Game analysis

[RUz91]

Game isn't officially over, but it's over. Here's my take.

The obvious first thing I'll say is we need to get wayyy better at foul shooting. If the team isn't in the gym after the game shooting free throws til they fall asleep, I'm not sure what will help them. We didn't pass well tonight and the team looked like they had no energy. EO tried doing too much tonight and caused a lot of turnovers. Reminded me a little bit of a typical Deshawn Freeman game. Mathis has a ton of potential but he's also trying to do too much.

Only complaint about Pikiell so far is wtf was he doing not playing small?? They were killing us on the perimeter and with ball movement. Having Doorson and Johnson in the game just helped St John's. Almost every possession, they had all five outside the arc and we had Doorson under the basket. Stupid decision.

The people at the game were dead. I'm calling them people because I don't see how anyone there was actually a fan of Rutgers basketball. They had zero energy except for like the first to plays of the game. WTF?

St John's was absolutely unconscious from the field tonight, really nothing you can do about it. They played much better defense than us and forced a ton of bad shots. I hate Chris Mullen.

Side note- were these announcers BTN announcers or St John's fanboys. Man did they have a hard on for them acting like they were such a great team.

 

[Shell21]

Problem is their small ball lineup is better than any 5 we coulda put in . I get what Pike was doing playing a big , trying to punish them inside and in the boards . It didn’t work . I mighta tried Eugene at five and Issa at 4 little with Gio , KISS snd either Harper or Mathis . Problem was Gio, kiss and Eugene were all bad tonight . They shoe the crap out of the ball and it wouldn’t have mattered who we played

 

[RutgersMO]

Game isn't officially over, but it's over. Here's my take.

The obvious first thing I'll say is we need to get wayyy better at foul shooting. If the team isn't in the gym after the game shooting free throws til they fall asleep, I'm not sure what will help them. We didn't pass well tonight and the team looked like they had no energy. EO tried doing too much tonight and caused a lot of turnovers. Reminded me a little bit of a typical Deshawn Freeman game. Mathis has a ton of potential but he's also trying to do too much.

Only complaint about Pikiell so far is wtf was he doing not playing small?? They were killing us on the perimeter and with ball movement. Having Doorson and Johnson in the game just helped St John's. Almost every possession, they had all five outside the arc and we had Doorson under the basket. Stupid decision.

The people at the game were dead. I'm calling them people because I don't see how anyone there was actually a fan of Rutgers basketball. They had zero energy except for like the first to plays of the game. WTF?

St John's was absolutely unconscious from the field tonight, really nothing you can do about it. They played much better defense than us and forced a ton of bad shots. I hate Chris Mullen.

Side note- were these announcers BTN announcers or St John's fanboys. Man did they have a hard on for them acting like they were such a great team.

My game analysis:

STJ was quicker, faster, and shot lights out.

RU made mistake after mistake, can't make FT's and our #1 position in 3's is now significantly lower.

MO

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Give credit to St. John's. They shot 50% from 3 and did a very good job on defense. They'll be playing teams in the B10 who can shoot it as well, so this is a good teaching lesson for Coach to use. Work on those FTs and move on.

 

[B0ski]

5 first year players got meaningful minutes. Good learning experience. It will take awhile to gel.

 

[kcg88]

OOC goal to me was always to beat one of SJU, Miami, or Seton Hall. Onto the next one.

 

[Mr_Twister]

Was OP at the game?

 

[RUJMM78]

This was a very disappointing loss because this is the type of game against a quality opponent that Rutgers must win at home to have any chance for a winning season.Sadly,the Rutgers team failed to show up on offense and defense and were overwhelmed by the shooting prowess of St.Johns.The game was decided early in the first half with the horrendous Rutgers foul shooting and poor 3 point shooting.There simply wasn't one Rutgers player who stepped up and made baskets to keep the team in the game.

A very poor performance in front of big crowd waiting for something to scream about but had to watch St.Johns put on a clinic on offensive execution.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

I love Pikiell, but, he did not coach very well. Too much Johnson and Doorson. The plan should have been to go small earlier. He waited until about 5 minutes to go small.

