I don't have all the answers, all I can say and just ask fans to follow the storylines, follow the recruiting and watch the rotations. I get push back on basketball takes, watching games and then people go silent when the information bears itself out more often than not.
The way RU is playing basketball, is essentially tailor made for a grinder at the 4 position, someone who does all the things Mag excels at. RU and Pike has gone to bat for a lot of players in the past, defended players and in some of the cases, gotten burned.
At the same time, I've posted multiple times that RU is building a roster that requires a perimeter shooting, super athletic, switching on defense 1 to 4, 6'7 to 6'9" player that can dribble, pass, shoot, score rebound and run/fill the passing lanes, elevate and score at the basket. Dylan Grant and Bryce Dortch are 2 hyper-athletic players that fit this profile for 2024.
We have also decided to slim down Woolfolk and ask him to play some of the four, since Mag was injured AND it actually fits Woolfolk and his skill set a little more, instead of asking him to play at 240 lbs at 6'8" and be a post up, back to the basket player.
I don't think the roster or team is going to stop getting better if and when Mag returns, but as much as I don't think Eugene Omoyuri rewarded Pike for the time and work put in, I give Eugene supreme credit. The kid practically dislocated his kneecap at least once while at RU and this was at a time, when RU was dead-last in the B1G and trying to rebuild things.
Eugene strapped up the knee and played clearly at maybe 70 to 75% during those 1st couple of seasons at RU. He wasn't moving at full speed, played with a brace and left it all on the line.
If you are watching Eugene play at 70 to 75%, watch Geo Baker play through a cracked thumb, had RHJ play on a bad ankle......then watch Caleb have a knee scope and bad back......and Caleb warming up during games with a back brace on, trying to gut through games.......
That's the standard that's been set at RU......these are not opinions, this is what actually happened. Soooo.....if you are listening to fans say for weeks or months that "Mawot Mag is the key for all things RU and they fell apart after he was injured......".....what if that was true or if it wasn't true.....what if the player actually believes it??
All I know is Mag has a role on this roster but he's not going to get any better by not playing some minutes sooner rather than later. There's a time to fix the chemistry and how it looks on the court, when he returns. The longer he waits, the more unlikely things will be smoother when he returns, as the competition increases.
There's a lot to unpack here, but I can only say so many times.....Mag is an important part of the team, but he is not the entire focus of the team OR is not the sole reason RU struggled in February and March. But if people repeat something long enough and believe it, maybe some people actually start to believe it.
At some point however, RU isn't going to be held hostage waiting OR going to wonder about contingency plans in 2024-25 either. The recruiting commits and signings kinda already give a very clear signal that it's about the team, not just fans opinion on the importance of one player.
