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Listen. I was stunned by today. There was no effort. And the team can't shoot straight. But let's call it the way it is. There is no semblance of an offense. There is a bunch of freelancing. I said this in December. There is no spacing and minimal ball movement. An NBA guy watched a few games and told me the same. Steve is not running off guys in a wholesale way like Pitino. Not happening. He is too loyal. Derek will be back. As will Gavin and many others. I do believe Cliff and Mag return and really need J-Mike. But, myst add a stong offensive minded coach who can run real sets for Dylan and Ace and the others. There are guys out there who have keen offensive minds. Brett Macconnell was one,but he will be an NEC or MAAC coach. Just find the guy, re-set the offense and score the ball.
The issue is that we have too many Stony Brook calibur players on this team. Simpson, Hyatt, Fernandes, A. Williams, Palmquist, Woolfork and maybe even Davis are Stony Brook calibur.
 
if we want to be blunt and real

1. None of our guards are perimeter shooters and it is 2024. We have room for 1 such player getting main minutes. That is it. If the 1 guy is Jwill……

2. Guys are not playing who should and deserve it because we have a 4 star player. For all thise who think we need to play Gavin for future….what about playing Oskar to see if we want him for next year or give home the talk. Oskar is much better than Gavin right now. It isnt remotely close.

3. Players dont respect Simpson. He cant be back because players dont mesh with him. Countless examples this year. Today’s gem was Jwill yelling twice to Derek “ball” (rude way of telling a guy to pass). After not fetting the ball he shakes his head. This stuff should NEVER happen.

While we are on chemistry countless times gavin open on the perimeter and Gavin doesnt get passed to. Before a media Time out both Derek and Jamike didnt pass to him wide open. They were subbed out.
 
If one guy creates shots but misses and another guy cannot create shots they are functionally the same.

Mag actually attempted more shots in fewer minutes today btw.
This is not a "today's game situation ", this is an overview of what the player can or cannot do over an entire season or what skill set does the player have or not have. He's not above average in any standard offensive category. And he's approaching a 5th year senior status....shouldn't a 5th year player bring more to the table??
 
This is not a "today's game situation ", this is an overview of what the player can or cannot do over an entire season or what skill set does the player have or not have. He's not above average in any standard offensive category. And he's approaching a 5th year senior status....shouldn't a 5th year player bring more to the table??
What is your obsession with Mag? You’re picking on a guy who’s coming back from season ending ACL surgery frankly it’s not a good look.
His injury was a big reason for last year collapse. Just accept it already
 
if we want to be blunt and real

1. None of our guards are perimeter shooters and it is 2024. We have room for 1 such player getting main minutes. That is it. If the 1 guy is Jwill……

2. Guys are not playing who should and deserve it because we have a 4 star player. For all thise who think we need to play Gavin for future….what about playing Oskar to see if we want him for next year or give home the talk. Oskar is much better than Gavin right now. It isnt remotely close.

3. Players dont respect Simpson. He cant be back because players dont mesh with him. Countless examples this year. Today’s gem was Jwill yelling twice to Derek “ball” (rude way of telling a guy to pass). After not fetting the ball he shakes his head. This stuff should NEVER happen.

While we are on chemistry countless times gavin open on the perimeter and Gavin doesnt get passed to. Before a media Time out both Derek and Jamike didnt pass to him wide open. They were subbed out.

Let me ask the question this way.. ..would you pass the ball to the player, who only (as of today) shows an interest in pushing up jumpers or 3s??

Why would I play pressure defense each and every time down the court and then feed the ball to a player who may not show the attention to detail on defense, maybe isn't showing the willingness to mix it up on the glass etc??

This runs both ways, not just one way......shouldn't the player have to earn shots, not be handed them??
 
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What is your obsession with Mag? You’re picking on a guy who’s coming back from season ending ACL surgery frankly it’s not a good look.
His injury was a big reason for last year collapse. Just accept it already
Last year is over, stop making excuses. He rehabbed and is on the court playing. He warrants an evaluation, just like any other player on the court.

We are discussing a lack of offense.....Mag scored 2 points....is that acceptable to you?? It's not to me.
 
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I posted in the Simpson thread....Mag trails Simpson in every category on offense....and I'm advocating to have Simpson be the 3rd or 4th guard....but you want to handcuff Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, with a non-threat from 3, a non threat off the dribble and someone that does not create his own shot??

While Simpson and Davis are underclassmen, they can at least get their own shot on offense....it may not be a great shot, but if Mag doesn't create shots for others, or himself, how does he keep landing in this category as a starter??