 

[shields]

Hard to get excited when you are down 11 or 13 points. And i was at the game.

 

[rucoe89]

Game isn't officially over, but it's over. Here's my take.

The obvious first thing I'll say is we need to get wayyy better at foul shooting. If the team isn't in the gym after the game shooting free throws til they fall asleep, I'm not sure what will help them. We didn't pass well tonight and the team looked like they had no energy. EO tried doing too much tonight and caused a lot of turnovers. Reminded me a little bit of a typical Deshawn Freeman game. Mathis has a ton of potential but he's also trying to do too much.

Only complaint about Pikiell so far is wtf was he doing not playing small?? They were killing us on the perimeter and with ball movement. Having Doorson and Johnson in the game just helped St John's. Almost every possession, they had all five outside the arc and we had Doorson under the basket. Stupid decision.

The people at the game were dead. I'm calling them people because I don't see how anyone there was actually a fan of Rutgers basketball. They had zero energy except for like the first to plays of the game. WTF?

St John's was absolutely unconscious from the field tonight, really nothing you can do about it. They played much better defense than us and forced a ton of bad shots. I hate Chris Mullen.

Side note- were these announcers BTN announcers or St John's fanboys. Man did they have a hard on for them acting like they were such a great team.

Was disappointed in our defense. We were in many games last year because of it. Also 3 pt shot selection was horrible and could have been a function of overconfidence from first two games. Hopefully a good learning experience for the young players.

 

[kcg88]

UConn shot over 50% from 3 and looked great beating Syracuse. They shot 4/26 today and looked like crap against Iowa.

We have some things to work on but sometimes your opponent just gets hot.

 

[Saint Puppy]

Disagree with people who say we should have gone small - their guard play was out of this world and we had no one close to compete with that. The one thing we had on them was size, but our bigs really just didn’t step up - not to mention that it seemed 1-5 they just had better multi-dimensional b-ball players. It was Varsity vs JV out there.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Here’s my analysis

Positives:

1) Ron Harper looks comfortable and is going to be a really damn good player here. Might not be all the way there this year but i think he’ll be a monster his soph jr and sr year.

2) this was montez’s best game. He looked comfortable, like he knew what he wanted to do. Played aggressive and showed intensity.

3) im not really concerned. St johns was a really tough match-up for us as an inexperienced team. I have no doubt we’ll learn from this and be better overall.

Negatives:

1) we’re a soft team. We severely lack toughness and attitude. I wasnt a fan of deshawns game and i think were better without him but he was a fox hole guy. Corey was a tough dude with attitude as well. We really lack that and it turns into us putting our heads down and curling up into a ball alot. At one tv timeout the SJU players walked over to our bench taunting us and we had no reaction. We were shellshocked. Need more swagger and toughness. Luther Muhammad wouldve been a dream for this team.

2) were gonna struggle with quick guards all year. Our guards arent quick twitch guys, they might be longer but they really lack lateral quickness. Desperately need to target a tough 2 guard who can be a lock down defender to round up this 2019 class.

3) Pikiell shouldve tried a 1-3-1 zone to mix it up. Sticking with man clearly wasnt working as our guys were afraid to overplay and get blown by so they gave a little space and got splashed on all night. 1-3-1 wouldve made the johnnies take tougher shots and wouldve allowed us to play more aggressive

4) Geo’s gonna have to play 35+ minutes a night. Caleb just isnt ready. Traveling 40 feet from the basket with no on ball pressure just cant happen.

5) We have to be more aggressive and play with more snarl. We were squeezing the ball on rebounds or attacking the glass hard enough. St johns wanted it more. We have to get more aggressive.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Here’s my analysis

Positives:

1) Ron Harper looks comfortable and is going to be a really damn good player here. Might not be all the way there this year but i think he’ll be a monster his soph jr and sr year.

