TheKnightReport - TKR Pod Ep. 63: Training Camp Week Two, Hoops practice & B1G Media Rights
The TKR pod offers an instant reaction to Drew Singleton being denied by the NCAA, also talking RHoops practice.
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PODCAST -- Training Camp / Singleton denial / Hoops practice / B1G Media Rights
- Thread starter Richie O
- Start date
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Love these pods... last one about bball recruiting and this one about the current roster has me so pumped for this season already
Wow - I’m not sure how accurate these guys have been historically with predictions but the BB outlook is extremely positive from this podcast.
We aren’t wrong very often, I can tell you that much 😉
Ha! I don’t remember what you guys said in past years. But if what you described this time translates to what the team does this season, RU will be much better than a bubble team. I’ve been bullish on the defensive outlook, but you guys said potentially best Pike defense yet. That would mean a top 5 national defense. You guys predict Cam Spencer will lead all RU scorers which would mean we’d have an insane inside out game on offense to go along with steady ball handling. I hope you are right on all of it!
My only real concern defensively is Paul and Spencer's footspeed on the perimeter and if we can stop penetration.
If the defense is as elite as the mods are predicting it's going to be yet another awesome season under Pike and a tournament bid
Something I think we will see is a stronger rebounding team. Pike was not happy with the rebounding which might lead to bigger lineups with Dean at the 4. Hyatt should be a stronger rebounder than Harper as well. If Chol or Woolfolk get any minutes at the 4 they should be plus rebounders...
Spencer is a strong rebounding guard. Paul apparently is further in his transformation into muscles Mulcahy.
Mag and Caleb are long wings who can rebound.
Lot of size everywhere to dominate the boards
If the defense is as elite as the mods are predicting it's going to be yet another awesome season under Pike and a tournament bid
Something I think we will see is a stronger rebounding team. Pike was not happy with the rebounding which might lead to bigger lineups with Dean at the 4. Hyatt should be a stronger rebounder than Harper as well. If Chol or Woolfolk get any minutes at the 4 they should be plus rebounders...
Spencer is a strong rebounding guard. Paul apparently is further in his transformation into muscles Mulcahy.
Mag and Caleb are long wings who can rebound.
Lot of size everywhere to dominate the boards
Your right - but it should be noted that Paul has improved his defense each year. And even before that, his liabilities at all stages have been fairly easy to mask when he’s the weakest link on the floor. You have to look no further than the 2020-21 finish at 16 in defensive efficiency with him logging +27 mpg.
The issue is when he’s not the weakest defender on the floor. Our defensive ranking of 53 last season doesn’t tell the whole story. Miller’s 7+ minutes a game were more impactful than he’s given credit for. His time replaced time that Paul was defending the perimeter with Hyatt or Jaden. It made a big difference.
The thing with Cam is - his defense is only a concern if he’s lighting it up in terms of offense. Pike is a defense first guy - if Cam isn’t nailing shots Pike will sub for our better defenders. That’s always been his style and seems unlikely to change. At minimum - Its hard to dispute the commentary in the podcast - Miller, Paul, Caleb, Mag, Cliff line up feels like a national defensive line up of the year contender should Pike choose to run with it. Of course - scoring would be a huge question mark but…
Bottom line - after listening to this commentary I walked away feeling that it’s reasonable to expect - either our offense will be better than I originally thought or the defense really can be elite (not just good). If both those things come true - watch out! Will be a fun year.
We could just put Paul on whichever perimeter player was the least threat last year, but it's hard to hide 2 perimeter defenders if Paul and Cam both struggle to stop penetration.
I do agree Paul has gotten better on D... his other issue is over helping especially when he is covering a 3 point threat.
I do expect Paul and Cam to be high IQ help defenders. Cam averaged 2+ steals... and he wasn't doing it with elite quickness
It is a question mark for me but we shall see. It's really the only question mark defensively so we should still be good. If this doesn't end up being a real issue due to excellent team defense and rotations then we could be elite defensively as mods are predicting
I guess where I was going is Cam and Paul will probably only be playing big minutes together when Cam’s shots are falling. It sounds like our backcourt options may be significantly deeper than what they were last year. Remember, when Miller was redshirting early - Jaden was really the only other true perimeter option on the roster to sub in. Hyatt isn’t (shouldn’t be) a back court player but was assigned to play there out of need. Mag looked awful with the ball in his hands last year but the podcast commentary on his handling improvements are encouraging. We replaced Geo with 2 guard bodies - Simpson and Spencer. Miller is not a frosh anymore and won’t start the year redshirting. If Mag reduces his turnovers to the point where he can be a reliable 3rd guard option in moving the ball in perimeter sets that’s huge. The rotation options 1-3 seem way deeper to me.
Cam is a lights out shooter so he will be playing a lot of minutes. Paul is definitely playing a lot of minutes. They will be on the court together a ton
If Cam truly shoots lights out consistently we will be a very strong offensive team. The need for elite defense in that case would be reduced. When he’s not shooting well, he will probably not play as much unless his defense is better than we’re expecting.
I'm only questioning his lateral movement and foot speed to guard B1G guards and prevent penetration. It's a question mark heading into the season
There is more to defense than that though. He averaged over 2 steals a game so he clearly has a good feel for the game and reading plays. He wasn’t getting steals based on elite quickness. I'm expecting a smart defender, plus help defender, plus rebounder
Wasn’t directed to you, was a general question. Has anyone seen him play other than highlights? He might have lateral foot speed he might not. I would bet he is a hard nose player, his brother sure was. Is he a willing defender? I will wait until I see him play.
Only basing this on the scouting reports. Have not seen him play much at all.
Because he was a Patriot League player who's had hip surgery.
I have no doubt he's a hard nose willing defender. You can watch his highlights. He's not the quickest player. It's fairly obvious
