Good game. Feeling better about the season.

[ouchmyknee]

Fun time at the RAC tonight. Even though we choked it away down the stretch, I walked away feeling better about the team than I expected. A few quick observations:

• We're going to be an offense-first team, which is fine. The days of holding teams to 65 are probably gone unless the team puts forth much more effort on the defensive side. There were signs of life during the 22-0 run, but that intensity and effort wasn't really there much in the second half. Part of it was foul trouble (and bad officiating). We did see that the team can tighten up, and there's a lineup that Pike can throw out there that can D up, but we'll lose some offense. I think Pike would rather let us score.
• Acuff is going to be really good for us. In shootaround the dude didn't miss. The plan was to have Acuff play a lot more today, but he tweaked something early in the game, came off the court, and we didn't see him again. I couldn't tell what he hurt, but I heard Pike ask him if he was ok when he came off. Acuff didn't really give an answer, so let's hope it was a precautionary break.
• Dercack is such a glue player. He's not flashy, but you can tell he's fundamentally sound. Does a little bit of everything and does it all pretty well.
• PJ Hayes has the Cam swagger and passion. I was speaking to someone who told me that in a normal game, PJ would probably get more minutes.
• Was also told that in a normal game, Lathan and Martini would've gotten more minutes. I love Martini's passion and IQ. Lathan is probably our best offense big, but he's gotta improve his defense.
• While the rebounding and interior D was concerning, I don't think RU will see a ton of centers that are as good as Ejiofor. He was a man amongst boys it seemed. Huge improvement in his game from last season, but you have to remember that he was originally a KU Jayhawk so there's talent there.
• Ace seems to have fun playing basketball.
• Dylan seems to treat basketball as his job (and I don't mean that in a bad way). There's a little Mamba Mentality in his game. Watching him closely, I couldn't help but wonder if he was feeling under the weather a little bit.
• JMike is a solid player, but he was given the lane a ton tonight and is just too small to finish over the big guys. I love his aggressiveness, but he needs to either get better at drawing contact or learn how to drive and kick.

Overall, I think we're in for a fun season. I'm sure there will be some games where our lack of experience hurts us, but I can see us being in most games and winning quite a few.

Go RU!

 

[jeRseyguy1010]

Good summary.

We really have no choice but to give more minutes to Martini and Lathan. Big E seems like a great kid but he can’t play at this level.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

We see the same things, it looks like we can score and if we need to slow the tempo to keep a lead, we have individual scorers that can add to a lead.

JMike took a ton of attempts, but his tape in HS looks like it did tonight.....last year was a huge learning curve and his minutes and experience last year, is going to payoff in a big way. He looks like a legitimate B1G guard, which bodes well for our future backcourt....it looks like we have corrected some evaluation on what to look for in recruiting, Lino Mark (our 2025 guard commit) plays just like JMike on defense and he finishes shots in traffic.

I think PJ Hayes has been really still underrated....we're lucky to have landed him, he plays with a team first mentality.

Can't wait to see Dylan Grant and Dortch get some minutes to help on the glass. That will close the loop for me.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

This was a great early test for Rutgers, St. John’s is going to be a really good team, and will be one of the 5 best teams we play this season. A couple of points on the game and going forward:

-Dylan was great, but he has only been practicing a few weeks since his knee procedure, and is still rounding into shape and is also getting acclimated to the team. As long as he is healthy, things will just improve from here for both him and the team.

-Richmond and Ejiofor are two of the best players we will face this season.

-St. John’s hit a barrage of contested 3s that got them back in the game in the second half. That will just happen from time to time, and St. John’s had a fair amount of good luck, otherwise we might have won going away.

-Center is clearly an issue for us, and we should have brought in a veteran player to help, but I don’t think most teams will be able to exploit it as well as the Johnnies did with Ejiofor.

-We have six weeks to clean things up before we play another tough opponent, plenty of time to tighten up the defense and rebounding.

-Ace and Dylan are just so offensively gifted, I don’t see any of the low and mid majors on our schedule giving us any trouble or scares as they have in the recent past. Our guys will score a ton and will also pick up lots of fouls, and will live on the foul line.

 

[Scangg]

This was a great early test for Rutgers, St. John’s is going to be a really good team, and will be one of the 5 best teams we play this season. A couple of points on the game and going forward:

-Dylan was great, but he has only been practicing a few weeks since his knee procedure, and is still rounding into shape and is also getting acclimated to the team. As long as he is healthy, things will just improve from here for both him and the team.

