Questions for those who follow our BBall team closely

[Eagleton96]

I like Montez, but I would put Mulcahy ahead of him in a best five.

I love Paul, but I think the balance is in Montez favor, and it's not even close. Mulcahy still plays the matador defense. Until he consistently takes and makes shots, inside and outside, he is still kind of a gadget player on O. Montez is the better offensive player on balance, and on D Montez is one of our best and Mulcahy is one of our worst.

Paul might make a big jump. But that's not a guarantee at all.

 

[Kbee3]

We will have a lot of really good players this year.

That's so great to read.
When was the last time one could say that ?
It's time.

 

[RutgersRaRa]

Aside from the first five minutes of a game,
Pike rotates players so often that starting is almost irrelevant. With the freshmen we’ve got who can contribute more as they adjust to the college game, I expect Pike accelerating the rate of rotations so our defense is fresh at the end of games. Last year Montez and Jacob were our best defenders, this year we might be adding Cliff to that list. Time will tell.

 

[Good-Knight]

Cliff and Myles are not starting together. Makes no sense. Neither have a perimeter game. Can't play 2 bigs with no perimeter game at the same time. It's an offense killer

Maybe, but we don't have any great 3 point shooters - so focusing the offense on rotating the ball for an outside shot makes little sense. That's why I see a throw-back offense design for drives to the basket and winning the rebound battle.

 

[Scarlet83]

if Paul improves his shooting and defense he becomes up in the rotation. I watched every game and I see his limitations.

wouldn’t be impossible for him to significantly improve in those areas. I am just not counting on it.

getting in the weight room was definitely an important 1st step.

I also think the current composition of the roster hurts Paul. Mathis and Young not being shooters really hurts Paul.

Did you notice Mathis’ shooting improvement mostly in the 2nd half of the season last year?

 

[GSGS]

So if you had to choose a starter between Young and Mathis you'd go Mathis? Young could "take away or pressure Geo and Ron".. you don't need Mathis out there for that.

It is my understanding the starters are Geo, Young, Mathis , Harper and Johnson. But if you wanted Harper at the 3 and you had to choose between Young and Mathis.. you'd start Mathis?

I showed above that, statistically.. Mulcahy or Mathis is arguable... (I think Mathis shooting percentage is too low to start, imho) but this is a different question. I mean.. a "best five" is a difficult question.. for all we know Omoruyi could be in a "best five" soon.

That would be my guess at the starters. My preference would be to start only two guards, and have a Palmquist or Mag start at the 4. Bringing both Young and Mulcahy off the bench would be very dynamic. Even in games that we got off to a bad start, bringing those two in would enable a quick turnaround. I would still play Young starter type minutes, just think that him coming off the bench would be very disruptive to our opponents. Will never happen, though. Starting is too important to the players, and Pike will reward Young for his off-season improvement, his seniority, as well as being one of our best players.

This line-up (i.e. Geo, Young, Mathis, Harper, and Johnson) may present us with some match-up problems against the bigger teams, as Harper will need to guard the 4 instead of a 3. I think that Palmquist is going to be a very pleasant surprise, but must say that looking at our roster, the one weakness right now is the lack of an experienced, traditional "4".

One further thought - the great thing about Paul bulking up and growing an inch is that it will enable him to play the 3 or 4 defensively. I would think that both Geo and Young will get 30+ minutes, Mathis in the 25-30 range, not leaving much guard time for anyone else. However, I can see Mulcahy playing point on offense while being asked to guard a forward on defense.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Cliff and Myles are not starting together. Makes no sense. Neither have a perimeter game. Can't play 2 bigs with no perimeter game at the same time. It's an offense killer

I wouldn't want to tire out Omoruyi and Johnson at the same time... if both need to sit.. for rest or foul issues.. what do we do?

But I wouldn't mind some kind of fast rotation at the 4 of Omoruyi, Mag, Reiber or Palmquist... I think we have so much experience elsewhere, that the 4 being in the hands of frosh can be tolerated.. and they will learn fast. Do that and you can still use Omoruyi for Johnson when needed.

Its almost like we need a Hockey head coach to switch lines to keep guys fresh,

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Did you notice Mathis’ shooting improvement mostly in the 2nd half of the season last year?

Sure did.. but we start this season with another "first half of the season".. right?

I mentioned that I don't like the idea of using Young and Mathis BOTH as starters.. because both are similar and both are talented and I would prefer one to replace the other rather than play together. If McConnel was still available then arguments could be made for all sorts of pairings... because Young and Mathis together late last season was a Knightmare for some teams.