2) this was montez’s best game. He looked comfortable, like he knew what he wanted to do. Played aggressive and showed intensity.

3) im not really concerned. St johns was a really tough match-up for us as an inexperienced team. I have no doubt we’ll learn from this and be better overall.

Negatives:

1) we’re a soft team. We severely lack toughness and attitude. I wasnt a fan of deshawns game and i think were better without him but he was a fox hole guy. Corey was a tough dude with attitude as well. We really lack that and it turns into us putting our heads down and curling up into a ball alot. At one tv timeout the SJU players walked over to our bench taunting us and we had no reaction. We were shellshocked. Need more swagger and toughness. Luther Muhammad wouldve been a dream for this team.

2) were gonna struggle with quick guards all year. Our guards arent quick twitch guys, they might be longer but they really lack lateral quickness. Desperately need to target a tough 2 guard who can be a lock down defender to round up this 2019 class.

3) Pikiell shouldve tried a 1-3-1 zone to mix it up. Sticking with man clearly wasnt working as our guys were afraid to overplay and get blown by so they gave a little space and got splashed on all night. 1-3-1 wouldve made the johnnies take tougher shots and wouldve allowed us to play more aggressive

4) Geo’s gonna have to play 35+ minutes a night. Caleb just isnt ready. Traveling 40 feet from the basket with no on ball pressure just cant happen.

5) We have to be more aggressive and play with more snarl. We were squeezing the ball on rebounds or attacking the glass hard enough. St johns wanted it more. We have to get more aggressive.

Kyk

This is very good stuff and a lot of what I see...Mathis will learn to finish and be a monster ...that will be a year away maybe ...but will have plenty of moments. Harper is going to be awesome as well. Even Johnson you can see, when he grows up, he is going to be very good.

We are young and we look it...we need to play much physically stronger and that will come .....I don’t think it’s a matter of wanting it...I just don’t thing this young team knows what it takes yet to do it on this level....that’s part of the experience level...and that takes time and growing pains

 

[whofrewdatmataRU13]

We need someone from Rahway prison to go out on the court and pick up 5 fouls and mean mug some guys

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Kyk

This is very good stuff and a lot of what I see...Mathis will learn to finish and be a monster ...that will be a year away maybe ...but will have plenty of moments. Harper is going to be awesome as well. Even Johnson you can see, when he grows up, he is going to be very good.

We are young and we look it...we need to play much physically stronger and that will come .....I don’t think it’s a matter of wanting it...I just don’t thing this young team knows what it takes yet to do it on this level....that’s part of the experience level...and that takes time and growing pains

Yup, myles johnson will be an excellent player as well. Futures really bright

 

[dpwhite]

I agree with a lot of this, but 1-3-1 isn't something you just throw out there. You have to practice that a lot. I went to the game with a basketball coach tonight and asked him when RU was down 14 in the second half what to do... would you throw a zone out there? He said, "They're making all their threes, the last thing you want is to go zone." I thought we should have pressed a little bit, but they probably would have blown by our guards then too. This was a bad match-up and the other team got ridiculously hot which turned into a blowout loss.

 

[bac2therac]

Here’s my analysis

Positives:

1) Ron Harper looks comfortable and is going to be a really damn good player here. Might not be all the way there this year but i think he’ll be a monster his soph jr and sr year.

2) this was montez’s best game. He looked comfortable, like he knew what he wanted to do. Played aggressive and showed intensity.

3) im not really concerned. St johns was a really tough match-up for us as an inexperienced team. I have no doubt we’ll learn from this and be better overall.

Negatives:

1) we’re a soft team. We severely lack toughness and attitude. I wasnt a fan of deshawns game and i think were better without him but he was a fox hole guy. Corey was a tough dude with attitude as well. We really lack that and it turns into us putting our heads down and curling up into a ball alot. At one tv timeout the SJU players walked over to our bench taunting us and we had no reaction. We were shellshocked. Need more swagger and toughness. Luther Muhammad wouldve been a dream for this team.

