i know I know, do we really need another Matt Bullock discussion? I didn’t get to see the game, but I noticed that he played last night. Can someone fill me in? Does anyone think this could possibly change things for him. He’s only redshirt freshman (I think). Does he look like someone who can grow and contribute here? Williams is out for extended time and someone(s) will have to take his minutes. Does he have a legit chance at helping the team?
Matt Bullock
- Thread starter biazza38
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Happy to see him get in a game and make a basket. Still hoping he transfers and we can make better use of that scholarship. Nothing personal against him, just think he's much more suited for the MAAC, the AE, or a lower-level A10 team than the B1G.
I was actually going to post on Bullock.
My reason for intending to post? I had been vocal in my views that he was not a P5 contributor. And I felt an obligation to state that he held his own last night, and that maybe I was a little wrong.
That said, he is not really a replacement for Williams - or Mensah (though he did take Mensah's minutes). Why not? Because he cannot - and was not - substituted for either Baker or Sanders. Pikiell must find a way to NOT have Sanders play 39 minutes, or him and Baker play 74 minutes combined. Sanders' only rest was that minute than Mensah played - before Mensah was sat on the bench for poor defense. Baker was rested by sitting for Mensah (for 1 minute) and Dadika.
Bullock DID look at least okay - with a very nice pump, 2-dribble in and mid-range jump shot. Of course, he also took an AWFUL 3-point shot relatively early in the shot clock, with a defender in his face. He was okay on defense - not great, but not awful either - in limited time, against a lesser Iowa player. But he ONLY came in for Thiam, basically. Bullock is NOT a guard - so therefore not a replacement for Williams.
That said, he was a pleasant surprise for me ... though he is really kind of chunky. We shall see what Pikiell does with him and Mensah the rest of the season, as RU has no one else to play for Williams.
My reason for intending to post? I had been vocal in my views that he was not a P5 contributor. And I felt an obligation to state that he held his own last night, and that maybe I was a little wrong.
That said, he is not really a replacement for Williams - or Mensah (though he did take Mensah's minutes). Why not? Because he cannot - and was not - substituted for either Baker or Sanders. Pikiell must find a way to NOT have Sanders play 39 minutes, or him and Baker play 74 minutes combined. Sanders' only rest was that minute than Mensah played - before Mensah was sat on the bench for poor defense. Baker was rested by sitting for Mensah (for 1 minute) and Dadika.
Bullock DID look at least okay - with a very nice pump, 2-dribble in and mid-range jump shot. Of course, he also took an AWFUL 3-point shot relatively early in the shot clock, with a defender in his face. He was okay on defense - not great, but not awful either - in limited time, against a lesser Iowa player. But he ONLY came in for Thiam, basically. Bullock is NOT a guard - so therefore not a replacement for Williams.
That said, he was a pleasant surprise for me ... though he is really kind of chunky. We shall see what Pikiell does with him and Mensah the rest of the season, as RU has no one else to play for Williams.
I know about lot of guys that saw him in High school said some interesting things about him ( Maybe Knights ?)....does not look the part but plays with confidence and just gets it done. I hope it continues.
That airball 3 was right on target...just a little short.. great form on his shot.
That airball 3 was right on target...just a little short.. great form on his shot.
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I’m curious how athletic he would be if he dropped 25Ibs.
Indirectly Bullock is a replacement for Sanders/Baker. No reason why Baker isn't the backup point guard.
Think....
Sanders 35 Baker 5
Baker 30 Thaim 10
Thaim 25 .....
Actually 15 is too much for Bullock and i don't know if I like Eugene AND 2 bigs on the floor.
Sanders 35 Mensah/Dadika 5
Baker 35 Thaim 5
Thaim 30 Bullock 6 ???? 4
You can see Williams injury kills us AND why Sanders played 39. Easy to say Sanders can't play 39 minutes. Hard to fill out a minutes sheet with him playing 34. Even harder to send that player to the scorers table!
Think....
Sanders 35 Baker 5
Baker 30 Thaim 10
Thaim 25 .....
Actually 15 is too much for Bullock and i don't know if I like Eugene AND 2 bigs on the floor.