-Richmond and Ejiofor are two of the best players we will face this season.

-St. John’s hit a barrage of contested 3s that got them back in the game in the second half. That will just happen from time to time, and St. John’s had a fair amount of good luck, otherwise we might have won going away.

-Center is clearly an issue for us, and we should have brought in a veteran player to help, but I don’t think most teams will be able to exploit it as well as the Johnnies did with Ejiofor.

-We have six weeks to clean things up before we play another tough opponent, plenty of time to tighten up the defense and rebounding.

-Ace and Dylan are just so offensively gifted, I don’t see any of the low and mid majors on our schedule giving us any trouble or scares as they have in the recent past. Our guys will score a ton and will also pick up lots of fouls, and will live on the foul line.

Agreed that in most games we won't be dealing with a dominate 5 like we did tonight. In many games, we will be fine

 

[fatsam98]

Great recap.

If I'm honest, I was a little worried going into last night that we'd look kind of disjointed, that Ace and Dylan wouldn't look the part of lottery picks, etc. Walked out of the RAC feeling really optimistic.

The C spot being the main concern I'm ok with, because I think we all knew that would be the case. I trust Pike to make us a better rebounding team over the next few weeks.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Agreed that in most games we won't be dealing with a dominate 5 like we did tonight. In many games, we will be fine

Every night we will face hungry teams that want to beat the team with 2 lottery picks and playing in front of a ton of NBA scouts. Opponents will want to shut down these 2.

This was only an exhibition game, but a game like this is what concerns me. We move the ball with ease between the 20 yard line, but when we got in the red zone we couldnt finish the deal and score (win).

I think Pike will fix the defensive rebounding and I think Dylan and Ace will buy in to winning (as opposed to putting up numbers). Last night I saw 2 obvious NBA talents that looked the NBA part, but didn't understand that to win they need pitch in and do the dirty work. Pike can teach Somerville by taking his playing time (which he did), but can't with Dylan and Ace.

 

[RRRRUUUU]

Agree on all the positives.

Main negative is Ogbole. His job is to rebound and he lost the battle big time. He also plays like kind of an idiot with taking cheap shots on the opposing team after the whistle. He will get kicked out of a game this year. If he could somehow become serviceable, it would raise the ceiling massively, but that’s a lot to ask.

 

[babbs09]

The only problem with what I saw last night is that we dont have the luxury of time with this team. They need to fix the problems quickly, which is an issue when u have 9 new dudes trying to learn each other on top of several freshman. Most of the team is gone next year and we start all over again with a new group of guys. Trying to build a cohesive roster is going to be more challenging for every team, RU included. Can they fox the D, rebounding, Center position stuff in the next few weeks? Probably not. Hopeful for some marginal improvements that limit the damage.

But I agree the Johnnies looked very solid and prob are a very good team this year. And their Bigs played very well and maybe we dont see that alot, but the tape is there now on how to beat us. Hopefully Acuff is more ready to go, because missing that experience and production.

Absolutely loved what I saw out of Dercack and Hayes. Those guys are grinder/ballers and they bring a lot of energy.

I know Martini didnt play much early cause of fouls, but saw what he can bring in the 2nd. Toughness and leadership. Wish we wouldnt have to count on him as much as a 5, but we have no choice.

EO is marginally better, but is def not going to be the 5 we need him to be. He needs to actually box out and not stand there, or when he does box out, actually disengage and get the ball. Stone hands still. So hopefully Jay Young can get him better thru the year, but not hopeful.

Ace and Dylan as advertised. Will frustrate with Freshman play at times but goddamn are they good. Harper is so smooth and business-like out there. Ace can do things most cannot.

I still foresee a lot of great times and a lot of frustrating times though. Getting worked on the boards is going to be the achilles heel of the team. Defense needs to be better.

Granted this was a scrimmage and I reserve more complete decisions until the Vegas tournament, but I dont think there is a great chance this team is a Final Four team. So not sure what that means in the grand scheme. If the team doesnt succeed, then it will be a bad look for Pike and the program, is that fair given how college bball works now? No absolutely not. They will get better, but how much, how fast is the question.

 

[bac2therac]

i dont take much stock in exhibition games. Why? Years and years and of seeing and watching about them and then the next few games after that, the team is playing totally different and players that were good do not look good in real games, players that made mistakes look better and coach suddenly is doing some different philosophy. Remember last years game...talk about some offensive prowess and then look what happened early on.

