Pikes defense, rebounding and recruiting size.

[bowlgoal]

This is the formula for success and it will work with 1 or 2 big time shooters not just from 3 point range but shooters who can really extend an opposing defense and hit from anywhere. There aren’t many Zions or the kid Washington from Kentucky who are that dominant unless we snag a 5 star one and done along the way. So I think we have to model a Texas tech or an auburn and ratchet up our defense to another level. And don’t get me wrong, Rutgers plays good defense. But it’s going from good to great that enables you to beat the best in your conference and beyond. Virginia plays sick defense. They never stop and strip the ball all the time. That’s why they got the win over Purdue.

I’m convinced we are in great hands right now but it’s never going to get easier. We just have to get better. The top teams in our conference will all reload; especially Michigan State and Purdue.

 

[kcg88]

We definitely recruit a lot of the same or at least similar players. I remember we were in on Brandone Francis when he was transferring.

The step forward that Davide Moretti took this year is nothing less than amazing. He was brutally bad last season and then this year he shot 46% from 3 and 91% from the line. Even though he was a 4-star recruit nobody could have seen that jump coming.

We need a player to progress like THAT. Of course, having an NBA lottery pick for defenses to key in doesn't hurt either.

 

[bowlgoal]

We definitely recruit a lot of the same or at least similar players. I remember we were in on Brandone Francis when he was transferring.

The step forward that Davide Moretti took this year is nothing less than amazing. He was brutally bad last season and then this year he shot 46% from 3 and 91% from the line. Even though he was a 4-star recruit nobody could have seen that jump coming.

We need a player to progress like THAT. Of course, having an NBA lottery pick for defenses to key in doesn't hurt either.

I think Harpers just getting started and he’s a good shooter. Imagine if Quincy Douby was surrounded by the talent we have on this team? I’m thinking for 2019 if possible, it’s one big and one 3 point shooter who can hit from nba range. A guy like that should want to come to Rutgers especially with Mulcahy who will open things up.

 

[Plum Street]

I think Harpers just getting started and he’s a good shooter. Imagine if Quincy Douby was surrounded by the talent we have on this team? I’m thinking for 2019 if possible, it’s one big and one 3 point shooter who can hit from nba range. A guy like that should want to come to Rutgers especially with Mulcahy who will open things up.

It was a shame we put a bunch of stiffs around douby. Guy was a baller, especially his final season.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Guys around Douby weren't stiffs.

 

[4theknights]

I think Harper has the potential to be a major star. He showed steady improvement through the year and I’m anxious to see how he progresses.

 

[Rutgers25]

Guys around Douby weren't stiffs.

His junior year they were.

 

[RUsince52]

Watching the games this last weekend shows the type of players needed to give yourself a chance to win. Every team was great and they all have go to guys. We just have to keep getting better players and things will fall into place. Have to find shooters that consistently hit the threes.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

You need athletes at the NCAA and Round of 32 level of play and that takes time and system implementation to get there. I know there's a level of wanting things done sooner than later, but athletes can do more than shoot to impact a team's roster or success....you need defenders, rebounders, shot blockers and a higher level of foot speed to ultimately compete.

This is still a program being built and I know fans believe we are closer than ever before from making that leap forward. That only happens with athletes, not 3 point shooters.

Athletes close down the shooting percentages of our opponents, get to 3 point shooters at the 3 point line and keep teams off the glass. I believe Harper, Myles Johnson, Mathis, Jacob Young and complete players like Baker, Mulcahy down the road and the other 2 recruits that have not been landed yet, change this.

Yeboah as a grad transfer candidate, fits this model of being able to run, defend, rebound and provide some shooting from 2 and 3, while being a good FT shooter.

Lost in the entire overview of the NCAA's was the injury to Nick Ward for MSU....that injury actually made their defense better and allowed a more mobile and quicker player in Xavier Tillman to be a factor on both ends of the court. Ward is a one dimensional player who can bully most players in the paint for points, but isn't quick enough to play against a quicker front line.

A player that can run/jump/defend and has some strength around the basket to score is what RU needs...kinda like an exact replica of Eugene, just a quicker and more mobile athletic version with a little shooting range that can block/alter shots.....2020 targets like Shon Robinson, Cottrell from Vegas and other targets that can fit those profiles are needed.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

His junior year they were.

I get what you are saying, but it bothers me to hear others were stiffs.

There are 2 sides to a basketball court. Quincy was an outstanding offensive player. His teammates weren't stiffs on defense.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The Virginia-Purdue game was a case of 2 guys catching fire and shooting at a level well above normal. The offensive efficiency for both teams was off the chart.

The Duke Michigan State game was a different story.

Michigan State won more because of what they did on the defensive end vs. what they did on the offensive end.

 

[kcg88]

The Virginia-Purdue game was a case of 2 guys catching fire and shooting at a level well above normal. The offensive efficiency for both teams was off the chart.

