BB Recruiting Rutgers Basketball lands 2025 sharpshooting Bosnian wing Harun Zrno

[lion1983]

In re Davis: A couple of posters have indeed posited Davis as a potential leading scorer for RU - I do not agree with that. He is a PG, period, not a combo or 2G. He is not going to lead RU in scoring, not IMO.

Well ... here are some stats, even though I am not supposed to look at stats - about J. Davis (who NJHawk just stated is NOT a "pure" PG ... a joke, BTW, since Davis IS actually a "pure" PG, not a combo guard or 2G - the OPPOSITE of Francis is has ONLY been a 2G, even at his tiny size. Here are Davis stats:

1) FT%, about which NHawk said regarding Davis making a "small amount of improvement on FT shooting": Davis shot 52% from FT as a FR and 65% FT as a SO - that is what passes as "small" improvement? Oh, by the way, in RU's last 19 games (the last 18 games if the regular season plus the 1st round of the Big 10 tourney), Davis shot 71.4% FT ... 71%!!

2) In taking MORE 3-pointers in FEWER mpg as a SO than as a FR, Davis shot 33% from 3-point range, UP from 22% ... 33%. Not awesome, but certainly respectable. Oh ... and again, the last 19 games, all Big 10 games, Davis shot 38.5% from 3-point range ... that is right, 38.5%. For perspective, in that same 19 game stretch, Acuff shot 39% from 3, Bailey shot 36%, Harper shot 30% (though only in 16 games), Martini shot 34% and Grant shot 26% (in 18 games). Now, it is also true Davis took the fewest 3-point shots of any of those players ... but ... 38.5%!!!

3) Davis shot over 40$% overall FG% and almost 46% eFG% in that 19 game stretch of Big 10 games ... better than his seasonal average and better than as a FR ... and better than Francis during Francis' SO season at NJIT. Sure, Francis took 19 FG attempts per game versus Davis 5 FG attempts per game, so a smaller (and maybe SMARTER?) sample size ... but partly because they played different roles: Davis was basically a pure PG who took the 3-pointer only when totally open or at the end of a shot clock.

4) On the season, Davis had a 3.4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio - a HUGE improvement over the prior season, fueled MAINLY by a vastly reduced turnover rate ... and better scorers around him (Harper and Bailey) surely did help as well. But ... Davis had just 10 (TEN!!!) turnovers in those last 19 games, along with 32 assists (3.2 to 1 assist to TO ratio). BTW, on a per 40 minute ratio, Davis had 20% more assists as a SO last year than as a FR the year before, and HALF (50% fewer) the turnovers

You cannot say, using your eyes, or the stats, that Davis did not show solid improvement in his SO season vs his FR season, despite getting fewer minutes - and in some areas outstanding improvement. That said, my EYES saw Davis was not as good defensively as he had been a s a FR - was that because the defense around him was much worse, or because he did not have Omoruyi behind him to clean up, or because he was less focused on defense ... LIKE THE ENTIRE TEAM WAS, that rippled into his attitude and emphasis? Not playing defense has a ripple effect throughout a team, IMO.

 

[BillyC80]

So you want him to stop shooting from three as soon as he misses one? That makes zero sense, and is certainly not a good way to develop a kid's confidence.

Good point about his confidence. My usual attitude is that any player, other than most centers, should take an open three whenever the opportunity presents itself.

If Grant improves his 3-point shooting enough, to say, 33% or more, then he should be given a green light. The question becomes, should he continue to take them even if it remains a low percentage shot for him?

Last year he started out 0-5 from three, then went on a nice run where he went 7-14, which seems to be an argument in favor of letting him build up his confidence.

But after that he finished the season just 2-21 from long range, which also took him out of rebounding position for shots by his teammates.

He ended the regular season shooting 9-40 or 22.5%. All that confidence-building he got in the middle of the season hurt us in the final stretch.

So my point is, are we better off having him set screens for a much higher percentage shooter like Zrno, then roll to the hoop in search of a potential OReb, or should we let him shoot a three whenever he feels like it?

In-game opportunities will likely dictate that he’ll get 2 or 3 shots from the arc per game anyway, but from what I’ve seen from him so far, he shouldn’t be given an automatic green light throughout the game until proven otherwise.

 

[goru7]

Anyone can score with playing time. How did Dylan and Ace and Lathan scoring work out for us? I think your typical freshman can score. It's what else they do when out there. If a guy plays 20 minutes, goes 3-7 from the floor, with 1 rebound, no assists, and poor defense, was it good for the team? It's not an impact. That's really what I don't expect out of freshman, more because it's not fair to them to expect it. Yes, many will make an impact, but after top rated recruits, you don't know which ones will and which won't.

I agree, we really still need a last portal addition to be our best player.

Your first sentence is simply not true. Anyone can score with playing time ? Our roster will struggle to score and no one on the roster presently can one say that we need a bucket badly and go get it. Last year we had at least 2.
Do not know if you are blaming the freshman but my tremendous disappointment was how bad our 3 returnees and the 4 transfers were on defense. Nothing short of terrible. You seem to place Lathan in that category but I can name 6 guys that sucked on defense last year. Lathan gave other things especially offensively and much more the last 10 games. We did not win the close games because of defense hardly ever offense. Plenty of blame to go around , starting with Pike not retaining Cliff and then not replacing him and not retaining Mag and to let that situation fester , so losing 2 tremendously impactful defensive players that would have made a huge difference.

 

[seansherm]

You simply have to watch the tape and not stat lines. There's literally no one on the ranking planet OR that watches actual tape that would project JMike to be a leading scorer. He is a good guard who "could" take a step forward and become a higher volume shooter, but when fans saw JMike aggressively attack the basket for the better part of the earlier season, fans were pulling their hair out and we saw "Derek Simpson was better" threads for the 1st 2 months of the season.....OR, am I making that up?? LMAO

I am rooting for JMike, but he had a small amount of improvement on FT shooting and only took 42 3 pointers last year.