Next year has "potential " to be exceptional IF you rework the minutes and players. The BEST case scenario next year is JWill is your FIFTH or worse offensive player on the court. There is literally NO chance to play competitive offense with Cliff AND Mag chewing up 27 to 30 minutes a game. There's no fluid offensive skill with either player.

Next year will also have the entire planet, devising game plans to slow down Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. If you don't have competent scorers, drivers, playmakers on the floor with them, you're asking for MAJOR difficulty. There's literally no path to ask Ace and Dylan to carry 2 players out of 5 on offense.
Somewhat agree. It’s a team game. While Mag and Cliff will never be go-to scorers one or both would be serviceable starters as leading defenders if there wasn’t also a dearth of scoring talent in the backcourt. I blame this offensive shitshow on poor guard play, our three main guards only hunting their own shots 99% of the time. Team offense makes every player better, but we don’t run team offense. I worry the same strategy will sink next year’s team too.
 
Let me ask the question this way.. ..would you pass the ball to the player, who only (as of today) shows an interest in pushing up jumpers or 3s??

Why would I play pressure defense each and every time down the court and then feed the ball to a player who may not show the attention to detail on defense, maybe isn't showing the willingness to mix it up on the glass etc??

This runs both ways, not just one way......shouldn't the player have to earn shots, not be handed them??
Not sure what you are saying
 
Last year is over, stop making excuses. He rehabbed and is on the court playing. He warrants an evaluation, just like any other player on the court.

We are discussing a lack of offense.....Mag scored 2 points....is that acceptable to you?? It's not to me.
Just pointing out that sometimes guys don’t recover. You have an obsession with him because you completely undervalued his importance to last year’s team.
Simpson gets the criticism that he gets because he chucks it up from 15 ft 7 times and game and only makes 1.
As for Mag, yeah, he’s not playing well.
But if you’re gonna compare Simpson to a guy who has clearly not gotten his game back from season ending ACL injury, I think that says more about Simpson than it does Mag
 
Listen. I was stunned by today. There was no effort. And the team can't shoot straight. But let's call it the way it is. There is no semblance of an offense. There is a bunch of freelancing. I said this in December. There is no spacing and minimal ball movement. An NBA guy watched a few games and told me the same. Steve is not running off guys in a wholesale way like Pitino. Not happening. He is too loyal. Derek will be back. As will Gavin and many others. I do believe Cliff and Mag return and really need J-Mike. But, myst add a stong offensive minded coach who can run real sets for Dylan and Ace and the others. There are guys out there who have keen offensive minds. Brett Macconnell was one,but he will be an NEC or MAAC coach. Just find the guy, re-set the offense and score the ball.
The issue is that we have too many Stony Brook calibur players on this team. Simpson, Hyatt, Fernandes, A. Williams, Palmquist, Woolfork and maybe even Davis are Stony Brook calibur.
 
You can't run an offense unless you have players who can do the following.

Dribble

Pass

Create off the dribble to create angles for others to shoot

Drive and score or drive and draw contact.

Have an ability to generate your own shot, off the dribble for a 2 or 3.

If you have FIVE players who can do that on the floor, then you can create an offense.....what you are watching is based on the lack of offensive skill, talent on the wings and lack of shooting from Mag, Simpson and kinda Davis. I am giving Davis a pass, because he actually has a decent looking shot, but he's capable of driving and scoring.

The one missing piece is Gavin Griffiths, who actually has the ability to do the dribble, pass, create and shooting....he is part of the SOLUTION.....but like any other young player, he's now learning on the job.

Lathan Sommerville is very skilled....Dortch and Dylan Grant are athletic enough and willing drivers off the bounce. It would be asking a lot of those 2 freshman to compliment Ace Bailey, so another legitimate 2-way wing is a must have.
This is a load of bull. You can't run offense because players can't dribble or generate a shot, but then we are asking them to do that vs a set defense which hasn't been moving or rotating? Lol. You are contradicting yourself within your own post. BECAUSE we have guys who can't create their own shot, that is all the more reason to run repeatable offense and sets and actions to get the defense moving so our lack of creators can attack longer closeouts and rotations. This isn't the team we can only run pick and roll and ISO offense with and have Geo, Ron or Jacob young bail us out. Come on man.
 