Sanders 35 Mensah/Dadika 5
Baker 35 Thaim 5
Thaim 30 Bullock 6 ???? 4
You can see Williams injury kills us AND why Sanders played 39. Easy to say Sanders can't play 39 minutes. Hard to fill out a minutes sheet with him playing 34. Even harder to send that player to the scorers table!
he's listed as a guard/forward. even if he went from 260 to 235 I don't see him being up top...seems comfortable in that in-between spot.
after watching him last night one must wonder why no minutes prior...was Pike really saving him a season or just putting his foot down on the weight? with that stroke he may have been helpful earlier.
Decisions on him and Shaq for next season will be interesting.
after watching him last night one must wonder why no minutes prior...was Pike really saving him a season or just putting his foot down on the weight? with that stroke he may have been helpful earlier.
Decisions on him and Shaq for next season will be interesting.
We can't go the rest of the season relying on Sanders, Baker, and Thiam to all go 35 min each night.
Last night that trio played 109 of 120 possible minutes - that burn rate is too high, especially when the schedule gives short rest between games.
So did he all of a sudden pass a physical test and could play? Or did Coach just forgo it based on need?
Provide a solution. Easy to say, tough to come up with a game plan, infinitely tougher to send those players to scorers table.
If Sanders baker and Thaim play 33 minutes per game what perimeter player plays 21 minutes?
Definitely looks like a situational player. Could plug a gap for a few minutes here and there. And while this level may be a bit high for him, his rep is of a baller. In situations, he could be too big for many guards to handle low and to quick and nuanced for a big outside—at least that would be the case at a lower level.
If he stays there’s no way the schollie should be a complete waste.
If he stays there’s no way the schollie should be a complete waste.
Coach said it at Court Club meeting that Eugene will be playing more 3 than at the 4 or 5. He did not say anything about Bullock , which lends me to believe that he still has conditioning issues as was evident, but the kid is a big body that can hit a jump shot and is confident . He will likely sub Souf and Jake for Corey and Geo and try to steal 10 minutes between them. It didn’t happen last night because Souf got beat by Bohannon for 2 quick threes. I also think that he will play Issa at the 2, with Corey and Geo at the 1 at times, withEugene at 3, Deshawn at the 4 and Sa or Shaquille at the 5 or at least I would like to see how that lineup does , since Issa ‘s defense has been outstanding and he can disrupt big shooting guards in this conference.
I was happy that Bullock finally got into a game. He didn't hurt us and he does know the game. He was our 8th man in minutes played so he just might get some more minutes going forward.It was fun to see him stick that jumper.
after his ill advised three pointer the announcer said something to the effect of...
"anyone with a posterior that size needs to play his game down in the box"
i lol'd at that one...
"anyone with a posterior that size needs to play his game down in the box"
i lol'd at that one...
But you didn't provide a solution, either, you provided a fantasy. Sanders will not be able to do what he did against Iowa every night the rest of the year - especially when he's traveling home from PA St on a Saturday night and then flying to Illinois on Tuesday morning. Earlier this year we were talking about needing a *fourth* guard to make sure Sanders/Baker didn't have to play more than 32 minutes per game... and you want them averaging 35?
If we can't spell them, they'll collapse late in games - either with cramps, no legs under their shots, slow to recover on defense... or worse, with injury.
We'll need to lean more on the reserves, wherever possible, but I'd imagine we'll also try to shift bigger for short stretches. If we can get some minutes with a shift of Doucoure or Sa to the 4 and Doorson at center, that'd let Freeman/Omoruyi shift up to the 3, and Thiam to the 2, which allows some rest for Baker or Sanders. If Bullock can give serviceable minutes, that can also reduce Thiam's load at the wing to let him spend more time at the SG spot, and we'll need to lean more on minutes from Mensah/Dadika.
I'd imagine we'll also start to play some more zone defense, to help keep Sanders/Baker fresher and the bigs out of foul trouble. A zone may also let Nathan see some minutes underneath, which could allow us to flex Sa/Doucoure out to the PF spot. May also need to go lighter in practice to keep them fresher, anyway.