How many 3s, does he have to take, to outscore Francis (who has proven to hit the same percentage with a pattern of making more shots)???

And the comments on Kaden Powers are wild, because he's the most fundamentally sound guard RU has recruited (excludes Dylan Harper of course) in a very long time. Mark and Powers are probably a tandem off the bench early in the season, the style of play, compliments the others very well.

And there's literally NO evidence that any of the incoming guards are going to be any better on defense than Powers.....Not Zrno, Mark or Francis.....we have fans obsessed with telling people Francis is terrible on defense, but then refuse to acknowledge that IF that's the case, you're going to want a 6'5 Guard playing instead of Francis IF both are "terrible " on defense.....

Instead of telling me my prediction is wrong (which is possible but not likely), if JMike doesn't triple his shot attempts from 3, how is he going to be 3rd in scoring??

It's math folks and once fans do the math on minutes played, shots per minute averaged and other factors like "watching tape", my prediction is probably more likely than what anyone else "Says", with providing no evidence or supporting information......

We have a small history of seeing Davis make proper adjustments to his game. He stopped taking as many bad two point shots and increased his rate of 3's by 50% over 40 minutes. What's to say he doesn't do that again, only now with 30% more minutes going back to 24 minute a night role. Davis managed to shoot as much per 40 w Dylan and Ace and Lathan and Acuff as he did the prior year, that tells me we can expect him to put up shots w opportunity.

It would be ideal if Powers is ready right away, he's got the size, if he's in fact 6'5 and that doesn't include added height from his hair. Weren't we Powers only major conference offer, sorry maybe Washington also. I haven't brought up his defense, just that others think he will need some seasoning. Francis is fine to have as a third point guard.

 

[seansherm]

Your first sentence is simply not true. Anyone can score with playing time ? Our roster will struggle to score and no one on the roster presently can one say that we need a bucket badly and go get it. Last year we had at least 2.
Do not know if you are blaming the freshman but my tremendous disappointment was how bad our 3 returnees and the 4 transfers were on defense. Nothing short of terrible. You seem to place Lathan in that category but I can name 6 guys that sucked on defense last year. Lathan gave other things especially offensively and much more the last 10 games. We did not win the close games because of defense hardly ever offense. Plenty of blame to go around , starting with Pike not retaining Cliff and then not replacing him and not retaining Mag and to let that situation fester , so losing 2 tremendously impactful defensive players that would have made a huge difference.

Oh, the main failure last year was Pike's work in the portal after losing those two defensive keys. Acuff was the only addition I liked then, and now, although Martini fine as a back up, but the expectation of him as a starter was assinine. I really didn't expect much from the returnees as JMike was getting a reduced role because of Dylan, JWill was going to be rendered useless because Dylan was taking his role, EO is EO who I was hoping could give 5 and 5 best case.

All the freshman were weak defensively. Ace showed improvement throughout the year. I thought Lathan tried a little harder, but he was really lost in Pike's D.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Again, you are stating facts about NJIT, that doesn't solely apply to Francis, or his stats, shooting percentage or performance....you are applying the team results to try and minimize Francis, which doesn't translate....

I could easily say that Francis could....

A] Have a better shooting percentage, playing with better players....

B) Have better shot selection, because he will be required to take better shots vs NJIT....

C) That him playing fewer minutes, keeps him fresher and his numbers will all improve slightly...

D) I have already explained that Davis and Francis are MORE likely to be 18-22 minutes a game, because neither is a pure PG.....Mark is more of a distributor than both and I project to improve the fastest from November to February...keep in mind, it already clearly explained this last spring with Dylan Grant and Martini....and Martini came in with better efficiency stats than Francis.....but Francis plays a different position and generates his own shot better than JMike.....and that has nothing to do with NJIT, it comes down to just watching tape.

And I could easily say that if you put Davis or Simpson or Jalen Miller or Jaden Jones or pretty much any other guard whose ever played for us on NJIT’s roster last season in place in Francis and green lighted them to chuck up 20 shots a game, they too would put up big scoring totals. Your trying to argue that those points mean Francis is a natural scorer, but then when it’s pointed out that J Mike scored 22 ppg in HS for some reason the lesser competion level doesn’t matter there. That seems like a double standard to me.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

In re Davis: A couple of posters have indeed posited Davis as a potential leading scorer for RU - I do not agree with that. He is a PG, period, not a combo or 2G. He is not going to lead RU in scoring, not IMO.

Well ... here are some stats, even though I am not supposed to look at stats - about J. Davis (who NJHawk just stated is NOT a "pure" PG ... a joke, BTW, since Davis IS actually a "pure" PG, not a combo guard or 2G - the OPPOSITE of Francis is has ONLY been a 2G, even at his tiny size. Here are Davis stats:

1) FT%, about which NHawk said regarding Davis making a "small amount of improvement on FT shooting": Davis shot 52% from FT as a FR and 65% FT as a SO - that is what passes as "small" improvement? Oh, by the way, in RU's last 19 games (the last 18 games if the regular season plus the 1st round of the Big 10 tourney), Davis shot 71.4% FT ... 71%!!

2) In taking MORE 3-pointers in FEWER mpg as a SO than as a FR, Davis shot 33% from 3-point range, UP from 22% ... 33%. Not awesome, but certainly respectable. Oh ... and again, the last 19 games, all Big 10 games, Davis shot 38.5% from 3-point range ... that is right, 38.5%. For perspective, in that same 19 game stretch, Acuff shot 39% from 3, Bailey shot 36%, Harper shot 30% (though only in 16 games), Martini shot 34% and Grant shot 26% (in 18 games). Now, it is also true Davis took the fewest 3-point shots of any of those players ... but ... 38.5%!!!

