Myles observation - curious to hear other thoughts

[Joey Bacala]

I think Myles may be getting found out a little. The last two games the opponent had big physical specimens - Watkins and Cockburn - and I think Myles was a little skittish (I'll stop short of saying intimidated). Against PSU fouls weren't the issue but yesterday they were making it worse.

Others see it this way?

 

[new jersey1]

I think Myles may be getting found out a little. The last two games the opponent had big physical specimens - Watkins and Cockburn - and I think Myles was a little skittish (I'll stop short of saying intimidated). Against PSU fouls weren't the issue but yesterday they were making it worse.

Others see it this way?

I would say it’s more about the talent level of those guys.

 

[RUChoppin]

I don't know what was in Johnson's head yesterday. 3 of his 4 fouls were committed outside the arc and nowhere near Cockburn, and he only had maybe 2-3 opportunities in the post against Cockburn all game. Even when Cockburn was on the bench, we struggled to get the ball in the paint with or without him on the floor. Part of that was us settling for outside shots instead of working the ball inside, but part was Illinois doing a great job defensively denying us looks in the paint.

As for PSU, he had 10 pts and 3 blocks, and we held Watkins to 0-1 in the second half after he started out on fire.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I guess the question is what the baseline is for college basketball players.

Mike Watkins had two dunks on lobs or breakaways and was 6 for 6 vs RU in the 1st half. I think he only had 2 points in the 2nd half.

If you saw the Wisconsin game yesterday, Watkins did absolutely nothing.
15 minutes
0-3 FG,
0-1 FTs
3 Turnovers
4 rebounds,
2 Fouls

This is a 4 year starter for Penn State who has played tons of basketball and it's not his 1st rodeo.

The point here is that what makes college basketball great is the unpredictability of the sport, with 18 to 22 year olds and how wildly inconsistent the play can be from minutes at a time

There's nothing wrong or anything else regarding Myles Johnson....it's a player built from the ground up, with a redshirt season and bench role player last year, who has been developed into a starting caliber player in a major conference.

The Illinois, MSU, PSU, MD and most front lines like Minnesota with Oturu and Luke Garza at Iowa have talented kids with size and skill.

Myles is still getting better and working on his right hand hook, which has gotten better.....he's in better shape, he can get up and down the court and is capable of rebounding. But bigs can be very inconsistent, especially younger ones.

 

[DHajekRC84]

The game by game play or inconsistent play by most players on every team in this league is amazing.
I've watched enough games so far this as to not be too upset by it right now.
2 weeks ago folks wanted to run off Young. Look at his last 3 games.
Problem with yesterday is we had almost everybody take the game off and needed just one of the front court guys to have a big game. Of well.

 

[rubaseball78]

Myles play against Psu was fine. Yesterday he committed a bunch of dumb fouls. Needs to be smarter. Pickel better be working on setting screens this week.

 

[RUsince52]

The problem is MJ has to play smart enough to not commit fouls because we don't have any combination of bigs to compensate for him sitting. It's a tough call because of the position he plays. It's hard to give token pressure against a more athletic center when that's not your style. If our guys are having a good shooting night it doesn't matter as much, but you can't count on it all the time. We need someone who is big and has some offensive capabilities beyond dunks. Maybe the new guys coming in will help fit the bill.
Otherwise, Pike has to come up with a plan when MJ isn't helping.
Right now I don't think our guys have the consistency to make a difference all the time. But we are definitely playing very good BB at the moment which has created excitement.

 

[RUChoppin]

The problem is MJ has to play smart enough to not commit fouls because we don't have any combination of bigs to compensate for him sitting. It's a tough call because of the position he plays. It's hard to give token pressure against a more athletic center when that's not your style. If our guys are having a good shooting night it doesn't matter as much, but you can't count on it all the time. We need someone who is big and has some offensive capabilities beyond dunks. Maybe the new guys coming in will help fit the bill.
Otherwise, Pike has to come up with a plan when MJ isn't helping.
Right now I don't think our guys have the consistency to make a difference all the time. But we are definitely playing very good BB at the moment which has created excitement.

If Johnson had 4 fouls guarding Cockburn, we wouldn't be having this discussion - and the way the game was being called with contact inside, he would have been able to be very physical in there without that much of a whistle. His issue was that he was trying to do things out in guard-land instead of down low, and he ended up fouling himself right out of the game.