Somewhat agree. It’s a team game. While Mag and Cliff will never be go-to scorers one or both would be serviceable starters as leading defenders if there wasn’t also a dearth of scoring talent in the backcourt. I blame this offensive shitshow on poor guard play, our three main guards only hunting their own shots 99% of the time. Team offense makes every player better, but we don’t run team offense. I worry the same strategy will sink next year’s team too.
It's ironic that we used to complain that Mulcahy didn't shoot enough (he had a decent shooting percentage) and now we're dying for these guards to shoot less. Conclusion? PM was a true PG, these guards aren't.
 
We cannot reduce Gavin Griffiths production to a catch and shoot player, that is reliant on others to find him shots....Gavin has shooting ability, but his talent level is beyond a stationery shooter...he has to create off the dribble, drive and use his length and height to drive into contact and draw fouls......and make teams pay for just defending him as a shooter.
Gavi would have to shoot 60% from field to make up for how many points he gives up on other end
 
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The amount of loose balls he doesnt get too
Plus the passes he doesn't make. Gavin averages 0.6 assists per game. That is unacceptable for a guard playing 17 minutes per game.

Gavin has missed 4x 3-point attempts as he has made assists, 60 to 15.
 
Plus the passes he doesn't make. Gavin averages 0.6 assists per game. That is unacceptable for a guard playing 17 minutes per game.

Gavin has missed 4x 3-point attempts as he has made assists, 60 to 15.
And the one he made today was total luck as it wasn’t exactly the way he planned it
 
if we want to be blunt and real

1. None of our guards are perimeter shooters and it is 2024. We have room for 1 such player getting main minutes. That is it. If the 1 guy is Jwill……

2. Guys are not playing who should and deserve it because we have a 4 star player. For all thise who think we need to play Gavin for future….what about playing Oskar to see if we want him for next year or give home the talk. Oskar is much better than Gavin right now. It isnt remotely close.

3. Players dont respect Simpson. He cant be back because players dont mesh with him. Countless examples this year. Today’s gem was Jwill yelling twice to Derek “ball” (rude way of telling a guy to pass). After not fetting the ball he shakes his head. This stuff should NEVER happen.

While we are on chemistry countless times gavin open on the perimeter and Gavin doesnt get passed to. Before a media Time out both Derek and Jamike didnt pass to him wide open. They were subbed out.
And that’s the definition of selfish I’ve been harping on. Derek and JMike don’t give a shit about team offense, they only look to shoot. I’ll also say the same thing about JWill but he’s less damaging since he’s strong enough to get to the basket and score.

GG and Hyatt would average 12-14 a game on a team with guards who pass them open.

They aren’t the problem on offense. Neither is Mag or Cliff. We don’t run team offense and the selfish guard play is the reason.

Next year will be a bust too if Harper is allowed to play this way.
 
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Hawk is gaslighting on the Mag issue. Whether it's the injury or something else he is much worse across the board this year. This version of Mag is not really valuable but last year he WAS a starter on a top-20, easy tournament caliber team.

Hawk's point was not "I expect Mag to get worse" his argument was "the 2022-23 version of Mag has no value" which was what everyone took issue with.

I'm sorry you feel this way....you have to look at the players fairly.

What version of last year is different this year?? Is he a better perimeter player/shooter??

If fans want to cling to hope or a false narrative that Mag derailed last year, you get ZERO excuse now that the player is back and playing.

When the player scored 2, 0 and 0 points, no one wanted to say anything.....then he scores 15, 15 or 13 in 3 other games and suddenly the chirps got louder that he is this and that.

I have the entire year and career to evaluate the player. It is not personal....what I am not bending or changing my mind on, is what happened last year was all because of his injury.....it's a lazy take or narrative and doesn't hold anyone else accountable for what they did or didn't do the rest of last season.

Sooo.....are we now plugging in the layered excuse of he's off an ACL and he jumps next year to a 37% 3 point shooter and then becomes this playmaker that is 13 to 14PPG??? How does that exactly supposed to happen??

We play very good teams, with very good coaching staffs....teams know what Mag can or cannot do. How does he help next year, when Ace is swarmed or trapped to force him to give up the basketball?? Is he going to capitalize on that and drive, dunk or find spots for open 3s?? I don't see that happening, we need a better option.
 
if we want to be blunt and real

1. None of our guards are perimeter shooters and it is 2024. We have room for 1 such player getting main minutes. That is it. If the 1 guy is Jwill……

2. Guys are not playing who should and deserve it because we have a 4 star player. For all thise who think we need to play Gavin for future….what about playing Oskar to see if we want him for next year or give home the talk. Oskar is much better than Gavin right now. It isnt remotely close.

