Scrimmage Takeaways

[RUby RED]

1. Jamichael Davis will play big minutes this year. Showed a fearlessness attacking the rim and showcased some real athleticism on a couple dunks / poster attempts. Defensively, as advertised. Pressured the ball well, flashed active hands and had multiple steals / blocks. Surprised how college-ready he looked, seems like we got a steal

2. Griffiths will average 12+ this year. Showcased a balanced offensive arsenal — midrange, floater and the 3 point stroke is pure. Looked composed and grew into the game, hit some big threes in the 2nd half comeback. Defensively a work-in-progress, got beat off the dribble a couple times and the slender frame plays against him — but didn’t think he was a noticeable minus on that end of the floor.

3. The Hyatt 6th year ‘leap’ is exaggerated. Understand it’s only one game, but looks like the same guy to me. Mixed bag, some good, some bad but not expecting a crazy jump in production / efficiency

4. Undersized lineups. Would not be shocked to see a fair amount of Simpson / Fernandez / Davis all sharing the floor together, especially until Mag’s back to 100%. These 3 got out in transition a ton in the 2nd half and it was their on-ball D and willingness to up the tempo that got us back in the game

5. St Johns is gonna win a lot of games this year. Veteran team and they’re physically built like it. Play tough D and have enough offensively — add in Dingle and Luis who sat today’s game out and that’s an upper-half team in an elite Big East

 

[rucoe89]

1. Jamichael Davis will play big minutes this year. Showed a fearlessness attacking the rim and showcased some real athleticism on a couple dunks / poster attempts. Defensively, as advertised. Pressured the ball well, flashed active hands and had multiple steals / blocks. Surprised how college-ready he looked, seems like we got a steal

2. Griffiths will average 12+ this year. Showcased a balanced offensive arsenal — midrange, floater and the 3 point stroke is pure. Looked composed and grew into the game, hit some big threes in the 2nd half comeback. Defensively a work-in-progress, got beat off the dribble a couple times and the slender frame plays against him — but didn’t think he was a noticeable minus on that end of the floor.

3. The Hyatt 6th year ‘leap’ is exaggerated. Understand it’s only one game, but looks like the same guy to me. Mixed bag, some good, some bad but not expecting a crazy jump in production / efficiency

4. Undersized lineups. Would not be shocked to see a fair amount of Simpson / Fernandez / Davis all sharing the floor together, especially until Mag’s back to 100%. These 3 got out in transition a ton in the 2nd half and it was their on-ball D and willingness to up the tempo that got us back in the game

5. St Johns is gonna win a lot of games this year. Veteran team and they’re physically built like it. Play tough D and have enough offensively — add in Dingle and Luis who sat today’s game out and that’s an upper-half team in an elite Big East

Thank you for the observations!

 

[FinalFourOrBust]

Good: Team is mentally tough as nails just like every year. Freshman will be legit good. Simpson is gonna take a major leap. Cliff is still cliff.

Bad: Shooting will still be inconsistent at best. Guards are small and will get taken advantage of on defense. Hyatt will be playing substantial minutes.

Unknowns: The transfers. How they acclimate could be the difference between dancing or not.

 

[cm_13]

JMike was electric. Did not look like a freshman at all, made good decisions, made plays on both ends of the floor.

Definitely looks like Austin will be used situationally as a defender. Don’t know how much he’ll bring on offense.

Hyatt looked good when he was attacking, jumper was not falling.

Noah was quiet for most of the game but came alive at the end of regulation, had a big steal that he took the other way for a layup and hit a huge three to tie it.

Gavin will figure it out. You can see the scoring ability is there despite the ugly first half. Got lost a few times on defense in the first half but seemed to settle in.

Chol did not look good.

Definitely don’t ever need to see Oskar try to break a press ever again.

 

[fatsam98]

Appreciate the reports guys. Overall sounds promising especially J-Mike

 

[RUJMM78]

Rebounding with undersized lineups could be a problem until Mags returns.Davis has the skillset to be a major contributor as a freshmen.When Cliff takes outside shots there is a need for a power forward to move inside for offensive rebounds.Good opponent for a scrimmage game because of St.Johns talent.

 

[rudad02]

So who won the game?

 

[Jerseylegends]

Dam can't wait to see this team play...looking forward to seeing a pg like Davis at RU... disappointing news on chol..was secretly hoping he developed into the missing piece... hopefully it's just a bad game for Hyatt.. Griffiths is legit will be good..

 

[Degaz-RU]

So who won the game?

SJU 89-78 in double OT

 

[Scangg]

Need one of Oskar or Chol to step up until Mag is a full go... sounds like we need Mag back in a big way. From what I've seen in posts it doesn't sound like either played well. We might see more Wolf at the 4 if neither can... or more small ball with Hyatt at the 4 with Noah Simpson and J Mike

 

[knight_ru]

@rudad02
We lost in double OT.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Sounds like this was mostly a positive result. They really should have won when they were up 3 with seconds left in the first OT. Rutgers just needed 1 rebound on that final possession and they gave 3 offensive rebounds.

