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Let’s talk the game

goru7

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Dec 12, 2005
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While some posters discuss the type of posters, I am more interested in hearing about the analysis of the game. I will start by saying this was a really good road win and a gut check win after that awful first half. I have a lot of positives and some negatives and as much as I love Pike he will be discussed as well.
First half we have turnovers that led to 18-38 Maryland points. Paul was atrocious and deserved to sit. But what I did not like was when we were 14-6 and tied it at 14-14, Pike took out Ron , Geo and Cliff. Immediately gave up the lead 20-14 and had to put them back to take 21-20 lead. We settled almost that whole first half with the exception of Ron no attacking and little ball movement. Good sub of Hyatt for Paul and immediately 6 points on 2 threes and missed the foul shot for the 4 point play. The ridiculous fouling giving Maryland points was atrocious . As bad a half against such a lousy team.
Now Paul turned it around the second half , hit some tough threes and hoop and a foul , some offensive rebounds , 2 big steals but the game as a whole was won as we got back to playing Rutgers defense. Held them to 21 second chance points and 25 % shooting and we mostly rebounded , although their scores after we went up 49-45 , came as we didn’t secure their missed shot , they got the rebound and converted.
Geo could not hit the right side of the barn and was fading away on almost every shot. He is in love with his step back and has forgotten to take a shot leaning in towards the hoop. It could have hurt us but for our rebounding and defense and because of Ron.
Ron is our superstar and when he goes for 5 at Illinois and 7 at Penn State we are not winning but most teams do not win when their superstar is held to single digits. He was attacking early and should have done it even more. Here I have to give Geo credit , although he kept on shooting bricks , he got Ron all 3 open looks for his threes that got us the lead and then to extend the lead after they took it back at 51-50. Ron can carry us but needs some help. Geo tried but kept on missing but Paul came thru as a second option. For the life of me why we do not go down low to Cliff ever to break another team’s run is beyond me.
That brings me to Cliff as his low post defense is getting better and 3 more blocks today. But being ignored by your teammates on offense is not good or smart basketball . The guards still do not know how to throw a bounce pass to the paint. So so frustrating and leading to a number of turnovers. Still think we have to play inside / out and hope we do it more going forward. It will make our offense even more dangerous.
Pike pretty much went with the starters the second half and I thought that was good because that group had to learn to win on the road. I did not like Hyatt not playing second half as Mag played and that was okay but Hyatt cannot be buried on the bench either.
Overall, a necessary and needed road win to get the monkey off our back and the starters , our main core , did it on both ends , offensively , defensively , on the boards and with the hustle plays. I am hoping that helps them mentally on the road in the upcoming games and especially in February.
We are back in the hunt and 4-2 in the Big 10 in 4th place. Have to capitalize in the next 5-6. If we do , then the Michigan State , Ohio State home sweep will propel us back to the dance.
 
