You know what this thread means...
Simpson will play an excellent game vs. Penn State.
Simpson will play an excellent game vs. Penn State.
Not Sold on Simpson
- Thread starter RutgersMO
- Start date
A lot of freshmen are less willing to take offensive chances
He is not like that, he will attempt to score in key situations
That can be good or bad, but I rather he defer to the upperclassmen on the court in those situations right now
A freshman who doesnt play major minutes is not going to improve a whole lot during the course of the season. Once the veterans ahead of him leave and his role gets bigger, thats when you will see the improvement.
Again, you are underestimating Pike and staff’s ability to RECRUIT players that are driven to succeed, improve and be a major contributor to this team. And you also underestimate the staff’s ability to develop that player in their first few years on campus.
I am not. I haven’t written him off. I am just not expecting him to ever be a 30+ MPG type of guy. I’d love to be wrong
I was bullish on Mag all last year.
When I look at Simpson I see a lot of the issues I saw with Mathis.
How about all of the people with selective memories, do the following exercise.
Compare Paul Mulcahy stats as a freshman and tell me if you just took the stat line, which player is actually playing better basketball.
I don't know what fans are watching or purposely ignoring when it comes to freshman guards, but Simpson compares very favorably with pretty much every frosh guard in conference in production per minute on the floor.
And bac, please stop with the 3 minutes of sequence when Simpson was in for Mulcahy vs MSU, Mulcahy came back in and turned the ball over twice and had the ball taken away from him in the final 5 + minutes. No one from RU had a game to write home about.
Again, look at frosh year stats and get back to the thread with actual results or production OR
let's save the time for those who aren't going to look.
PM 2019-20
47-87 from the field for the entire season (54%)....
8-24 from 3 (33%)
14-22 (63.6% from FT line)
78 REB
9 BLKS
12 STLS
61 ASTS
29 TOs
18 MINUTES PG
3.7 PPG
Simpson 2022-23
45-127 (35%)
9-38 from 3 (23.7%)
26-32 from FT Line (81.3%)
23 REBS
3 BLKS
18 STEALS
28 ASTS
19 TOs
19.7 MINUTES
6.6 PPG.
There are some things Mulcahy at 6'6 will be better at and he will always have fewer shot attempts and more assists.
But the trend line is pretty favorable for Simpson on most levels. And the stat lines that are not exactly high right now (FG shooting and 3 point shooting) typically improve year to year under our staff. If Simpson stays at 80% or so from the FT line, as he plays more minutes, he likely to draw more fouls. He is playing where I expect, but my floor might be higher than most.
Compare Paul Mulcahy stats as a freshman and tell me if you just took the stat line, which player is actually playing better basketball.
I don't know what fans are watching or purposely ignoring when it comes to freshman guards, but Simpson compares very favorably with pretty much every frosh guard in conference in production per minute on the floor.
And bac, please stop with the 3 minutes of sequence when Simpson was in for Mulcahy vs MSU, Mulcahy came back in and turned the ball over twice and had the ball taken away from him in the final 5 + minutes. No one from RU had a game to write home about.
Again, look at frosh year stats and get back to the thread with actual results or production OR
let's save the time for those who aren't going to look.
PM 2019-20
47-87 from the field for the entire season (54%)....
8-24 from 3 (33%)
14-22 (63.6% from FT line)
78 REB
9 BLKS
12 STLS
61 ASTS
29 TOs
18 MINUTES PG
3.7 PPG
Simpson 2022-23
45-127 (35%)
9-38 from 3 (23.7%)
26-32 from FT Line (81.3%)
23 REBS
3 BLKS
18 STEALS
28 ASTS
19 TOs
19.7 MINUTES
6.6 PPG.
There are some things Mulcahy at 6'6 will be better at and he will always have fewer shot attempts and more assists.
But the trend line is pretty favorable for Simpson on most levels. And the stat lines that are not exactly high right now (FG shooting and 3 point shooting) typically improve year to year under our staff. If Simpson stays at 80% or so from the FT line, as he plays more minutes, he likely to draw more fouls. He is playing where I expect, but my floor might be higher than most.
So does PM’s 29 TO’s to DS’ 19. In roughly the same minutes per game DS has nearly double PM’s PPG.
Simpson has had his share of bad passes (i.e. the one he chucked into the stands against Ohio State)….but most of these are very correctable.
He’s made some really good passes this season. He actually has really good vision…but tends to get a bit too excited/aggressive and needs to let the game come to him more.
This will come with time and I’m confident he will make huge strides each year and be a big contributor here for 3 more years.
A better comparison would be Caleb as a freshman when Pike tried him at PG. Caleb was unplayable, turning it over every third possession and eventually Pike gave up.
Caleb can play possessions at PG right now, but he isn't one. Simpson as a 2 guard is small and right now is not a good shooter. What position will he be?
Caleb can play possessions at PG right now, but he isn't one. Simpson as a 2 guard is small and right now is not a good shooter. What position will he be?