3) Davis shot over 40$% overall FG% and almost 46% eFG% in that 19 game stretch of Big 10 games ... better than his seasonal average and better than as a FR ... and better than Francis during Francis' SO season at NJIT. Sure, Francis took 19 FG attempts per game versus Davis 5 FG attempts per game, so a smaller (and maybe SMARTER?) sample size ... but partly because they played different roles: Davis was basically a pure PG who took the 3-pointer only when totally open or at the end of a shot clock.

4) On the season, Davis had a 3.4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio - a HUGE improvement over the prior season, fueled MAINLY by a vastly reduced turnover rate ... and better scorers around him (Harper and Bailey) surely did help as well. But ... Davis had just 10 (TEN!!!) turnovers in those last 19 games, along with 32 assists (3.2 to 1 assist to TO ratio). BTW, on a per 40 minute ratio, Davis had 20% more assists as a SO last year than as a FR the year before, and HALF (50% fewer) the turnovers

You cannot say, using your eyes, or the stats, that Davis did not show solid improvement in his SO season vs his FR season, despite getting fewer minutes - and in some areas outstanding improvement. That said, my EYES saw Davis was not as good defensively as he had been a s a FR - was that because the defense around him was much worse, or because he did not have Omoruyi behind him to clean up, or because he was less focused on defense ... LIKE THE ENTIRE TEAM WAS, that rippled into his attitude and emphasis? Not playing defense has a ripple effect throughout a team, IMO.

38.5% from 3 is fine but how many attempts are we talking about?? He shot 42 3s for the season, which is why the thought process is he can triple his shot attempts, without impacting his percentages, is laughable.

It is MORE likely that a player who is used to taking a lot of threes, is probably closer to that as a shooter in Francis, vs a small sample size of 42 3s in 32 games.

There are 25 games where Davis took 5 or fewer shots. If you want to try and blame that on Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper or others for "taking up all the shots", it is also not true.

A BEST CASE scenario for JMike is to start most of the season, double his 3 point attempts from 40 to around 80 and that he hits 35% of them and makes 29 for the season. Even in that scenario he goes from making around 1 3 pointer every other game to around 1 3 pointer every game.

Even if you want to pull his FT% from 65% to 75%, which would be tremendous and needed, unless he's playing 28 to 30MPG, there are only so many shot attempts available in 18 to 22 MPG, which is where he and Francis should land.

BEST CASE is he goes 30 for 85 from 3, which is fine. But that adds 48 points to his total. which could 200 to 210 total points over 33 games...6.3 PPG.

It is just MORE likely that Francis goes from taking 200 or so 3s at NJIT to 120 attempts at RU and makes 40, before expecting JMike, with no pattern of taking around 100 3s and making 38%....

 

[RUChow]

38.5% from 3 is fine but how many attempts are we talking about?? He shot 42 3s for the season, which is why the thought process is he can triple his shot attempts, without impacting his percentages, is laughable.

It is MORE likely that a player who is used to taking a lot of threes, is probably closer to that as a shooter in Francis, vs a small sample size of 42 3s in 32 games.

There are 25 games where Davis took 5 or fewer shots. If you want to try and blame that on Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper or others for "taking up all the shots", it is also not true.

A BEST CASE scenario for JMike is to start most of the season, double his 3 point attempts from 40 to around 80 and that he hits 35% of them and makes 29 for the season. Even in that scenario he goes from making around 1 3 pointer every other game to around 1 3 pointer every game.

Even if you want to pull his FT% from 65% to 75%, which would be tremendous and needed, unless he's playing 28 to 30MPG, there are only so many shot attempts available in 18 to 22 MPG, which is where he and Francis should land.

BEST CASE is he goes 30 for 85 from 3, which is fine. But that adds 48 points to his total. which could 200 to 210 total points over 33 games...6.3 PPG.

It is just MORE likely that Francis goes from taking 200 or so 3s at NJIT to 120 attempts at RU and makes 40, before expecting JMike, with no pattern of taking around 100 3s and making 38%....

I don't think the argument that JMike's 3 point percentage will go down significantly with more attempts holds water. Taking fewer shots puts more pressure on each shot. Taking more shots implies he'll be more comfortable and confident shooting the three which should lead to a higher percentage.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

38.5% from 3 is fine but how many attempts are we talking about?? He shot 42 3s for the season, which is why the thought process is he can triple his shot attempts, without impacting his percentages, is laughable.

It is MORE likely that a player who is used to taking a lot of threes, is probably closer to that as a shooter in Francis, vs a small sample size of 42 3s in 32 games.

There are 25 games where Davis took 5 or fewer shots. If you want to try and blame that on Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper or others for "taking up all the shots", it is also not true.

A BEST CASE scenario for JMike is to start most of the season, double his 3 point attempts from 40 to around 80 and that he hits 35% of them and makes 29 for the season. Even in that scenario he goes from making around 1 3 pointer every other game to around 1 3 pointer every game.

Even if you want to pull his FT% from 65% to 75%, which would be tremendous and needed, unless he's playing 28 to 30MPG, there are only so many shot attempts available in 18 to 22 MPG, which is where he and Francis should land.

BEST CASE is he goes 30 for 85 from 3, which is fine. But that adds 48 points to his total. which could 200 to 210 total points over 33 games...6.3 PPG.

It is just MORE likely that Francis goes from taking 200 or so 3s at NJIT to 120 attempts at RU and makes 40, before expecting JMike, with no pattern of taking around 100 3s and making 38%....

Why don’t you pull J Mike’s HS stats where there is plenty of volume? They are probably a closer comparative to NJIT’s talent level and suggest the opposite of what your saying. The attempts are relative to the circumstances - not the type of player each is.

 

[seansherm]

Why don’t you pull J Mike’s HS stats where there is plenty of volume? They are probably a closer comparative to NJIT’s talent level and suggest the opposite of what your saying. The attempts are relative to the circumstances - not the type of player each is.

