Not rocket science

[Scarlet Blind]

Our EFg% 44.1% for 344th out of 362
Made 2pt FG 100%, Made 3pt 150%= EFG%

319th with 89 3pt FGs while attempting 311(245th)
3pt FG% 28.5% for 331st
2pt FG% 44.4% for 330th
FTs 66.7% for 307th
299th Offensive Efficiency last 10 games, 9th in defense

AWill at 60.5%, Woolf 60.3% tops EFG%
Cliff 50%, Hyatt 49%, Oscar 48.6%

Griffiths EFG 41.3%, Rim 15-26, Mid 9-26 34.6%, 3pt 14-56 25%
Mag EFG 40.7%, Rim 6-21 28.6%, Mid 12-25 48%, 3pt 7-24 29.2%

Noah EFG 39.8%, Rim 15-34 44.1%, Mid 10-30 33%, 3pt 12-45 26.7%
JMike EFG 37.1%, Rim 15-42 35.7%, Mid 9-25 36%, 3pt 5-18 27.8%
Derek EFG 36.8%, Rim 15-43 34.9%, Mid 20-60 33%, 3pt 10-33 30.3%

The struggles on offense points to the numbers 3 out of our 4 guards are putting up. I don't know how we can correct this problem mid season with no one to turn to and without hurting egos or feelings.

 

[Corycord1]

If you read the Indiana message boards, they want Woodson gone.

Don’t read too hard, they’ll ban you

 

[Rokodesh]

JMike played 21 minutes had no assists and four turnovers and took nine shots. Who is the black hole ?

Neither of them are. We won last night. That's all that matters.

 

[RUJMM78]

51-40 rebounds. 19-8 on the offensive glass. Rutgers is just plain tougher than Indiana yesterday,today and tomorrow. Not sure how long Woodson will be there. A guy to look at is Dusty May. As to Rutgers,Williams needs to play far more minutes than Fernandes and right now,Palm more than Gavin. Better defense and more maturity on both ends. Hag, though is the key and will be so important next year. No, he isn't going into the portal. Steve did more for him physically than any coach has for any player.

I think you mean Mag.

 

[rudad02]

Simpson is a like a black hole … once he attacks he has already made up his mind to shoot and doesn’t deviate based on the defense collapsing on him. The ball doesn’t come out. A good PG makes others better, Simpson doesn’t, he tries for the poster play, often getting it blocked, or being forced into a contorted shot attempt. It has to be frustrating for the guy trailing or the guy spotting up open. We miss Paul in these situations.

So true.

 

[BigRnj]

JMike played 21 minutes had no assists and four turnovers and took nine shots. Who is the black hole ?

No doubt J Mike played head down yesterday… but sorry Mr. Simpson so did your boy.

Believe it or not I like the kid and his spunk. However i’ve been watching him for 1.5 seasons now (vs a few games for JMike) and his downside is that he tries too much and too often to play hero ball. He has a nice upside but he has to mature a bit and pick when the low percentage 1-3 attack is actually needed. For me I honestly can‘t say he makes his teammates better. This is where his growth and maturation must come in order for him to fulfill his potential. IMHO.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I believe Mag is also on a student visa, so options are more restricted.

I would think some schools might figure things out eventually

 

[Rhuarc]

I want Mag to stay in the worst way. However, if he were to leave as long as he does it early in the portal season we should find a replacement with the big 2 coming in.

 

[linzalonic]

JMike played 21 minutes had no assists and four turnovers and took nine shots. Who is the black hole ?

You are obsessed with JMike. It's absurd. Ironic that you cited assists and turnovers - he still leads the team in assist/turnover ratio. But you're the guy who thought Bishop Daniels was good, so your assessments will always be discounted.

 

[BillyC80]

I would think some schools might figure things out eventually

If there’s a way to compensate Mag, legally within NIL rules, I believe RU will find a way to do it. I also believe that within reason, he’d accept a little less than other schools might offer.

He’d be playing in the (expanded) B1G spotlight one more year, and starting for a coach and system he already knows, to see how far he can take us with the class we have coming in.

All eyes on Rutgers next year. His performance on next year’s team would boost his earning power in the next phase (perhaps overseas) of his basketball career.

 

[shields]

Bishop Daniels LOL.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Because I suspect Gavin is a great shooter in practice. He was also a scorer in HS. Scorers shoot …a lot. Look at Derek. Everyone is cool with him shooting high volume because every other game or so he gives you 20+. So Gavin’s natural inclination is to shoot the ball. Also, he sees his minutes are falling so he wants to come on and make an instance impact off the bench. It’s a 6th man mentality. Not every second team guy is meant to be a defensive-first player.

