Some positive news

[BigEastPhil]

After tonight's debacle, here is some good news:

1. Mike Williams and Eugene are close to returning to action. Will help squad immensely and add depth. Need both of them to get into game shape for Big 10 Tourney.

2. I believe Shaq Carter was at the game. Big dude. Seems quite athletic. Was also with another big dude as I couldn't tell whether he was a recruit.

3. Jerry Carino reported that Geo Baker was practicing his shooting at 11pm at the RAC. Love his attitude and would like to see him take charge more during games.

 

[bac2therac]

wow is Eugene really ready this quick as well?

thanks for the morsels Phil

Baker is RU's best player and leader and he is just a freshmen...as a senior this is when RU can make the NCAA push if Pike can recruit the enough of the right pieces..ie 6-7 more Bakers

 

[goru7]

wow is Eugene really ready this quick as well?

thanks for the morsels Phil

Baker is RU's best player and leader and he is just a freshmen...as a senior this is when RU can make the NCAA push if Pike can recruit the enough of the right pieces..ie 6-7 more Bakers

Easy BAC, Geo is not our best player and he has disappeared and shot poorly in many games.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Easy BAC, Geo is not our best player and he has disappeared and shot poorly in many games.

Pretty typical for a Frosh...especially one asked to do so much...That being said he leads the conference I believe in scoring, assists, and minutes among freshman. At least that’s what I thought they said during the broadcast tonight.

 

[goru7]

Pretty typical for a Frosh...especially one asked to do so much...That being said he leads the conference I believe in scoring, assists, and minutes among freshman. At least that’s what I thought they said during the broadcast tonight.

One of the top freshman in the Big 10 and I will agree with that statement .

 

[Hamilton's Cannon]

Easy BAC, Geo is not our best player and he has disappeared and shot poorly in many games.

Agree - Geo seems a great get and gives far more than anyone can expect from a freshman. But not the best player on the team. Yet. Reminds me of Jeff Greer = nice kid who had a fantastic early career. Once the Billets et all we’re gone, he never could put on that mantle as The Guy. His brother Ricky was that gritty player who could throw a team on his back, Jeff never seemed to develop into that player. Corey is that player when he chooses to be.

 

[rubaseball78]

Easy BAC, Geo is not our best player and he has disappeared and shot poorly in many games.

He is also a freshman without a strong supporting cast.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Easy BAC, Geo is not our best player and he has disappeared and shot poorly in many games.

The kid is s young frosh and has had little opportunity, as a normal frosh, to get strength and conditioning in ...

Considering he has a high school body , he is doing it all on skill and basketball Saavy

Attitude is really good

He has been our most consistent player and shows up every night, when he isn’t physically ready to do so.

Very big piece of our future the next three years, likely a four year starter and to score 1500-1800 points in his career

Trust me, Doucoure has this same type of attitude. As dird Eugene

More pieces with this type of mentality are on the way

 

[Mr Magoo]

He is also a freshman without a strong supporting cast.

Sanders and Baker are two players who would be better with a stronger team around them. I’m not sure how many players on the team that could be said about.

Coincidentally, they are probably he only two players who can create their own shot.

 

[soundcrib]

wow is Eugene really ready this quick as well?

thanks for the morsels Phil

Baker is RU's best player and leader and he is just a freshmen...as a senior this is when RU can make the NCAA push if Pike can recruit the enough of the right pieces..ie 6-7 more Bakers

6-7 Jeff Greer’s isn’t going to get us there. And I like Jeff Greer.

 

[ruman]

Mike Williams is the team leader

 

[G- RUnit]

Gio is going to be very good but he is by no means our best player.

Corey leads this team. As Corey goes so goes RU. Other guys besides Gio have not stepped up.

 

[richthedentist]

I really think Doucore will benefit from the offseason strength and conditioning program. He needs more explosiveness in his jumping which will be helped in the offseason

 

[goru7]

The kid is s young frosh and has had little opportunity, as a normal frosh, to get strength and conditioning in ...

Considering he has a high school body , he is doing it all on skill and basketball Saavy

Attitude is really good

He has been our most consistent player and shows up every night, when he isn’t physically ready to do so.

Very big piece of our future the next three years, likely a four year starter and to score 1500-1800 points in his career

Trust me, Doucoure has this same type of attitude. As dird Eugene

More pieces with this type of mentality are on the way

Gio is having a really good frosh campaign and will be an excellent 4 year player for us. My only point is he is not our best player. However, the point made by Magoo , is that our frontline has not developed enough or created a low post threat, whereby Corey and Geo’s game would be even better and their shooting %’s would be higher because they would not have to force up shots at the end of the shot clock. If we had Morgan on Indiana alone, our season would include a lot more wins.

 

[higgins3]

Big east, when you say they are close, how many games away? I talked to Williams post game. It didn’t seem like his return would be until maybe 5-6 more games earliest.

 

[rufeelinit]

The guy I am uncertain about right now is Thiam. Is the struggle this year going pay dividends down the road or does our overall improvement require better players which results in him getting less minutes? His offensive struggles are glaring given the dearth of other options. Does he get stronger and quicker with his release? Can he hit shots under pressure with any consistency? Still has value on the defensive end given his length and quickness.

 

[TDIrish27]

" Shaq Carter was at the game-----seems quite athletic "

How so ?

Did he show quickness cutting into the line for popcorn ?