2) were gonna struggle with quick guards all year. Our guards arent quick twitch guys, they might be longer but they really lack lateral quickness. Desperately need to target a tough 2 guard who can be a lock down defender to round up this 2019 class.

3) Pikiell shouldve tried a 1-3-1 zone to mix it up. Sticking with man clearly wasnt working as our guys were afraid to overplay and get blown by so they gave a little space and got splashed on all night. 1-3-1 wouldve made the johnnies take tougher shots and wouldve allowed us to play more aggressive

4) Geo’s gonna have to play 35+ minutes a night. Caleb just isnt ready. Traveling 40 feet from the basket with no on ball pressure just cant happen.

5) We have to be more aggressive and play with more snarl. We were squeezing the ball on rebounds or attacking the glass hard enough. St johns wanted it more. We have to get more aggressive.

amazing for once I agree with just about everything you just posted.

I echo about Harper..very comfortable out there tonight....huge positive to see in only his third game..fearless

this matchup was brutal. Our bigs are our weakest point...Shaq just simply not good enough, Myles too green and Doucoure lost in space at this point.

We will struggle with quick guards but not sure we will have to face another team like SJU in the Big 10. On most nights Geo and Kiss will be able to find their groove in league play. I do agree Geo will play 35 minutes but Caleb is only going to be able to provide short minutes.

Team does not have that attitude yet, but its only game 3. SJU had men, we had boys. You could see it. It will come.

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

I agree with a lot of this, but 1-3-1 isn't something you just throw out there. You have to practice that a lot. I went to the game with a basketball coach tonight and asked him when RU was down 14 in the second half what to do... would you throw a zone out there? He said, "They're making all their threes, the last thing you want is to go zone." I thought we should have pressed a little bit, but they probably would have blown by our guards then too. This was a bad match-up and the other team got ridiculously hot which turned into a blowout loss.

1-3-1 wouldve been the zone to go with. 2-3 they wouldve destroyed. But to your point, yes, must be practiced

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

amazing for once I agree with just about everything you just posted.

I echo about Harper..very comfortable out there tonight....huge positive to see in only his third game..fearless

this matchup was brutal. Our bigs are our weakest point...Shaq just simply not good enough, Myles too green and Doucoure lost in space at this point.

We will struggle with quick guards but not sure we will have to face another team like SJU in the Big 10. On most nights Geo and Kiss will be able to find their groove in league play. I do agree Geo will play 35 minutes but Caleb is only going to be able to provide short minutes.

Team does not have that attitude yet, but its only game 3. SJU had men, we had boys. You could see it. It will come.

Bolded x100000. I was commenting to the guy sitting next to me. It’s like when you go to the local gym and the after work crowd 23-30 whoops up on the high school kids who think theyre hot shit. The johnnies players were just thick tough dudes. Type of dudes who you wouldnt wanna see in an alley.

 

[bac2therac]

Bolded x100000. I was commenting to the guy sitting next to me. It’s like when you go to the local gym and the after work crowd 23-30 whoops up on the high school kids who think theyre hot shit. The johnnies players were just thick tough dudes. Type of dudes who you wouldnt wanna see in an alley.

haha truth

 

[bethlehemfan]

I agree with a lot of this, but 1-3-1 isn't something you just throw out there. You have to practice that a lot. I went to the game with a basketball coach tonight and asked him when RU was down 14 in the second half what to do... would you throw a zone out there? He said, "They're making all their threes, the last thing you want is to go zone." I thought we should have pressed a little bit, but they probably would have blown by our guards then too. This was a bad match-up and the other team got ridiculously hot which turned into a blowout loss.

Agree that was the only point off base.

 

[dpwhite]

I did think that it was interesting tonight that Rutgers best run came int he first half when McConnell, Harper and Mathis were on the court. Not a long term sign... but it was interesting.

 

[zebnatto]

Here’s my analysis

Positives:

1) Ron Harper looks comfortable and is going to be a really damn good player here. Might not be all the way there this year but i think he’ll be a monster his soph jr and sr year.

