How long will it take for Pike to make a rotation change?

[pd10124]

The most mind boggling part of this whole season is that we are 8-6 playing horrible basketball, and Pike still hasn’t made a significant lineup or minute change. How many times do we have to lose the same way before we make a change? I think Aaron Breitman summed it up perfectly. Start Lathan and Acuff and see if going all offense makes a difference. There’s literally nothing to lose at this point. Maybe we need to score 90 a game and survive defensively by playing super aggressive and constantly switching up looks.

Regarding Martini and Hayes, you either have to play them consistent minutes in this upcoming stretch and prioritize getting them good looks, or cut them out of the rotation completely. Shooting is too confidence and momentum based to use them the way they have been and expect results. Yes they’ve been bad, but how do you expect Hayes to shoot good when he sits the entire 1st half then comes in sparingly in the 2nd. And they’ve both been used this same way all year long.

 

[darkcheck]

Acuff, Dylan, Hayes and Martini are the only ones at 36+% from three. Yet the three not named Harper are 7, 9 and 10 in minutes.

 

[pd10124]

Acuff, Dylan, Hayes and Martini are the only ones at 36+% from three. Yet the three not named Harper are 7, 9 and 10 in minutes.

The disconnect between the portal additions and Pike’s philosophy/plan to use them is so confusing. Like I said, Hayes and Martini haven’t been shooting good lately but it feels so much worse than it actually is because they barely play.

 

[richthedentist]

The disconnect between the portal additions and Pike’s philosophy/plan to use them is so confusing. Like I said, Hayes and Martini haven’t been shooting good lately but it feels so much worse than it actually is because they barely play.

Or change something with your line up Pikell always falls in love with certain guys and will use them just because he loves them and the other thing that kills me was he had a line up that built a 7 point lead the other night and then he makes substitutions there is no reason on this earth that anyone can't play 40 minutes; these kids are 18-19 years old, they get a 3 minute break every 4 minutetes or so!!!
This is another thing that has disturbed me for the past few years and there are some who say Knight does the substitution patterns and if he does then he is god awful at them either way its just horrible!!

 

[bitnez]

Martini, Hayes, and Acuff are among our worst defenders. I get the sense that some games Pike goes in looking to give them more minutes for their offense but after seeing them beat off the dribble a few times he gives up and reverts back to playing the “better” defender(s).

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

It makes no sense to prioritize trying to get shots for players like Martini or Hayes, when both players can simply put forth more effort to defend and rebound.

The goal for the staff is to find a consistent 3rd and 4th scorer that can create their own offense or do something other than fire up jump shots. An occasional drive to the hoop, mid range shot is a way to score. This absurd shot charting and addiction to 3 pointers being taken by your 8th and 9th best players, doesn't win games.

Winning games comes down to getting the best shots available on the inside paint area on drives or an occasional mid range or post up from Sommerville or someone else......Ace and Dylan and even JWill can get into their own offense, if available to do so.

The pecking order of balanced shot attempts needs to look like this.

Ace Bailey (14 to 18 shots)
Dylan Harper (13 to 16)
Lathan Sommerville (8 to 11)
Tyson Acuff (7 to 10)
J Williams or Derkack (5 to 6)

Once we are past these 6, JMike, Martini, Hayes, Ogbole can find shots, depending on how they perform on the floor in terms of rebounding and positional defense.

If Acuff has minutes that are lost to JMike, that's 7 to 10 shots that an opponent has to feel is a WIN......until JMike starts to complete contested layups and open 3s, it is likely RU loses production in terms of 3 point shooting.

These are the shot attempt totals for the games....

55 (no Ace)
56 (no Ace)
52
60
62
65
65
68
60
43 (Seton Hall, lots of FT attempts and misses)
63
76
61 (no Harper)

The three most LIKELY to score double figures on a consistent basis are Ace, Dylan and Lathan.

Lathan is shooting 56% from the floor and 82% from the FT Line...... While shooting percentage is NOT the only indicator, Ogbole baskets are rolling catches for a layup or a put back dunk. He's not going to score with 1 on 1 opportunities, if he's fed the ball consistently, he's just not skilled enough to catch the ball and score.

In the flow of the offense, it is MORE likely we can get Lathans productivity from 8PPG to 12 to 13PPG, without force feeding him the ball. If he shoots even 50% from the floor which is below his current 56%, and he gets 8 to 11 shots, that's 4 to 5 baskets and a likely 2 FTs. My math says that's 12PPG, not 8PPG.....in the B1G, finding an additional 4PPG, probably means another 4 wins.

It's more likely that getting Lathan more touches, has a higher chance of adding points, than forcing Hayes and Martini to play and trying to run plays for them.

I would take my chances on increasing shots for Lathan and asking Dylan and Ace to take more 3s, before placing Martini on the floor, which is a failed experiment on both ends of the floor. I would take my chances with Hayes and Acuff over Martini.

 

[seansherm]

It makes no sense to prioritize trying to get shots for players like Martini or Hayes, when both players can simply put forth more effort to defend and rebound.

The goal for the staff is to find a consistent 3rd and 4th scorer that can create their own offense or do something other than fire up jump shots. An occasional drive to the hoop, mid range shot is a way to score. This absurd shot charting and addiction to 3 pointers being taken by your 8th and 9th best players, doesn't win games.

Winning games comes down to getting the best shots available on the inside paint area on drives or an occasional mid range or post up from Sommerville or someone else......Ace and Dylan and even JWill can get into their own offense, if available to do so.

