GAME 7 UMass: Enhancements

[bac2therac]

What a performance today. This was RU's best performance of this season and that is after I said the last game was the best performance of the season. It has really been about this 3 game stretch since the disappointing loss to St Bonaventure. We are watching a team growing and jelling right before our eyes. Each game better than the last. Each game showcasing strong defense to set the tone for the offense. We are seeing individual players having breakout performance and then stringing good game together. I know some of us were very concerned after those first 4 games and in hindsight we were foolish to not give this team a chance to even determine their roles let along fill them. After 7 games and a 6-1 record I think we are starting to get more answers to what kind of team we will be. Its going to be about the defense and I love this identity emerging. RU does not possess the greatest of shooters, they struggle in the halfcourt clearly but when RU locks down on D, some really good things can happen. Today was really an exceptional defense performance where RU got into the passing lanes and really amped the on the ball pressure getting 11 steals and forcing 19 UMass turnovers many of which led to easy transition buckets.

The game itself followed the typical RU pattern of slow out of the gate. Its very clear that RU struggles a bit the first 10 minutes to find their way. In this game RU really could get no consistency on offense and aided by some tough 3s by UMass, RU found themselves down 20-14. RU simply buckled down on defense going on a 13-0 run which eventually went to 19-4 over an important 8 minute stretch to take the lead that they would never relinquish. RU must have forced UMass into 5-6 steals during this time and what was striking was that RU didnt bother settling into the half court offense, they turned aggressive and made UMass pay. Really really like the strategy even from the beginning when UMass showed pressure. We didnt convert alot early but we started to in the lattter half of the first half led by Ron Harper who just simply shined in that stretch. Harper had 11 on 5-8 shooting in the first half alone but he wasnt the only one. There was some really good court awareness and passing the ball in transition. I know I complained that RU was only up 7 despite really outplaying UMass but the floodgates were to come

In the 2nd half, there was no doubt about it, RU was simply a far superior team than UMass. RU continued to harrass and shut the Minutemen down and those miracle 3s weren't going in anymore and RU was finally finishing in transition and getting some other players involved. I had made a mental note that Geo was surprisingly quiet on offense in the first half. Just 1-3, yet the first play of the 2nd half was Geo right to the hoop and then Geo would distribute 3 assists for buckets in the opening 5 minutes, later Geo would seal the game with a dunk and a dagger 3 which effectively ended all Umass hope for a comeback at 70-49 with about 5 or so left. Another thing I liked was a stretch where RU pounded it into the paint in transition..dunks for Carter and Myles. Just great to see RU keep the aggressiveness up and not settle into a slow down half court trying to run the clock out. That wasnt the way to beat UMass today and it likely will help RU as the competition gets better for RU will need to convert to get used to pushing tempo to get some easier looks. I think the defensive effort in the 2nd half was really really solid whether it was Myles in the paint or Mathis on the ball, UMass was just so uncomfortable and clunky in their offense. And another thing to like was RU did not let up at all in the last few minutes. RU kept pouring it on and all of a sudden it was 28 point win.

As for question being answered

1. substitution patterns
2. team roles
3. defensive identity
4. leadership
5. killer instinct

All 5 of these things were major issues in the first couple of games and while there is work still to do, you can see in all 5 of these areas RU has shown significant improvement particularly in the last 3 set of games. RU has answered the quizes as they head into some major tests next week with Pitt and Michigan State and then Wisconsin and Seton Hall the following week. I cannot be confident that RU is ready to win these games but I feel that RU has put themselves in the best position in terms of readiness that they can possibly be. Give major credit to Pikiell for finding his way out of some rough patches early on. Where we go from here no one knows but we are very much in the game right now.

 

[BillyC80]

Good recap and comments bac. Especially agree with the aggressive play on defense and also on offense we were in attack mode. The timidity was mostly absent, especially from Geo. He was clearly determined, likely by design from Pike, to have the ball in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock in the endgame possessions. And he came through with a couple of daggers to seal it, as you noted.

 

[MadRU]

I want to add Jacob Young’s pressure defense on the UMASS pg. he forced him to play East and west instead of north and south. Harassed him all over to court making it difficult for them to get into their sets.

Team defense and rotations were very good. Few initial easy looks.