The Duke Michigan State game was a different story.

Michigan State won more because of what they did on the defensive end vs. what they did on the offensive end.

They also took care of the ball: 7 turnovers vs. 17 for Duke. That's ten extra possessions!

Not coincidentally, they attempted 13 more shots than the Blue Devils. Duke shot 57 times, MSU shot 70. That means that Michigan State won despite scoring only 0.97 points per shot while Duke scored 1.17 points per shot.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The 4 teams that won shot from 3 in the elite 8 game
7-23
9-27
9-23
6-19
31-92 33.7%

For the tournament
Auburn 49-121 40.5%
Virginia 32-107 29.9%
T Tech 26-75 34.7%
MSU 30-85 35.3%

 

[kcg88]

Shot volume:

Virginia took 65 shots, Purdue took 55.

Auburn took 65 shots, Kentucky took 61.

Michigan State took 70 shots, Duke took 57.

Texas Tech took 57 shots, Gonzaga took 59 (TTU won this one thanks to 3-point shooting).

Get rebounds and don't turn the ball over and good things happen. Of course, we lost a game in which we took 30 more shots than our opponent (Seton Hall) so you still have to make some.

 

[kcg88]

Also, depth is nice for conference play but nearly every team was playing a strict 6 or 7 man rotation (Purdue the exception, eight guys got 10 or more minutes for them)

 

[RUChoppin]

The Virginia-Purdue game was a case of 2 guys catching fire and shooting at a level well above normal. The offensive efficiency for both teams was off the chart.

The Duke Michigan State game was a different story.

Michigan State won more because of what they did on the defensive end vs. what they did on the offensive end.

If he had better offensive players his junior year, he may have led the league in assists. He was double and triple teamed that season, because other players struggled to fill the basket and weren't a threat.

Edit: As one clear example, in the loss vs. Georgetown that year (that would have given us 20 wins), Douby scored 29 of our 50 points. Players not named Quincy went 5/25 (2/10 from deep) and scored just 21 points... while also contributing just 2 assists to 8 turnovers.

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Also, free throws, free throws, free throws. This tourney so far has had so many games that could have been won were it not for FTs. And I think it's been pressure, since they're being missed by decent FT shooters.

 

[Plum Street]

I get what you are saying, but it bothers me to hear others were stiffs.

There are 2 sides to a basketball court. Quincy was an outstanding offensive player. His teammates weren't stiffs on defense.

Grow a thicker skin . They were . Doubt was awesome . If he had help, we make the tournament

 

[zebnatto]

I think what Pike's strategy has been is to go after the coachable and likely to improve kids, and since we can't recruit the kids who "have it all," he's going for that (character) and length.

 

[rucoe89]

Also, depth is nice for conference play but nearly every team was playing a strict 6 or 7 man rotation (Purdue the exception, eight guys got 10 or more minutes for them)

Depends what you do for defense. John Thompson Georgetown teams were strong defensively going 40 minute pressure. He would play 8-10 well into the tourney. Contrast with Boeheim and the zone where he would only play 6-7.

 

[bowlgoal]

There's also a big difference between a set shot 3 point shooter and one who can create off the dribble and hit from deep. Geo can do it but not like Winston or Edwards or the Michigan point guard (Robinson???). Auburn's two guards, Virginia's......every team has one or two lights out; can pop it from well beyond the arc with a high% and defender in your face. I think Harper is one who can turn into that guy; but we need another for next year.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Grow a thicker skin . They were . Doubt was awesome . If he had help, we make the tournament

People dont have thick skin when I say Douby was a dog on defense. They give the excuse that he expended so much energy on the offensive end. Douby would always defend the worst perimeter player and didnt have much success.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

FIG were freshman that year and Webb was a junior....there was talent.

What would have happened in JR Inman never got hurt?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Forgot all about this........

https://hoopdirt.com/jr-inmans-rutgers-rant/

 

[Rutgers25]

FIG were freshman that year and Webb was a junior....there was talent.

What would have happened in JR Inman never got hurt?

Take the G off FIG because he never contributed anything. Inman only played 2/3 of that season and Farmer was a true frosh. Big men on that team were really bad. You are really stretching to say there was talent on that team.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

1. You can do anything, but not everything.
—David Allen
2. Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
3. The richest man is not he who has the most, but he who needs the least.
—Unknown Author
4. You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.
—Wayne Gretzky
5. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.
—Ambrose Redmoon
6. You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
—Gandhi
7. "It took 3 years for Fred Hill to cook his steak of turmoil but the check for the dinner is coming due"
--JR Inman
8. The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.
—A. A. Milne
9. To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.
—Abraham Maslow
10. We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
—Aristotle

 

[Scangg]

Douby got absolutely zero help. Lol get real. Literally no one could score at all on that team. Constant doubles teams and the rest of the players still couldn't capitalize. It was the definition of a one man show

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Webb Farmer and Inman were all very good players. Inman got hurt.