The pecking order of balanced shot attempts needs to look like this.

Ace Bailey (14 to 18 shots)
Dylan Harper (13 to 16)
Lathan Sommerville (8 to 11)
Tyson Acuff (7 to 10)
J Williams or Derkack (5 to 6)

Once we are past these 6, JMike, Martini, Hayes, Ogbole can find shots, depending on how they perform on the floor in terms of rebounding and positional defense.

If Acuff has minutes that are lost to JMike, that's 7 to 10 shots that an opponent has to feel is a WIN......until JMike starts to complete contested layups and open 3s, it is likely RU loses production in terms of 3 point shooting.

These are the shot attempt totals for the games....

55 (no Ace)
56 (no Ace)
52
60
62
65
65
68
60
43 (Seton Hall, lots of FT attempts and misses)
63
76
61 (no Harper)

The three most LIKELY to score double figures on a consistent basis are Ace, Dylan and Lathan.

Lathan is shooting 56% from the floor and 82% from the FT Line...... While shooting percentage is NOT the only indicator, Ogbole baskets are rolling catches for a layup or a put back dunk. He's not going to score with 1 on 1 opportunities, if he's fed the ball consistently, he's just not skilled enough to catch the ball and score.

In the flow of the offense, it is MORE likely we can get Lathans productivity from 8PPG to 12 to 13PPG, without force feeding him the ball. If he shoots even 50% from the floor which is below his current 56%, and he gets 8 to 11 shots, that's 4 to 5 baskets and a likely 2 FTs. My math says that's 12PPG, not 8PPG.....in the B1G, finding an additional 4PPG, probably means another 4 wins.

It's more likely that getting Lathan more touches, has a higher chance of adding points, than forcing Hayes and Martini to play and trying to run plays for them.

I would take my chances on increasing shots for Lathan and asking Dylan and Ace to take more 3s, before placing Martini on the floor, which is a failed experiment on both ends of the floor. I would take my chances with Hayes and Acuff over Martini.

I think the immediate step is to just eliminate any non LS or EO center minutes. Increase them both a bit.

 

[RUJMM78]

Rutgers has a two fold offensive problem.Lack of talent and a half court offense based on iso rather than player and ball movement.Bailey and Harper can create and make shots off the dribble but the rest if the players are more stationary shooters.Watch UConn.Princeton and Wisconsin run a half court offense where all players on the court are scoring threats.As to defense after watching 14 games , the current roster isn't made for man to man defense.Rutgers must utilize a pressing defense to create turnovers and take time off the 30 second clock.The defense should then switch into a zone defense which should improve rebounding.Status quo with two scorers on offense and players failing to defend and rebound on defense has resulted in disappointing losses and very little hope for a NCAA bid.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

Martini, Hayes, and Acuff are among our worst defenders. I get the sense that some games Pike goes in looking to give them more minutes for their offense but after seeing them beat off the dribble a few times he gives up and reverts back to playing the “better” defender(s).

Precisely. These 3 guys move like they have lead weights in their kicks.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

Good teams just swing the ball around till they can burn one of these guys with a wide open look or blow by to the hoop for easy layup.

 

[soundcrib]

Well Steve did finally take the message board's golden boy Derkack out of the starting lineup. Finally.

 

[bitnez]

Good teams just swing the ball around till they can burn one of these guys with a wide open look or blow by to the hoop for easy layup.

Exactly. We don’t need them to be shot creators. We need them to be proper floor spacing, be ready to receive the ball in the shooting pocket, and let them fly. With players like Dylan and Ace it’s baffling these guys don’t consistently get wide open 3s.

 

[goru7]

The disconnect between the portal additions and Pike’s philosophy/plan to use them is so confusing. Like I said, Hayes and Martini haven’t been shooting good lately but it feels so much worse than it actually is because they barely play.

That might have some truth to it but you also have to look at the reality of the game results. PJ has been a tremendous disappointment. You cannot miss wide open threes if you are known to be a great to good a shooter and go 0-4 like he did against Indiana. He was 1-5 against TexasA&M and only 2-5 against Penn State. All the looks were wide open . His hitting 1-2 more in the Texas A& M and Indiana games might have been the difference between a win and a loss.

Martini is a lost cause at this point. He literally has caused us some losses. Yes confidence has a lot to do with it but you don’t get 20 minutes if you cannot hit a three , get a rebound , get a steal , prevent the opposing player from scoring or doing anything or prevent second chance points. He has done almost nothing on the court. He also bungled the Alabama game before the half , missing a wide open 3 , missing an easy and one layup when he was barely touched, then proceeds to miss 2 foul shots and then loses the ball with less than a minute and has to dive on it to secure a tie up but we then lose the possession coming out of the half. We should have been up 5 at the half and not tied at 41. Then when ACE tries to pass to him late at the 1:46 and 47 seconds left in the Texas A& M game , he turned it over twice. He literally played a huge part in our not winning those 2 games. He has almost been a disaster.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Lathan can't efficiently score against most B1G centers. Him in the lane brings the help defender Ace and Dylan don't want to see.

I do agree with the concept of Dylan and Ace taking more 3s, mostly for energy sake.

I would be intrigued if Lathan takes and makes 3 like I think he can so it moves the shot blocking 5 out of the lane where he cant rebound and help on penetration

 

[socaldave]

Precisely. These 3 guys move like they have lead weights in their kicks.

Replace the k with a d