 

[RU848789]

What a performance today. This was RU's best performance of this season and that is after I said the last game was the best performance of the season. It has really been about this 3 game stretch since the disappointing loss to St Bonaventure. We are watching a team growing and jelling right before our eyes. Each game better than the last. Each game showcasing strong defense to set the tone for the offense. We are seeing individual players having breakout performance and then stringing good game together. I know some of us were very concerned after those first 4 games and in hindsight we were foolish to not give this team a chance to even determine their roles let along fill them. After 7 games and a 6-1 record I think we are starting to get more answers to what kind of team we will be. Its going to be about the defense and I love this identity emerging. RU does not possess the greatest of shooters, they struggle in the halfcourt clearly but when RU locks down on D, some really good things can happen. Today was really an exceptional defense performance where RU got into the passing lanes and really amped the on the ball pressure getting 11 steals and forcing 19 UMass turnovers many of which led to easy transition buckets.

The game itself followed the typical RU pattern of slow out of the gate. Its very clear that RU struggles a bit the first 10 minutes to find their way. In this game RU really could get no consistency on offense and aided by some tough 3s by UMass, RU found themselves down 20-14. RU simply buckled down on defense going on a 13-0 run which eventually went to 19-4 over an important 8 minute stretch to take the lead that they would never relinquish. RU must have forced UMass into 5-6 steals during this time and what was striking was that RU didnt bother settling into the half court offense, they turned aggressive and made UMass pay. Really really like the strategy even from the beginning when UMass showed pressure. We didnt convert alot early but we started to in the lattter half of the first half led by Ron Harper who just simply shined in that stretch. Harper had 11 on 5-8 shooting in the first half alone but he wasnt the only one. There was some really good court awareness and passing the ball in transition. I know I complained that RU was only up 7 despite really outplaying UMass but the floodgates were to come

In the 2nd half, there was no doubt about it, RU was simply a far superior team than UMass. RU continued to harrass and shut the Minutemen down and those miracle 3s weren't going in anymore and RU was finally finishing in transition and getting some other players involved. I had made a mental note that Geo was surprisingly quiet on offense in the first half. Just 1-3, yet the first play of the 2nd half was Geo right to the hoop and then Geo would distribute 3 assists for buckets in the opening 5 minutes, later Geo would seal the game with a dunk and a dagger 3 which effectively ended all Umass hope for a comeback at 70-49 with about 5 or so left. Another thing I liked was a stretch where RU pounded it into the paint in transition..dunks for Carter and Myles. Just great to see RU keep the aggressiveness up and not settle into a slow down half court trying to run the clock out. That wasnt the way to beat UMass today and it likely will help RU as the competition gets better for RU will need to convert to get used to pushing tempo to get some easier looks. I think the defensive effort in the 2nd half was really really solid whether it was Myles in the paint or Mathis on the ball, UMass was just so uncomfortable and clunky in their offense. And another thing to like was RU did not let up at all in the last few minutes. RU kept pouring it on and all of a sudden it was 28 point win.

As for question being answered

1. substitution patterns
2. team roles
3. defensive identity
4. leadership
5. killer instinct

All 5 of these things were major issues in the first couple of games and while there is work still to do, you can see in all 5 of these areas RU has shown significant improvement particularly in the last 3 set of games. RU has answered the quizes as they head into some major tests next week with Pitt and Michigan State and then Wisconsin and Seton Hall the following week. I cannot be confident that RU is ready to win these games but I feel that RU has put themselves in the best position in terms of readiness that they can possibly be. Give major credit to Pikiell for finding his way out of some rough patches early on. Where we go from here no one knows but we are very much in the game right now.

Great recap - we can really see this team growing, both as players and as a team, especially on defense, with superb help defense on screens and when a guy gets beat off the dribble on the outside, as well as excellent on-the-ball pressure defense and occasional trapping. Fun to watch team defense. Rebounding was also good and we had 5 blocked shots. Also, liked that we scored so much in transition and on easy lay-ins/dunks, as per my thread. We beat a decent UMass team by 25 (not 28) while only going 3-13 from deep (23%), although we did go 71% from the line, which was nice. Myles could get 5 more points a night if he could make FTs, as he's hard to defend.

 

[Section124]

:WideSmile::WideSmile::WideSmile:

I want to add Jacob Young’s pressure defense on the UMASS pg. he forced him to play East and west instead of north and south. Harassed him all over to court making it difficult for them to get into their sets.

Team defense and rotations were very good. Few initial easy looks.

Agree on Jacob. I thought this was his best game by far. His defense and quickness were no match for UMASS. And he successfully dunked!

