Rapid Reaction - BU

[Degaz-RU]

Offensive flow is very disjointed, saved by hitting shots by GG and Hyatt.

Fernandes doing his best impression of The Invisible Man.

Saw glimpses of the old Simpson tonight, with 5 assists, a nice midrange pull-up jumper, but 0-2 from deep.

Gavin is just smooth. And if Hyatt is also hitting, that’s a nice 1-2 punch.

Pike using guard combinations of Fernandes/Williams and Simpson/JMike. Like two hockey lines. But nobody is producing.

Offensive efficiency is in the toilet. 69 points on 69 possessions, 17 TOs, just 7-25 from deep (28%), and an abominable 16-30 on FTs.

Palmquist looks much more confident this year. Doing more things, being a leader. Just needs to hit threes at a higher clip.

Chol is quite an athlete. But still shoots threes like a baby deer. Very “first year Eugene”-ish.

We need to stop force feeding Cliff in first halves. These teams will swarm him, and it will lead to 13-TO first halves like tonight.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Good — Hyatt and GG 15-26

Bad — rest of team 8-26

 

[Rutgers25]

I mean Noah can’t be this bad can he? Really hope he steps up to be an actual option on offense.

Turnovers are atrocious.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

The only thing worse than game day threads is post game threads from "experts", lol.

 

[Rutgers25]

The only thing worse than game day threads is post game threads from "experts", lol.

Nope, stupid posts from morons like you with nothing to add.

 

[Degaz-RU]

The only thing worse than game day threads is post game threads from "experts", lol.

It’s a message board. You’re free to not click on the thread.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Nope, stupid posts from morons like you with nothing to add.

Your idiocy over multiple boards is well known.

 

[bac2therac]

Offensive flow is very disjointed, saved by hitting shots by GG and Hyatt.

Fernandes doing his best impression of The Invisible Man.

Saw glimpses of the old Simpson tonight, with 5 assists, a nice midrange pull-up jumper, but 0-2 from deep.

Gavin is just smooth. And if Hyatt is also hitting, that’s a nice 1-2 punch.

Pike using guard combinations of Fernandes/Williams and Simpson/JMike. Like two hockey lines. But nobody is producing.

Offensive efficiency is in the toilet. 69 points on 69 possessions, 17 TOs, just 7-25 from deep (28%), and an abominable 16-30 on FTs.

Palmquist looks much more confident this year. Doing more things, being a leader. Just needs to hit threes at a higher clip.

Chol is quite an athlete. But still shoots threes like a baby deer. Very “first year Eugene”-ish.

We need to stop force feeding Cliff in first halves. These teams will swarm him, and it will lead to 13-TO first halves like tonight.

Agree with everything here

Winning by 25 but sone big concerns

 

[AreYouNUTS]

- FT's....16/30???

- re: Simpson/Fernadeeeeez....IMHO....they need to go out for drinks together. It APPEARS as though they're each having trouble - on the floor - accepting each other as, I guess, "complimentary" roles. Simpson - WITHOUT QUESTION - wanted to be "the guy" to lead the team on the floor this year. Bring in Noah and, well, that kinda changes, right? Now Noah has to accept HIS role, as well, but maybe it's just take a few games DESPITE playing together overseas this summer?
...anyway, just a thought.

 

[Rutgers25]

Your idiocy over multiple boards is well known.

Yeah, sure dude. Why don’t you post your thoughts about the game instead of snarky posts.

 

[Rutgers25]

- FT's....16/30???

- re: Simpson/Fernadeeeeez....IMHO....they need to go out for drinks together. It APPEARS as though they're each having trouble - on the floor - accepting each other as, I guess, "complimentary" roles. Simpson - WITHOUT QUESTION - wanted to be "the guy" to lead the team on the floor this year. Bring in Noah and, well, that kinda changes, right? Now Noah has to accept HIS role, as well, but maybe it's just take a few games DESPITE playing together overseas this summer?
...anyway, just a thought.

They are struggling to mesh, but independent of that, Noah needs to be more aggressive with his offense. Based on his history, he needs to be a 10pt scorer.

 

[ScarletR30]

People have ti remember frenandes missed a ton of time last year due to injury. That + playing with new guys could be a cause to a slow start

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Bottom line:

- lots of new moving parts
- lots of new/adjusted "roles"
- lots of extra minutes for a bunch of guys

....just gotta hope they look better each game. It'll come, the talent is there, but fingers crossed!!!