3. Players dont respect Simpson. He cant be back because players dont mesh with him. Countless examples this year. Today’s gem was Jwill yelling twice to Derek “ball” (rude way of telling a guy to pass). After not fetting the ball he shakes his head. This stuff should NEVER happen.

While we are on chemistry countless times gavin open on the perimeter and Gavin doesnt get passed to. Before a media Time out both Derek and Jamike didnt pass to him wide open. They were subbed out.
Mag also missed an easy kickout to Gavin. That's why I don't think you can say Oskar is clearly far better right now.
 
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I'm sorry you feel this way....you have to look at the players fairly.

What version of last year is different this year?? Is he a better perimeter player/shooter??

If fans want to cling to hope or a false narrative that Mag derailed last year, you get ZERO excuse now that the player is back and playing.

When the player scored 2, 0 and 0 points, no one wanted to say anything.....then he scores 15, 15 or 13 in 3 other games and suddenly the chirps got louder that he is this and that.

I have the entire year and career to evaluate the player. It is not personal....what I am not bending or changing my mind on, is what happened last year was all because of his injury.....it's a lazy take or narrative and doesn't hold anyone else accountable for what they did or didn't do the rest of last season.

Sooo.....are we now plugging in the layered excuse of he's off an ACL and he jumps next year to a 37% 3 point shooter and then becomes this playmaker that is 13 to 14PPG??? How does that exactly supposed to happen??

We play very good teams, with very good coaching staffs....teams know what Mag can or cannot do. How does he help next year, when Ace is swarmed or trapped to force him to give up the basketball?? Is he going to capitalize on that and drive, dunk or find spots for open 3s?? I don't see that happening, we need a better option.
You really do pile a bunch of bs all in one.
No one is saying Mag is playing great offensively this year.
But wtf does this year’s play have to do with last year? It clearly derailed last year’s season. Keep lying to yourself that it didn’t
 
I'm sorry you feel this way....you have to look at the players fairly.

What version of last year is different this year?? Is he a better perimeter player/shooter??

If fans want to cling to hope or a false narrative that Mag derailed last year, you get ZERO excuse now that the player is back and playing.

When the player scored 2, 0 and 0 points, no one wanted to say anything.....then he scores 15, 15 or 13 in 3 other games and suddenly the chirps got louder that he is this and that.

I have the entire year and career to evaluate the player. It is not personal....what I am not bending or changing my mind on, is what happened last year was all because of his injury.....it's a lazy take or narrative and doesn't hold anyone else accountable for what they did or didn't do the rest of last season.

Sooo.....are we now plugging in the layered excuse of he's off an ACL and he jumps next year to a 37% 3 point shooter and then becomes this playmaker that is 13 to 14PPG??? How does that exactly supposed to happen??

We play very good teams, with very good coaching staffs....teams know what Mag can or cannot do. How does he help next year, when Ace is swarmed or trapped to force him to give up the basketball?? Is he going to capitalize on that and drive, dunk or find spots for open 3s?? I don't see that happening, we need a better option.
No, he is clearly worse this year. I have no argument with that.

If he plays like he did last year he is clearly valuable on next year's team though.
 
Mag has the ball in his hands 10% of the time our guards do.
No one is preventing Mag from driving when lanes present themselves or creating his own offense. Please stop, he has plenty of touches and opportunities.. he doesn't do much with them, which reverts the ball back to the guards....you only get 30 seconds per possession, these plays and decisions have to be made quickly and decisively.

I will ask the question again.....what is preventing Mag from shooting or scoring?? If he gets the ball, he doesn't have to pass it, he can drive, pull up, shoot or score?? I think the more fans defend the lack of production, the more they paint themselves into a corner.....then it becomes Cliffs fault or someone else's fault. He has as much responsibility to be productive as the other 4 players on the court. But no one else wants to see it or say it.... the denial level is in the clouds.
 
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No one is preventing Mag from driving when lanes present themselves or creating his own offense. Please stop, he has plenty of touches and opportunities.. he doesn't do much with them, which reverts the ball back to the guards....you only get 30 seconds per possession, these plays and decisions have to be made quickly and decisively.

I will ask the question again.....what is preventing Mag from shooting or scoring?? If he gets the ball, he doesn't have to pass it, he can drive, pull up, shoot or score?? I think the more fans defend the lack of production, the more they paint themselves into a corner.....then it becomes Cliffs fault or someone else's fault. He has as much responsibility to be productive as the other 4 players on the court. But no one else wants to see it or say it.... the denial level is in the clouds.
Nobody is arguing this year's version is what we want. But last year he was 56% on twos and chipping in a couple threes on low volume at a good rate with plus defense. If we can get that then yes we want him back. Rolling the dice in the portal is not always a great idea.
 