 

[lilphilw]

A lot of the moving screen fouls are the guard's faults. Have to give time for Johnson to set before moving & driving. Once the guards become more patient, he'll be able to stay on the floor. He was in and out and that messes with the flow of a players game

 

[Degaz-RU]

The issue yesterday was simply that Myles got in foul trouble early and then was out of the game, and when he was in the game he was skittish because if the foul trouble. He only ended up playing 13 minutes.

 

[richthedentist]

No Myles has had issues setting screens all year and the other issue which I see is he hedges out way to far on defense both of these are correctable by the coaching staff and I am not sure why they are not. I think they held him out too long yesterday and when he comes back in he is frustrated

 

[satnom]

We can’t waste Myles getting dumb fouls up top setting screens. If Jacob is pg he doesn’t need screens. When Mulcahy is at pg pick and roll game can be a thing of beauty but not against the caliber of defensive team of ILL.

Lots of lessons to take out from yesterday’s game for players and staff.

GO RU

 

[rubaseball78]

The problem is MJ has to play smart enough to not commit fouls because we don't have any combination of bigs to compensate for him sitting. It's a tough call because of the position he plays. It's hard to give token pressure against a more athletic center when that's not your style. If our guys are having a good shooting night it doesn't matter as much, but you can't count on it all the time. We need someone who is big and has some offensive capabilities beyond dunks. Maybe the new guys coming in will help fit the bill.
Otherwise, Pike has to come up with a plan when MJ isn't helping.
Right now I don't think our guys have the consistency to make a difference all the time. But we are definitely playing very good BB at the moment which has created excitement.

His fouls yesterday were not trying to pressure another teams big. They were 2 illegal screens and a reach in on a guard 40 ft away from the basket. Not smart.

 

[zebnatto]

I saw as OP did.

 

[MadRU]

One of the very few criticisms of Coach Pikiell for me is the lack of recruiting a pure backup Center for this year.

Cliff O and or the JUCO big are musts for next season.

 

[lilphilw]

No Myles has had issues setting screens all year and the other issue which I see is he hedges out way to far on defense both of these are correctable by the coaching staff and I am not sure why they are not. I think they held him out too long yesterday and when he comes back in he is frustrated

I disagree, I think he is fine where he is setting the screen. You see the same when Carter & Duke are in. Guards are leaving too early and they've been called plenty themselves. Young is probably worst at this. Needs to wait and not be too excited to go too early

 

[WhichReligionIsRight]

At the end of the day, Myles is RS soph. He's going to have good games, and some down games. B1G opposition is also really strong.

IMO, he will be fine.

 

[DHajekRC84]

His fouls yesterday were not trying to pressure another teams big. They were 2 illegal screens and a reach in on a guard 40 ft away from the basket. Not smart.

I've never understood having an offense where your 1 big guy comes way out to screen and 1) pulls himself out of rebounding position and 2) get exposed to cheap ass fouls not anywhere near the basket..equals foul plus turnover..the worst.

I'm disappointed that we didn't play this game like we played the 2nd half vs. PSU.
Didn't learn from that game.

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

He comes and he goes.

 

[RUsince52]

His fouls yesterday were not trying to pressure another teams big. They were 2 illegal screens and a reach in on a guard 40 ft away from the basket. Not smart.

I didn't see the game so I'm going on general observations. You're right about those type fouls whether the refs are just being picky or not. I'm sure the coaches remind him about it too without being critical.

 

[RUChoppin]

I've never understood having an offense where your 1 big guy comes way out to screen and 1) pulls himself out of rebounding position and 2) get exposed to cheap ass fouls not anywhere near the basket..equals foul plus turnover..the worst.

I'm disappointed that we didn't play this game like we played the 2nd half vs. PSU.
Didn't learn from that game.

Because it sets your big man up for pick and rolls and it draws the defensive big man away from the rim. It's not about removing that play from the playbook, but doing it better.

 

[DHajekRC84]

Because it sets your big man up for pick and rolls and it draws the defensive big man away from the rim. It's not about removing that play from the playbook, but doing it better.

How many successful pick and rolls have you seen Rutgers execute the last 10 years?
Plus any team defending is not bringing their big way up there. Why would they?

 

[brookdale-soda]

I think the last game was tough to judge Miles. With the foul trouble and the number of 3s we attempted, we took him out of the game.

It seems like Pike has made a conscious decision to give up the Offensive rebound on a 3 point shot to prevent the other team from getting a fast break.

We took alot of 3s yesterday. So this means Miles doesnt have his hands on the ball and we don't have a chance for 2nd shot opportunities.

 

[Scarlet83]

How many successful pick and rolls have you seen Rutgers execute the last 10 years??