 

[RAC93]

Not just the players. Pike as a coach looks like a player returning from injury, shaking off rust. He hasn’t figured this team out yet (will take him a little time for sure). I have full faith he’ll figure out the best mix, but for now we’re going to have work through player and coaching growing pains as everyone figures out their identity.

 

[Knights2003]

Was really surprised to see Wolf play so little, especially when he got the start. He has looked really good in two games, other than the 0-4 from the line. He is really smooth and is probably the most improved player on the team.

 

[ScarletTony]

We look like a team that hasn’t played together before which isn’t far from the truth

 

[BillyC80]

Was really surprised to see Wolf play so little, especially when he got the start. He has looked really good in two games, other than the 0-4 from the line. He is really smooth and is probably the most improved player on the team.

Saw him wincing and clutching his lower back at times. Maybe back spasms limited his PT?

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

This is clearly experimental time. First game he went with 2 small guards. Now, Bigger guard Williams started. This game Wolf was paired with Cliff for stretches.

In 8 years, this was the most different roster combinations I have ever seen from Pikiell in the early season.

 

[RUPete]

They are struggling to mesh, but independent of that, Noah needs to be more aggressive with his offense. Based on his history, he needs to be a 10pt scorer.

I would take 8 and solid distribution, limited TOs. We can’t forget that he missed almost all of last year and is figuring out new teammates, system, etc.

 

[PaKnight]

Offensive flow is very disjointed, saved by hitting shots by GG and Hyatt.

Fernandes doing his best impression of The Invisible Man.

Saw glimpses of the old Simpson tonight, with 5 assists, a nice midrange pull-up jumper, but 0-2 from deep.

Gavin is just smooth. And if Hyatt is also hitting, that’s a nice 1-2 punch.

Pike using guard combinations of Fernandes/Williams and Simpson/JMike. Like two hockey lines. But nobody is producing.

Offensive efficiency is in the toilet. 69 points on 69 possessions, 17 TOs, just 7-25 from deep (28%), and an abominable 16-30 on FTs.

Palmquist looks much more confident this year. Doing more things, being a leader. Just needs to hit threes at a higher clip.

Chol is quite an athlete. But still shoots threes like a baby deer. Very “first year Eugene”-ish.

We need to stop force feeding Cliff in first halves. These teams will swarm him, and it will lead to 13-TO first halves like tonight.

How does a baby deer shoot?

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Our passing into the post is abysmal. That's one thing we're really going to miss with Mulcahy gone.

 

[RC80]

Look it's going to be pack your patience. 3/5th of today's starting 5 - won't be here next season; with what we have coming in - SP needed to bring in expiring contracts - to go with the final year guys; but at the same time he is going to significantly play the rookies (and 2nd yr group) - and will live with the cross-court passes (and 25 points). It's going to be fun to watch them develop.

 

[Scangg]

The good news is we looked pretty bad, got basically nothing from Cliff and Noah, and still won by 24

The team just feels rudderless. That's what happens when the guards don't step up and take control of the game. Just reckless with the basketball. So many unnecessary TOs.

Gavin's scoring is absolutely essential and we need to go to him often. He has already shown the ability to score off the dribble and get to the rim as well as score in the mid range. He is an elite shooter but so much more. Gavin is straight line fast and decently explosive with very good body control

Wolf's off season hype is real. His effort out there is much needed. Absolutely love the way he crashes the offensive glass

Oskar's experience and leadership out there is valuable. He looks calm and confident on offense. The effort is there on defensive and rebounding

Hyatt shot better, but still has poor shot selection at times and some bone head plays that you would hope he would grow out of. If he can score we will have to live with some of it though

Other guards need to find a way to contribute and knock down at least a few outside shots a game. The guard play right now is not sustainable for a successful season

 

[Scangg]

The only thing worse than game day threads is post game threads from "experts", lol.

It's literally the entire point of a message board

 

[colbert17]

We look like a team that hasn’t played together before which isn’t far from the truth

Was hoping that the summer trip would help

 

[colbert17]

16/30 from the line is a major concern

 

[RU677381]

When are the other players going to figure out that just feeding Cliff is useless. He needs to be in position to catch the ball and do something with it besides turn It over. When is Cliff going to be told that teams will let him shoot 20 footers and make 20% of them all game long.

 

[RC80]

Quick observation on FT's; Jamichael 3-8 but technique looks fine - ball just didn't go in; Fernandes 0-2 & Williams 2-4 -- don't see that going forward as a concern (hope not). It's Antwone 0-4 and most of the time not even close - that's a major concern; maybe he should go to the Cliff FT school - because he looked much more comfortable on the line.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

13 turnovers in 1 half, 16-30 from the line, but you're able to win by 20+.....because Woolfolk despite going 0-4 from the line, had another steal and breakaway layup/dunk. He had 8 boards in just 14 minutes. If you stretch his minutes out to 20 to 24, he has double/double potential 4 to 5 times this season.