Also compare JMike's HS stats to those of Mark, who he is sure will be successful right off the bat too. Always underestimates the leap in comp and the effect on guys.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Also compare JMike's HS stats to those of Mark, who he is sure will be successful right off the bat too. Always underestimates the leap in comp and the effect on guys.

Yeah - hopefully this isn’t coming across as you, Lion and I trying to promote J-Mike as some kind of star. That isn’t my intended point. All I’m trying to say is that it really doesn’t make any sense to write him off relative to the other guys. He played for good HSs and did well. Put up plenty of points. If your going to compare Davis to Mark or Francis that’s much more of an apples to apples proxy. Neither Francis nor Mark played against anything close to BIG competition.

in my opinion, the A-10 to the BIGis a much closer comparison than the American East to the A-10. The power conferences have the best talent overall, but the A-10 and MWC typically have less depth but at least a handful of guys who could play at the next level. As you go down to lower and lower mid-majors the drop off becomes very steep. Outside of lock down 3 point shooting it’s really hard to take anything away from low major film highlights other than very poor defense (which was accurate projected in the scouting report for PJ, for example).

 

[seansherm]

Yeah - hopefully this isn’t coming across as you, Lion and I trying to promote J-Mike as some kind of star. That isn’t my intended point. All I’m trying to say is that it really doesn’t make any sense to write him off relative to the other guys. He played for good HSs and did well. Put up plenty of points. If your going to compare Davis to Mark or Francis that’s much more of an apples to apples proxy. Neither Francis nor Mark played against anything close to BIG competition.

in my opinion, the A-10 to the BIGis a much closer comparison than the American East to the A-10. The power conferences have the best talent overall, but the A-10 and MWC typically have less depth but at least a handful of guys who could play at the next level. As you go down to lower and lower mid-majors the drop off becomes very steep. Outside of lock down 3 point shooting it’s really hard to take anything away from low major film highlights other than very poor defense (which was accurate projected in the scouting report for PJ, for example).

No doubt, not trying to say Davis will be the teams leading scorer, go to guy, or anything of that nature. Only that it's just as likely, if not more, he outscores Mark and Francis. I think Mark and Francis take minutes from each other which won't help either of them speed up the adjustment process.

 

[lion1983]

Yeah - hopefully this isn’t coming across as you, Lion and I trying to promote J-Mike as some kind of star. That isn’t my intended point. All I’m trying to say is that it really doesn’t make any sense to write him off relative to the other guys. He played for good HSs and did well. Put up plenty of points. If your going to compare Davis to Mark or Francis that’s much more of an apples to apples proxy. Neither Francis nor Mark played against anything close to BIG competition.

in my opinion, the A-10 to the BIGis a much closer comparison than the American East to the A-10. The power conferences have the best talent overall, but the A-10 and MWC typically have less depth but at least a handful of guys who could play at the next level. As you go down to lower and lower mid-majors the drop off becomes very steep. Outside of lock down 3 point shooting it’s really hard to take anything away from low major film highlights other than very poor defense (which was accurate projected in the scouting report for PJ, for example).

This.

I am not saying Davis is (or should expected to) lead RU in scoring. In fact, I would say maybe 7-8 ppg might be expected ... BECZUSE HE IS A PURE PG!.

I also believe he is actually better than Francis, except for his FT shooting. But surely better in many regards: Defense, rebounding, taking care of the ball. POSSIBKY better in some areas: Better able to get off and therefore create, his own shot (he is both taller and more athletic) at the Big 10 level, maybe even a chance to BE a better overall FG% - his sample size is much, much smaller than Francis - because Francis has been a huge volume shooter - but not a particularly good FG% shooter.

Mark? I have no idea. I certainly hope he is better than Francis - because I think Francis will be relatively useless. And because IMO RU will need decent productive contributions (not necessarily volume scoring, but efficiency) from at least 2 of Davis Mark and Francis.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

This.

I am not saying Davis is (or should expected to) lead RU in scoring. In fact, I would say maybe 7-8 ppg might be expected ... BECZUSE HE IS A PURE PG!.

I also believe he is actually better than Francis, except for his FT shooting. But surely better in many regards: Defense, rebounding, taking care of the ball. POSSIBKY better in some areas: Better able to get off and therefore create, his own shot (he is both taller and more athletic) at the Big 10 level, maybe even a chance to BE a better overall FG% - his sample size is much, much smaller than Francis - because Francis has been a huge volume shooter - but not a particularly good FG% shooter.

Mark? I have no idea. I certainly hope he is better than Francis - because I think Francis will be relatively useless. And because IMO RU will need decent productive contributions (not necessarily volume scoring, but efficiency) from at least 2 of Davis Mark and Francis.

So - I think when he and others have argued about the pure PG comment, they are focused on evaluating his distribution skills and arguing that he’s not necessarily this elite passer who excels at creating for others. He’s not an awful passer, but he’s nothing special no doubt. Perhaps a better way of putting it is that in contrast to Francis, Davis possesses PG caliber ball handling skills. Francis was not comfortable being the primary handler in the American East. It’s not like we have a collection forwards or shooting guards who are veteran ball handlers either (Grant and Dortch have zero ball handling skills). I go back to that team where our frosh were good - 2018-19. That team struggled because Caleb and Geo were both green at handling the ball. The same thing was apparent in that Temple game in 2022-23 when Derek had to handle the pressure without Paul or Caleb. There’s a learning curve. I doubt Mark will be a natural from day one. And Francis does not come across as a confident ball handler when pressured.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The lion and PSAL stuff is odd....I don't make the rankings, other people do.....and sometimes they are VERY wrong and other times very spot on.

The argument they keep ice-Skating around is making a declaration.....the only odd declaration is that Francis is terrible BUT his numbers are just better across the board as a scorer vs JMike......That doesn't mean he's BETTER than JMike, all I am saying in terms of PPG or scoring, it is MORE likely Francis outscores Davis by a lot this year.....he has been accustomed to high volume shooting on a bad team.....you keep mentioning this as if I am disagreeing that NJIT is bad.....BUT making that as the entire argument is backwards.