While some posters discuss the type of posters, I am more interested in hearing about the analysis of the game. I will start by saying this was a really good road win and a gut check win after that awful first half. I have a lot of positives and some negatives and as much as I love Pike he will be discussed as well.
First half we have turnovers that led to 18-38 Maryland points. Paul was atrocious and deserved to sit. But what I did not like was when we were 14-6 and tied it at 14-14, Pike took out Ron , Geo and Cliff. Immediately gave up the lead 20-14 and had to put them back to take 21-20 lead. We settled almost that whole first half with the exception of Ron no attacking and little ball movement. Good sub of Hyatt for Paul and immediately 6 points on 2 threes and missed the foul shot for the 4 point play. The ridiculous fouling giving Maryland points was atrocious . As bad a half against such a lousy team.
Now Paul turned it around the second half , hit some tough threes and hoop and a foul , some offensive rebounds , 2 big steals but the game as a whole was won as we got back to playing Rutgers defense. Held them to 21 second chance points and 25 % shooting and we mostly rebounded , although their scores after we went up 49-45 , came as we didn’t secure their missed shot , they got the rebound and converted.
Geo could not hit the right side of the barn and was fading away on almost every shot. He is in love with his step back and has forgotten to take a shot leaning in towards the hoop. It could have hurt us but for our rebounding and defense and because of Ron.
Ron is our superstar and when he goes for 5 at Illinois and 7 at Penn State we are not winning but most teams do not win when their superstar is held to single digits. He was attacking early and should have done it even more. Here I have to give Geo credit , although he kept on shooting bricks , he got Ron all 3 open looks for his threes that got us the lead and then to extend the lead after they took it back at 51-50. Ron can carry us but needs some help. Geo tried but kept on missing but Paul came thru as a second option. For the life of me why we do not go down low to Cliff ever to break another team’s run is beyond me.
That brings me to Cliff as his low post defense is getting better and 3 more blocks today. But being ignored by your teammates on offense is not good or smart basketball . The guards still do not know how to throw a bounce pass to the paint. So so frustrating and leading to a number of turnovers. Still think we have to play inside / out and hope we do it more going forward. It will make our offense even more dangerous.
Pike pretty much went with the starters the second half and I thought that was good because that group had to learn to win on the road. I did not like Hyatt not playing second half as Mag played and that was okay but Hyatt cannot be buried on the bench either.
Overall, a necessary and needed road win to get the monkey off our back and the starters , our main core , did it on both ends , offensively , defensively , on the boards and with the hustle plays. I am hoping that helps them mentally on the road in the upcoming games and especially in February.
We are back in the hunt and 4-2 in the Big 10 in 4th place. Have to capitalize in the next 5-6. If we do , then the Michigan State , Ohio State home sweep will propel us back to the dance.
Good analysis. I’d like to see us play a bit more inside (finish) and inside - out.
 
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While some posters discuss the type of posters, I am more interested in hearing about the analysis of the game. I will start by saying this was a really good road win and a gut check win after that awful first half. I have a lot of positives and some negatives and as much as I love Pike he will be discussed as well.
First half we have turnovers that led to 18-38 Maryland points. Paul was atrocious and deserved to sit. But what I did not like was when we were 14-6 and tied it at 14-14, Pike took out Ron , Geo and Cliff. Immediately gave up the lead 20-14 and had to put them back to take 21-20 lead. We settled almost that whole first half with the exception of Ron no attacking and little ball movement. Good sub of Hyatt for Paul and immediately 6 points on 2 threes and missed the foul shot for the 4 point play. The ridiculous fouling giving Maryland points was atrocious . As bad a half against such a lousy team.
Now Paul turned it around the second half , hit some tough threes and hoop and a foul , some offensive rebounds , 2 big steals but the game as a whole was won as we got back to playing Rutgers defense. Held them to 21 second chance points and 25 % shooting and we mostly rebounded , although their scores after we went up 49-45 , came as we didn’t secure their missed shot , they got the rebound and converted.
Geo could not hit the right side of the barn and was fading away on almost every shot. He is in love with his step back and has forgotten to take a shot leaning in towards the hoop. It could have hurt us but for our rebounding and defense and because of Ron.
Ron is our superstar and when he goes for 5 at Illinois and 7 at Penn State we are not winning but most teams do not win when their superstar is held to single digits. He was attacking early and should have done it even more. Here I have to give Geo credit , although he kept on shooting bricks , he got Ron all 3 open looks for his threes that got us the lead and then to extend the lead after they took it back at 51-50. Ron can carry us but needs some help. Geo tried but kept on missing but Paul came thru as a second option. For the life of me why we do not go down low to Cliff ever to break another team’s run is beyond me.
That brings me to Cliff as his low post defense is getting better and 3 more blocks today. But being ignored by your teammates on offense is not good or smart basketball . The guards still do not know how to throw a bounce pass to the paint. So so frustrating and leading to a number of turnovers. Still think we have to play inside / out and hope we do it more going forward. It will make our offense even more dangerous.
Pike pretty much went with the starters the second half and I thought that was good because that group had to learn to win on the road. I did not like Hyatt not playing second half as Mag played and that was okay but Hyatt cannot be buried on the bench either.
Overall, a necessary and needed road win to get the monkey off our back and the starters , our main core , did it on both ends , offensively , defensively , on the boards and with the hustle plays. I am hoping that helps them mentally on the road in the upcoming games and especially in February.
We are back in the hunt and 4-2 in the Big 10 in 4th place. Have to capitalize in the next 5-6. If we do , then the Michigan State , Ohio State home sweep will propel us back to the dance.