 

[RutgHoops]

4th straight game with four players scoring double figures.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Best game of the year...no doubt.

So many positives. Glass 1/8 empty though...

1. I don’t like the way all 3 centers defend high screens. UMASS did not expose us. Good teams will see film and exploit the space we give.

2. We scored a ton of transition points, but don’t think we were that good half court

3. They had more offensive rebounds than us. Rebounding was about even when looking at our lack of oFF REB attempts

4. Huge drop off from Myles to Shaq and Duke

5. Ron has to make his FTs

That’s about it.

Paul was very good and made his FTs. Caleb has been shaky with the ball, but has been more aggressive offensively. Myles didn’t score but had a real good game. Geo has his FG% up quite a bit

Sunny skies today.

 

[BillyC80]

UMass missed a lot more FG attempts than we did. We actually had a higher OReb% than they had.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

UMass missed a lot more FG attempts than we did. We actually had a higher OReb% than they had.

I think i said that....28.1% OREB not good. We are at 35.3% for the year which is good, but this number is not adjusted for our weak SOS.

 

[PatrickRU92]

if you're a Nets fan you have to see a little bit of Jarrett Allen in Myles. The way he scares people in the paint is similar

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Imagine they don’t make 2 desperation 3s and we make more of our missed layups we would have won by 40!

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

4th straight game with four players scoring double figures.

6 players scored at least 5 in 2nd half

 

[BillyC80]

I think i said that....28.1% OREB not good. We are at 35.3% for the year which is good, but this number is not adjusted for our weak SOS.

We missed 27 FG attempts and had 9 offensive rebounds. Isn’t that 33.3%? Are you counting our misses from the free throw line?

 

[BigEastPhil]

Some additional positives:

- No T's from Caleb....:)
- There is really no tangible drop off when the 2nd team enters with Mulcahy; Kwasi; Jacob etc
- Mulcahy not only so poised but also a leader and what a passer.
- We made it look so easy.
- Defense and Transition game were terrific....

Let's beat (S)Pitt!

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The 1st 7 games last year the team allowed just under 60 PPG

FDU, Drexel, St John's, Eastern Michigan Boston University Miami, Michigan State

The 1st 7 games this year the team allowed just under 60 PPG

Bryant, Niagara, Drexel, St Bonaventure, Stephen F Austin, NJIT, UMass.

The PPG on offense was around 70PPG last year in the 1st 7 games...we are a shade under 76PPG this year in games 1-7.

 

[RW90]

Good recap and comments bac. Especially agree with the aggressive play on defense and also on offense we were in attack mode. The timidity was mostly absent, especially from Geo. He was clearly determined, likely by design from Pike, to have the ball in the last 10 seconds of the shot clock in the endgame possessions. And he came through with a couple of daggers to seal it, as you noted.

Geo is playing with such a quiet confidence. Today was another game where he didn't really look to score until late, but when he did he was almost unstoppable. He's like the antithesis of Myles Powell.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

We missed 27 FG attempts and had 9 offensive rebounds. Isn’t that 33.3%? Are you counting our misses from the free throw line?

I guess they count FTs

 

[goru7]

What a performance today. This was RU's best performance of this season and that is after I said the last game was the best performance of the season. It has really been about this 3 game stretch since the disappointing loss to St Bonaventure. We are watching a team growing and jelling right before our eyes. Each game better than the last. Each game showcasing strong defense to set the tone for the offense. We are seeing individual players having breakout performance and then stringing good game together. I know some of us were very concerned after those first 4 games and in hindsight we were foolish to not give this team a chance to even determine their roles let along fill them. After 7 games and a 6-1 record I think we are starting to get more answers to what kind of team we will be. Its going to be about the defense and I love this identity emerging. RU does not possess the greatest of shooters, they struggle in the halfcourt clearly but when RU locks down on D, some really good things can happen. Today was really an exceptional defense performance where RU got into the passing lanes and really amped the on the ball pressure getting 11 steals and forcing 19 UMass turnovers many of which led to easy transition buckets.

