4 free tickets to the rest of RU's home football games - that was too easy, lol...
Open Practice for Season Ticket Holders - October 13
- Thread starter ColonelRutgers
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4 free tickets to the rest of RU's home football games - that was too easy, lol...
Thanks for the great recap. Wish I was there. But, siting at a bar down in MD drowning my sorrows, I’m wondering if any of the kids you saw at the RAC can block, catch or play QB.
From today's practice in no specific order via player:
1. Peter Kiss: Unfortunately did not practice as he hurt his shoulder. After an hour of the practice, Kiss came from the locker room and shook hands with fans in the stands. Kiss specifically told me he's fine and I can only hope he's ready for the opener as he appeared to be favoring his shoulder at times. Pike said he's ok (sort of day to day) when speaking to the crowd.
2. Ron Harper: Pike was extremely complimentary of Harper telling the crowd he was the best player in NJ last year. Seems to have nice outside shot
3. Jacob Young: Will redshirt this year and he is fast and appears quite athletic. Also appears to have a nice outside shot. Also a lefty.
4. Issa Thiam: was knocking down 3's all day. His weight is now 200 from 170 when he was a freshman.
5. Eugene O: Along with Geo, they are the 2 leaders of the team. He has muscled up even more and will be a force down in the paint. Will take someone very strong to outmuscle him.
6. Shaq Doorson - ran the floor quite well. Pike said this is his first year being able to practice pre season due to his past injuries.
7. Myles Johnson: Lost weight. Appears to be best offensive center in paint. Stuffed Shaq Doorson during scrimmage. Also has 3.8 GPA in Engineering.
8. Montez Mathis: Can run the floor and also appears to have nice outside shot. Sort of reminded me of Mike Williams but more muscular; athletic.
9. Mamadou Dourcore: was hitting / shooting his typical 10-12 foot shots. Needs to stay out of foul trouble.
10. Shaq Carter: Has nice left hand shot inside and seems he can run the floor.
11. Caleb McConnell: Pike spoke very highly of Caleb and will be the backup PG to Geo. Has funky delivery when shooting from outside.
12. Geo - Without question, the leader and PG of the team. Was very vocal on the court and teammates definitely respect the leadership of Geo and Eugene.
Some other tidbits:
- Pike loves the size / height of the team and says we can finally match up with other Big 10 squads with our Big Men.
- Pike spoke about every player and coach and was complimentary about all.
- Mike Williams was at practice and Pike raved about ex players coming back to visit.
- Pike also gave us updates on Corey; Freeman and CJ Gettys.
- Pike also mentioned that Brandin Knight is a HC in waiting.
As a buddy of mine said to me today - " this squad reminds him of Schiano's young teams where you can see the potential ready to explode". Not expecting any miracles this year but can see this squad surprising several teams this year and making a big leap next year.
1. Peter Kiss: Unfortunately did not practice as he hurt his shoulder. After an hour of the practice, Kiss came from the locker room and shook hands with fans in the stands. Kiss specifically told me he's fine and I can only hope he's ready for the opener as he appeared to be favoring his shoulder at times. Pike said he's ok (sort of day to day) when speaking to the crowd.
2. Ron Harper: Pike was extremely complimentary of Harper telling the crowd he was the best player in NJ last year. Seems to have nice outside shot
3. Jacob Young: Will redshirt this year and he is fast and appears quite athletic. Also appears to have a nice outside shot. Also a lefty.
4. Issa Thiam: was knocking down 3's all day. His weight is now 200 from 170 when he was a freshman.
5. Eugene O: Along with Geo, they are the 2 leaders of the team. He has muscled up even more and will be a force down in the paint. Will take someone very strong to outmuscle him.
6. Shaq Doorson - ran the floor quite well. Pike said this is his first year being able to practice pre season due to his past injuries.
7. Myles Johnson: Lost weight. Appears to be best offensive center in paint. Stuffed Shaq Doorson during scrimmage. Also has 3.8 GPA in Engineering.
8. Montez Mathis: Can run the floor and also appears to have nice outside shot. Sort of reminded me of Mike Williams but more muscular; athletic.