1794. I just counted these plays up the other day.

 

[DHajekRC84]

1794. I just counted these plays up the other day.

better go back and re-count. That's 5.6 a game lol. Finally seeing Mulcahey to Miles but those aren't PnRs. :Wink:

 

[RUChoppin]

How many successful pick and rolls have you seen Rutgers execute the last 10 years?
Plus any team defending is not bringing their big way up there. Why would they?

Baker, Mulcahy, and McConnell have all found Johnson for dunks and layups after high ball screens. Have you not been watching this year?

Defending bigs do come away from the rim, but usually hang at the top of the key - because Johnson isn't going to drive, but has shown he can hit 8 footers.

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

How many successful pick and rolls have you seen Rutgers execute the last 10 years?
Plus any team defending is not bringing their big way up there. Why would they?

Define successful.

 

[RUBigFrank]

one bad game move on.

 

[RUAEPI]

He needs to learn to get set, and the guards need to let him get set. Even after the 3rd foul, he set 2 more screens that could have been called.

The reach was a stupid foul, and he will learn from that. Let's just hope it isn't repeated.

 

[ChasRC69]

No Myles has had issues setting screens all year and the other issue which I see is he hedges out way to far on defense both of these are correctable by the coaching staff and I am not sure why they are not. I think they held him out too long yesterday and when he comes back in he is frustrated

You don't need a coach to tell a college player setting a screen to stand still. That's entirely on the player.

 

[Rutgers83]

I thought Miles was getting better and better at staying out of foul trouble. Thought he was poised for a monster game. Boy was I wrong. Looking forward to a win this Wed to avenge the shellacking taken last year.

 

[sct1111]

Myles gets intimidated by big/strong bigs that he can't bully around. He needs to get over that and have an alpha attitude. Otherwise he plays hesitant and makes mistakes.

He needs to be Myles the Monster every game no matter who he's matched up against.

 

[DHajekRC84]

Baker, Mulcahy, and McConnell have all found Johnson for dunks and layups after high ball screens. Have you not been watching this year?

Defending bigs do come away from the rim, but usually hang at the top of the key - because Johnson isn't going to drive, but has shown he can hit 8 footers.

Yup. Been watching plenty. I could ask you the same cause a couple of passes don't make a core offensive strategy. Nor do I recall these 8 footers you mention. He jams, tips, and hooks.
Ok, the proverbial agree to disagree.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

The announcers for the game commented on Myles and the fouls. They thought 2 of the fouls were questionable. IMO believe Myles has a rep with the officials and they are quick to call a foul on Myles than some of the other big men. I thought Carter set a similar screen as Myles but wasn't called for it.

The impact from the fouls does change how Myles performs on the court. I do believe if one less foul is called on Myles, Rutgers is in a better position to win yesterday. The fouls caused him to play passive out of fear. It hurt Rutgers on the boards. Add that with missed FT, and there's your game.

 

[richthedentist]

Because it sets your big man up for pick and rolls and it draws the defensive big man away from the rim. It's not about removing that play from the playbook, but doing it better.

Yeah but the picks are set way to high and I don’t think we have executed one pick and roll all year. Also when you use Mulcahy on the pick and roll he is absolutely no threat to shoot so there is no reason for their big man to even hedge

 

[willisneverrana43]

Cockburn outmuscled MJ yesterday when they had the opportunity to play against each other. He just did. One of MJ’s outside the 3 point line fouls came two seconds after Cockburn absolutely stuffed one of MJ’s post moves. Cockburn knocked MJ backward and then off his game. That’s the big ten. Do with that what you want. MJ will have to adjust.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

One of the very few criticisms of Coach Pikiell for me is the lack of recruiting a pure backup Center for this year.

Cliff O and or the JUCO big are musts for next season.

There are zillions of 6’2’’ shooting guards. There are a finite amount of centers out there. Not easy to find

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

one bad game move on.

Nope, he committed a horrible foul on a reach in...send in the Marines!

Looks like the over the top Jacob Young criticism is about to move over to Myles Johnson.....lol

 

[Scarlet83]

better go back and re-count. That's 5.6 a game lol. Finally seeing Mulcahey to Miles but those aren't PnRs. :Wink:

Yup. I did the math, but maybe I miscounted.

Yeah. You are right. It’s exactly 1781 in the past 10 years.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I want Myles playing no more than 25 mpg. I worry about physical and mental fatigue as the season wears on. Shaq Carter has stepped up the past few games so I am comfortable with him playing the other 15.