Been saying the same thing for years, RU will not have a winning B-Ball program until they recruit players who can SHOOT THE BALL.
Shooters
- Thread starter RUSJ73
- Start date
Most fans by now know what the problem is but getting top tier recruits playing for Rutgers has been a long work in progress.
Slashers and defensive specialists is mostly what we’ve had. Was Douby our last shooter and scorer?
This thread is like screaming for pizza when pizza was already ordered and is on the way.
Myles Mack was our last good shooter.
His sophomore season was particularly splendid (49 FG%, 46 3FG%, 88 FT%).
I don’t know about outstanding but yes they will all evelevate our shooting ability to some degree.
The key is you have to have 3-4 guys on the court at all times who can put the ball in the hoop. Watching games, there are times I ask myself who the PG (whoever that is at the moment) can pass to. There's nobody there who can shoot ! Drive toward the basket, look for an outlet, ...... but who ?
Mathis is not a particularly good outside shooter. He is a good overall player and hits mid distance game and can attack the hoop well. He is a very good recruit, but at least initially he will not aid our long distance outside shooting.
Harper is also currently limited as a long distance shooter.
Doesn't mean they can shoot the ball at the level we need them to. Hopefully they will be significant upgrades as we desperately need some shooters.I'll take BDodger's opinion as he knows a lot more than most of us on this board.
Dodger, I appreciate your reports as you've proven right time and time again, but I believe Corey Evans called Harper one of the better shooters in the class of '18. Maybe he just saw him play on a hot weekend.
Poor outside shooting stems from no frontcourt talent. We can’t get open perimeter shots because the inside guys aren’t threats to score and aren’t good passers. As stated in another thread, we’re effectively playing 3 on 5 so of course we can’t get open looks.
We have several guys who could shoot just fine if there were other scoring options
We have several guys who could shoot just fine if there were other scoring options
What do you mean by limited?
I was under the impression he's a long range sniper.
I fully agree with @AshCatchEm here...
SirScarlet - my view regarding Harper is that he is a bit slow on his shot. At 6'6" he can get away with that in high school. I suspect he will have a difficult adjustment playing against taller and more athletic defenders. That will impact his ability to be a quality outside shooter - at least during his freshman year.
I am intrigued by his potential, however. A number of folks believe he may grow another couple of inches. He also is not in the best shape. If he grows a bit and reshapes his physique that will make him stronger, quicker, and taller. If that occurs it will have a positive impact on his outside shooting - as well as other aspects of his game.
Eli Carter was Rutgers go to scorer/shooter until his leg injury.The 30 point performance against Florida was one of the best individual performances by any Rutgers player at the RAC.
That is what I thought I read as well about Mathis in particular. Harper I thought was more proficient from 3. With regard to Kiss, who knows for sure he can get a shot off at this level. I hope he can, but the Quinipiac background does not make him the sure thing that some seem to be counting on.
What good is "a shooter", if he can't defend, can't rebound, is perhaps not able to create his own offense off the dribble?
Do many fans really believe that a shooter solves all of these items to make a winning program??....Usually a shooter requires at least 3 other options on the court that can generate their own offense and score off the dribble, make passes to find the "shooter.
I say this with respect to one of the most lethal shooters in the tri-state area in SHUs Myles Powell...he's the same lethal shooter as Myles Mack was for RU.
Both players require at least one post player capable of scoring inside, a wing that can drive and pass in transition and a guard that can generate his own offense to provide that "shooter ". If those things aren't in place, defenses have no reason to not focus their efforts on stopping the shooter from getting open shots.
If the "shooter fans" also want their shooters to shoot 80% from the line, 36-40% from 3 point range, get 4-5 rebounds a game and also shut down the opponents best player while playing 30 minutes a game, what fans are asking for is a one and done or lottery pick next year.
Instead of asking for a shooter, RU has or is adding more complete bigger, stronger and smarter basketball players that are more Geo Baker and bigger versions or Mike Williams with more complete offensive games off the dribble, passing and ability to get their own offense (Mathis).
Better players will make Geo Baker and Thiam better shooters because the defense will have to focus on Mathis and hopefully, we land a facilitator that can drive, dish and score like Mulcahy....who by definition is not a "shooter"......
Do many fans really believe that a shooter solves all of these items to make a winning program??....Usually a shooter requires at least 3 other options on the court that can generate their own offense and score off the dribble, make passes to find the "shooter.
