Rothstein Tweets about Baker
- Thread starter ScarletLongIsland
- Start date
you watch our games and forget that he is a true frosh..... like he just stepped in and we are not suffering much growing pains with him
The FSU game is the only game he looked like a freshman. I think Bobby needs to revise his list of top 5 players this year. Baker should be 1, not 4.
As a freshman in December, I think Geo is better than Corey was at the same time. Or even Quincy. He is showing poise that is unusual for such a young player.
I hope Geo grows and improves like Quincy and Corey have done. (Also, I think Geo allows Corey to be a much better player.)
Nobody beats Douby and that NIT run.
I really enjoy watching Geo play. Just think he has a really high basketball IQ which is something that has been missing for awhile. He shows no fear or hesitancy in his game and does so many things well from ball handling to passing to free throws. Love his game.
His 3 on Saturday with the clock expiring was huge. Even though time was expiring he never rushed his shot.
Remember when people laughed that baker would be able to replace Nigel's production? He didn't just replace it..he blew it out of the water.
Give me baker's assists and steady production over the freshman Sanders's "I'm gonna score every play but we're gonna play me ball vs team ball" any day of the week.
Functioning team>>>>>lots of points from one guy.
Let's be very careful about expectations here. Love his mid range game, love his shot selection and really like the rebound he got late in the SHU game.
Needs to improve his handle (a lot), his on ball defense (like most freshman), and I am still not convinced he is a good long range shooter. I am very confident these issues will be addressed.
Needs to improve his handle (a lot), his on ball defense (like most freshman), and I am still not convinced he is a good long range shooter. I am very confident these issues will be addressed.
NO ONE, except for maybe 1 outcast :smiley:, had a negative thought about Corey as a freshman.
I guess but we lived by Corey and died by Corey..there was no sustainable success to be had with that plan. Other teams can gameplan for one guy.
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not too shabby if we can only point out one game out of the number of games this year..... that was our first pressure game, he might have had a bit of nerves, I would give him a pass...I think we all would.
NO!!!!!!! Corey had a much better handle as a freshman. He made more mistakes.
I don't think Geo can handle 35 minutes right now as a primary ball handler like Corey did. Geo has been suspect with on ball pressure.
That's the staff's fault, not Corey's. Totally different conversation.
Well it was obvious Corey had a lot of little things to work on. I don't get that sense with baker..at times he's playing like a guy with junior experience. He seems more like a finished product who already knows how to play in a successful college scheme and the focus is more on refinement
Comparing Baker to Sanders' freshman season is hard for a number of reasons, particularly the quality of the coaching (adv. Geo), the roster around him (adv. Geo) the quality of the schedule (Corey's was a bit, but not much, harder).
I'm really impressed with Geo and think he has a great future, but there are definite things to work on. Against FSU, MSU, and Minnesota, he was lacking. Now, FSU was the first real opponent he faced, Minnesota was the first road game, and Michigan State might be the best team in the country. For a freshman, it's completely understandable to struggle a bit, and to his credit he played a fantastic game against Seton Hall.
Right now his shooting numbers are propped up by the 10-14 (w/ 7-10 from 3) against Bryant. Every game counts of course but his three-point shooting outside of that game and SHU has been poor.
It's okay to be really, really excited about a kid without turning a blind eye to the things he needs to improve.
I'm really impressed with Geo and think he has a great future, but there are definite things to work on. Against FSU, MSU, and Minnesota, he was lacking. Now, FSU was the first real opponent he faced, Minnesota was the first road game, and Michigan State might be the best team in the country. For a freshman, it's completely understandable to struggle a bit, and to his credit he played a fantastic game against Seton Hall.
Right now his shooting numbers are propped up by the 10-14 (w/ 7-10 from 3) against Bryant. Every game counts of course but his three-point shooting outside of that game and SHU has been poor.
It's okay to be really, really excited about a kid without turning a blind eye to the things he needs to improve.
I agree, I view this as a positive that it was only his first big game that he looked like a freshman and appears to have learned from it.