 

[cm_13]

Sounds like this was mostly a positive result. They really should have won when they were up 3 with seconds left in the first OT. Rutgers just needed 1 rebound on that final possession and they gave 3 offensive rebounds.

They also inexplicably put up a shot pretty early in the shot clock up 2 with 20 something seconds left. Cliff pulled down the offensive rebound and got fouled, then went 1-2 from the line which left the door open for the tying three pointer. Could’ve killed some clock and gave it to St. John’s with very little time left, or waited to see if St. John’s tried to foul which would’ve probably put someone other than Cliff on the line.

 

[new jersey1]

JMike was really impressive… his athleticism, ball handling skills, composure and defense.

 

[BigEastPhil]

My observations

- Davis is a future captain. Showed no fear / not afraid to take it the hoop and doesn’t take crap. He got into it with Jenkins at end of game almost causing a brawl. He and Cliff were only guys who played well in first half. Davis and Noah should play point

- Griffiths has no fear of shooting the ball. Has strong bb iq and his shooting will be a big positive for us

- Cliff is a man. Played great defense and was a warrior on the court.

- After team fell behind by 18 at end of first half , Pike started 2nd unit plus Cliff and team had great intensity in 2nd half and in first overtime to almost steal the game.

- 2nd half had terrific contributions from all above plus Derek and Noah

- We blew game in first overtime with terrible turnover by Oskar and giving St John’s 3 chances in last 10 seconds to eventually tie game

- Intensity of game was off the charts.

- Rutgers turnout was a lot better than what I expected especially given the football team excitement!

 

[DC8690]

The Pike press conference someone asked about a skirmish at the end of the game…. Anyone there who can elaborate?
Edit: Just saw BigEastPhil post

 

[needmorecowbell]

My observations

- Davis is a future captain. Showed no fear / not afraid to take it the hoop and doesn’t take crap. He got into it with Jenkins at end of game almost causing a brawl. He and Cliff were only guys who played well in first half. Davis and Noah should play point

- Griffiths has no fear of shooting the ball. Has strong bb iq and his shooting will be a big positive for us

- Cliff is a man. Played great defense and was a warrior on the court.

- After team fell behind by 18 at end of first half , Pike started 2nd unit plus Cliff and team had great intensity in 2nd half and in first overtime to almost steal the game.

- 2nd half had terrific contributions from all above plus Derek

- We blew game in first overtime with terrible turnover by Oskar and giving St John’s 3 chances in last 10 seconds to eventually tie game

- Intensity of game was off the charts.

- Rutgers turnout was a lot better than what I expected especially given the football team excitement!

Phil,
Thanks for the thoughts. What caused the slow start? I heard there were some defensive issues that they had to figure out and turnovers when pressed. Also, the stats seem to indicate that they just didn’t hit shots.

 

[Knight Owl]

JMike was really impressive… his athleticism, ball handling skills, composure and defense.

Sounds like a solid “mid-major” guard who’s more than good enough to beat Purdue.🤷‍♂️👍

 

[BigEastPhil]

Phil,
Thanks for the thoughts. What caused the slow start? I heard there were some defensive issues that they had to figure out and turnovers when pressed. Also, the stats seem to indicate that they just didn’t hit shots.

Slow start in my opinion was caused by ST John’s pressing like maniacs at beginning of game. We were not ready for the defensive intensity / pressing and it showed at both ends.
As usual however great adjustments by Pike and staff at halftime.

 

[Local Shill]

Sounds like this was mostly a positive result. They really should have won when they were up 3 with seconds left in the first OT. Rutgers just needed 1 rebound on that final possession and they gave 3 offensive rebounds.

Certainly some positives to take out of today but that was a downright pathetic sequence that brought back painful memories of Houston and Notre Dame. Cliff failed twice to grab the rebound (he should have smacked the ball down court instead of tipping it), Oskar stood around and watched and Simpson inexplicably left his feet on the shot that went it.

 

[koleszar]

Slow start in my opinion was caused by ST John’s pressing like maniacs at beginning of game. We were not ready for the defensive intensity / pressing and it showed at both ends.
As usual however great adjustments by Pike and staff at halftime.

Just from the sound of all the post, it sounded like one coach was using this as a practice game to try different things out, while the other coach went full game mode trying to win it as if it counted.

 

[Saint Puppy]

Here is the altercation at the end...

 

[Scangg]

Slow start in my opinion was caused by ST John’s pressing like maniacs at beginning of game. We were not ready for the defensive intensity / pressing and it showed at both ends.
As usual however great adjustments by Pike and staff at halftime.