There are about 20 combined hidden points we didn't get because the press wasn't elite, but effective......that kept BU under control and if we improve the FT shooting and reduce the turnovers, it could have been a 35 point type of win.

I won't get too involved in how the fans complaining about offense, because it really only takes one or two skilled offensive players like Gavin and Simpson/Davis, to maneuver through the defense to score.

When the staff runs offense and presents the offensive player (Gavin) with an opportunity to drive left or right AND that player has a jumper, suddenly your offense looks much better.

The two baseline out of bounds plays to Gavin that he missed, also eliminates a lot of "why can't RU improve their out of bounds plays".....well, you have to have talent like Gavin to not only move quickly, then properly catch the ball and at 6'8", have the size to raise and shoot.....even though he missed both jumpers, the sets and execution was excellent.

Once the staff turns the keys over to Simpson and Davis and allow them to run the offense for 35 to 40 minutes, is when RU and Gavin and Hyatt have to do less work and find spaces to shoot. The flashes of what quicker and more talented guards can do to set up Hyatt and Gavin, makes RU more efficient.

Once that starts happening, then Cliff will have more space to operate and score. Right now, the staff is trying to run the offense through Cliff and it's causing sloppy passes and turnovers. Once the guards run the offense through the 2 shooters on the court (Hyatt and Gavin) is when RU gets going.

The upside for this roster is enormous, once they decide to dedicate 20 to 24 minutes a night to Woolfolk and let the young guards play through their mistakes.

 

[Unionst]

Here’s a takeaway: Gavin is The most talented offensive player at RU since Quincy Douby. He needs to be the focal point of the offense. And next year 2 more guys that good - wow it will be fun.

 

[zappaa]

Thanks for your thoughts Degaz

 

[RUInsanity]

Offensive efficiency is in the toilet. 69 points on 69 possessions, 17 TOs, just 7-25 from deep (28%), and an abominable 16-30 on FTs.

Have to factor in ~7 possessions and several hoists from 3 in garbage time at the end of the game where the team lowered efficiency further and only scored 2 points.

Pike's teams generally start the season slow while he fiddles with the line-up combinations. A lot of new moving parts this year, so not surprising a lot of mistakes. FT misses at that rate are maddening to me however.

 

[Shelby65]

When are the other players going to figure out that just feeding Cliff is useless. He needs to be in position to catch the ball and do something with it besides turn It over. When is Cliff going to be told that teams will let him shoot 20 footers and make 20% of them all game long.

this will stop when coach makes it stop. at least twice coach was very animated gesturing to Cliff to post up. players do what the coaches ask.

another part of it is trying to showcase Cliff, something high-profile players and star recruits expect. following the nba dynamic, high-major basketball is more a ‘me,me’ game for the stars these days..

 

[Shields2]

We just look like a team that hasn’t played meaningful games together much. Lots of passing and sloppy turnovers. I’m confidant we will settle down and pieces will start clicking. Our backcourt looks much quicker, but we just need chemistry to come along. I’m pretty sure we will have games where one or two guys bail us out until things start clicking on a regular basis.

 

[Shelby65]

Here’s a takeaway: Gavin is The most talented offensive player at RU since Quincy Douby. He needs to be the focal point of the offense. And next year 2 more guys that good - wow it will be fun.

What jumped out at me was his burst and range for a guy his height. Reminded me of Lamizana last night, who was also a good defender.

 

[zappaa]

13 turnovers in 1 half, 16-30 from the line, but you're able to win by 20+.....because Woolfolk despite going 0-4 from the line, had another steal and breakaway layup/dunk. He had 8 boards in just 14 minutes. If you stretch his minutes out to 20 to 24, he has double/double potential 4 to 5 times this season.

There are about 20 combined hidden points we didn't get because the press wasn't elite, but effective......that kept BU under control and if we improve the FT shooting and reduce the turnovers, it could have been a 35 point type of win.

I won't get too involved in how the fans complaining about offense, because it really only takes one or two skilled offensive players like Gavin and Simpson/Davis, to maneuver through the defense to score.

When the staff runs offense and presents the offensive player (Gavin) with an opportunity to drive left or right AND that player has a jumper, suddenly your offense looks much better.