good recap, I like that you are still highly critical of the team despite the win. Its frustrating to watch this team shoot itself in the foot and at times cannot get out of its own way. With the amount of experience and minutes we have, we should not be seeing this so much. I dont like that Cliff only had 4 shots, too much panic early and not playing our game and Cliff could have dominated against Maryland if given the chance
 
yeah Cliff is still guilty of losing a couple off his hands every game or not catching the ball cleanly for an easy bucket but we have to remember he is only a soph. He is going to be beast for us in the next 2 years, key is getting the parts around him
 
Good to see Mag back out there although less happy with him shooting every time he touches the ball. Came in and immediately jacked up a quick three point attempt.

12 guys got in the game today and Jaden Jones was not one of them. And it’s his birthday today. Can’t be easy.

Paul was a disaster in the first half but that second half performance felt like a turning point for his career. Contributed in so many ways. Showed that maybe he’s putting it all together and is becoming more confident.

Geo was visibly frustrated with his inability to get anything to go in the basket (so was I!) but I thought that he played one of his better defensive games in the second half and was really creating scoring chances for his teammates.

Ron’s game speaks for itself. What more can you say? Brilliant.
 
Paul leading the B1G in assists. Does a lot of things well. Those five first-half turnovers obviously uncharacteristic.
 
While some posters discuss the type of posters, I am more interested in hearing about the analysis of the game. I will start by saying this was a really good road win and a gut check win after that awful first half. I have a lot of positives and some negatives and as much as I love Pike he will be discussed as well.
First half we have turnovers that led to 18-38 Maryland points. Paul was atrocious and deserved to sit. But what I did not like was when we were 14-6 and tied it at 14-14, Pike took out Ron , Geo and Cliff. Immediately gave up the lead 20-14 and had to put them back to take 21-20 lead. We settled almost that whole first half with the exception of Ron no attacking and little ball movement. Good sub of Hyatt for Paul and immediately 6 points on 2 threes and missed the foul shot for the 4 point play. The ridiculous fouling giving Maryland points was atrocious . As bad a half against such a lousy team.
Now Paul turned it around the second half , hit some tough threes and hoop and a foul , some offensive rebounds , 2 big steals but the game as a whole was won as we got back to playing Rutgers defense. Held them to 21 second chance points and 25 % shooting and we mostly rebounded , although their scores after we went up 49-45 , came as we didn’t secure their missed shot , they got the rebound and converted.
Geo could not hit the right side of the barn and was fading away on almost every shot. He is in love with his step back and has forgotten to take a shot leaning in towards the hoop. It could have hurt us but for our rebounding and defense and because of Ron.
Ron is our superstar and when he goes for 5 at Illinois and 7 at Penn State we are not winning but most teams do not win when their superstar is held to single digits. He was attacking early and should have done it even more. Here I have to give Geo credit , although he kept on shooting bricks , he got Ron all 3 open looks for his threes that got us the lead and then to extend the lead after they took it back at 51-50. Ron can carry us but needs some help. Geo tried but kept on missing but Paul came thru as a second option. For the life of me why we do not go down low to Cliff ever to break another team’s run is beyond me.
That brings me to Cliff as his low post defense is getting better and 3 more blocks today. But being ignored by your teammates on offense is not good or smart basketball . The guards still do not know how to throw a bounce pass to the paint. So so frustrating and leading to a number of turnovers. Still think we have to play inside / out and hope we do it more going forward. It will make our offense even more dangerous.
Pike pretty much went with the starters the second half and I thought that was good because that group had to learn to win on the road. I did not like Hyatt not playing second half as Mag played and that was okay but Hyatt cannot be buried on the bench either.
Overall, a necessary and needed road win to get the monkey off our back and the starters , our main core , did it on both ends , offensively , defensively , on the boards and with the hustle plays. I am hoping that helps them mentally on the road in the upcoming games and especially in February.
We are back in the hunt and 4-2 in the Big 10 in 4th place. Have to capitalize in the next 5-6. If we do , then the Michigan State , Ohio State home sweep will propel us back to the dance.
TLDR

we won yay
 
GoRU7 - great job as usual. Excellent point about Cliff which I didn't pick up on myself.