Really glad SJU pressed us. So valuable for us to get a taste of that in a scrimmage from a good team

 

[Saint Puppy]

Need one of Oskar or Chol to step up until Mag is a full go... sounds like we need Mag back in a big way. From what I've seen in posts it doesn't sound like either played well. We might see more Wolf at the 4 if neither can... or more small ball with Hyatt at the 4 with Noah Simpson and J Mike

Definitely need Mag, but I think expecting Oskar or Chol to step up is going to be a near impossible ask. Oskar has such a nice stroke, but never has really stepped up as a shooter. Also his athleticism just doesn't seem to be there for this level. Chol seems like a project to me - nothing immediate, but maybe somewhere down the road we can get quality minutes out of him. Wolf might be the best answer, but obviously he is a far cry from Mag.

 

[High Quality H2O]

Thank you for those who attended and gave their write ups. Super helpful.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Certainly some positives to take out of today but that was a downright pathetic sequence that brought back painful memories of Houston and Notre Dame. Cliff failed twice to grab the rebound (he should have smacked the ball down court instead of tipping it), Oskar stood around and watched and Simpson inexplicably left his feet on the shot that went it.

After rewatching it, the ball appeared to rebound very quickly and Cliff reacted but it was moving too fast. Just unlucky.

 

[cm_13]

That was a lob pass not a shot
Cliff caught it as came down maybe didn’t expect it?

Ah, that’s my bad.

 

[SBP]

Hope I’m wrong, but I think Oskar, sadly, is a bust, simply no excuse to have such a bad showing as a senior. Im glad his parents where here last year to see his best game. So, now we know.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Wow. Like seeing jamike hounding ball handler on that clip. i think i am really going to like this guy!

 

[High Quality H2O]

@MiloTalon13 did you get to go?

Would love to hear your takeaways if you did.

 

[Knightmoves]

Hope I’m wrong, but I think Oskar, sadly, is a bust, simply no excuse to have such a bad showing as a senior. Im glad his parents where here last year to see his best game. So, now we know.

You realize that this was a single exhibition game, right? Way too early to bury Oskar. He is one of our best 3pt shooters and is a good team guy.

 

[bac2therac]

Thank you for the observations to everyone that went. Keep them coming

 

[High Quality H2O]

Here is the altercation at the end...

View embedded media

I love how Pike takes sort of the old school mafia-esque response when asked about this.

Basically just immediately states his alibi as to why he didn’t see the confrontation.

 

[fatsam98]

Saw a St Johns write up on Twitter saying JMike was our best player. And that Gavin looked good. Definitely encouraging for their first action against real competition

 

[SBP]

You realize that this was a single exhibition game, right? Way too early to bury Oskar. He is one of our best 3pt shooters and is a good team guy.

He’s not. That might be in practice, but it hasn’t materialized consistently. You realize he didn’t score right? Did you see his minutes? As an experienced player he should have made his mark. Apparently he started. He had a chance to show out a bit. He didn’t. Exhibition or National Championships, doesn’t matter. If you have game, at some point, you must show it.

 

[ScarletLongIsland]

Noah is crafty on both ends of the floor. JMike was composed, confident, looked like a junior bringing the ball up, gets after it on both ends of the floor; outside shot will need work. Gavin can score from all over, but needs to catch up on defensive end. Optimism that the days of stagnant offense are a thing of the past. Noah, gavin can get buckets.

Very excited to see this team in regular season action, especially when mag gets back

 

[kupuna133]

Just from the sound of all the post, it sounded like one coach was using this as a practice game to try different things out, while the other coach went full game mode trying to win it as if it counted.

That’s how I read it and one reporters take. Pitino knows he needs to create buzz around the program. If he doesn’t make this work very early on SJU will never be relevant.

SJU doesn’t have the resources and advantages they used to.

 

[charliem24]

Wasn’t able to watch the game, can someone comment on RUs tempo? Was it significantly faster than previous years as anticipated? Thanks!

 

[BillyC80]

Just from the sound of all the post, it sounded like one coach was using this as a practice game to try different things out, while the other coach went full game mode trying to win it as if it counted.

Same impression I got. Pike mentioned that he played a lot of guys some decent minutes.

Pitino must’ve been stunned when Pike and team cranked it up a couple notches and came back from a 20 point deficit to tie it.

Great building block game on the road, taking a talented team with a hall of fame coach to double OT.

Incidentally they had two key roster guys who didn’t play, and so did we (Mag and JW). So our active players stood toe to toe with their active players. Very encouraging for our season.

 

[ScarletLongIsland]

Same impression I got. Pike mentioned that he played a lot of guys some decent minutes.

Pitino must’ve been stunned when Pike and team cranked it up a couple notches and came back from a 20 point deficit to tie it.

Great building block game on the road, taking a talented team with a hall of fame coach to double OT.

Incidentally they had two key roster guys who didn’t play, and so did we (Mag and JW). So our active players stood toe to toe with their active players. Very encouraging for our season.

Yes, first half for Pike was clearly experimenting with depth players. Oscar started the game. Oscar and Williams got significant run. Pike will need to figure out the bench particularly until Mag returns. I actually think Chol will step up.

Pitino did not treat this as a scrimmage. I get it, he is trying to bring back the program, and St Johns fans were there to see a turnaround