I am using likelihood or MOST likely to happen.....and it is easier to be a consistent scorer, if you have a pattern of scoring at ANY level......like Acuff at Eastern Michigan was always going to be a better scorers than Martini, because he has a lengthy pattern of shooting and scoring.

I don't see how this is that difficult to comprehend.....Davis has MORE to prove as a scorer than anyone in the backcourt for this roster. And I just watch tape and consider the competition that Lino Mark played against. Someone considered him a Top 150 range player in most instances.....

So, it is not a leap of faith to say Mark and Nwuli will play well.....its not based solely on ranking, it's watching tape.

I can teach you how to watch tape of what to look for and what to ignore.....BUT there are clear patterns that matter and translate and others that don't. I'm 100% certain on my evaluation of the backcourt and where this team lands as of early May.....can that change as more evidence presents itself??? Sure, but i stated from Day 1, Game 1, that sitting on Dylan Grant was a huge mistake and riding Martini was not a good idea.

Why?? Because the evidence and numbers support it, not some phantom opinion or media article......Francis, Mark and Powers come into the program with more fundamentals that translates to this level, than fans are giving them credit for......same with Nwuli......

I think this roster projects to be very good in 2026-27, if most of the players stick around and we do a serviceable job in 2026 HS recruiting......crying about Francis, is silly, he's one of 13 players competing for minutes and is a complimentary piece, not a focus of the offense.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

The lion and PSAL stuff is odd....I don't make the rankings, other people do.....and sometimes they are VERY wrong and other times very spot on.

The argument they keep ice-Skating around is making a declaration.....the only odd declaration is that Francis is terrible BUT his numbers are just better across the board as a scorer vs JMike......That doesn't mean he's BETTER than JMike, all I am saying in terms of PPG or scoring, it is MORE likely Francis outscores Davis by a lot this year.....he has been accustomed to high volume shooting on a bad team.....you keep mentioning this as if I am disagreeing that NJIT is bad.....BUT making that as the entire argument is backwards.

I am using likelihood or MOST likely to happen.....and it is easier to be a consistent scorer, if you have a pattern of scoring at ANY level......like Acuff at Eastern Michigan was always going to be a better scorers than Martini, because he has a lengthy pattern of shooting and scoring.

I don't see how this is that difficult to comprehend.....Davis has MORE to prove as a scorer than anyone in the backcourt for this roster. And I just watch tape and consider the competition that Lino Mark played against. Someone considered him a Top 150 range player in most instances.....

So, it is not a leap of faith to say Mark and Nwuli will play well.....its not based solely on ranking, it's watching tape.

I can teach you how to watch tape of what to look for and what to ignore.....BUT there are clear patterns that matter and translate and others that don't. I'm 100% certain on my evaluation of the backcourt and where this team lands as of early May.....can that change as more evidence presents itself??? Sure, but i stated from Day 1, Game 1, that sitting on Dylan Grant was a huge mistake and riding Martini was not a good idea.

Why?? Because the evidence and numbers support it, not some phantom opinion or media article......Francis, Mark and Powers come into the program with more fundamentals that translates to this level, than fans are giving them credit for......same with Nwuli......

I think this roster projects to be very good in 2026-27, if most of the players stick around and we do a serviceable job in 2026 HS recruiting......crying about Francis, is silly, he's one of 13 players competing for minutes and is a complimentary piece, not a focus of the offense.

You are now making even less sense. There is no relative evidence to support any of your conclusions. Francis is playing with really terrible players who he is better than (let’s hope) against really bad opponents. The latter explains his ability to put up so many points and the former explains his high usage. When Davis was in HS, he was likely one of the best players on his team (like Francis at NJIT). That’s why he averaged 22 ppg there along with the competition being less than in the BIG.

And as Lion already pointed out, the tape on Davis from HS was better than the tape on Mark. There is no data for Mark yet on college period to compare anything to.

Your analogy Martini vs Acuff also makes no sense at all. They play different positions and were recruited to do completely different things. J Mike is 6-2 and Francis is 6 foot (on paper). There is only one position for either of them in the BIG. PG. And the latter player isn’t a good ball handler. It’s really that simple.

 

[lion1983]

You are now making even less sense. There is no relative evidence to support any of your conclusions. Francis is playing with really terrible players who he is better than (let’s hope) against really bad opponents. The latter explains his ability to put up so many points and the former explains his high usage. When Davis was in HS, he was likely one of the best players on his team (like Francis at NJIT). That’s why he averaged 22 ppg there along with the competition being less than in the BIG.

And as Lion already pointed out, the tape on Davis from HS was better than the tape on Mark. There is no data for Mark yet on college period to compare anything to.

Your analogy Martini vs Acuff also makes no sense at all. They play different positions and were recruited to do completely different things. J Mike is 6-2 and Francis is 6 foot (on paper). There is only one position for either of them in the BIG. PG. And the latter player isn’t a good ball handler. It’s really that simple.

Even more so, NJHawk is just WRONG when he states Francis' "numbers are just better across the board as a scorer vs JMike."

Sure, Francis is aided when you look at his career, vs Davis' career. I tend to look at each of their SOPHOMORE seasons. And rFancis' "numbers" are not better across the board unless you ONLY look at the points per game ... if you look at EFFICIENCY, Davis is as good or better at eG%, 3-point FG% and turnover rate ... and when you look at Davis' numbers in his last 19 games, against Big 10 opponents (WAY tougher than any single game Francis played against), they are worlds better than Francis - albeit in many fewer minutes and many fewer FG attempts. I actually argue that Davis IS better than Francis - and that the numbers support that. But again, I do not expect Davis to be a double digit scorer for RU - I do not see that as his role. I will also say that Davis improved as a SO vs as a FR, whereas Francis regressed (at least as far as offensive efficiency), and that Davis clearly improved over the 2nd half of his SO season - by a lot - (and really the last 2/3 of that season, so a larger sample size).