Pike is not doing a good job communicating to Gavin what his role is or Gavin isn’t buying in. Either way, they need to figure it out because despite what some think, he’s super talented.

Pike is doing a very good job communicating to all his players.....it's called do something else beyond shooting the ball.

You can study film and want to know what the opponent does to get open against you.

You don't need to lift more weights or get stronger to attempt to get a rebound...we have seen skinnier and thin players who lacked the strength as underclassmen (Mulcahy, Caleb, Geo Baker, Mathis, Cliff) all put forth an effort to get bumped.....that is also now being seen and learned by Davis and Simpson.....they are actually trying to play through contact or willing to take hits.....

There's nothing preventing Griffiths from driving to the basket...or attacking the glass....or anything else.......he doesn't have to just float on the perimeter and not do other things besides shooting 3s.

I will allow Mawot Mag to launch 5 to 6 3s per game as long as he continues to progress as a defensive player, rebounder and dives on the floor for 50/50 balls.

If Gavin showed any willingness to defend, throw his 6'8" frame
or long arms into traffic to compete for a rebound, I'm quite certain Pike will allow Gavin to take as many 3s as he wants, as long as it's within the framework of the team concepts.....but this notion that Pike isn't or the other players aren't communicating to Gavin, what has to be done, is false.

Unfortunately, fans asking why Palmquist is playing ahead of him.....Palm was where Gavin was 3 to 4 years ago....Oskar wanted to only shoot 3s and didnt rebound.......and now Oskar grabs 2 offensive rebounds vs Indiana and at least tried to play good post defense against the bigger Indiana front line.

Why would Pike not want Gavin to succeed?? This is 100% on the player to buy-in.....if you're not at least getting contacted by your opponent, when every possession has a screener bumping a defensive player or collisions happening for a loose ball, then your ultimately not "in the game"......These are "business decisions", that players need the courage and willingness to play into contact, if you're expecting to compete for consistent minutes at this level of Power 5 basketball, especially in this conference.

 

[zappaa]

Pike is doing a very good job communicating to all his players.....it's called do something else beyond shooting the ball.

You can study film and want to know what the opponent does to get open against you.

You don't need to lift more weights or get stronger to attempt to get a rebound...we have seen skinnier and thin players who lacked the strength as underclassmen (Mulcahy, Caleb, Geo Baker, Mathis, Cliff) all put forth an effort to get bumped.....that is also now being seen and learned by Davis and Simpson.....they are actually trying to play through contact or willing to take hits.....

There's nothing preventing Griffiths from driving to the basket...or attacking the glass....or anything else.......he doesn't have to just float on the perimeter and not do other things besides shooting 3s.

I will allow Mawot Mag to launch 5 to 6 3s per game as long as he continues to progress as a defensive player, rebounder and dives on the floor for 50/50 balls.

If Gavin showed any willingness to defend, throw his 6'8" frame
or long arms into traffic to compete for a rebound, I'm quite certain Pike will allow Gavin to take as many 3s as he wants, as long as it's within the framework of the team concepts.....but this notion that Pike isn't or the other players aren't communicating to Gavin, what has to be done, is false.

Unfortunately, fans asking why Palmquist is playing ahead of him.....Palm was where Gavin was 3 to 4 years ago....Oskar wanted to only shoot 3s and didnt rebound.......and now Oskar grabs 2 offensive rebounds vs Indiana and at least tried to play good post defense against the bigger Indiana front line.

Why would Pike not want Gavin to succeed?? This is 100% on the player to buy-in.....if you're not at least getting contacted by your opponent, when every possession has a screener bumping a defensive player or collisions happening for a loose ball, then your ultimately not "in the game"......These are "business decisions", that players need the courage and willingness to play into contact, if you're expecting to compete for consistent minutes at this level of Power 5 basketball, especially in this conference.

