Some are beginning to consider the possibility that Pike cannot get the job done and that maybe he isn't the right guy. Well, I think serious calls for his dismissal are uncalled for and way premature, I think that people's expectations have been unrealistically high. Understandable, given the long suffering of desperate fans in men's basketball and football, but still unrealistic. I would like to hear about concerns I posted last June, shortly after Eugene Omoruyi transferred out, to see if that earlier assessment has proven to be accurate after 9 games, in the sense that we cannot increase win totals and overall success very much under these circumstances.
In the post last summer, I expressed a number of concerns that were apparent to me. Truly, I possess no particularly great basketball knowledge. It's just that it was so glaringly obvious to me. RU would be less talented and tough, and much thinner, in the frontcourt, while being overloaded with backcourt players who could play the 1, 2 and/or wing position. The latter situation would require an adjustment to the team's style of play, with a smaller and more mobile lineup and more transition play. The difficulty would be in figuring out individual roles, lineups and rotations among that large group of outside players. Indeed, I think that this is exactly what the team and coaching staff are struggling with to this point in the season.
To me, the loss of Omoruyi was immense. Excellent rebounder who could score at the rim, be tough in the paint on defense, and provide leadership. Nobody could take a charge like this guy! People rationalized that we would be OK, but they were wrong. We are less capable and dangerously thin up front. Meanwhile, the roles/lineups/rotations issue is far from being settled. Add to that the fact that we are a mediocre foul shooting team and are downright awful at three point shooting, a big deficiency in today's game. I did not make the post highly negative to avoid adding gloom and doom to other's hopeful thoughts about the future, but in my own mind, I didn't expect more than 12 or 13 victories for the season, and probably fewer wins in the B1G. Maybe this is too pessimistic, because the season is still young as is the team. But that's the way I see it. We will keep scores closer, but not pull out a lot of wins. Wonder what others think?
In the post last summer, I expressed a number of concerns that were apparent to me. Truly, I possess no particularly great basketball knowledge. It's just that it was so glaringly obvious to me. RU would be less talented and tough, and much thinner, in the frontcourt, while being overloaded with backcourt players who could play the 1, 2 and/or wing position. The latter situation would require an adjustment to the team's style of play, with a smaller and more mobile lineup and more transition play. The difficulty would be in figuring out individual roles, lineups and rotations among that large group of outside players. Indeed, I think that this is exactly what the team and coaching staff are struggling with to this point in the season.
To me, the loss of Omoruyi was immense. Excellent rebounder who could score at the rim, be tough in the paint on defense, and provide leadership. Nobody could take a charge like this guy! People rationalized that we would be OK, but they were wrong. We are less capable and dangerously thin up front. Meanwhile, the roles/lineups/rotations issue is far from being settled. Add to that the fact that we are a mediocre foul shooting team and are downright awful at three point shooting, a big deficiency in today's game. I did not make the post highly negative to avoid adding gloom and doom to other's hopeful thoughts about the future, but in my own mind, I didn't expect more than 12 or 13 victories for the season, and probably fewer wins in the B1G. Maybe this is too pessimistic, because the season is still young as is the team. But that's the way I see it. We will keep scores closer, but not pull out a lot of wins. Wonder what others think?