How about the dichotomy of 1st half Paul vs 2nd half Paul? I can't think of a time when a guy's performance was so starkly different from one half to the next.

Geo deserves credit for figuring out ways to get his team mates open looks when clearly it wasn't his night shooting.

RHJ.....OMG. He was possessed in the last 15 minutes.
 
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GoRU7 - great job as usual. Excellent point about Cliff which I didn't pick up on myself.

How about the dichotomy of 1st half Paul vs 2nd half Paul? I can't think of a time when a guy's performance was so starkly different from one half to the next.

Geo deserves credit for figuring out ways to get his team mates open looks when clearly it wasn't his night shooting.

RHJ.....OMG. He was possessed in the last 15 minutes.
Yeah. Paul’s second half is something that he has to expect every game. He is 6’6 and can hit the side or corner 3 and can hustle for rebounds and steals. If he doesn’t hesitate and adopts an aggressive mindset , it will elevate this team up a level. Teams are already game planning for Ron and Geo so having Paul as a threat helps immensely .
Geo has to stop fading away on every shot. A step back ok. But every other good shooter is going straight up or leaning towards the basket and I think that improves his shooting. He was so frustrating to watch him miss open shot after open shot but to his credit, he had 3 blocks , played much better defense and found Ron. Finding Ron every game is a good strategy.
Ron is a beast and he can be even more unstoppable if he starts down low and worries about the threes later on. Plus he can get the other team in foul trouble and get us to the line sooner.
 
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Goru7, have the same thought about Geo fading away. It’s not necessary on may of his shots and often makes the shot more difficult as he is off balance.
 
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Great post! Your point about Cliff stands out. The team needs to start trusting him more as an option on offense. He has developed more ways to score beyond the dunk.
It’s still very hard to trust him as an option his touch around the basket is terrible unless he is dunking the ball he has terrible hands. They are utilizing him on the pick and roll but he doesn’t even draw a double team down low. This will get better with time but he has a long way to go
 
While some posters discuss the type of posters, I am more interested in hearing about the analysis of the game. I will start by saying this was a really good road win and a gut check win after that awful first half. I have a lot of positives and some negatives and as much as I love Pike he will be discussed as well.
First half we have turnovers that led to 18-38 Maryland points. Paul was atrocious and deserved to sit. But what I did not like was when we were 14-6 and tied it at 14-14, Pike took out Ron , Geo and Cliff. Immediately gave up the lead 20-14 and had to put them back to take 21-20 lead. We settled almost that whole first half with the exception of Ron no attacking and little ball movement. Good sub of Hyatt for Paul and immediately 6 points on 2 threes and missed the foul shot for the 4 point play. The ridiculous fouling giving Maryland points was atrocious . As bad a half against such a lousy team.
Now Paul turned it around the second half , hit some tough threes and hoop and a foul , some offensive rebounds , 2 big steals but the game as a whole was won as we got back to playing Rutgers defense. Held them to 21 second chance points and 25 % shooting and we mostly rebounded , although their scores after we went up 49-45 , came as we didn’t secure their missed shot , they got the rebound and converted.
Geo could not hit the right side of the barn and was fading away on almost every shot. He is in love with his step back and has forgotten to take a shot leaning in towards the hoop. It could have hurt us but for our rebounding and defense and because of Ron.
Ron is our superstar and when he goes for 5 at Illinois and 7 at Penn State we are not winning but most teams do not win when their superstar is held to single digits. He was attacking early and should have done it even more. Here I have to give Geo credit , although he kept on shooting bricks , he got Ron all 3 open looks for his threes that got us the lead and then to extend the lead after they took it back at 51-50. Ron can carry us but needs some help. Geo tried but kept on missing but Paul came thru as a second option. For the life of me why we do not go down low to Cliff ever to break another team’s run is beyond me.
That brings me to Cliff as his low post defense is getting better and 3 more blocks today. But being ignored by your teammates on offense is not good or smart basketball . The guards still do not know how to throw a bounce pass to the paint. So so frustrating and leading to a number of turnovers. Still think we have to play inside / out and hope we do it more going forward. It will make our offense even more dangerous.
Pike pretty much went with the starters the second half and I thought that was good because that group had to learn to win on the road. I did not like Hyatt not playing second half as Mag played and that was okay but Hyatt cannot be buried on the bench either.
Overall, a necessary and needed road win to get the monkey off our back and the starters , our main core , did it on both ends , offensively , defensively , on the boards and with the hustle plays. I am hoping that helps them mentally on the road in the upcoming games and especially in February.
We are back in the hunt and 4-2 in the Big 10 in 4th place. Have to capitalize in the next 5-6. If we do , then the Michigan State , Ohio State home sweep will propel us back to the dance.
Ron shot lights out and Paul chipped in 15 to be the complement to Ron today. When Ron shoots well we have a chance to win, when he doesnt we will lose.
 