9. Mamadou Dourcore: was hitting / shooting his typical 10-12 foot shots. Needs to stay out of foul trouble.
10. Shaq Carter: Has nice left hand shot inside and seems he can run the floor.
11. Caleb McConnell: Pike spoke very highly of Caleb and will be the backup PG to Geo. Has funky delivery when shooting from outside.
12. Geo - Without question, the leader and PG of the team. Was very vocal on the court and teammates definitely respect the leadership of Geo and Eugene.
Some other tidbits:
- Pike loves the size / height of the team and says we can finally match up with other Big 10 squads with our Big Men.
- Pike spoke about every player and coach and was complimentary about all.
- Mike Williams was at practice and Pike raved about ex players coming back to visit.
- Pike also gave us updates on Corey; Freeman and CJ Gettys.
- Pike also mentioned that Brandin Knight is a HC in waiting.
As a buddy of mine said to me today - " this squad reminds him of Schiano's young teams where you can see the potential ready to explode". Not expecting any miracles this year but can see this squad surprising several teams this year and making a big leap next year.
It's not easy to instill a highly competitive culture where you know who you are competing with for minutes. It takes a coach that lets players know that the competition will only make them bring them to their greatest potential. Sometimes, when done incorrectly, or without thought, it can lead to players not liking each other, or not being friends off the court.
Between Kiss/Mathis, Issa/ Harper Jr, Doorson/Johnson, these kids are competing hard and are still very good friends off the court. It's great to see.
Between Kiss/Mathis, Issa/ Harper Jr, Doorson/Johnson, these kids are competing hard and are still very good friends off the court. It's great to see.
I think these kids will pull off a few unexpected upsets but I am not expecting a winning record because of the difficult schedule and how hard it is to win road games in the BIG. I will be very very happy if we do make ,500. Eugene seems much stronger and he can really sky. Jacob Young is the fastest guy on the team and was hitting many long bombs. I think he will really help us along with Mulcahy next year. We will probably see 3 guards a lot next year as we will have many talented guards.
Young was a Top 150 player out of HS and has an older brother in the NBA....still shocked that many fans don't realize how critical a pick up he is.
Some are still saying he only had this 6 to 7 PPG at Texas, as if earning 18 to 22 minutes at Texas is some sort of indictment on his talent. He is an explosive player that will be instant offense off the bench and capable to double digits any night in the 2019-20 season.
We beat out a lot of high majors for him and because there wasnt a long or drawn out public courting for weeks, fans are kinda forgetting him. If he was immediately eligible this year, RU definitely would be at or over .500.
Some are still saying he only had this 6 to 7 PPG at Texas, as if earning 18 to 22 minutes at Texas is some sort of indictment on his talent. He is an explosive player that will be instant offense off the bench and capable to double digits any night in the 2019-20 season.
We beat out a lot of high majors for him and because there wasnt a long or drawn out public courting for weeks, fans are kinda forgetting him. If he was immediately eligible this year, RU definitely would be at or over .500.
Seems like he will add another dimension next year of fast paced, coast to coast play.
Guards next year will be Baker, Mulcahy, McConnell, Mathis, Young and Kiss. All 6 of those guys should be very good. We will have very good depth at guard. that is why I think we will often play 3 guards. They all should contribute and I can see the possibility of some pressing. A guy gets tired and another guard comes in. We also will have Thiam and Harper who could play guard in a pinch. Both of them might even see minutes at either forward position as well.
Agree, and with the size of our guards it makes that prospect a little easier.
Good question. Both will play and I expect Johnson to play a lot. I wonder how effective Johnson will be against the Big 10 bigs. I expect an up and down season like most first year players. As for Harper, he might be the best shooter on the team or he may be a year or two away. He seems confident and if his shot drops he could be a regular contributor.
Coach said that whoever gets the most rebounds in practice gets to select the music for the following practice. Couldn't hear who won the previous practice but coach made a joke about selecting music.
Wish I could like this post twice or even 3 times.
I'm optimistic about the team this year. A few thoughts:
Geo looks ready to score 12-15ppg. He was confidently burying perimeter shots.
Thiam looked good confident and was draining shots. IF he can show confidence in games, I think he can average 10ppg.