Lot of good things to see last night and plenty of not so good but smart people knew that the center position was going to be a disaster and we are going to have a rough time on the boards this year. How Pike can hide this defecieny is going to be a big part on how far this team goes and can he keep the team from getting too down when bad things happen

one thing I did take is you can be a huge talent like Ace and Dylan but nothing beats experience in down the stretch games. They will learn game by game but it takes time. You can outplay your opponent all game but when it matters can you mentally make the right choices. That was a huge advantage St Johns had down the stretch and a learning experience for Rutgers

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Obviously didn't feel this way watching the game.....in hindsight with a few minutes left the best outcome we could have had for the rest of the season is us losing the game.

 

[bac2therac]

Obviously didn't feel this way watching the game.....in hindsight with a few minutes left the best outcome we could have had for the rest of the season is us losing the game.

absolutely.....but i dont think they were capable of winning that game...the spurts back and forth are just a sign of a team with talent that is going to need a lot of time and coaching to tune it. There will be raucous win and some really bad stinkers imo in the first half of the season. I am particularly worried about the trip to Vegas....we are not nearly as experienced as two of our opponents

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

We were certainly capable...just needed a different outcome on 2 or 3 possessions. You wonder if done again Pike doesn't have the ball in JWill's hands and asks SJU to play good defense off the ball on Ace and Dylan.

 

[rubaseball78]

Obviously didn't feel this way watching the game.....in hindsight with a few minutes left the best outcome we could have had for the rest of the season is us losing the game.

I agree with you.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I agree with you.

Exhibition game, but these guys really wanted to win. Pike will have their ear just a little bit more. Had they won they could have a false sense of security they will just outscore opponents and poor rebounding and defense can be overcome by scoring more.

 

[RedTeam1994]

Agree with you fig - overall I think a loss was a good thing. Game is truly meaningless. They choked away the game - but so what. Hopefully makes them angry and more focused - maybe understand a bit more what they need to do to win/ close out against good teams .

Other than the choke - I came away impressed/ encouraged.

Sure the center position was an issue but (as others have said) that St. John’s kid may be one of the more skilled 5s they see all year…. So maybe not as big a deal against most teams?

 

[higgins3]

We see the same things, it looks like we can score and if we need to slow the tempo to keep a lead, we have individual scorers that can add to a lead.

JMike took a ton of attempts, but his tape in HS looks like it did tonight.....last year was a huge learning curve and his minutes and experience last year, is going to payoff in a big way. He looks like a legitimate B1G guard, which bodes well for our future backcourt....it looks like we have corrected some evaluation on what to look for in recruiting, Lino Mark (our 2025 guard commit) plays just like JMike on defense and he finishes shots in traffic.

I think PJ Hayes has been really still underrated....we're lucky to have landed him, he plays with a team first mentality.

Can't wait to see Dylan Grant and Dortch get some minutes to help on the glass. That will close the loop for me.

This year is a huge year for JMike. Last night and last year we saw a lot of head down, hard drives that didn't always convert. Not sure yet.

 

[RUGiddy777]

Fun time at the RAC tonight. Even though we choked it away down the stretch, I walked away feeling better about the team than I expected. A few quick observations:

• We're going to be an offense-first team, which is fine. The days of holding teams to 65 are probably gone unless the team puts forth much more effort on the defensive side. There were signs of life during the 22-0 run, but that intensity and effort wasn't really there much in the second half. Part of it was foul trouble (and bad officiating). We did see that the team can tighten up, and there's a lineup that Pike can throw out there that can D up, but we'll lose some offense. I think Pike would rather let us score.
• Acuff is going to be really good for us. In shootaround the dude didn't miss. The plan was to have Acuff play a lot more today, but he tweaked something early in the game, came off the court, and we didn't see him again. I couldn't tell what he hurt, but I heard Pike ask him if he was ok when he came off. Acuff didn't really give an answer, so let's hope it was a precautionary break.
• Dercack is such a glue player. He's not flashy, but you can tell he's fundamentally sound. Does a little bit of everything and does it all pretty well.
• PJ Hayes has the Cam swagger and passion. I was speaking to someone who told me that in a normal game, PJ would probably get more minutes.
• Was also told that in a normal game, Lathan and Martini would've gotten more minutes. I love Martini's passion and IQ. Lathan is probably our best offense big, but he's gotta improve his defense.
• While the rebounding and interior D was concerning, I don't think RU will see a ton of centers that are as good as Ejiofor. He was a man amongst boys it seemed. Huge improvement in his game from last season, but you have to remember that he was originally a KU Jayhawk so there's talent there.
• Ace seems to have fun playing basketball.
• Dylan seems to treat basketball as his job (and I don't mean that in a bad way). There's a little Mamba Mentality in his game. Watching him closely, I couldn't help but wonder if he was feeling under the weather a little bit.
• JMike is a solid player, but he was given the lane a ton tonight and is just too small to finish over the big guys. I love his aggressiveness, but he needs to either get better at drawing contact or learn how to drive and kick.