Gavin.looks in the mirror and sees a person giving 100% on the defensive end.
He thinks he’s getting into traffic, he thinks he’s competing for rebounds, he thinks he’s using his 6-8 frame and wing span to the best of his ability.
He’s exhausting himself in an effort to do what Pike wants and be aggressive.
He’s not a good ball handler, when he goes to the basket he gets stripped and blocked.
If you think Gavin’s poor performance has anything to do with effort, you are sorely mistaken
He’s confused, lost and has no confidence.
Those 3 things are what kill you in high level sports.
ZERO to do with effort

 

[bethlehemfan]

Gavin.looks in the mirror and sees a person giving 100% on the defensive end.
He thinks he’s getting into traffic, he thinks he’s competing for rebounds, he thinks he’s using his 6-8 frame and wing span to the best of his ability.
He’s exhausting himself in an effort to do what Pike wants and be aggressive.
He’s not a good ball handler, when he goes to the basket he gets stripped and blocked.
If you think Gavin’s poor performance has anything to do with effort, you are sorely mistaken
He’s confused, lost and has no confidence.
Those 3 things are what kill you in high level sports.
ZERO to do with effort

He’s gotten noticeable better on defense imo. His offense is a mess. I think he should try to do less on offense. Maybe get an assist or two and position for a weak side rebound and let things come. My guess is he’s being told to keep shooting but I’m not sure that’s the right tonic right now. He certainly doesn’t have team mates that can put pressure on the defense and create easy looks.

 

[fluoxetine]

Big guard that can drive to the hoop and dish off to the big guys is what Austin brings to the table. That was Paul. We took way too many threes again and Cliff seems like he is just going through the motions. He gets boxed out on offensive rebounds. He has his moments, but he isn’t being motivated and put in the right position to help us.

Every year we don’t take a lot of threes (we are currently #254 in percentage of FGA that are 3PA) and every year people say we take too many. What we take too many of is midrange shots.

 

[fluoxetine]

Gavin.looks in the mirror and sees a person giving 100% on the defensive end.
He thinks he’s getting into traffic, he thinks he’s competing for rebounds, he thinks he’s using his 6-8 frame and wing span to the best of his ability.
He’s exhausting himself in an effort to do what Pike wants and be aggressive.
He’s not a good ball handler, when he goes to the basket he gets stripped and blocked.
If you think Gavin’s poor performance has anything to do with effort, you are sorely mistaken
He’s confused, lost and has no confidence.
Those 3 things are what kill you in high level sports.
ZERO to do with effort

People are too quick to point to effort in a lot of situations imo, this is a good post

 

[RU_DIO]

Simpson's body is a joke. Been here for a year and a half and he is small and weak. He needs to put some serious muscle on. Gavin too but we will hopefully see him come back next year with muscles.

 

[RUGiddy777]

Cam and Eugene transfers were both made 1000x worse by their late timing.

I really want Mag to stay next year. He is exactly the type of guy you want to help lead an inexperienced but talented team.

Plus he’s still getting better.

 

[robjknight]

Cliff’s D is pretty great. His offense though is yes like hes going through the motions .. we toss it in to him and he either dribbles into a turnover, or gets lazy and tries a hook shot or fadeaway that he must be shooting 5% or less on all-time …

Williams is the only guard who can get a rebound and putback layup. Needs to play so much more, maybe more mins than anyone.

Mag is a baller.

Derek Simpson gets a lot of hate, but he’s a sophomore, he’s not Geo or Ron Harper or Caleb like you’re all used to, but he runs the offense best of any guards we have. His shooting is mental he will get out of it. We will need him to make key shots to win games for us down the stretch, like Stonehill

Agree, but as others have said, he cannot drive into 2 or 3 bigs and think he will score. He needs to look for the open players or trailerss

 

[Luvscarletknights]

If Pike can continue to get production and defense from bench season could be successful.

Pike played Indiana like a fiddle with substitutions. When Pike rested starters from 12' mark to 8' mark in second half and brought starters back we went on that 14-2 run. The subs are important for contribution.

9 of 10 RU players played 9 or more minutes with 5 in double figures.
6 of 11 IU players played 9 or more minutes with 3 in double figures.

I told my son at 10' mark that Indiana starters were playing too much and if backups held lead we would dominate. I am glad more players are contributing for depth.

 

[G- RUnit]

Agree, but as others have said, he cannot drive into 2 or 3 bigs and think he will score. He needs to look for the open players or trailerss

What guard on this team doesn’t do that?

The criticism of Simpson as well as the love for others is nutty.

 

[bitnez]

If Pike can continue to get production and defense from bench season could be successful.

Pike played Indiana like a fiddle with substitutions. When Pike rested starters from 12' mark to 8' mark in second half and brought starters back we went on that 14-2 run. The subs are important for contribution.

9 of 10 RU players played 9 or more minutes with 5 in double figures.
6 of 11 IU players played 9 or more minutes with 3 in double figures.

I told my son at 10' mark that Indiana starters were playing too much and if backups held lead we would dominate. I am glad more players are contributing for depth.

FWIW most of the best teams play their top guys a lot of minutes. UConn is a very good example to it. Most of their starters play 30+ every game.