FYI, NJHawk also says he does not make the ratings - implying the ratings support HIS point of view. If that is what he suggests than he is wrong there also. Francis was an EXTREMELY low-rated portal ranked player ... was not ranked anywhere near what Davis was ranked (who I believe was a top 150 player).

Lastly, of course, I do not need or want NJHawk's help in teaching me how to watch the tape. I know what to watch for and what to ignore.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Even more so, NJHawk is just WRONG when he states Francis' "numbers are just better across the board as a scorer vs JMike."

Sure, Francis is aided when you look at his career, vs Davis' career. I tend to look at each of their SOPHOMORE seasons. And rFancis' "numbers" are not better across the board unless you ONLY look at the points per game ... if you look at EFFICIENCY, Davis is as good or better at eG%, 3-point FG% and turnover rate ... and when you look at Davis' numbers in his last 19 games, against Big 10 opponents (WAY tougher than any single game Francis played against), they are worlds better than Francis - albeit in many fewer minutes and many fewer FG attempts. I actually argue that Davis IS better than Francis - and that the numbers support that. But again, I do not expect Davis to be a double digit scorer for RU - I do not see that as his role. I will also say that Davis improved as a SO vs as a FR, whereas Francis regressed (at least as far as offensive efficiency), and that Davis clearly improved over the 2nd half of his SO season - by a lot - (and really the last 2/3 of that season, so a larger sample size).

FYI, NJHawk also says he does not make the ratings - implying the ratings support HIS point of view. If that is what he suggests than he is wrong there also. Francis was an EXTREMELY low-rated portal ranked player ... was not ranked anywhere near what Davis was ranked (who I believe was a top 150 player).

Lastly, of course, I do not need or want NJHawk's help in teaching me how to watch the tape. I know what to watch for and what to ignore.

Obviously you don't, you just don't like Francis and painted yourself into a corner, based on an assumed situation on how much he allegedly got paid.

In any event, I'm not surprised it doesn't make sense, it now actually makes perfect sense. Hope that helps but trust me when I tell you, no one is going to buy the fact that someone with a track record of almost 400 3s attempts in ANY league, is a good comparison to someone with less than 80 career attempts.....the person with 400 attempts is a better option to outscore someone with just 78 in the same timeframe. Especially if you include the 1st season for JMike.....his career 3% is 28.2 and you keep stating he's better at shooting 3s.....good luck, but 35% career shooter even with a drop-off by going up to RU, is not 28%, that's a huge dropoff.....could it happen (other than you rooting for it, LOL)???....sure, but i don't see it....

If you don't like Francis because he's unlikely to be a good defensive player, that's a separate argument than trying to minimize or say 400 3s attempted and 127 made 3s, will suddenly not work at all. Most logical people base things on likelihood or probability.....you're too emotionally detached from reality instead of being objective, but like i said, it now makes 100% sense......😎

 

[Hondo77]

Obviously you don't, you just don't like Francis and painted yourself into a corner, based on an assumed situation on how much he allegedly got paid.

In any event, I'm not surprised it doesn't make sense, it now actually makes perfect sense. Hope that helps but trust me when I tell you, no one is going to buy the fact that someone with a track record of almost 400 3s attempts in ANY league, is a good comparison to someone with less than 80 career attempts.

If you don't like Francis because he's unlikely to be a good defensive player, that's a separate argument than trying to minimize of say 400 3s attempted and 127 made 3s, will suddenly not work at all. Most logical people base things on likelihood or probability.....you're too emotionally detached from reality instead of being objective, but like i said, it now makes 100% sense......😎

I can’t believe we are taking so much time discussing how a 6 foot (or under) player from a lousy NJIT team is going to be an integral part of our offense.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I can’t believe we are taking so much time discussing how a 6 foot (or under) player from a lousy NJIT team is going to be an integral part of our offense.

Where did I say integral??? LMAO....Another one who can't comprehend what I am saying.....

For the 100th time.....Francis is a complimentary player, who is probably around 18 to 22 minutes a game.....which is probably where JMike lands as well.

The point is who will likely score more points in those minutes.....my point is Francis, over JMike....not saying better defensive player, starter or star.....complimentary player......

 

[seansherm]

Where did I say integral??? LMAO....Another one who can't comprehend what I am saying.....

For the 100th time.....Francis is a complimentary player, who is probably around 18 to 22 minutes a game.....which is probably where JMike lands as well.

The point is who will likely score more points in those minutes.....my point is Francis, over JMike....not saying better defensive player, starter or star.....complimentary player......

18-22 minutes at pg is pretty integral though. 10-14, which is where I see Francis is more complimentary.
The only thing that could change the minutes is how often Pik is willing to put two smallish PG's on the court together. That will be based on how advanced Powers or future portal addition is.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

18-22 minutes at pg is pretty integral though. 10-14, which is where I see Francis is more complimentary.
The only thing that could change the minutes is how often Pik is willing to put two smallish PG's on the court together. That will be based on how advanced Powers or future portal addition is.

This - I see Francis possibly being a contributor in the pressing schemes. Coming off the bench and hitting a transition 3 (his efficiency much better off the dribble 3s).

He doesn’t play good D and he doesn’t handle the ball well. When your only 6 foot that’s not a great combination. His relationship with Brandon will get him the benefit of the doubt though.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Where did I say integral??? LMAO....Another one who can't comprehend what I am saying.....

For the 100th time.....Francis is a complimentary player, who is probably around 18 to 22 minutes a game.....which is probably where JMike lands as well.

The point is who will likely score more points in those minutes.....my point is Francis, over JMike....not saying better defensive player, starter or star.....complimentary player......

But the data your using to conclude that Francis is a better scorer is based entirely on Francis’ results on NJIT relative to J-Mike’s production and usage level in the BIG 10. Your argument falls apart completely if you look back to J-Mike’s high school production which is a much better proxy for comparison.