2) this was montez’s best game. He looked comfortable, like he knew what he wanted to do. Played aggressive and showed intensity.

3) im not really concerned. St johns was a really tough match-up for us as an inexperienced team. I have no doubt we’ll learn from this and be better overall.

Negatives:

1) we’re a soft team. We severely lack toughness and attitude. I wasnt a fan of deshawns game and i think were better without him but he was a fox hole guy. Corey was a tough dude with attitude as well. We really lack that and it turns into us putting our heads down and curling up into a ball alot. At one tv timeout the SJU players walked over to our bench taunting us and we had no reaction. We were shellshocked. Need more swagger and toughness. Luther Muhammad wouldve been a dream for this team.

2) were gonna struggle with quick guards all year. Our guards arent quick twitch guys, they might be longer but they really lack lateral quickness. Desperately need to target a tough 2 guard who can be a lock down defender to round up this 2019 class.

3) Pikiell shouldve tried a 1-3-1 zone to mix it up. Sticking with man clearly wasnt working as our guys were afraid to overplay and get blown by so they gave a little space and got splashed on all night. 1-3-1 wouldve made the johnnies take tougher shots and wouldve allowed us to play more aggressive

4) Geo’s gonna have to play 35+ minutes a night. Caleb just isnt ready. Traveling 40 feet from the basket with no on ball pressure just cant happen.

5) We have to be more aggressive and play with more snarl. We were squeezing the ball on rebounds or attacking the glass hard enough. St johns wanted it more. We have to get more aggressive.

Great job. Agree on Ron, also liked Myles in terms of his first big time game. Wasn’t convinced on MM but he was on the attack and played well tonight.

Also agree that we looked soft. None of our players looked pissed!

The only thing I can not understand is why we didn’t go zone. It was quickly obvious that we simply could not guard them man to man. Their perimeter guys were toying with our defenders, they were very comfortable. Think more 3-2than 1-3-1.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Great job. Agree on Ron, also liked Myles in terms of his first big time game. Wasn’t convinced on MM but he was on the attack and played well tonight.

Also agree that we looked soft. None of our players looked pissed!

The only thing I can not understand is why we didn’t go zone. It was quickly obvious that we simply could not guard them man to man. Their perimeter guys were toying with our defenders, they were very comfortable. Think more 3-2than 1-3-1.

This was a learning experience. I would rather lose early in the season learning to be better at the defense I prefer against a team that exposes weaknesses than switch defenses to something I am generally not going to play to try and steal a win.

 

[bac2therac]

I did think that it was interesting tonight that Rutgers best run came int he first half when McConnell, Harper and Mathis were on the court. Not a long term sign... but it was interesting.

I noticed that little run but maybe because it caught SJU off guard, sometime the unknown is better than the unknown. Did RU expect Figueora who had solid but unspectacular first two games scoring 11 and 9 just 1-5 from 3 to rip down 11 boards and hit 6-9 threes for 23 points. It is hard to trust that combinations but would like to see should we get bigger leads vs EMU or Boston U

 

[dpwhite]

I noticed that little run but maybe because it caught SJU off guard, sometime the unknown is better than the unknown. Did RU expect Figueora who had solid but unspectacular first two games scoring 11 and 9 just 1-5 from 3 to rip down 11 boards and hit 6-9 threes for 23 points. It is hard to trust that combinations but would like to see should we get bigger leads vs EMU or Boston U

Yeah, I agree. Just think it's more a sign that McConnell and Mathis are getting comfortable and maybe even trusted more than a long term "THIS IS WHO WE SHOULD PLAY ALWAYS" thought.

 

[zebnatto]

I agree with a lot of this, but 1-3-1 isn't something you just throw out there. You have to practice that a lot. I went to the game with a basketball coach tonight and asked him when RU was down 14 in the second half what to do... would you throw a zone out there? He said, "They're making all their threes, the last thing you want is to go zone." I thought we should have pressed a little bit, but they probably would have blown by our guards then too. This was a bad match-up and the other team got ridiculously hot which turned into a blowout loss.

