Issa Thiam

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

To think Thiam is a huge loss is Rutgers fans overrating Rutgers recruits which we do every year.

My point is that everybody is replaceable.

We hired a HC for $1.6 million/year, brought in Hobbs. Not worried about RU replacing a 190-pound PF.


Also to think he can make an impact in the Big Ten year 1 when nobody's seen him play and all the reports come from either RU, SHU or CBA, who are obviously biased, is wishful thinking.

People keep saying PF. Height does not make you a PF, style of play does. I'm not comparing their ability levels...but, think Kevin Durant at Texas. Plus, he'll go from 190 to 215-220 in no time once he starts eating and working out like a college player.

 

[dpwhite]

Been deleted from Goodmans Twitter account but still on Gottlieb who got it from Goodman.

No it hasn't. I just embedded it from Goodman's Twitter account. You can see it 3 posts up.

 

[ruman]

No it hasn't. I just embedded it from Goodman's Twitter account. You can see it 3 posts up.

The courant confirmed it.

 

[Caliknight]

Basketball is a non contact sport. You don't need to be a muscle head to play it. In fact, the best players in the game are often long, lean athletes.

Enough of the bulk talk. This isn't football.

 

[B1GNJHoops]

Basketball is non-contact sport until you go up for a rebound against Daniel Ochefu.
If he's a wing we have wing guard/forward types at the moment in Laurent, Bullock and Tripp.

 

[RC85]

Basketball is a non contact sport. You don't need to be a muscle head to play it. In fact, the best players in the game are often long, lean athletes.

Enough of the bulk talk. This isn't football.

Take a look at Big10 rosters today, you can probably count on one hand all starting forwards under 215lbs; average has to be over 220lbs.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Take a look at Big10 rosters today, you can probably count on one hand all starting forwards under 215lbs; average has to be over 220lbs.

He is not a PF. Look at any highlights from him, he plays on the perimeter. Shoots from the perimeter, guards on the perimeter.

Here's how he is described......6'8 wiry WF that shots the 3.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Basketball is non-contact sport until you go up for a rebound against Daniel Ochefu.
If he's a wing we have wing guard/forward types at the moment in Laurent, Bullock and Tripp.

A 6'8 wiry WF does not match up with a 6'10 Center....that's Shaq's or Diallo's job.

 

[RC85]

He is not a PF. Look at any highlights from him, he plays on the perimeter. Shoots from the perimeter, guards on the perimeter.

Here's how he is described......6'8 wiry WF that shots the 3.

How's his rebounding scouting report? I like your other post that "he'll go from 190 to 215-220 in no time once he starts eating and working out like a college player".

 

[B1GNJHoops]

A spot up shooter who's raw is not a bad loss.

Ill happily eat my words when he's playing really well in the big east conference which is nothing like the big ten.

The Eddie Jordan era is over. We'll target more players I think than the last staff. Hobbs has more college experience the 2015-16 staff combined.

Thiam was a backup option for Rutgers when it had its sights on bigger fish, and now he's a bad loss....c'mon.

 

[ruman]

Basketball is a non contact sport. You don't need to be a muscle head to play it. In fact, the best players in the game are often long, lean athletes.

Enough of the bulk talk. This isn't football.

Have you ever watched Michigan State?

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Basketball is a non contact sport. You don't need to be a muscle head to play it. In fact, the best players in the game are often long, lean athletes.

Enough of the bulk talk. This isn't football.

The B1G is typically a much tougher/stronger league than most, top-to-bottom, with much more physical play.

 

[MadRU]

And many HS bigs are on the thin side, only to gain strength and size throughout their college careers.

 

[B1GNJHoops]

And many HS bigs are on the thin side, only to gain strength and size throughout their college careers.

Never the case at RU. And if he needs time to develop like I've heard he's not a big loss because we can develop another big just the same. JUCO, grad, prep, HS.

This is a rebuild. If Shoes isn't apart of it, I'm not worried about losing a Shoes recruit.

Let them flourish elsewhere.

I have yet to see anything written about him being an impact player at the big Ten level. So if he doesn't want to be here so be it.

 

[MadRU]

Never the case at RU. And if he needs time to develop like I've heard he's not a big loss because we can develop another big just the same. JUCO, grad, prep, HS.

This is a rebuild. If Shoes isn't apart of it, I'm not worried about losing a Shoes recruit.

Let them flourish elsewhere.

I have yet to see anything written about him being an impact player at the big Ten level. So if he doesn't want to be here so be it.

Pikiell, Hobbs et al have not been at Rutgers before. Gary Waters and staff might have been the only RU staff to develop players strength.