Myles Johnson is our best big IMO, and should start.
Ron Harper's jumper is flat-footed and rushed. Low trajectory and lots of front-iron. I'd like to see him in a scrimmage setting, but my first impression is he needs time to develop.
Montez also looked like a freshman on offense, with a shaky outside shot. I'm excited to see what he can do slashing to the basket.
McConnell has really nice length, with surprising build for a freshman. Hit a really nice baseline floater. His shootaround form had a very low release, but he had a higher release while hitting a nice jumper in a drill. Seems like we got a steal here.
Shaq Carter has a good frame, and seemed really into it during defensive drills. Didn't seem him handle the ball too much.
Young looked good. I expect him to play a lot next year.
Mean Eugene looks ready to kick some ass this year. I expect 8-10ppg.
Really disappointed that Kiss couldn't practice.
I expect us to hang around against superior teams, purely from defense, rebounding & coaching.
Geo looks ready to score 12-15ppg. He was confidently burying perimeter shots.
Thiam looked good confident and was draining shots. IF he can show confidence in games, I think he can average 10ppg.
Myles Johnson is our best big IMO, and should start.
Ron Harper's jumper is flat-footed and rushed. Low trajectory and lots of front-iron. I'd like to see him in a scrimmage setting, but my first impression is he needs time to develop.
Montez also looked like a freshman on offense, with a shaky outside shot. I'm excited to see what he can do slashing to the basket.
McConnell has really nice length, with surprising build for a freshman. Hit a really nice baseline floater. His shootaround form had a very low release, but he had a higher release while hitting a nice jumper in a drill. Seems like we got a steal here.
Shaq Carter has a good frame, and seemed really into it during defensive drills. Didn't seem him handle the ball too much.
Young looked good. I expect him to play a lot next year.
Mean Eugene looks ready to kick some ass this year. I expect 8-10ppg.
Really disappointed that Kiss couldn't practice.
I expect us to hang around against superior teams, purely from defense, rebounding & coaching.
Thanks. Pretty confident that both Thiam and Eugene will average in double figures.
One man's belated thoughts and impressions based solely on viewing a two hour practice...
- It's no fluke that Pikiell's teams play hard for 40 minutes. These practices are a real workout. I was getting winded watching.
- Was impressed and then a little concerned how hard a guy with Shaq Doorson's injury history was busting it on these full court drills. Then, he winced and tweaked his knee and went to locker room with a trainer and came back with a sleeve on his knee. Did a little stationary bike riding, tried to participate in another drill and then tapped out and went to the bike again. Didn't appear serious but this type of thing is always going to be a concern.
- Based on how they broke up the squad, Geo, Issa, Eugene, Mathis, Shaq D, Doucoure, and Kiss would appear to be the Top 7 rotation guys, clearly. Shaq Carter definitely not in the mix to start and may need some time to get up to speed with everything the coaches are teaching.
- Didn't get a great feel for Montez's game at all. Only impression I got was that he seems like a quiet kid.
- We probably said this last year too, but Issa definitely appears to be more aggressive offensively. More competition, the fact that he's an upperclassman now, and won't have Corey and Deshawn dominating the ball should allow him to show us what he can be one way or the other. A feathery three pointer going through the net is always a nice thing to see and we saw a few of them from Issa on Saturday as well as a couple of drives to the hoop.
- Harper is definitely the most intriguing. Not sure how much he'll contribute this year but he's not shy about shooting the three and think he could be a stud down the line especially after a year of college strength and conditioning work. Lots of potential there.
- Think we may need to pump the brakes a tad on Myles Johnson is "our best big man" talk. Clearly, Shaq and Mamadou are ahead of him in the pecking order right now and after watching him shooting free throws with Coach Hobbs before practice for about 15 minutes...well, let's just say the ball didn't go in the basket very often. But, gives us another legitimate big body for the Big Ten and, hopefully, an ability to convert some layups/dunks.
- Coach said that the players pick the music so we weren't going to hear any James Taylor on Saturday
- I wish Jacob Young were eligible right now. Definitely has some offensive flare. Looking forward to him lacing them up next season. Another offensive weapon.
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