We need like stats per minute or something to really compare but just eyeballing what you posted Mulcahy’s stats look a lot better.
But Mulcahy was playing on a much different team and needed to play a bigger role as a freshman
If you are going to compare Paul and Derek....
Derek has 20 minutes per game gift wrapped to him RIGHT now. All he has to do is be good enough to stay on the court.....which he has failed most nights. His competition for minutes is only Jalen Miller.
Paul had to earn the minutes he got. He took minutes away from Caleb and Jacob and Mathis. We had depth back then and Geo and Ron didnt need to play 38 minutes.
Derek has 20 minutes per game gift wrapped to him RIGHT now. All he has to do is be good enough to stay on the court.....which he has failed most nights. His competition for minutes is only Jalen Miller.
Paul had to earn the minutes he got. He took minutes away from Caleb and Jacob and Mathis. We had depth back then and Geo and Ron didnt need to play 38 minutes.
On T-Rank, Simpson's PPRG! currently is 0.6. BPM also 0.6
In 2019-20, Paul Mulcahy's was 0.9 and BPM was 2.5.
Mulcahy's stats include an entire Big Ten schedule in a year when the Big Ten was the toughest conference. This year we are only 8 games into the conference schedule and Big Ten is not as tough as it was in 2019-20. Statistics do not, IMO, bear out a story that Simpson is outperforming Mulcahy as a freshman.
In 2019-20, Paul Mulcahy's was 0.9 and BPM was 2.5.
Mulcahy's stats include an entire Big Ten schedule in a year when the Big Ten was the toughest conference. This year we are only 8 games into the conference schedule and Big Ten is not as tough as it was in 2019-20. Statistics do not, IMO, bear out a story that Simpson is outperforming Mulcahy as a freshman.
The people taking victory laps over simpson and woolfork last month are pretty quiet these days. Still can’t believe the amount of disrespect they showed geo baker by acting like it was a guarantee that simpson would be better than him.
The board's disrespect for Geo Baker is limited only by your imagination.
Definitely true for next year but if we want to finish strong and do some damage in the tournament, we’ll need to up our scoring this season.
I find this thread, and some of the comments in it, to be genuinely perplexing.
This is one of our most promising players imo...
This is one of our most promising players imo...
You answered your own post - he's a freshman. But boy does he have some physical skills.
I think everyone hyped him up way too much and might have gotten into his head. He forces things like he needs to do something instead of just letting the game come to him. He stops forcing and concentrates on playing "Point Guard" and defense. Take open jumpers and take it to the lane when he has free space, he will be fine.
In all honesty, he is not fast nor quick as J. Young. not even close...
In all honesty, he is not fast nor quick as J. Young. not even close...
At the end of the day, Mulcahy hasn't averaged 10PPG in his career and is playing 30 minutes a game for the last 2 years.
Simpson will assuredly average that if he had to play 30 minutes per game and would accelerate his growth. As of right now, RU is only going to play winning basketball against better competition, when Mulcahy is clicking on all cylinders (aggressive, taking more shots, attacking and not playing passive basketball).
The comparison of freshman classes based on the eye-test to me, shows Simpson is clearly at or beyond where Mulcahy was as a freshman. We are 3PPG better with the same amount of minutes and not a substantial difference, other than shot selection. Mulcahy was left open as the 5th option with Harper, Mathis, Yeboah and Myles Johnson. Simpson is playing a much more prevalent role and (for a freshman) doing more than fine.
The hype (to me) has been met with the production I expected (7 to 8PPG) and would average 10PPG with more minutes (25+). Hard to reach double figures in scoring when your minutes are limited.
Simpson will assuredly average that if he had to play 30 minutes per game and would accelerate his growth. As of right now, RU is only going to play winning basketball against better competition, when Mulcahy is clicking on all cylinders (aggressive, taking more shots, attacking and not playing passive basketball).
The comparison of freshman classes based on the eye-test to me, shows Simpson is clearly at or beyond where Mulcahy was as a freshman. We are 3PPG better with the same amount of minutes and not a substantial difference, other than shot selection. Mulcahy was left open as the 5th option with Harper, Mathis, Yeboah and Myles Johnson. Simpson is playing a much more prevalent role and (for a freshman) doing more than fine.
The hype (to me) has been met with the production I expected (7 to 8PPG) and would average 10PPG with more minutes (25+). Hard to reach double figures in scoring when your minutes are limited.
I like Simpson, but I don't think these stats are helping your point at all. Paul was a much more efficient player. FG and 3 percentages significantly higher and a much better assist to TO ratio
2 for his last 21 3's. The kid is not a shooter. He is more of a 2 guard slasher.
the sense that I get is that, both as freshmen, Simpson is much more willing to try to create and score than Paul was....Paul for the most part remained less willing into his Junior year
the stats for this year show that, Simpson has attempted 40 more baskets than Paul did for Pauls entire freshman season, so Simpson will wind up way ahead in attempts by seasons end
As I said, this is both good and bad....I would rather Simpson defer to the upperclassmen during crunch time at the end of the game..... he should ball handle and set up Cam, or whoever we want to take the big shot....