Let's see what this staff can do with developing players and player strength.

 

[Hope4RU]

Ruman : "Marshall is a done deal" ... meaning what ? It's a done deal that he's going to be HC at Cent. Conn. ? Or a done deal he's coming to RU as Asst. Coach ? Really. When the rumor of him coming to Coach P's staff hit, I was greatly excited. Thought that would have been a super addition to the staff.

 

[dpwhite]

Ruman : "Marshall is a done deal" ... meaning what ? It's a done deal that he's going to be HC at Cent. Conn. ? Or a done deal he's coming to RU as Asst. Coach ? Really. When the rumor of him coming to Coach P's staff hit, I was greatly excited. Thought that would have been a super addition to the staff.

He's a done deal at CCS

 

[ScarletLongIsland]

I have yet to see anything written about him being an impact player at the big Ten level. So if he doesn't want to be here so be it.

Lol he is a B1G player....to say otherwise is wrong

 

[B1GNJHoops]

Lol he is a B1G player....to say otherwise is wrong

Based on your gut?

 

[BKIn118]

Thiam is B1G level talent. The matchup problem he'd create with his shooting and length is something we've not had the luxury of since maybe Herve.

This program needs him right now. Badly.

 

[Jim_from_RU]

We will be worse next year than we were last season. Reality.

 

[B1GNJHoops]

We've had a lot of recruits that had shooting ability potential and matchup problem potential and they rarely work out.

Foreman and Goode come to mind as the most recent.

Thiam is B1G level talent. The matchup problem he'd create with his shooting and length is something we've not had the luxury of since maybe Herve.

This program needs him right now. Badly.

 

[BKIn118]

We've had a lot of recruits that had shooting ability potential and matchup problem potential and they rarely work out.

Foreman and Goode come to mind as the most recent.

Whatever man...

 

[Mr Magoo]

We will be worse next year than we were last season. Reality.

Not sure. We'll have a worse frontcourt. We should get Freeman back, but as bad as Lewis and Foreman were, they are still way better than Doorson and Diallo.

If Sanders and Williams stay, replacing Daniels with Johnson makes the backcourt better.

The coaching will definitely be better.

I expect Laurent to get better and
If there are no more defections, I could see marginal progress and 9-10 wins.

 

[RUJMM78]

Basketball is non-contact sport until you go up for a rebound against Daniel Ochefu.
If he's a wing we have wing guard/forward types at the moment in Laurent, Bullock and Tripp.

On almost every play there is elbowing going on which I consider contact.There also is the banging for rebounds and the tripping that occurs as players beat their defender off the dribble.

 

[Richie O]

It's a system glitch we are working on fixing. I can tell you as of right now, he is still currently committed to Rutgers.

 

[hiwater]

On almost every play there is elbowing going on which I consider contact.There also is the banging for rebounds and the tripping that occurs as players beat their defender off the dribble.

This response is does not come close enough to address Cali's remarks which are way off base. You don't have to get stronger to throw elbows.

Basketball is extremlly physical. There is no league were "Basketball is non-contact sport". Even little league has some physicality. Boxing out, posting up, setting a hard screen, or fighting over the screen is very pysical.If a player has a good base, and he leans on you, you won't be able to jump so a smaller player with some strength in his base can lean on you or walk you under the basket without a foul being called and he'll out rebound you evry time.

There is a certain amount of bodying up or pushing allowed in trying to redirect cutters through the paint or even backing down a defender that is trying to push you away from the basket. The stronger player will win out or he will exert less energy in these matches and tire out later than a weak opponent.

This is just a small part of the physicality that is allowed every play without foul calling. Strength weight and strngth play a huge part in it. Stronger players have better handles when balls are being slapped at or someones body is against then when they are driving. If no contact was allowed, you couldn't play the game.

 

[RUJMM78]

Thiam is B1G level talent. The matchup problem he'd create with his shooting and length is something we've not had the luxury of since maybe Herve.

This program needs him right now. Badly.

I'm in favor of players that can make layups and 3 pointers.The fact Thiam has size would be a added benefit.I respect your opinion because of your closeness and loyalty to the program.

 

[ScarletLongIsland]

We've had a lot of recruits that had shooting ability potential and matchup problem potential and they rarely work out.

Foreman and Goode come to mind as the most recent.

Give it a rest already. Thiam is a good player and we need to keep him on board

 

[Russ Wood]

I have checked several times over the last month or so and I never saw him listed.

Fixed.

Part of the issue may be that his Rivals.com profile page was not updated with the commitment. I just did that a few minutes ago.