Just to clarify, I’m not at all trying to say that American East talent is similar to anyone’s high school team. Nobody understands better than me that basketball is a game of levels and levels (I watch 4-5 youth basketball games a week on average). The Amer East consists of vastly more talented players than a typical HS and it would be impossible to compare that gap to the gap between the Amer East and BIg talent (which is also huge). The reason I’m saying it’s a much better proxy to what your trying to compare is because the usage strategy of Francis at NJIT relative to Davis is about 1000x more of an apples to apples comparison to his role on his HS teams vs at Rutgers. This is a point you simply cannot argue. Francis’ usage was at 40% likely because he was clear and away the best player on NJIT which is typically the case for most D1 and even D2 and high D3 players when they were in HS, because as I said, basketball is a game of levels and levels - on average, most players on a typical HS team are not good enough to go on to play collegiate ball. Davis was likely the best or one of two or three clear best players in high school and therefore Had a much higher usage rate then vs Rutgers - resulting in a 22 ppg average.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

But the data your using to conclude that Francis is a better scorer is based entirely on Francis’ results on NJIT relative to J-Mike’s production and usage level in the BIG 10. Your argument falls apart completely if you look back to J-Mike’s high school production which is a much better proxy for comparison.

Just to clarify, I’m not at all trying to say that American East talent is similar to anyone’s high school team. Nobody understands better than me that basketball is a game of levels and levels (I watch 4-5 youth basketball games a week on average). The Amer East consists of vastly more talented players than a typical HS and it would be impossible to compare that gap to the gap between the Amer East and BIg talent (which is also huge). The reason I’m saying it’s a much better proxy to what your trying to compare is because the usage strategy of Francis at NJIT relative to Davis is about 1000x more of an apples to apples comparison to his role on his HS teams vs at Rutgers. This is a point you simply cannot argue. Francis’ usage was at 40% likely because he was clear and away the best player on NJIT which is typically the case for most D1 and even D2 and high D3 players when they were in HS, because as I said, basketball is a game of levels and levels - on average, most players on a typical HS team are not good enough to go on to play collegiate ball. Davis was likely the best or one of two or three clear best players in high school and therefore Had a much higher usage rate then vs Rutgers - resulting in a 22 ppg average.

You're reaching with HS productivity, which we both know carries no way of knowing the level of competition on a season to season level.

Keep in mind, JMike Davis had better tape in HS vs Derek Simpson and has better stats than Simpson and I think it is fair to say, JMike has played well in spots, but is not better than Simpson YTD at RU.....it doesn't mean Davis is not better in a couple of areas, but Simpson is a more capable scorer than Davis.....that does account for his frosh season.

I don't know how people are hanging onto one item in regards to BKnight and NJIT as the ONLY argument against him, when every other piece of evidence on tape supports a better player.

Here is the more concrete argument in regards to the backcourt.....if Davis is better than Mark AND Francis AND Powers AND potentially, whomever we bring in as well, is Davis also better than Zrno as well??

Indirectly, fans are fixated on Francis for a couple of items that are fine (size and defense), but Davis is not 6'5 (Powers) or 6'6" Zrno.....

Are fans saying Davis is RUs best guard?? Indirectly, that's not what fans are saying, but they kinda are saying that by saying.....

A) Mark is unproven and won't be good....

B) Powers needs to work on his defense and won't play

C) Francis is undersized and nothing he's done at NJIT matters, he's going to be terrible because the competition level or jump is too big to make.

That leaves Zrno, who I can easily say could be unproven (Mark), needs to work on his defense (Powers) and not able to compete consistent at this level (Zrno).

I can make the argument for and against any of the guards they are all unproven to a degree.....but i find it odd that 400 3s attempted at NJIT means LESS than what someone did in a good HS league in Seattle (Powers) a top HS program in SoCal (Mark) and a pro or semi-pro league in Serbia (Zrno).

It comes down to in ALL cases to watching the tape.....and evaluation of players and I am very confident that our guards are severely underrated across the board.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I think the argument is getting away from what the original post was, which was a breakdown of PPG by players and where players would land on the likely order.

Despite what others may be hoping or rooting against Francis, for whatever reason, I still think he is more likely to outscore JMike on a PPG item, by at least 2 to 3PPG, which is where this process started.

That doesn't mean Davis won't start the season as the starting guard (keep in mind Ogbole started half the games over Sommerville), but it doesn't mean Davis won't be counted on to play good defense, or be a reliable player.

Once we get past the blind hatred on Francis, he's still the more established and more likely player to give RU scoring and will be a better player on offense than Davis.

If fans want to discuss which lineup is better defensively, that's a separate discussion but the coaches can't stop play for offense and defense oneach possession to put in their best lineup or matchups. On a 18 to 22 minutes per game likelihood, Francis is just a clearly better shooter, scorer on offense and why he ranks higher on the PPG expectation.....(I also would have those expectations for Lino Mark and Kaden Powers, if they played a consistent 18 to 22 minutes a game as well, they're more balanced and fundamentals are better in terms of scoring).

I would like to think that Davis is our best defensive guard, to date (until we add another CG, who can hopefully defend), so this is still a PPG discussion.

 

[jmalik]

You're reaching with HS productivity, which we both know carries no way of knowing the level of competition on a season to season level.

Keep in mind, JMike Davis had better tape in HS vs Derek Simpson and has better stats than Simpson and I think it is fair to say, JMike has played well in spots, but is not better than Simpson YTD at RU.....it doesn't mean Davis is not better in a couple of areas, but Simpson is a more capable scorer than Davis.....that does account for his frosh season.

I don't know how people are hanging onto one item in regards to BKnight and NJIT as the ONLY argument against him, when every other piece of evidence on tape supports a better player.

Here is the more concrete argument in regards to the backcourt.....if Davis is better than Mark AND Francis AND Powers AND potentially, whomever we bring in as well, is Davis also better than Zrno as well??