It’s still very hard to trust him as an option his touch around the basket is terrible unless he is dunking the ball he has terrible hands. They are utilizing him on the pick and roll but he doesn’t even draw a double team down low. This will get better with time but he has a long way to go
Are you ignoring his mid range jumper and hook? And with respect to his hands, our guards need to stop feeding him at his ankles.
 
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Good to see Mag back out there although less happy with him shooting every time he touches the ball. Came in and immediately jacked up a quick three point attempt.

12 guys got in the game today and Jaden Jones was not one of them. And it’s his birthday today. Can’t be easy.

Paul was a disaster in the first half but that second half performance felt like a turning point for his career. Contributed in so many ways. Showed that maybe he’s putting it all together and is becoming more confident.

Geo was visibly frustrated with his inability to get anything to go in the basket (so was I!) but I thought that he played one of his better defensive games in the second half and was really creating scoring chances for his teammates.

Ron’s game speaks for itself. What more can you say? Brilliant.
When Paul was taken out in the 1st half I felt like he should be glued to the bench for rest of the game but the way he played later in the game showed what a difference him playing with confidence and hitting shots does for his game.

PM is not a pg in the BIG and should play his game like a shooting guarding or small forward who can put the ball on the floor, take outside shots and drive to the basket to draw double teams and dish to Cliff for dunks. For what he lacks (speed, quickness) against small guard defenders he’s dominant (size and court vision) over smaller guards. Really proud of him accentuating his positives and eliminating his negatives in the second half.

Hyatt needs to be on the court more. He has a NBA body and can also be an option when Ron is off and team needs a bucket that doesn’t necessarily have to be an outside shot.

Geo is frustrating at times because he falls in love with the fade away jumper and doesn’t take it straight up but what I miss is the Geo taking it to the hole from his sophomore season and throwing it down. His hops that year were insane. Injuries over time may have cut down his springs but to his credit he used his ability to drive to kick it back out to a RHJ that was on fire which was really effective.

Really happy for the road win today and makes you forget the klunker against State Penn on Tuesday. Team needs to keep improving if it wants a chance to play in March.

GO RU
 
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It’s still very hard to trust him as an option his touch around the basket is terrible unless he is dunking the ball he has terrible hands. They are utilizing him on the pick and roll but he doesn’t even draw a double team down low. This will get better with time but he has a long way to go
This is such nonsense. If you bounce the pass to him he gets it without a problem and then he can go to work , with either a jump hook, a 10-12 footer or a drive. A drive is going to be his next area of improvement , as he gets that first step past the slower defender he will flush it. I also would not mind him shooting more 3’s as he has a real good stroke. They can do a pick and pop instead of a pick and roll because our guards are still not really good on puck and rolls .
 