The game itself followed the typical RU pattern of slow out of the gate. Its very clear that RU struggles a bit the first 10 minutes to find their way. In this game RU really could get no consistency on offense and aided by some tough 3s by UMass, RU found themselves down 20-14. RU simply buckled down on defense going on a 13-0 run which eventually went to 19-4 over an important 8 minute stretch to take the lead that they would never relinquish. RU must have forced UMass into 5-6 steals during this time and what was striking was that RU didnt bother settling into the half court offense, they turned aggressive and made UMass pay. Really really like the strategy even from the beginning when UMass showed pressure. We didnt convert alot early but we started to in the lattter half of the first half led by Ron Harper who just simply shined in that stretch. Harper had 11 on 5-8 shooting in the first half alone but he wasnt the only one. There was some really good court awareness and passing the ball in transition. I know I complained that RU was only up 7 despite really outplaying UMass but the floodgates were to come

In the 2nd half, there was no doubt about it, RU was simply a far superior team than UMass. RU continued to harrass and shut the Minutemen down and those miracle 3s weren't going in anymore and RU was finally finishing in transition and getting some other players involved. I had made a mental note that Geo was surprisingly quiet on offense in the first half. Just 1-3, yet the first play of the 2nd half was Geo right to the hoop and then Geo would distribute 3 assists for buckets in the opening 5 minutes, later Geo would seal the game with a dunk and a dagger 3 which effectively ended all Umass hope for a comeback at 70-49 with about 5 or so left. Another thing I liked was a stretch where RU pounded it into the paint in transition..dunks for Carter and Myles. Just great to see RU keep the aggressiveness up and not settle into a slow down half court trying to run the clock out. That wasnt the way to beat UMass today and it likely will help RU as the competition gets better for RU will need to convert to get used to pushing tempo to get some easier looks. I think the defensive effort in the 2nd half was really really solid whether it was Myles in the paint or Mathis on the ball, UMass was just so uncomfortable and clunky in their offense. And another thing to like was RU did not let up at all in the last few minutes. RU kept pouring it on and all of a sudden it was 28 point win.

As for question being answered

1. substitution patterns
2. team roles
3. defensive identity
4. leadership
5. killer instinct

All 5 of these things were major issues in the first couple of games and while there is work still to do, you can see in all 5 of these areas RU has shown significant improvement particularly in the last 3 set of games. RU has answered the quizes as they head into some major tests next week with Pitt and Michigan State and then Wisconsin and Seton Hall the following week. I cannot be confident that RU is ready to win these games but I feel that RU has put themselves in the best position in terms of readiness that they can possibly be. Give major credit to Pikiell for finding his way out of some rough patches early on. Where we go from here no one knows but we are very much in the game right now.

Great recap BAC. The biggest difference that is visibly noticeable is the outstanding man defense , denial defense, and help defense over these last 3 games. The second biggest difference is the longer rotations that Coach has gone to that has allowed the players get into a better flow.

The defense has ratcheted up and is now leading to steals and run outs and dunks. So for a struggling offensive half court team in the early games, defense leading to offense has really helped and allowed us to score over 80 points the last 2 games. The half court offense has also improved with better more crisp ball movement. Still wish this team would learn to bounce pass especially to the post . Jacob and Montes defense over the last few games has been outstanding with Jacob having his best game yet, as it seemed his outstanding defense fueled his offensive game . But not just Jacob, as Caleb and Geo and Myles hedging and Ron and Akwasi has all improved over the last 3 games. Even Paul is working real hard to move his feet . The only player struggling is Shaq in the low post. However, I thought he had his best game overall . Defense and playing hard, which we do, will or should keep us in every game.

The other thing was the longer rotations. It was taking Coach a few games to figure it out and like I thought when I said it after the first few games, our great coach will figure it out soon to quiet the bridge jumpers who were calling for the hot seat after 4 games . The depth at guard is really helping Geo, as he does look like he has added a couple of inches to his vertical as well as explosiveness on his leap. Paul’s increased minutes both running the point and being in the middle of the zone or at the top on that Pittsburgh play ,has increased the assisted buckets and fed the post better. We are seeing the expansion of the 4 sophomores games with the increased rotation times and all 4 are getting better every game. Akwasi really wants to drive to the basket and is usually successful or gets to the line. Hoping his 3 point range will improve.

The best thing is that on any given night , one of 4-5 players can go for 20-25 with 3 other guys in double figures. I cannot remember when the last time we were capable of accomplishing it. We are slowly getting better on both ends and in transition with more room to improve, by making more layups, hitting more foul shots, and hitting more threes, so very hopeful for the future.