Indirectly, fans are fixated on Francis for a couple of items that are fine (size and defense), but Davis is not 6'5 (Powers) or 6'6" Zrno.....

Are fans saying Davis is RUs best guard?? Indirectly, that's not what fans are saying, but they kinda are saying that by saying.....

A) Mark is unproven and won't be good....

B) Powers needs to work on his defense and won't play

C) Francis is undersized and nothing he's done at NJIT matters, he's going to be terrible because the competition level or jump is too big to make.

That leaves Zrno, who I can easily say could be unproven (Mark), needs to work on his defense (Powers) and not able to compete consistent at this level (Zrno).

I can make the argument for and against any of the guards they are all unproven to a degree.....but i find it odd that 400 3s attempted at NJIT means LESS than what someone did in a good HS league in Seattle (Powers) a top HS program in SoCal (Mark) and a pro or semi-pro league in Serbia (Zrno).

It comes down to in ALL cases to watching the tape.....and evaluation of players and I am very confident that our guards are severely underrated across the board.

Totally fair points — and I agree that tape and development matter more than anything on paper. But I do think it’s helpful to put each guard’s background in context to better understand their trajectory.

Looking at 247Sports rankings, here’s how Rutgers’ recent point guard additions stack up out of high school

• Lino Mark (2025) – 4-star, #126 nationally, #14 PG, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, CA)
• Jamichael Davis (2023) – 3-star, #243 nationally, #37 PG, McEachern (GA)
• Derek Simpson (2022) – 3-star, #247 nationally, #40 PG, Lenape (NJ)
• Tariq Francis (2023) – Unranked, First Love Christian Academy (PA)

Strictly from a recruiting standpoint, Lino is the highest-rated point guard Rutgers has signed in recent years, outside of Dylan Harper. On top of that, he played for Notre Dame in the Southern California Open Division, widely viewed as the top non-prep high school basketball region in the country — filled with powerhouse programs that regularly produce Division I and NBA talent. That level of competition doesn’t guarantee success, but it does give some weight to his pedigree coming in.

That said, I completely agree that every player has question marks — Francis’s volume at NJIT, Powers’s defense, Zrno’s adjustment from Europe, and Mark’s lack of college reps. None of them are finished products. And it’s fair to say Davis is further along right now, even if some of the others may have higher long-term ceilings.

Bottom line: this is a deep, underrated backcourt with a lot of different strengths. How it shakes out will come down to fit, development, and how the staff decides to use them. It’s a good problem to have — multiple guards with legit potential and different paths to making an impact.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

You're reaching with HS productivity, which we both know carries no way of knowing the level of competition on a season to season level.

Keep in mind, JMike Davis had better tape in HS vs Derek Simpson and has better stats than Simpson and I think it is fair to say, JMike has played well in spots, but is not better than Simpson YTD at RU.....it doesn't mean Davis is not better in a couple of areas, but Simpson is a more capable scorer than Davis.....that does account for his frosh season.

I don't know how people are hanging onto one item in regards to BKnight and NJIT as the ONLY argument against him, when every other piece of evidence on tape supports a better player.

Here is the more concrete argument in regards to the backcourt.....if Davis is better than Mark AND Francis AND Powers AND potentially, whomever we bring in as well, is Davis also better than Zrno as well??

Indirectly, fans are fixated on Francis for a couple of items that are fine (size and defense), but Davis is not 6'5 (Powers) or 6'6" Zrno.....

Are fans saying Davis is RUs best guard?? Indirectly, that's not what fans are saying, but they kinda are saying that by saying.....

A) Mark is unproven and won't be good....

B) Powers needs to work on his defense and won't play

C) Francis is undersized and nothing he's done at NJIT matters, he's going to be terrible because the competition level or jump is too big to make.

That leaves Zrno, who I can easily say could be unproven (Mark), needs to work on his defense (Powers) and not able to compete consistent at this level (Zrno).

I can make the argument for and against any of the guards they are all unproven to a degree.....but i find it odd that 400 3s attempted at NJIT means LESS than what someone did in a good HS league in Seattle (Powers) a top HS program in SoCal (Mark) and a pro or semi-pro league in Serbia (Zrno).

It comes down to in ALL cases to watching the tape.....and evaluation of players and I am very confident that our guards are severely underrated across the board.

I’m not sure what exactly you think is “reaching”? I’m not talking about production relative to talent level. As I said HS isn’t comparable to the American East but the American East also isn’t comparable to the BIG. So none of that has meaning. You seem to be arguing that what Francis did at NJIT demonstrates he’s a “natural” scorer vs. what Davis did at Rutgers. I’m simply pointing out that when Davis was in the same situation (best player and likely highest usage kid on a team) he was just as much a natural scorer as Francis. Hopefully neither are high usage next year.

There is no reality for this post when you are talking about few lucky bounces from fringe bubble team

The likely Vegas line sits at 13-18

Have to see what the final OOC schedule looks like and who we get for that final portal spot, but yeah, that could be the Vegas line.

 

[Knight Owl]

Francis took 8 treys per game last year. I can’t imagine he gets up near that number this year…But according to his “tape” he made 22 treys from 25 feet plus and it’s clear that he’s watched hours of Steph Curry tape.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

I’m not sure what exactly you think is “reaching”? I’m not talking about production relative to talent level. As I said HS isn’t comparable to the American East but the American East also isn’t comparable to the BIG. So none of that has meaning. You seem to be arguing that what Francis did at NJIT demonstrates he’s a “natural” scorer vs. what Davis did at Rutgers. I’m simply pointing out that when Davis was in the same situation (best player and likely highest usage kid on a team) he was just as much a natural scorer as Francis. Hopefully neither are high usage next year.



Have to see what the final OOC schedule looks like and who we get for that final portal spot, but yeah, that could be the Vegas line.

I think most, if not all, of the Top Ten high school programs could have beaten NJIT.