Overall, I think we're in for a fun season. I'm sure there will be some games where our lack of experience hurts us, but I can see us being in most games and winning quite a few.

Go RU!

Well said. Really came away impressed with Dylan’s work ethic and leadership - I don’t see a guy who isnt going to be satisfied unless he leaves a legacy here. And that no look inside laser to Ogbole. Wow. Just wow.

 

[Scangg]

absolutely.....but i dont think they were capable of winning that game...the spurts back and forth are just a sign of a team with talent that is going to need a lot of time and coaching to tune it. There will be raucous win and some really bad stinkers imo in the first half of the season. I am particularly worried about the trip to Vegas....we are not nearly as experienced as two of our opponents

Of course we were capable of winning that game. Basically everything went wrong down the stretch or we would have won the game

As for Vegas, I wish we weren't playing two top 5 teams. With such a young team early in the season, a win in either is very unlikely. It would be more ideal if one or both of those games were against teams more in the 10-25 range

We better beat ND

 

[FIJI'83]

Team needs to concentrate on boxing out on defense, otherwise we will often be outrebounded Also every loose or contested ball usually went to SJU. Need to hit the glass for offensive rebounds and be more tenacious on D when the games begin to count.

As to JMike if he is going to repeatedly drive the lane he needs to either finish, be physical enough to get a foul call. or kick the ball out to the wing. Cannot repeatedly drive the lane hoping and praying for a foul call only to then be blocked by much taller players or to throw up a wild shot in the general direction of the basket.

Overall, very encouraging . And entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Cannot over emphasize that last point enough.

 

[goru7]

Of course we were capable of winning that game. Basically everything went wrong down the stretch or we would have won the game

As for Vegas, I wish we weren't playing two top 5 teams. With such a young team early in the season, a win in either is very unlikely. It would be more ideal if one or both of those games were against teams more in the 10-25 range

We better beat ND

Common now. Nothing wrong with playing #2 Alabama and # 4 Houston when we will have the 2 best players on the court. We have waited 9 years for Pike to chalkenge his team and now he has the talent to not just chalkenge but Win. You cannot go soft here.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Common now. Nothing wrong with playing #2 Alabama and # 4 Houston when we will have the 2 best players on the court. We have waited 9 years for Pike to chalkenge his team and now he has the talent to not just chalkenge but Win. You cannot go soft here.

I am Keith Van Horn soft here. I am with scangg here. Going to be a very tough hill to climb if we are sitting at the RAC in late December as a 6-6 team playing Columbia. Won't matter to the committee if we would have been 10-2 had those games been played in February

 

[goru7]

I am Keith Van Horn soft here. I am with scangg here. Going to be a very tough hill to climb if we are sitting at the RAC in late December as a 6-6 team playing Columbia. Won't matter to the committee if we would have been 10-2 had those games been played in February

Not surprising . It is you Greene. Tell me what terrible things you saw last night in an “ exhibition” that was not played like a regular season game by Pike , that leads you to conclude we cannot compete or beat Alabama and Houston when we have the best 2 players on the court ? Remember this is basketball not football. Do you truly think Dylan and Ace are going to combine for 3 rebounds again this year ? Jay Young will not allow it.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Pike played Ace Bailey 37 minutes. He didn't play Dortch or Grant and buried Sommerville after playing him in the 1st half. Pike played to win. With that being said the game came down to 2 -3 possessions so it could have went either way.

We got out brains beat in on the glass and lost almost all 50/50 loose ball situations. We shot the ball at a better level than i would expect in the regular season (aided by 2 banked 3 pointers).

In Pike's press conference he referenced the fact they haven't rebounded well in practice.

Of course we can beat Alabama or Houston. We can also lose to Seton Hall or Notre Dame or PSU at home. I also think it is close to 50/50 we lose a cupcake game. This is college basketball and stuff like that happens everywhere. Plus these aren't ultra cupcakes. just regular ones.