Today was the start of the 5 game stretch of Umass, at Pitt, at MSU, Wisconsin, and Seton Hall that we will find out what this team is all about. Umass and SFA were really good teams and really good wins and we have to turn it up another level in the next 4. They will be wars.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Loved the defense in this game. So many times UMass was scrambling as the shot clock ran down.

Also loved the transition offense. Lots of easy buckets. I thought UMass coach made a huge mistake in sticking with the full court press. Yes, they got a few steals and TOs, but we made them pay with easy transition buckets on most other possessions.

This was Geo’s best game. Quiet in the first half, but steady. And then an absolute STUD in the second half, with drives to the basket, transition dishin’, and those dagger threes. And special shout out for his DEFENSE. Man, he just gets a lot of deflections and blocked shots with those long arms and quick hands. And his lateral movement seems much quicker this year.

A few things to monitor moving forward.

1. The missed bunnies. Criminy, we must have missed ten point blank shots, including two WIDE OPEN EASY LAYUPS. Can not afford to give away points like that against better teams.

2. Three point shooting continues to be abysmal. 3-13 last night, and we’re shooting about 27% for the year. We will struggle to beat most B1G teams shooting like that.

3. Defensive rebounding was not very good in the 2nd half. UMass was killing us on their offensive glass, and it led to a lot of second chances.

 

[bowlgoal]

Mathis is quietly showing why he was a 4 star. He is playing within himself on offense and he’s a monster on defense. Our defense turns into instant offense as we have the speed to get the ball downcourt and convert. Yeboah and young are also developing and starting to really click. This is really what I expected going into this season. Now we need to show up on the road in a hostile environment at Pittsburgh.

 

[Unionst]

Loved the defense in this game. So many times UMass was scrambling as the shot clock ran down.

Also loved the transition offense. Lots of easy buckets. I thought UMass coach made a huge mistake in sticking with the full court press. Yes, they got a few steals and TOs, but we made them pay with easy transition buckets on most othThis was Geo’s best game. Quiet in the first half, but steady. And then an absolute STUD in the second half, with drives to the basket, transition dishin’, and those dagger threes. And special shout out for his DEFENSE. Man, he just gets a lot of deflections and blocked shots with those long arms and quick hands. And his lateral movement seems much quicker this year.

A few things to monitor moving forward.

1. The missed bunnies. Criminy, we must have missed ten point blank shots, including two WIDE OPEN EASY LAYUPS. Can not afford to give away points like that against better teams.

2. Three point shooting continues to be abysmal. 3-13 last night, and we’re shooting about 27% for the year. We will struggle to beat most B1G teams shooting like that.

3. Defensive rebounding was not very good in the 2nd half. UMass was killing us on their offensive glass, and it led to a lot of second chances.

I wouldn’t get too caught up in the missed layups. We shot 62% from 2 pt.

 

[goru7]

I wouldn’t get too caught up in the missed layups. We shot 62% from 2 pt.

Yeah but if we hit them we would have scored 100 and shot 80 % .

 

[toby83]

Great summary Bac

Loved the defensive hounding from Young. He had couple forced shots but wasn't terrible. In the first half he had a great little elbow jumper when wide open. Was refreshing to see instead of a wild
drive into traffic.
Prefer not to see Young or Mathis shooting threes. Mathis essentially the third Niekro brother.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Great summary Bac

Loved the defensive hounding from Young. He had couple forced shots but wasn't terrible. In the first half he had a great little elbow jumper when wide open. Was refreshing to see instead of a wild
drive into traffic.
Prefer not to see Young or Mathis shooting threes. Mathis essentially the third Niekro brother.

Not the brother of Dave Hopla?

 

[RUJMM78]

I wouldn’t get too caught up in the missed layups. We shot 62% from 2 pt.

In a close game they matter.

 

[Unionst]

In a close game they matter.

My point is that we obviously made a lot of shots that perhaps we don’t make at other times.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

BUMP....let's not forget our thoughts only a few days ago

 

[kcg88]

BUMP....let's not forget our thoughts only a few days ago

Games vs. Pittsburgh tell us more than games vs. UMass.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Games vs. Pittsburgh tell us more than games vs. UMass.

Correct...games where we shoot our average 3 pt %s also tell us more than the games we don't. If we made an extra 5 3 pointers we'd be heading to NCAAs (according to fans)

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Harvard 89
MASS 55

 

[kcg88]

Harvard 89
MASS 55

And that's why I posted this:

Games vs. Pittsburgh tell us more than games vs. UMass.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Saint Bonnie's destroyed Hofstra