He showed that same poise earlier in the year with his aggressive drive and two-hand jam as the shot clock expired. Unfortunately that bucket was waived off (mistakenly, imo).
I love both Corey's and Geo's game. they complement each other well and and are really starting to work well together. FWIW, Corey's shooting percentages were actually his best freshman year. He averaged 16 points per game on 42% shooting from the field and 31.5% from 3-point range. We have yet to get to the Big 10 grind, but so far Geo's numbers are comparable - 43% FG and 33% from 3-point range. Geo's A/TO ration is considerably better, but he's not been asked to do nearly as much as Corey was asked to do his freshman year. And. he has yet to play much of the stiffer competition in the Big 10. Having said all that, I love to watch this RU back court play.
True dat ... and true he has to continue to improve - he is after all, only 13 game into his freshman season.
On the other hand, he had 6 turnovers in one game alone. You could argue that after the Florida State game (where he committed too many fouls, and shot poorly, and was therefore invisible), the NJIT game was Baker's worst game (though he did score 11 points in that game). Take away that game and Baker's season stats are 46 assists and 23 turnovers ... when is the last time RU had a player have a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio for the season? Even with the NJIT game Baker has a 1.7 assist to turnover ration - still one of RU's better ratios in a long time for any player. By the way, Baker also had 5 turnover (with 4 assists) against CCNY, his 1st college game. Take away those TWO games, if you want to play that game, and he has 42 assists and 18 turnovers in the other 11 games ... 2.3 assist ti turnover ration.
My point being, of course, if you take out the 7-10 3-point game, you should also take out the 6 turnover NJIT game, and maybe the CCNY game.
By the way, though "lacking" in the Michigan State game, he still managed 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal - to go with 2 turnovers, 5-13 FG (not terrible - RU's best shooter in that game, by the way, and arguably RU's best player in that game). He did struggle against Minny, true enough (3-11 FG, 1-6 3-pointers), but again, scored 12 points (2nd to Doucore) and had only 1 turnover, with 3 assists. Are those 2 games really showing Baker was "lacking?- the NJIT game (with 4 assists).
By the way, as a perspective on assist to turnovers:
2016-2017: Sanders had 107 assists to 90 turnovers: a 1.2 ratio. Nigel Johnson had 64 assists to 44 turnovers, a 1.45 ratio - no better than okay, by the way, though the best on the team.
2015-2016: Sanders had 107 assists to 83 turnovers, a 1.3 ratio.
2014-2015: As a Senior, Myles Mack had 134 assists to 78 turnovers, a 1.7 ratio - about where Baker is now.
2013-2014: Mack had 142 assists to 87 turnovers, a 1.63 ratio.
Jerome Seagers actually was pretty good with ratio in 2011-2012, with 79 assists and 50 turnovers, a 1.6 ratio.
2010-2011: Mike Coburn, as a Senior, was actually terrific ... 127 assists to 65 turnovers, a 1.95 ratio ... the best in a number of years.
2009-2010: Though James Beatty was actually even better this year than Coburn was the following year, with 115 assists and 54 turnovers, a 2.13 ratio.
RU's website only goes back to the 2008-2009 season, with stats. In the 9 full, plus the partial 2017-2018 season, the best assist to turnover rations are:
1) Beatty (2009-10), 2.13
2) Coburn (2010-11), 1.95
3) Baker (through 13 games in 2017-18), 1.724
4) M. Mack (2014-15), 1.717
Just saying ...
You must be watching a different team than me. Geo is a good ballhandler already and has been getting better each game. He had two games where he turned the ball over more than twice. The first game of his college career and against NJIT, who had a super quick PG and he had a bad game. He gets in the lane a lot, doesn't lose the ball much and pushes it all the time. Him (and corey) also get a lot of bad passes thrown to them which they have to handle either in the half court or on the outlet. With a team with only one other dependable ballhandler he's done a great job.
When Corey was a freshman we were always down by 20 points and the opposing defenses were hanging back. People have been in this kids face all year.