There was a ton i liked and a ton that had me worried. The 5 position has the chance to be a real disaster. The lack of a shot blocker could make us an average defensive team. Statistcally we don't look like a good shooting team on paper.

Both Harper and Bailey scored 45 points GREAT. Both advanced themselves as lottery picks and all conference selections. We lost the game.

 

[toby83]

Every night we will face hungry teams that want to beat the team with 2 lottery picks and playing in front of a ton of NBA scouts. Opponents will want to shut down these 2.

Was thinking last night, I wonder if an opposing coach gets into his guys ears that nba scouts are watching, then maybe you get few selfish bad shots per game from them... Could be beneficial lol

 

[Scangg]

Common now. Nothing wrong with playing #2 Alabama and # 4 Houston when we will have the 2 best players on the court. We have waited 9 years for Pike to chalkenge his team and now he has the talent to not just chalkenge but Win. You cannot go soft here.

10-25 is no longer a challenge? Lol come on

 

[goru7]

Pike played Ace Bailey 37 minutes. He didn't play Dortch or Grant and buried Sommerville after playing him in the 1st half. Pike played to win. With that being said the game came down to 2 -3 possessions so it could have went either way.

We got out brains beat in on the glass and lost almost all 50/50 loose ball situations. We shot the ball at a better level than i would expect in the regular season (aided by 2 banked 3 pointers).

In Pike's press conference he referenced the fact they haven't rebounded well in practice.

Of course we can beat Alabama or Houston. We can also lose to Seton Hall or Notre Dame or PSU at home. I also think it is close to 50/50 we lose a cupcake game. This is college basketball and stuff like that happens everywhere. Plus these aren't ultra cupcakes. just regular ones.

There was a ton i liked and a ton that had me worried. The 5 position has the chance to be a real disaster. The lack of a shot blocker could make us an average defensive team. Statistcally we don't look like a good shooting team on paper.

Both Harper and Bailey scored 45 points GREAT. Both advanced themselves as lottery picks and all conference selections. We lost the game.

You are making too much about the outcome when it was not coached like a regular game.
I will make you a bet right now that we do not lose any of the what you call cupcake games. Assuming you mean Wagner, St. Peter’s , Merrimack , Monmouth , Kennesaw State and Columbia. .
Got a good feeling that Pike and Jay Young will correct the rebounding problem and the interior defense.
I agree with you not having a shot blocker for the first time in 8 years will impact the defense. I also agree with you all guards have to rebound and Dylan and Ace have to rebound more.
You’re saying statistically we will not be a good shooting team , changes this year. PJ Hayes and Martini and the 2 NBA guys will shoot well enough to win.

 

[LeapinLou]

one thing I did take is you can be a huge talent like Ace and Dylan but nothing beats experience in down the stretch games. They will learn game by game but it takes time. You can outplay your opponent all game but when it matters can you mentally make the right choices. That was a huge advantage St Johns had down the stretch and a learning experience for Rutgers

Agree it may have been a good thing in the long term that they had this "meltdown" now. Just keep in mind Dylan and Ace are used to playing 32 minutes. As true Freshman, I suspect Pike will need to figure out where to spell them so that they are only playing about 30 minutes/game on average.

 

[ru-baby]

If there's one thing we should be confident that Pike can fix, its D.

That needs fixing, but sometimes man D concepts take a bit, especially when not playing together much. Feel like there will be some D discussions AND listeners because of the L.

Would not be surprised that Ace or Martini play a lot of 5 stretch D minutes.

 

[RAC93]

We were certainly capable...just needed a different outcome on 2 or 3 possessions. You wonder if done again Pike doesn't have the ball in JWill's hands and asks SJU to play good defense off the ball on Ace and Dylan.

Pike did have the ball in JWill’s hands for one of the 4 consecutive turnovers to finish the game. That was possession where JWill turned it over with a back court violation. It looked like Ogbole was supposed to come out and set a screen for JWill, he never did, JWill was then pressured and lost control of the ball. JWill was clearly pretty pissed at Ogbole after the play. Ogbole is just too far away as far as basketball experience and skill level from being able to play at a Big10 level. This is a one shot deal kind of season with Ace and Dylan being one and done. Unfortunately, Ogbole needs more years of development and his playing time needs to be severely limited to hide his limitations.