Having now seen every team in the league play multiple times, we may have the least talented roster in the league. Others may have a worse record and may be doing less with more, but our roster really leaves a lot to be desired when compared to other teams. I say this knowing it is a down year for the conference as well. Not good
 
If Cliff wants to play another year of college sponsored basketball why wouldn't he atleast look around for a better situation where he might develop further? The lack of offensive sets and talent has not helped him either. The rotation at the center position is getting more bizarre as the season progresses.
Did you ever think he might be why we don’t run offense sets, he doesn’t know how to play basketball.
 
I'm sorry you feel this way....you have to look at the players fairly.

What version of last year is different this year?? Is he a better perimeter player/shooter??

If fans want to cling to hope or a false narrative that Mag derailed last year, you get ZERO excuse now that the player is back and playing.

When the player scored 2, 0 and 0 points, no one wanted to say anything.....then he scores 15, 15 or 13 in 3 other games and suddenly the chirps got louder that he is this and that.

I have the entire year and career to evaluate the player. It is not personal....what I am not bending or changing my mind on, is what happened last year was all because of his injury.....it's a lazy take or narrative and doesn't hold anyone else accountable for what they did or didn't do the rest of last season.

Sooo.....are we now plugging in the layered excuse of he's off an ACL and he jumps next year to a 37% 3 point shooter and then becomes this playmaker that is 13 to 14PPG??? How does that exactly supposed to happen??

We play very good teams, with very good coaching staffs....teams know what Mag can or cannot do. How does he help next year, when Ace is swarmed or trapped to force him to give up the basketball?? Is he going to capitalize on that and drive, dunk or find spots for open 3s?? I don't see that happening, we need a better option.
I mean his “excuse” is that Mag is now not the same player because of the injury. You’re free to disagree but this reads like you didn’t read what you responded to.
 
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The issue is that we have too many Stony Brook calibur players on this team. Simpson, Hyatt, Fernandes, A. Williams, Palmquist, Woolfork and maybe even Davis are Stony Brook calibur.
Don’t forget Cliff! A project with no foundation
 
You really do pile a bunch of bs all in one.
No one is saying Mag is playing great offensively this year.
But wtf does this year’s play have to do with last year? It clearly derailed last year’s season. Keep lying to yourself that it didn’t
I posted in the Simpson thread, that he is trailing Simpson in every offensive category.....and I am advocating for Dylan and JWill to start next year.....

Why on earth would we continue to play a player and start that same player, who is less productive, than the player in Simpson, that I'm looking to play less minutes as the 3rd or 4th guard???. How can we ignore that obvious fact??

Simpson is being held to the same standards as Mag....fans are NOT or unwilling to listen.

The reason why?? Is because they want to believe last year didn't work because he got hurt.....and it is FALSE.....the remainder of the roster had enough players and talent to overcome Mag.

If Mag is back this year, we should see results.....you can't have it both ways......
 
Did you ever think he might be why we don’t run offense sets, he doesn’t know how to play basketball.
Do you think that after spending four years @ RU it is reasonable to expect that the coaches would have improved his understanding of how to play basketball? I don't think he would have a shortage of opportunities if he chose to investigate what was out there.
 
No one is preventing Mag from driving when lanes present themselves or creating his own offense. Please stop, he has plenty of touches and opportunities.. he doesn't do much with them, which reverts the ball back to the guards....you only get 30 seconds per possession, these plays and decisions have to be made quickly and decisively.

I will ask the question again.....what is preventing Mag from shooting or scoring?? If he gets the ball, he doesn't have to pass it, he can drive, pull up, shoot or score?? I think the more fans defend the lack of production, the more they paint themselves into a corner.....then it becomes Cliffs fault or someone else's fault. He has as much responsibility to be productive as the other 4 players on the court. But no one else wants to see it or say it.... the denial level is in the clouds.
Your Mag arrows should be aimed at our guards instead. He should not have to drive or make iso plays. that’s not his skill set. Guards are supposed to create opportunities for him. He should cut to the hoop and get passes he can convert into layups and short shots. But he never gets those passes. Either does GG. Instead our offense has them stand in the corners watching the guards f-up almost every possession.

Our guards don’t distribute, so we get virtually no frontcourt production. It’s the fault of poor backcourt play. Guards should drive, draw help defense and dish. Ours don’t, eliminating nearly all frontcourt production.
 
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