The coach’s comment makes NO sense. We are not putting out a hs team with six foot guys on the perimeter. We can go 6’5, 6’6, 6,10.

 

[dpwhite]

The coach’s comment makes NO sense.

??

They way to beat a zone is usually by shooting over it...especially if you're hot deep. The way SJU was playing tonight, they would have shot over a 2-3 zone easily. And we don't have enough experience to play a 1-3-1 yet. Or even a box and one.

 

[bac2therac]

Yeah, I agree. Just think it's more a sign that McConnell and Mathis are getting comfortable and maybe even trusted more than a long term "THIS IS WHO WE SHOULD PLAY ALWAYS" thought.

I havent followed SJU roster issues...so the one guy is out and he is real good, is anyone else sitting out?

 

[dpwhite]

I havent followed SJU roster issues...so the one guy is out and he is real good, is anyone else sitting out?

I know the center is out 4-6 weeks. Not sure beyond that.

 

[zebnatto]

??

They way to beat a zone is usually by shooting over it...especially if you're hot deep. The way SJU was playing tonight, they would have shot over a 2-3 zone easily. And we don't have enough experience to play a 1-3-1 yet. Or even a box and one.

Wrong. Look at our length, look at Syracuse, jeez! In today’s game you use a zone to prevent 3s.

 

[bethlehemfan]

I havent followed SJU roster issues...so the one guy is out and he is real good, is anyone else sitting out?

They have 4 guys as good as anyone we will see all year. Granted all guards but they were outstanding.

 

[zebnatto]

This was a learning experience. I would rather lose early in the season learning to be better at the defense I prefer against a team that exposes weaknesses than switch defenses to something I am generally not going to play to try and steal a win.

You better have more than one defense unless you have talent edge across the board. We do not have the roster to consistently play man.

 

[dpwhite]

Wrong. Look at our length, look at Syracuse, jeez! In today’s game you use a zone to prevent 3s.

Disagree. Most teams that beat Syracuse hit a lot of threes. Length helps, yes, but it usually denies the inside pass, not the three. Especially not with the kind of ball movement SJU had late tonight. And especially if Pikiell is trying to teach this team to play the man-to-man he wants. He's not ready to mix in a zone d in my opinion. At least not an effective one.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

When you make shots you look better than you really are. When you miss shots you look worse than you really are.

The point about going small....in theory I agree, but realize....
1. Doorson on Ponds a few possessions made SJU put the ball on the floor (something we lacked)
2. They made their major run when we went small

Stop it with the soft stuff...

Had we knocked down 35-40% of our 3s 70% of our FTs in the 1st half AND Eugene doesn't get in foul trouble the game would have been completely different.

My major comment/concern is regarding Baker playing all those minutes. Play McConnell or play someone else as backup PG.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

You better have more than one defense unless you have talent edge across the board. We do not have the roster to consistently play man.

Well you may be right or we just might need to do things a little differently. Guys are too afraid off getting beat off the dribble. In today's game getting beat off the dribble is OK, but allowing space on the perimeter is not.

Today Mathis closed out on a shooter and went for a fake and his defnder dribbled past him and ended up missing a 2 pointer

 

[bethlehemfan]

You better have more than one defense unless you have talent edge across the board. We do not have the roster to consistently play man.

No shit

 

[anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy]

Disagree. Most teams that beat Syracuse hit a lot of threes. Length helps, yes, but it usually denies the inside pass, not the three. Especially not with the kind of ball movement SJU had late tonight. And especially if Pikiell is trying to teach this team to play the man-to-man he wants. He's not ready to mix in a zone d in my opinion. At least not an effective one.

2-3 gets beat by 3’s. 1-3-1 gets beat by getting the ball to the elbow and penetrating. I think a solid 1-3-1 will kill sju when they run into it this year. Their “offense” wasnt an offense. It really truly felt like I was at LA fitness watching street ball. Everything was just one on one