Definitely going to get creative with the substitutions - and will really need to pay attention to matchups, so Souf isn't in the game guarding someone like Bohannon.
Obviously not ideal, but with Mike's injury Corey and Geo are playing 35+ per. Just the way it is with this roster.
Greene has this right ..we have to find 20 minutes of rest for baker (5), sanders (5), and thiam (10) at the 1,2, and 3 spots
Need to come from Bullock (8), Eugene O (5 minutes at the three), and either Mensah/Dadika (7)
The biggest issue is baker, sanders, thiam MUST avoid fouls ...especially cheap ones
Need to come from Bullock (8), Eugene O (5 minutes at the three), and either Mensah/Dadika (7)
The biggest issue is baker, sanders, thiam MUST avoid fouls ...especially cheap ones
I am not disagreeing with you. Unfortunately you really start seeing the negative effects later in the season.
the drop off from Sanders and Baker to Souf/Bullock or Eugene at 3 are huge.
There can even be an issue at 4 and 5 if you take Eugene away. You can fake 40 minutes out of Sanders, but you can't do that to Freeman. Freeman is 32 max. i don't think i really want to see 2 of the 3 centers out there at a time.
I think Issa's need for rest is the same or even less than Baker and sanders.
I'm confused though. Don't these guys run like all day long at practice and I imagine we must have a pretty good strength and conditioning staff. I guess if you eat a sausage pizza every night you still won't drop the weight no matter how much you run.
We saw it some last night with Sa and Doucoure on the court together, so it's probably a combination they're looking to work in more in practice. Definitely had some interesting groupings on the floor at times - since we had a solid lead, I'm sure Pike was using parts of the game as a laboratory for some experimentation.
I think the staff will figure this out and you can really see why Bullock is playing. Use of the media timeout will be very important. In addition, watching the substitutions of the opponent will be important. Souf/Dadika will get minutes...they have to be against the 2nd string PG.
I wonder if anyone else on the bench is a candidate to get sometime?
I wonder if anyone else on the bench is a candidate to get sometime?
I doubt heavily (ha ha) that our players are doing a lot, or any, conditioning during the season.
I believe it was Sa/Doucoure/Omoruyi at the time - I remember watching Sa/Doucoure both step down on the block to double team one the Iowa players, and I think remember seeing Eugene out there, too.
At another time we had both Freeman and Omoruyi in without any of the centers.
Centers played 35
Freeman played 26
Eugene played 17
TOTAL 78 minutes
There was actually 2 minutes where we played only 1 big. mathematically that really can't happen. What the bleep happens if we get foul trouble?
Freeman played 26
Eugene played 17
TOTAL 78 minutes
There was actually 2 minutes where we played only 1 big. mathematically that really can't happen. What the bleep happens if we get foul trouble?
Yeah, there were some plays where Thiam was at the PF spot, too. Pike was really mixing and matching at points.
Would be interesting if someone could go back and do a breakdown of minutes by player combination.
I'm confused too. I hesitate to make light of the situation because there's a chance he has a legitimate eating disorder. Remember Jared Lorenzen, the Kentucky QB? Or more recently that Penn State kicker? Even college athletes with access to coaching and nutrition can still struggle with that kind of thing.
Yikes...thinking ahead to Michigan. This is not a Doorson game. All 5 guys will be mobile and a threat from 3. They do play a 7' immobile guy a Teske, a few minutes per game. Will find it very interesting to see how Pikiell manages this one. Duke is going to guard Mo Wagner?
I like Dadika and Bullock in there better than Souf. Souf is a nice guy but on the court on O it’s 4-on-5. Dadika can ball handle and Bullock is a great passer. He will impress when he gets his minutes, and I wish Jake played more to give Corey some rest.
That jumper he made brought out a huge roar from the crowd. Between that and the highlight dunks it was a fun night!
His mechanics on his mid-range jump shot which he made, looked very good. He then followed that up later on with an awful 3 point shot. He appears to know the offense and he can play defense. Nobody or even several guys are going to replace Mike Williams and all he brings to the court on offense and defense. One last thing: a poster on premium actually believes that if Bullock has played football in the past he can actually put on pounds and play DT for our team. Hmmm?
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