The two baseline out of bounds plays to Gavin that he missed, also eliminates a lot of "why can't RU improve their out of bounds plays".....well, you have to have talent like Gavin to not only move quickly, then properly catch the ball and at 6'8", have the size to raise and shoot.....even though he missed both jumpers, the sets and execution was excellent.

Once the staff turns the keys over to Simpson and Davis and allow them to run the offense for 35 to 40 minutes, is when RU and Gavin and Hyatt have to do less work and find spaces to shoot. The flashes of what quicker and more talented guards can do to set up Hyatt and Gavin, makes RU more efficient.

Once that starts happening, then Cliff will have more space to operate and score. Right now, the staff is trying to run the offense through Cliff and it's causing sloppy passes and turnovers. Once the guards run the offense through the 2 shooters on the court (Hyatt and Gavin) is when RU gets going.

The upside for this roster is enormous, once they decide to dedicate 20 to 24 minutes a night to Woolfolk and let the young guards play through their mistakes.

We will hear the color men say “ they need to get the ball inside to Cliff” or after a dunk, “Rutgers needs to get him the ball more down low”
I like it happening the way you describe, not running the offense through him.

 

[RUJMM78]

The game was hard to watch at times but what was really laughable was the score board.In the first half the score boards showed Rutgers with 55 rebounds and other crazy stats,In the second half all the stats were removed except for the score.There were no individual stats as shown in previous seasons.Somebody needs to correct the scoreboard information setup prior to the next game.

As to the game it was really enjoyable watching Griffiths perform.He can score anywhere on the court with his size and shooting touch.Its rather obvious Rutgers has a real problem passing the ball into Cliff.Far too many turnovers because Boston defenders were double teaming Cliff daring Rutgers to shoot from the 3 point line.The small guards were having problems passing the ball to teammates as well as making shots off the dribble.Fouls shooting was abysmal as compared to Princeton game.Pikiell still experimenting with lineups trying to find players that can score and defend.

 

[SirScarlet]

The only thing worse than game day threads is post game threads from "experts", lol.

This is a doosh post

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

We will hear the color men say “ they need to get the ball inside to Cliff” or after a dunk, “Rutgers needs to get him the ball more down low”
I like it happening the way you describe, not running the offense through him.

Cliff is the captain, but is not a #1 or even a #2 go to option on the offensive end. It has nothing to do with his lack of work ethic or determination, it's strictly a basketball skill/evaluation. Cliff is a run to the rim, dunk and potentially effective 1 on 1 offensive player IF, a team decides to not double team him.

Ironically, the opponent that decides to single cover Cliff and not double him, probably has a better chance of stopping RU, because it prevented RU from scoring.....which is why I was so adamant about upgrading the backcourt and abilities of the guards to generate their own offense and create space.

What we saw for extended stretches of last year were teams willing to mix up with sending a double team from the weak side of the defense and making Cliff make a play or pass.....which is hit or miss.

When teams decided to single cover Cliff and stay attached to Hyatt, Spencer last year, it forced Cliff to score one-on-one.....which was also some good, some bad.

Now with these guards like Gavin, able to score mid range AND able to get the the rim and score, he is not just a stationary perimeter shooter like Spencer. Griffiths impacts the defense, because he's a shooting threat AND he can get enough leverage to drive, pull up jumper....if you foul him, he's going to shoot 80+% from the FT line.

Cliff is going to get his points, once we get Simpson and Davis clicking and Hyatt or Gavin able to space the floor and shoot OR, then drive and pull up for 2 pointers. I am not ready in a under 3 or 2 minute situation, to see if a team single covers Cliff, whether he can score on a consistent basis. We have to help Cliff by becoming more dangerous and quick on the perimeter first and that means scoring through Hyatt (I know that's scary for some fans) and Griffiths. Simpson/Davis becoming the 3rd piece of that equation is when RU takes off.

 

[BillyC80]

Quick observation on FT's; Jamichael 3-8 but technique looks fine - ball just didn't go in; Fernandes 0-2 & Williams 2-4 -- don't see that going forward as a concern (hope not). It's Antwone 0-4 and most of the time not even close - that's a major concern; maybe he should go to the Cliff FT school - because he looked much more comfortable on the line.

Glad you made this point, to look at FTs individually and not as a “team stat” as though the whole team sucks at it. Gavin was 4-4, Hyatt 2-2, Oskar 2-2 and Cliff 3-4, so that’s 11-12 (92%) from those four guys. FTs will be better some nights than others, but overall I don’t see it as a huge concern, at least not yet.