Last night was our worst defensive night since November 16, 2019.....but

[Loyal_2RU]

You are not making sense. Yes, in the context of “we scored even more points” the bad defense didn’t matter but other than that this is gibberish

Defense, tempo, and offense interact with each other. Their meanings are intertwined and independently say nothing about the quality of the performance.


A mediocre defensive efficiency with a very low tempo still only allows a limited number of points per game which might keep a game within reach.

A very high offensive efficiency with low tempo still requires excellent defense because it only scores a limited number of points. Etc

The goal is more total points at the buzzer than the other team within the game with no carry over from other games.

I'm not saying efficiency doesn't tell to something meaningful about the team. But i am saying that it doesn't tell you the quality of the performance or the team.

 

[lion1983]

Lathan is straight up bad on most nights. He really stinks right now as a basketball player. Yeah yeah freshman and all but I bet he doesn't stick around for long anyway and we need him now. Unfortunately we are forced to play him because we have no one else.

Sommerville played very well against UCLA: Good rebounding, and along with Ogbole played very, very solidly defensively against UCLA's leading scorer. Sommerville did a very good job walling up Bilodeau, along with Ogbole forcing him into 0-7 FG and just 6 points on 6-6 FT (he had been averaging 15 ppg on 51% FG and 40% 3-point - on 47 3-pointers attempted, so a part of his game).

Last night, against Iowa, Bilodeau was 8-10 FG for 18 points, for perspective. Bilodeau has played 18 games this year and has been held to single digit scoring just 5 times, with the RU game the only game without a FG.

Just saying.

 

[RU#1fan]

We have to improve on FTs.
We rank 252th in the country right now.

 

[goru7]

Lathan is straight up bad on most nights. He really stinks right now as a basketball player. Yeah yeah freshman and all but I bet he doesn't stick around for long anyway and we need him now. Unfortunately we are forced to play him because we have no one else.

Take a break. He had a bad night. But a good night against UCLA , just 1 game before. He is our best offensive low post presence. He is a freshman and don’t dismiss it. We get Ogbole and him to give us 10 points and 15 rebounds a night then they did their job. Don’t judge a guy on his arguably worst performance of the year.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Basketball is also, as they say, a game of runs. There will be swings, sometimes due to personnel and sometimes due to normal statistical variance.

Sommerville had a poor game, definitely. He just never got into any sort of groove and looked uncomfortable out there. Acuff played just 8 minutes.

Yes - it’s a game of runs but it also can’t be ignored on a given day when the bad stretches occurred with a specific rotation multiple times. Probably not a coincidence. That doesn’t mean those same kids will be bad every game - match ups play a big part and just generally good days and bad days. That said - I think a broad statement that we were awful on D misses the mark. There were certain units that were really solid in the game despite what the overall blended stats show.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Take a break. He had a bad night. But a good night against UCLA , just 1 game before. He is our best offensive low post presence. He is a freshman and don’t dismiss it. We get Ogbole and him to give us 10 points and 15 rebounds a night then they did their job. Don’t judge a guy on his arguably worst performance of the year.

Agreed. He’s shown some flashes. Shouldn’t have started the second half though and certainly shouldn’t have checked in again with 10 or so minutes remaining. He was a flat out liability vs Nebraska and it almost cost us.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I'll be honest
1. We don't know if those reports are true
2. I don't blame a player for doing that.....not that I like it though
3. Lathan needs to grow
4. Ogbole is the center I strongly want back

On one - we don’t know “for sure” but in an interview Pike mentioned that risk of losing other players on the roster played a role in recruiting decisions when he was asked about why we didn’t pick up a 5. You can pretty much connect the dots.

On 2, I don’t entirely agree. Or at least, I strongly believe that there are incoming frosh out there not thinking that way. There’s a big difference from trying to get the most you can out of your personal NIL for the coming season and going as far as wanting to find a destinationn where you will get the opportunity to put up immediate stats out of the gate to boost your next year earning potential even if on a losing team. Many kids who aren’t lottery picks still want to go to the best program fit for their college career growth in the long run as frosh - now ultimately that way of thinking also has a NIL hold pot at the end of the tunnel and many of those kids will ultimately transfer too but at least those kids come in with a vision that is aligned with helping their origin team. I prefer those types personally.

 

[PhillyRU]

On one - we don’t know “for sure” but in an interview Pike mentioned that risk of losing other players on the roster played a role in recruiting decisions when he was asked about why we didn’t pick up a 5. You can pretty much connect the dots.

On 2, I don’t entirely agree. Or at least, I strongly believe that there are incoming frosh out there not thinking that way. There’s a big difference from trying to get the most you can out of your personal NIL for the coming season and going as far as wanting to find a destinationn where you will get the opportunity to put up immediate stats out of the gate to boost your next year earning potential even if on a losing team. Many kids who aren’t lottery picks still want to go to the best program fit for their college career growth in the long run as frosh - now ultimately that way of thinking also has a NIL hold pot at the end of the tunnel and many of those kids will ultimately transfer too but at least those kids come in with a vision that is aligned with helping their origin team. I prefer those types personally.

Again, following these rumors, if pikes the one who promised Lathan a starting role like I’ve heard and then tried to recruit over him, then it’s on Pike. Loyalty is a two-way street, and you probably shouldn’t promise 3-stars a starting role as freshmen

 

[seansherm]

Again, following these rumors, if pikes the one who promised Lathan a starting role like I’ve heard and then tried to recruit over him, then it’s on Pike. Loyalty is a two-way street, and you probably shouldn’t promise 3-stars a starting role as freshmen

Think you are adding to the legend. I don't recall Pike having promised a starting job as part of the story, just that Lathan didn't want another rotation piece added to the mix.