But I trust Pike and I want to be very wrong about starting Mathis. I'd love to see both Mathis and Young choosing their shots and shooting neat 50% while forcing turnovers on D. That would be awesome.

 

[zebnatto]

I dont see great similarity between JY and MM beyond the fact that they both play D.

 

[Scangg]

Maybe, but we don't have any great 3 point shooters - so focusing the offense on rotating the ball for an outside shot makes little sense. That's why I see a throw-back offense design for drives to the basket and winning the rebound battle.

Playing Omorouyi and Johnson together will eliminate driving lanes to the basket

 

[Plum Street]

Too many commercial breaks

 

[RUBOB72]

Harper at the 4. I expect Oskar will get minutes there backing up Harper. I wouldn't expect too much Doucoure this season as we will mostly play with 1 true big man and those minutes will be split by Myles and Cliff

From what I have heard and read here Mag will be backing up Harper but Oskar will be in the mix.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Playing Omorouyi and Johnson together will eliminate driving lanes to the basket

It would be interesting to watch for 5 MPG. Going high low would be easier with a big target. Cliff is athletic so back screening the high post could get some sick alley oooops

 

[toby83]

i will be driving to the PA border this season to hammer some Rutgers lines early in conference play, can't wait!

for those using Fanduel, the software is seamless when you cross borders. i was in PA on Saturday and able to bet Rutgers football for the first time.

 

[GSGS]

I love Paul, but I think the balance is in Montez favor, and it's not even close. Mulcahy still plays the matador defense. Until he consistently takes and makes shots, inside and outside, he is still kind of a gadget player on O. Montez is the better offensive player on balance, and on D Montez is one of our best and Mulcahy is one of our worst.

Paul might make a big jump. But that's not a guarantee at all.

To clarify, I am projecting a big jump for Paul. The thing I really like about Mulcahy is he has the special quality of making all those around him better with his passing. His vision and passing ability are uncanny. If he has sharpened his jump shot, he will be quite a weapon on offense. I expect his defense to be greatly improved, but he certainly can't match Montez's quickness and athleticism. I'm hoping that Mathis can improve his shooting, too. I thought he took a nice step forward last year offensively, and hope that he can build on that this year.

 

[Scangg]

i will be driving to the PA border this season to hammer some Rutgers lines early in conference play, can't wait!

for those using Fanduel, the software is seamless when you cross borders. i was in PA on Saturday and able to bet Rutgers football for the first time.

Can't you just use a VPN?

 

[Scangg]

From what I have heard and read here Mag will be backing up Harper but Oskar will be in the mix.

I was thinking maybe Mag too but wasn't sure he had the bulk as a freshman and would be more a 3 but I could see it. Muscles Mulcahy maybe even can guard the 4 now too. It'll be interesting to see who steps up to get those minutes. I was thinking Oskar has the age and extra time with the program but if Mag is ready right away that's a very good sign for his future. Mag seems like the perfect Pike kind of player too

It would be interesting to watch for 5 MPG. Going high low would be easier with a big target. Cliff is athletic so back screening the high post could get some sick alley oooops

I wouldn't mind it in short spurts to switch things up. Myles can put that passing ability to work in the high low to dump it down to big Cliff. Just don't think its the starting lineup or anything we see for extended minutes

 

[toby83]

Can't you just use a VPN?

Nope

 

[Eagleton96]

To clarify, I am projecting a big jump for Paul. The thing I really like about Mulcahy is he has the special quality of making all those around him better with his passing. His vision and passing ability are uncanny. If he has sharpened his jump shot, he will be quite a weapon on offense. I expect his defense to be greatly improved, but he certainly can't match Montez's quickness and athleticism. I'm hoping that Mathis can improve his shooting, too. I thought he took a nice step forward last year offensively, and hope that he can build on that this year.

I predict a jump for Mulcahy also. But I don't think he will be more valuable on the floor than Mathis. Mathis is an underrated offensive player. And I think it's possible that Mulcahy catches up to him or passes him. But even then, they will be similar. On D, Mulcahy is hoping to go from being a liability to being average, while Mathis may be our top defender.

 

[Eagleton96]

I predict a jump for Mulcahy also. But I don't think he will be more valuable on the floor than Mathis. Mathis is an underrated offensive player. And I think it's possible that Mulcahy catches up to him or passes him. But even then, they will be similar (not in style, but in net contribution). On D, Mulcahy is hoping to go from being a liability to being average, while Mathis may be our top defender.

 

[toby83]

i was surprised with these numbers, that show just how important RHJ is




To reiterate those numbers: Rutgers was +16 points per 100 possessions with Harper on the court, but actually became a losing team without him at -1 points per 100.

 

[toby83]

link

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