that only Syracuse fans are as prevalent and vocal at Miami games.

The arena is right smack in the middle of campus..like if the RAC was on College Avenue. I bought seats that would have sold for $100+ apiece on the secondary market at the RAC for $8 each on stub hub…crazy.
 
I wouldn't say that Cam is not athletic. He played lacrosse at the attack position in HS at one of the top schools in the country and had D1 offers to play but chose basketball instead. Last night, he had to bring the ball up court which makes it harder when you are also responsible to be a shooting guard. Most of his shots hit the front of the rim which is an indication of fatigue. He had an off night and will be better when Paul returns.

I think this is a fair assessment. We should all have some legitimate concerns about Cam given his struggles against the only 2 quality oppenents RU has played so far. But, both of those games were without our point guard Mulcahy. I think both Cliff and Cam will be the biggest beneficiaries of Paul’s return, which hopefully occurs tomorrow!
 
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Hyatt and Mag play the minutes that they do because we don't have anyone better than them at their positions. Yes you are going to get WTF situations with them but they were not alone last night. How many times did Caleb turn the ball over by going into the lane leaving his feet and making a pass to no one in particular?

Yes Paul is important and until we see a couple of games with the team at full strength we won't be sure what this team is capable of. Substitution patterns are important. We have to sub even if we are going to ask the starters to play 34-35 minutes. Even the Crispin noted a couple of times that Pike must be looking just to survive a couple of minutes given who he had out there. A five that includes Miller, Mag and Dean is playing short handed on offense. Woofolk also struggled last night. We need a more consistent Cliff on both ends.

On offensive we seem to go through this every year where it is really not clear early on what we are trying to accomplish in our half court sets. If Cam is going to be successful there needs to be plays run to get him open looks. I still see too much dribbling without a real purpose instead of moving the ball. We are not talented enough to beat guys off the dribble. Maybe Simpson can do that in time but not yet.

I was not overly impressed with Miami and thought we were the better team for the first 28 minutes. Certainly was not a hostile road environment yet we were unable to maintain our poise and composure down the stretch.
Great points. The issue with this team is that with Ron and Geo gone we don't really have go to scorers that can take over a game and create shots for themselves. Aside from Cliff, who needs someone to get him the ball, the rest of our roster are complementary players on a good power 5 team. Simpson can develop into that player but he's not there yet. We also have players that are good on defense but can't score (Miller) or can score but soft on defense/rebounding (Reiber). With this type of roster it must be challenging with rotations and getting a feel for the right mix, especially when two of your veteran starters have been hurt.
 
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