 

[goru7]

10-25 is no longer a challenge? Lol come on

It is but beating # 2 and/ or # 4 will have a bigger national splash especially with the committee. Now again , we will have the 2 best players on the floor against those teams. Bring it on.

 

[lion1983]

It is but beating # 2 and/ or # 4 will have a bigger national splash especially with the committee. Now again , we will have the 2 best players on the floor against those teams. Bring it on.

No doubt Harper and Bailey are expected to both be top 5 lottery picks next year. But I would think at this stage, not in terms of potential, but in terms of proven on-court play, that Mark Sears of Alabama will be the best player on the floor. And for Houston, LJ Cryer may be the best player on the floor ... not as clear as Sears ... Harper and/or Bailey may be better than Cryer - but Cryer was a legitimate near-star last season for Houston.

Just saying ...

 

[Nycrusupporter]

It is but beating # 2 and/ or # 4 will have a bigger national splash especially with the committee. Now again , we will have the 2 best players on the floor against those teams. Bring it on.

I love our guys and think we have a chance to upset those teams, but hard to say Ace and Dylan will be the best player on the court against Alabama when they have Mark Sears, who averaged 23 points a game last year, shooting 50% overall and 44% from 3, and took his team to the Final Four. They have more potential than Sears, but they are not better now.

 

[fatsam98]

I am Keith Van Horn soft here. I am with scangg here. Going to be a very tough hill to climb if we are sitting at the RAC in late December as a 6-6 team playing Columbia. Won't matter to the committee if we would have been 10-2 had those games been played in February

If we go 1-4 vs Notre Dame, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Princeton and Penn State, then what does it even matter?

 

[RUJMM78]

The obvious problem in the exhibition game was poor man to man defense and rebounding.The squad has many new players who will be playing for Rutgers only one year which provides little time for player development.I would consider playing a Syracuse2/3 zone during games because the team has height and the zone is easier to teach and will improve rebound positioning.

Harper and Bailey were tired at crunch time because the St.Johns offensive system left little time to rest.They are the difference maker players and must be playing at peak efficiency making shots.A zone defense will provide far more rest than man to man defense.Rutgers will score more points this season but the defense might allow more than 70 points.The goal is to win 20 games .Pikiell must understand the importance of this season and utilize practices to determine player roles and playing time.A loss in November could be as impactful as those against B1G Ten rivals later in the season.

 

[bac2therac]

It is but beating # 2 and/ or # 4 will have a bigger national splash especially with the committee. Now again , we will have the 2 best players on the floor against those teams. Bring it on.

playing Houston and Alabama two schools always in the top tier in net and sos net will do wonders regardless of the result

 

[goru7]

No doubt Harper and Bailey are expected to both be top 5 lottery picks next year. But I would think at this stage, not in terms of potential, but in terms of proven on-court play, that Mark Sears of Alabama will be the best player on the floor. And for Houston, LJ Cryer may be the best player on the floor ... not as clear as Sears ... Harper and/or Bailey may be better than Cryer - but Cryer was a legitimate near-star last season for Houston.

Just saying ...

You can think that and Sears might be . I loved what I see from Dylan who does not play like a freshman and plays like a senior as Pitino said , and Ace only showed one part of his game last night shooting. You didn’t see his driving and explosion. I like our chances against anyone. Alabama has a ton of first round talent as well and probably a better overall team but that is why you play the games and why you get tested . That is what the big boys have been doing for years and we cried for Pike to put together a challenging schedule that the Committee will not hold against him and finally it is here.

 

[goru7]

I love our guys and think we have a chance to upset those teams, but hard to say Ace and Dylan will be the best player on the court against Alabama when they have Mark Sears, who averaged 23 points a game last year, shooting 50% overall and 44% from 3, and took his team to the Final Four. They have more potential than Sears, but they are not better now.

Sears will be covered by 6’6 Dylan Harper. Will be suprised if he goes off for 23 points. Guaranteed Sears will not be able to defend Dylan.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

Sears will be covered by 6’6 Dylan Harper. Will be suprised if he goes off for 23 points. Guaranteed Sears will not be able to defend Dylan.

In their loss to UConn, Mark Sears scored 24 points on 9-14 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3, being guarded primarily by Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle, who are both faster and better defenders than Harper.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If we go 1-4 vs Notre Dame, Ohio State, Seton Hall, Princeton and Penn State, then what does it even matter?

We dug a huge hole 4-5 years ago and we made it without ace and dylan. We could habe the talent to go on a long winning streak in B1G