Marquis Webb was an absolute superstar on the defensive end.

Basketball is not won on one side of the court.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Douby got absolutely zero help. Lol get real. Literally no one could score at all on that team. Constant doubles teams and the rest of the players still couldn't capitalize. It was the definition of a one man show

Would Purdue have been any better if they had better offensive players against Virginia?

Would the Sixers have won an NBA title (s) if Iverson had better supporting cast?

Would Rutgers have been better with more offensive talent surrounding Sanders?

Would douby have been better if he had more offensive talent like a guy like Ricky Shields??????

 

[RUChoppin]

FIG were freshman that year and Webb was a junior....there was talent.

What would have happened in JR Inman never got hurt?

Whether or not there was a lack of talent, or whether what talent was there was misused, it was the Quincy Douby show that year. He didn't get much help on the offensive side of the ball, and mostly had to create his own shot in double/triple team situations.

Farmer/Inman were decent that year, but raw, and Griffin hadn't really shown up yet. Webb was a bench player on any other >.500 team in the conference, but scored the 2nd most points on the team that season. We had basically no production at center, and almost no production at the 4/5 at all once Inman was hurt. A couple of other players step up in games like G'town or Buffalo, and we would have danced that year.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Webb was a lockdown defender and was a starting PG as a freshman on a team that made it to the NIT finals.

Do you think Douby and the offense would have been that much better with more offensive firepower?

Douby had a phenomenal year, unbelievable. I don't believe more offensive talent would have made him or the team that much better. When there was another offensive option in the year before Douby wasn't any better and the offense wasn't better.

Take a look at the 3 point shooting percentage of the non Douby players....a lot better than what our guys shoot now.

 

[RUChoppin]

Webb was a starting PG on a team that's been starved for PGs. I doubt he'd have started on any top-half Big East team at the time.

Yes, the offense would have been better with a true 2nd and 3rd option on offense. He was averaging obscene numbers as the focal point of every defense, with double and triple teams any time he got close to the arc, and defense extending 8-10 feet beyond the line to pick him up. With that sort of attention... the rest of the team should have been scoring at will, but they weren't. And if the rest of the team was more of a threat, defenses wouldn't have been able to double/triple Douby, and he'd have gotten more open looks.

In our worst loss (9 point loss at #139 Buffalo), we scored just 53 points - Douby scored 24, but the rest of the team only 29. The FIG class scored 9 points in 65 court minutes (on 3/13 shooting). Our 4/5s scored a combined 7 points in 79 minutes. There were 8 assists in the game, and 5 of them were Douby setting up other players.

There were stretches of games when the rest of the team just disappeared - and Douby was on an island trying to drag the rest of the team along. We had the #6 scorer in the country.... yet just the 161st scoring offense.

Comparing to this year.... we had 5 guys on a 14-17 team this year who averaged at least 14 points per 40 minutes (Omoruyi, Mathis, Baker, McConnell, Harper), whereas in 2005-06, we had just 2 (Douby, and Jimmy Inglis averaging just 11.4 min/g).

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The year before there was Ricky Shields. He was pedestrian. He was very comfortable being the man and having the green light and not worrying about taking bad shots.

 

[RUChoppin]

The year before there was Ricky Shields. He was pedestrian. He was very comfortable being the man and having the green light and not worrying about taking bad shots.

The year before he was a sophomore - and as someone who came to the game mid-HS, he was on a steep learning curve and had a breakout junior year. Not sure where the effort to revise history on QD is coming from.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

He had a tough time coexisting with another offensive player

 

[Plum Street]

Webb Farmer and Inman were all very good players. Inman got hurt.

Marquis Webb was an absolute superstar on the defensive end.

Basketball is not won on one side of the court.

Yes. Great years in the big east. I enjoyed all those winning seasons and tournament runs.

 

[Scangg]

Would Purdue have been any better if they had better offensive players against Virginia?

Would the Sixers have won an NBA title (s) if Iverson had better supporting cast?

Would Rutgers have been better with more offensive talent surrounding Sanders?

Would douby have been better if he had more offensive talent like a guy like Ricky Shields??????

Yes yes yes and yes. Obviously. I guess you thought you were making a point there? FIG coming strong with the terrible hot takes today

 

[RUinFla]

People dont have thick skin when I say Douby was a dog on defense. They give the excuse that he expended so much energy on the offensive end. Douby would always defend the worst perimeter player and didnt have much success.

Quincy Douby had to be wooed into staying at RU after his freshman and soph years. Louisville was sniffing around. He was not a good teammate; was a gunner; and played no defense. Gifted scorer, so given the sum of his parts. he soon fell out of the NBA, but being 6'5 and a gifted scorer, he had a fine career in China. Good for him.
TL

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Yes yes yes and yes. Obviously. I guess you thought you were making a point there? FIG coming strong with the terrible hot takes today

terrible to you, but most of the time I get things right.