Ron shot lights out and Paul chipped in 15 to be the complement to Ron today. When Ron shoots well we have a chance to win, when he doesnt we will lose.
I guess you forgot the defense that was played today. When this team lays a clunker normally the way back to a win is defense. Holding Maryland to 7-28 made baskets in the second half for 25% and 3-15 from 3, 20% had a lot more to do with the win than Ron’s late flurry which cemented the win. A combination of great defense, rebounding and Ron Harper will get us a lot more wins
 
good recap, I like that you are still highly critical of the team despite the win. Its frustrating to watch this team shoot itself in the foot and at times cannot get out of its own way. With the amount of experience and minutes we have, we should not be seeing this so much. I dont like that Cliff only had 4 shots, too much panic early and not playing our game and Cliff could have dominated against Maryland if given the chance
They were sagging on Cliff and giving us the 3’s. That’s a sound defensive strategy for them because we had the size advantage. Until we got really hot it was working for them.
 
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They were sagging on Cliff and giving us the 3’s. That’s a sound defensive strategy for them because we had the size advantage. Until we got really hot it was working for them.
Our guards are terrible of doing a simple bounce pass to the post. When the ball is swung from one side to the other line it is supposed to, that is an easy pass. Our guards hestitate , lob it softly, never pump fake , go away from it and swing it back or start dribbling no where. I have been harping on this for 3-4 years. With our 3 guard coaches , I am suprised this has not been corrected. In the meantime we throw bad lobs for turnovers every day game. Get it corrected already , Geo, Paul and Caleb are not freshman. Time to get better and give Cliff the ball more and more quickly.
 
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While I love Mags energy he brings he needs the game to slow down for him..very anxious out there

I Love Hyatts game and seems like a very smooth player and sneaky rebounder. While he did shoot often yesterday without pass first attitude thought he played well and helped with two hig threes. Would like to see more of him.

Cliff needs to get the ball more in the paint to create more spacing in general across the floor. That said, still plays a bit soft for such a strong athletic specimen. I would like to see more of him on offense besides the lob, which is NOT a working majority of times and changes momentum of the game often. I see cliff trying to do too much in trying to catch/shoot in initial pass rather than coming down and setting himself for an easy bucket. My gripe with it is our lackluster passing in that play(lob) rather than an alternative.
 
I guess you forgot the defense that was played today. When this team lays a clunker normally the way back to a win is defense. Holding Maryland to 7-28 made baskets in the second half for 25% and 3-15 from 3, 20% had a lot more to do with the win than Ron’s late flurry which cemented the win. A combination of great defense, rebounding and Ron Harper will get us a lot more wins
So your saying that if Harper has a bad shooting night we can win? I don't think so.
 
So your saying that if Harper has a bad shooting night we can win? I don't think so.
No one said that and in fact I said Harper with great defense and rebounding will win us a lot of games. If we don’t have that ridiculous first half turnover machine leading to pick 6’s and 18 of their points., we gave up 7 points from the field in the first half and 17 in the second half. That is high level , Rutgers defense from the last 3+ years. We would have won that Game 55-42 without Harper’s explosion because of our defense. Combining that defense with Ron makes us very hard to beat period.
 
So your saying that if Harper has a bad shooting night we can win? I don't think so.
If Ron doesn’t go off like he did then we’re talking about Paul’s seven TO, Geo poor shooting, disparity of calls and crappy calls, missed opps by Cliff, etc.

RU needed every bit of RHJ pts to pull out this victory. RU gets the road win and we move on.

GO RU
 
We can win if Ron is off but that means Geo must have a big game and another player or two steps up.

Bottom line... we aren't winning many games if Ron has a bad night.
 
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We can win if Ron is off but that means Geo must have a big game and another player or two steps up.

Bottom line... we aren't winning many games if Ron has a bad night.
Yeah, check Ron's game logs, this has 100% been a thing. Bad game vs PSU, bad game vs ILL, bad game vs Hall. Even Mass and Laf, games you think we'd be able to overcome a bad game from Ron, we were not.

The one bad game we were able to overcome was CCSU.

Big games from Ron vs MD, Neb, Purdue, Clemson. Really nice game vs Mich.
 
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