RAPID REACTION - Merrimack
- Thread starter Degaz-RU
- Start date
I am fine with Ogbole getting minutes vs mid majors, so he improves.....if he improves his footwork, FT shooting and doesn't travel, he's now a surefire B1G center....
The question is whether fans are willing to absorb 2 to 3 empty possessions now or for the next 2 to 3 months OR hope that Sommerville picks up the pace on defense and with being familiar with Power 5 level basketball. It is just more likely Sommerville improves at a faster rate, so investing time with Ogbole now, is fine. Just prepare to absorb the hits along the way.
The question is whether fans are willing to absorb 2 to 3 empty possessions now or for the next 2 to 3 months OR hope that Sommerville picks up the pace on defense and with being familiar with Power 5 level basketball. It is just more likely Sommerville improves at a faster rate, so investing time with Ogbole now, is fine. Just prepare to absorb the hits along the way.
They were shooting 3 pointers that were 3-5 ft behind the arc. I'm not sure how we can say "force a team to shoot bad % shots" and then say "well if they hit more of them we would have lost". We aren't going to turn the offense over on every possession, and the next best thing is to get them to shoot bad % looks. There were other things materially wrong with our performance, but I don't think we can go with this "what if they shot better" narrative.
Sommerville needs to learn how to pass out of the post. Once the ball goes down there it was a black hole.
That’s not going to happen in B1G. I thought these games were for preparation. I would love to see him kick it out for a wide open three or a cutting Ace or Dylan. Williams and Derkack can cut too.
Stop already. His shooting is better and his fee throws are better. His defense is normally very good but last night it was not , kinda like the whole team. Stop comparing him to last year’s version.
Why are we feeding him the ball? That can't happen when we get to league play. Just wasting possessions. He clearly needs to continue to practice...in practice. I like EO by the way. Seems like a hard working player.
The only potential offensive value are dunks coming from dump offs on drives or alley oops. That's what he should be working on.
With this group of players, having an ineffective center post up on the ball side block is CRAZY. This isn't 7th grade basketball. Pike just needs to watch Alabama.
Practice will never be able to completely simulate game action. I thought his footwork around the basket was better than I've seen from him in the past. You can tell he's working on it in practice but actual game speed caused him to travel and nullified what would have been nice layups. These are the type of games we can afford to give him minutes and polish his skills.
I disagree about the game being in doubt. I am a nervous wreck in general when watching Rutgers sports after the last 30 years or so. I was not worried in the least, at any point last night, that we would lose. I’d imagine Dylan could have closed things out by himself if he needed to.
I agree with this post - strongly agree. I tried to point this out in my post, but Hawk is clearer in his explanation.
The offensive problem RU faced vs Merrimack is that RU MISSED more shots at the rim and in the short to medium mid-range than they had in the prior 3 games, when they got INSIDE the spaces in the zone created by Merrimack extending to cover the 3.
Had RU hit even 50% of their 2-point shots they would have had 4 more baskets, or 8 more points ... and the score would have been 82-63 - or even worse, because it might have snowballed. Overall (not just at the rim), in its prior 3 games, RU had shot 65-104 from 2-point range, 62.5%. Versus Merrimack, RU shot 18-43, 42%, from 2 point range.
Upon looking at those numbers, I think the offensive GAME PLAN was fine, the SHOTS taken were generally fine. Many shots just did not fall. If RU had shot 50% from 2, that was 3-4 more FG. If RU had shot 60% from 2, closer to what they had done the prior 3 games, that would have meant 7-8 additional made FG.
I think it is POSSIBLE, RU just had an off shooting night from 2, NOT that RU's offensive sets versus the zone were poor.
And, the OTHER side of the "what if" coin is that if RU had shot better it would have been a total blow-out rather than just an easy win.
Had RU hit even 50% of their 2-point shots they would have had 4 more baskets, or 8 more points ... and the score would have been 82-63 - or even worse, because it might have snowballed. Overall (not just at the rim), in its prior 3 games, RU had shot 65-104 from 2-point range, 62.5%. Versus Merrimack, RU shot 18-43, 42%, from 2 point range.
Upon looking at those numbers, I think the offensive GAME PLAN was fine, the SHOTS taken were generally fine. Many shots just did not fall. If RU had shot 50% from 2, that was 3-4 more FG. If RU had shot 60% from 2, closer to what they had done the prior 3 games, that would have meant 7-8 additional made FG (so, 88-63).
Both can be true! We didn’t have a consistent presence in the dunker spot against the zone with a shooter on his side and a flash to the foul line. It becomes a dunk, wide open 3, or a foul line jumper. That could be Pike or player execution.
Pike did insert Derdack, JMike, and Jwill as his back court. That’s an ABSOLUTE failure as a coach. 3 really bad shooters against a 2/3 zone. Awful by Pike!
Now agreed, we missed a few shots in close that we normally would make and this game is an easy 18-22pt win.