However, I was told that while Thiam is still committed to Rutgers he is not solid.

The uncertainty around assistant coach Greg Vetrone is part of the issue. My source was not 100 percent sure if Thiam had spoken with Steve Pikiell yet, but I would think that they've had to have spoken to each other by now.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Fixed.

Part of the issue may be that his Rivals.com profile page was not updated with the commitment. I just did that a few minutes ago.

However, I was told that while Thiam is still committed to Rutgers he is not solid.

The uncertainty around assistant coach Greg Vetrone is part of the issue. My source was not 100 percent sure if Thiam had spoken with Steve Pikiell yet, but I would think that they've had to have spoken to each other by now.

@Russ Wood , I may have asked you this before, (If yes, I apologize), but, can you offer any insights into Thiam ? If not from direct knowledge, at least what others say about his game and potential.

Also, if not Rutgers, any idea who may be in play for his services ?

 

[rufeelinit]

Fixed.

Part of the issue may be that his Rivals.com profile page was not updated with the commitment. I just did that a few minutes ago.

However, I was told that while Thiam is still committed to Rutgers he is not solid.

The uncertainty around assistant coach Greg Vetrone is part of the issue. My source was not 100 percent sure if Thiam had spoken with Steve Pikiell yet, but I would think that they've had to have spoken to each other by now.

I would be shocked if Pikiell has not contacted him yet.

 

[RickB113]

We will be worse next year than we were last season. Reality.

If you are right the the Pikiell era is in deep trouble. If we are terrible next season it will be EXTREMELY difficult to recruit the right players here. We need 12 wins.

 

[MADHAT1]

If you are right the the Pikiell era is in deep trouble. If we are terrible next season it will be EXTREMELY difficult to recruit the right players here. We need 12 wins.

I expect a poor season as the changeover takes effect, but recruiting should be better if the way Jordan is supposed to have recruited is true.
Transfers and decommits will hurt the depth somewhat, but those returning from injuries will give RU fans hope for the future and be something to sell to the HS players Pikeill and his staff will be targeting

Hopefully with the injured players return, along with the non injured ones that are staying, will mean 12 wins or more.

 

[RUInsanity]

If you are right the the Pikiell era is in deep trouble. If we are terrible next season it will be EXTREMELY difficult to recruit the right players here. We need 12 wins.

Sorry but I get a kick out of comments like this. The program has stunk for most of the last 25 years. The team is already at rock bottom. Winning 9, 10 or 12 games next year is not going to matter to the longer term. It's how the team plays/responds to Pike in the face of adversity as well as how tireless he and the staff are at recruiting.

 

[bac2therac]

If you are right the the Pikiell era is in deep trouble. If we are terrible next season it will be EXTREMELY difficult to recruit the right players here. We need 12 wins.

you were in support of Jordan staying just so we could have 12 wins..so what

 

[RickB113]

Sorry but I get a kick out of comments like this. The program has stunk for most of the last 25 years. The team is already at rock bottom. Winning 9, 10 or 12 games next year is not going to matter to the longer term. It's how the team plays/responds to Pike in the face of adversity as well as how tireless he and the staff are at recruiting.

I disagree. 9 wins is a similar season to this season and will be miserable and look bad. There is no such thing as a good looking 9 win season. Winning 12 games means we at least won some big ten games which will be necessary to land recruits. I hope we never know the answer but I would bet significant money that if we win 9 games and are worse than last season as Jim said then we finish last in the big ten recruiting rankings.

 

[RUinFla]

Already with the gloomy predictions--those people that are just itching to say, a year hence: "Se!! What did I tell you?? You should have 1) kept Jordan another year or 2) pursued Danny Hurley harder or 3) kept Shoes or 4) made promises to the defectors or 5) gone after Donyell Marshall harder or whatever. Why does this remind me so much of all the Jeremiahs that were on Gary Waters' case? Can you not even consider the possibility that the AD and HC are better informed than you are, and have their own plans for the next several weeks? No?? Sorry I asked.
TL

 

[RickB113]

you were in support of Jordan staying just so we could have 12 wins..so what

Man, I posted several times why I supported Jordan staying and it had nothing to do with getting twelve wins next season. You have no clue what you are talking about.

And to be clear I am not saying pikiel has no chance if we don't win somewhat next year just that his chances go way down if we have a season next year like this one.

 

[RickB113]

Also, assuming no more defections I fully expect us to win 12 games plus next season. The talent is there to do it and we now have better coaching. I have little doubt that Pikiell/Hobbs is light years better than Jordan.