I can see Simpson taking a lot of attempts next year in the pre-league games next year, to work on going against
college defenses
Simpson will have his time in the future
If anyone expects Simpson to play more and get more shots next year, where are the playing time and shots coming from? who gets less/fewer?
Hopefully, as a team, we play faster and get more shots, but other than that, if Simpson gets more shots it means someone else is getting fewer and if he's getting more PT, someone else is getting less.
With Cam and Paul back and Griffiths and Davis being added, I don't see how Simpson gets all that many more minutes or shots.
Hopefully, as a team, we play faster and get more shots, but other than that, if Simpson gets more shots it means someone else is getting fewer and if he's getting more PT, someone else is getting less.
With Cam and Paul back and Griffiths and Davis being added, I don't see how Simpson gets all that many more minutes or shots.
He's a freshman that makes freshmen mistakes.
I think you answered your own concern. 😂
Do we have any reason to think Paul won't be back?
There is a difference between a freshman in November and a freshman in February. Maybe he will be good in February!!!!
I do know this team desperately needs someone to give us 20-25 minutes backing up Cam Paul and Caleb. RIGHT NOW!!!!! Id think he is definitely the best candidate.
I think our post season chances actually ride on how Simpson performs in the next 10 games.
I think maybe singling out individual players for what is BAD TEAM PLAY moments is the wrong way to look at this.
From what I have seen this season, both good team play on offense and bad team play on offense (aka individuals forcing shots and going one-on-some) are common across all the players.. even the ultimate team guy.. Mulcahy. Even he has gotten that focus on taking the shot at times.. though other times it looks like he is driving taking peeks at others to pass but seeing no chance to do so takes the shot.
But Cliff, Caleb, and Hyatt have been guilty of the same things that Simpson is being criticized for here. Only Spencer seems to have not done it. I think it is contagious. That is, when we play GOOD team offense.. everyone performs well and looks or the open man or swings the ball etc.
But at times we cease to do that and when that happens it is not the fault of one man.. it is like everyone decides to stop moving and they take turns watching each other try some one-on-one stuff. And I do not mean the planned clear-outs to take advantage of a mismatch.
I do not know why this happens.. could it be players playing hard on D getting a breath on O? That's reasonable. But usually, that would be the PG at the top of the key holding the ball until a certain point on the clock and then they run a play.
I want to see us MOVE THE BALL consistently on offense and force the D to work. I think that would cure Simpson's ills as well as everyone else's.
Simply put, I want our offense to look like what MSU did to us. We pay a very good D but that offense manipulated it.. worked it to death. And they hit the threes at a ridiculous rate.. but they don't get those open looks without moving the ball the way they did.
From what I have seen this season, both good team play on offense and bad team play on offense (aka individuals forcing shots and going one-on-some) are common across all the players.. even the ultimate team guy.. Mulcahy. Even he has gotten that focus on taking the shot at times.. though other times it looks like he is driving taking peeks at others to pass but seeing no chance to do so takes the shot.
But Cliff, Caleb, and Hyatt have been guilty of the same things that Simpson is being criticized for here. Only Spencer seems to have not done it. I think it is contagious. That is, when we play GOOD team offense.. everyone performs well and looks or the open man or swings the ball etc.
But at times we cease to do that and when that happens it is not the fault of one man.. it is like everyone decides to stop moving and they take turns watching each other try some one-on-one stuff. And I do not mean the planned clear-outs to take advantage of a mismatch.
I do not know why this happens.. could it be players playing hard on D getting a breath on O? That's reasonable. But usually, that would be the PG at the top of the key holding the ball until a certain point on the clock and then they run a play.
I want to see us MOVE THE BALL consistently on offense and force the D to work. I think that would cure Simpson's ills as well as everyone else's.
Simply put, I want our offense to look like what MSU did to us. We pay a very good D but that offense manipulated it.. worked it to death. And they hit the threes at a ridiculous rate.. but they don't get those open looks without moving the ball the way they did.
Actually, a lot of freshmen start off well early in the season and then hit the "freshmen wall" later during the grind of conference play.
He needs to pick his spots. Dribble drive to the basket using his speed. One issue is he sometimes drives at the wrong times or needs to pass out of the drive when he does not have a clear path. Or pull up to take the mid range shot.
He'd be 5th year and in his 2nd graduate student year (graduated early) playing a 5th year of COVID eligibility, right? Sure hope he comes back.
I typed "not sold" into the search bar and you can find someone saying they are "not sold" on nearly every player who's played here under Pike in some form or another.
I'm optimistic about Simpson and at times he looks like he could be one of our better offensive players and give us a huge boost as you said, BUT take out the cupcakes and he's had one good game, Indiana.
He's been bad against good competition.
Yes, he graduated but still has COVID year of eligibility left.
Mulcahy could want to come back to finish his masters and I'm sure he's excited about playing with the 2023 class.
I don't know, I'm just saying we have no reason to believe he would NOT be back.
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