This!!! You defeat that zone from the middle, including middle man kick outs to wings/corner 3’s, 15’ shots, drives, and drives/dish. It was very frustrating to me when our perimeter guys passed on open passes to the middle!!!
PS - the game was also very very disjointed due to the constant Merrimack fouling
While I think the offense was ok, I hate this thinking. IF. IF we shot better. What IF they shot the 24% they were averaging from 3 coming in? That's an extra 6 points their way.
I think we are playing too slow. In order to put up big offensive numbers, we almost have to shoot well each night.
Because Lathan never, and that's not an exaggeration, passes back out. So the perimeter guys didn't want him taking away their shooting opportunities. And Ogbole wouldn't catch the entry pass in the first place.
Compared to Lathan, Mutombo was a prolific distributor. You've got Wilt the Stilt, Clyde the Glyde, Never Nervous Pervis and now Lay the Drain.
Actual data
Jamichael firmly playing his way into more minutes.
Interestingly, Sommervile has the worst analytics on the team. And not surprisingly Williams is second worst.
Jamichael firmly playing his way to a permanent seat in the bench.
Hell multiple times Ace (his best friend) would not even pass him the ball even though he was wide open for a jumper.
Can’t help this team but great energy and attitude
I like JD, but last night was one of his worst. Not surprised by LS, but don't know that it's true
I'm not sure Lathan can be an efficient post scorer as a freshman in the B1G. He tends to just put the ball on the ground with purposeless dribbles and bangs into the defender. He needs to use his dribble effectively and use contact with intent to set up moves. Go around with athleticism or set up a drop step. It's working against these lower level scrub teams, but those moves will not be effective in the B1G and need work
I am talking about post touches here
Ace was shockingly uninvolved in the 1st half. Same with Dylan. Handful of shots and a few of them were offensive rebound put backs
The offense needs to flow through Dylan and Ace
Dylan and Ace pick n roll or pick n pop should be in the mix
The offense needs to flow through Dylan and Ace
Dylan and Ace pick n roll or pick n pop should be in the mix
Something you can afford to do when you can send Ace in to effortless drill some long 2s and step back 3s to make sure it doesnt get too close. My god he’s ridiculous.
They need Williams to settle down and settle in with this group. His role has obviously changed this year. If he does that, tough to see Davis getting minutes.
JWill has shown last year to be a better finisher and better foul shooter. They both work hard on defense and struggle from 3.
JWill has shown last year to be a better finisher and better foul shooter. They both work hard on defense and struggle from 3.
A better finisher largely because he’s bigger and has better judgment. Slips a lot though, oddly.
The thing with Williams is he was a take for very good Iowa State and Illinois teams before the gambling situation where you’d imagine he’d play a similar defense-first, auxiliary scoring role
It is somewhat shocking to see how JWill’s role has changed this year. He had the highest scoring average per game last year on the team
It is rather shocking how far Jeremiah Williams has fallen offensively this year. Last year Jeremiah led the team in points per game and overall was arguably the second best player behind Cliff. This year Jeremiah is arguably the 7th best player as he is mostly just a defensive specialist. Not surprisingly Ace and Dylan are averaging more points per game than him. However, so are Somerville, Martini, Derkack and Hayes. Is Jeremiah suddenly a much worse player? Is his shoulder injury keeping him from playing at the level he did last year? Are Ace, Dylan, Somerville, Martini, Derkack and Hayes really good players that are significantly better than the players we lost? I would say the players we brought in this year are significantly better than the players we lost. If I had a choice between Cliff and Ace, I would take Ace without question. Besides Cliff, is there any player from last year’s team that I would want back instead of Dylan, Sommerville, Martini, Detkack and Hayes? I would have to say absolutely not. This team with the additions and subtractions is significantly better than last year’s team and it’s not just Ace and Dylan!
On the Rutgers Rant pod, Fonseca basically said JWill is playing with 1-1/2 arms because that left shoulder is really hurting.
I had not listened to that - if so, that does explain some of his performance. On the other hand, the team should be deep enough to sit Williams down, to not play him, until the shoulder is closer to 100%. Unless it will never be 100% this year without surgery (that is possible). Except Acuff, the natural player to gain some minutes, may not be 100% yet either - and plays little defense.
Is that true though? He was even playing without the brace the other night. His shooting numbers are right in line with his historical #'s. He looks like the same player to me. Of course, I thought everyone over rated him last year. Tallest short person and all...
If you are hurt, you don't help, don't play
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Hate to hear that the injury is that bad. He brought a lot to the team last year and kept giving his all when the rest of the team seemed like they were mailing it in.
I saw him go to the bench holding his shoulder while grimacing in the game.. he came back in a little later though. But again, last year he was being asked to play a different role. He will have to adjust, he's not going to get nearly as many shots this year. You will see many nights with martini, and hayes scoring more. I believe jwill and derkack will play similar roles and take a similar amount of shots. Let him get healthy and comfortable in his new role..