I say this with respect to one of the most lethal shooters in the tri-state area in SHUs Myles Powell...he's the same lethal shooter as Myles Mack was for RU.
Both players require at least one post player capable of scoring inside, a wing that can drive and pass in transition and a guard that can generate his own offense to provide that "shooter ". If those things aren't in place, defenses have no reason to not focus their efforts on stopping the shooter from getting open shots.
If the "shooter fans" also want their shooters to shoot 80% from the line, 36-40% from 3 point range, get 4-5 rebounds a game and also shut down the opponents best player while playing 30 minutes a game, what fans are asking for is a one and done or lottery pick next year.
Instead of asking for a shooter, RU has or is adding more complete bigger, stronger and smarter basketball players that are more Geo Baker and bigger versions or Mike Williams with more complete offensive games off the dribble, passing and ability to get their own offense (Mathis).
Better players will make Geo Baker and Thiam better shooters because the defense will have to focus on Mathis and hopefully, we land a facilitator that can drive, dish and score like Mulcahy....who by definition is not a "shooter"......
I can’t emphasize enough we have the exact opposite problem than what is being discussed here
Because we can’t hit from three ...and more importantly, the three we hit are at the stripe and not with more range, teams are able to hedge down away from the stripe more and be in the position to help in the paint and make it soooooo much more crowded and to hit shots below
Our 2 pt shots percentage suffer as much...if not MORE ...than the three that we don’t hit
Coach P knows this and crafts the Xs and Os to really create as much space as can be created under these circumstances ....but it’s still way too crowded there and it hurts
Because we can’t hit from three ...and more importantly, the three we hit are at the stripe and not with more range, teams are able to hedge down away from the stripe more and be in the position to help in the paint and make it soooooo much more crowded and to hit shots below
Our 2 pt shots percentage suffer as much...if not MORE ...than the three that we don’t hit
Coach P knows this and crafts the Xs and Os to really create as much space as can be created under these circumstances ....but it’s still way too crowded there and it hurts
We lack shooters, yes. But you can't discount the IQ shown in Seton Hall, MSU, FSU. Too many of us are looking at 2 very disappointing games and making sweeping statements. This is likely to be a bit of a roller coaster this year and these two games were the downswings. There have been highs too.
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Fans don't disagree with the notion that multiple scorers are needed on the court at the same time .At least on should be a consistent 3 point shooter.Another should be a taller version of Sanders who can shoot off the dribble and finish on drives to the basket.A post player or power forward that can finish around the basket has been a ongoing need at Rutgers.
Nobody knows right now how the new players will improve the scoring versus the B1G competition which ultimately is what matters .
True, but half way decent B1G teams dont lose to teams like Stony Brook and Hartford at home.
Those were two gimme games that should have been double digit wins.
Doesn’t bode well with the conference season starting.
If our big men can’t score against Stony and Hartford it won’t be pretty in the B1G.
This team doesn't even hit layups and put backs with any consistency. On days when we shoot well we can beat almost anyone, but we only shoot well once out of 4 games (and rarely in all areas). We can beat most of our OOC games with defense and hustle but not the teams in the BIG. We need shooters, long range, mid range and in close.
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I've seen Harper in person. He is an outstanding outside shooter with range.
We need a Kyle Mcalarney, Andy Rautins, Brandon Triche type player that we used to get killed by in the Big East. A guy who if left open would be able to make defenses pay. A guy that can break zone defense. Williams was supposed to be that but he never lived up to it.
I think Baker can become that, and I hear Harper is a good shooter, maybe Kiss can be that as well. If we continue to just have slashing guards and project big men we will never get over the hump.
I think Baker can become that, and I hear Harper is a good shooter, maybe Kiss can be that as well. If we continue to just have slashing guards and project big men we will never get over the hump.
Because we recruited crappy shooters and pikiell and two other guards on staff know how to identify a kid with a good shot
I think pike really has a pretty good offensive system and group of sets to combat our shooting limitations ...
We really get good looks ...we just don’t make them. It’s beyond frustrating
This offensive systems would have benefited on some player groups we have had in the last 25 years who had some really inferior offensive coaching....the bannon teams really come to mind.
No half court offensive system can compensate for not being able to shoot the ball. The only way to compensate for bad shooting is with an emphasis on scoring in transition.
The thing that most bugs me is the lack of offensive production we get from big men other than Freeman.
The stat lines for them are truly offensive IMO.
The stat lines for them are truly offensive IMO.