 

[RU-ROCS]

Baker is RU's best player and leader and he is just a freshmen...as a senior this is when RU can make the NCAA push if Pike can recruit the enough of the right pieces..ie 6-7 more Bakers

Amen to that!

 

[FAT MOON]

This is great news thanks for update. I didn't realize Eugene's injury was that minor.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

What is the source of the news that Mike and Eugene are close to returning? I didn’t see the postgame but there was no report that I saw that said anything other than there was a chance they could be back before the season is over. Pike said Saturday that Mike is walking but isn’t doing anything else. Eugene doesn’t look like he’s limping but not sure that means he’s going to be practicing or playing full speed imminently.

 

[bac2therac]

I think he is our best player because of what he brings to the table overall. I definitely cut slack because he is a frosh. Baker consistently brings it every single game even if he isnt playing well and does play smart. Its the total package thing. Some other players may have more talent or contribute more points or more rebounds but I am not going to give a best player title to players who may decide to bring it every other game

 

[goru7]

I think he is our best player because of what he brings to the table overall. I definitely cut slack because he is a frosh. Baker consistently brings it every single game even if he isnt playing well and does play smart. Its the total package thing. Some other players may have more talent or contribute more points or more rebounds but I am not going to give a best player title to players who may decide to bring it every other game

It is not about Corey not bringing it every game. It is about having to do everything , that you conveniently are putting blinders on , to say Geo is our best player. Other coaches rarely surround their entire defensive game plan around Geo , whereas every coach game plans specifically for Corey.
Listen , I love Geo and think he is one of the top freshman in the Big 10 if not the country this year. He is smart, he is trying hard on defense, and when he is shooting well he is great and when he is not , he is not good but that is okay because he is a freshman. He will be a building block for us going forward. If we had just one consistent low post player like Morgan on Indiana last night, Corey and Geo’s game would be even better with both racking up many more assists . Sometimes who you are surrounded by and the lack of production from those other areas has a great impact on your guards. We want both Corey and Geo here with better components around them to be truly successful in this league

 

[bac2therac]

except yesterday you could tell Corey was not in it right from the beginning..we have a large enough sample size. we saw in non conference games plenty of examples of this. I will take consistency and the buy in guy everytime over the flashy guy that might get you some wins..some big wins even but then disappear

 

[Local Shill]

After tonight's debacle, here is some good news:

1. Mike Williams and Eugene are close to returning to action. Will help squad immensely and add depth. Need both of them to get into game shape for Big 10 Tourney.

2. I believe Shaq Carter was at the game. Big dude. Seems quite athletic. Was also with another big dude as I couldn't tell whether he was a recruit.

3. Jerry Carino reported that Geo Baker was practicing his shooting at 11pm at the RAC. Love his attitude and would like to see him take charge more during games.

Define “close to returning.”

We were told if all went well Mike has a chance to be back for the last regular season game. What changed?

 

[RUPete]

" Shaq Carter was at the game-----seems quite athletic "

How so ?

Did he show quickness cutting into the line for popcorn ?

Maybe. Did you ever try jockeying for position in those lines?

 

[TDIrish27]

No I usually send the Mrs.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Big east, when you say they are close, how many games away? I talked to Williams post game. It didn’t seem like his return would be until maybe 5-6 more games earliest.

I spoke with Mike Williams before the game and unless I misheard - which is possible given my hearing is getting bad and the music was blaring - I could have sworn he said 1 more game - which indicated to me that he will be back for the Northwestern game on Tues 2/13 - if not sooner for the Nebraska game. Guess we'll find out soon enough but I'm rather confident that I heard correctly.

 

[BigEastPhil]

" Shaq Carter was at the game-----seems quite athletic "

How so ?

Did he show quickness cutting into the line for popcorn ?

Lol....he did climb the steps quickly......Let me put it this way to you....If I saw Matt Bullock in a sweatsuit, I know well enough that he's not athletic.....seeing Shaq Carter however, you can tell the dude is athletic.......we'll re-discuss 11 months from now

 

[higgins3]

I spoke with Mike Williams before the game and unless I misheard - which is possible given my hearing is getting bad and the music was blaring - I could have sworn he said 1 more game - which indicated to me that he will be back for the Northwestern game on Tues 2/13 - if not sooner for the Nebraska game. Guess we'll find out soon enough but I'm rather confident that I heard correctly.

Gotcha. I hope WIlliams has a great recovery for himself.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

Lol....he did climb the steps quickly......Let me put it this way to you....If I saw Matt Bullock in a sweatsuit, I know well enough that he's not athletic.....seeing Shaq Carter however, you can tell the dude is athletic.......we'll re-discuss 11 months from now

Bullock IS athletic. He also happens to be out of shape.

 

[BKIn118]

I will second Phil's assessment of the injury situation. Both are very close...

Geo was working in the gym with a team manager Friday night when we were setting up for the auction. We left about 10 pm, he was just getting going

There are still positives to find this season. Getting back to full strength will help immensely from a talent and mental standpoint

 

[RU-ROCS]

I will second Phil's assessment of the injury situation. Both are very close...

Geo was working in the gym with a team manager Friday night when we were setting up for the auction. We left about 10 pm, he was just getting going

There are still positives to find this season. Getting back to full strength will help immensely from a talent and mental standpoint

This is truly great news!

 

[willisneverrana43]

Lol....he did climb the steps quickly......Let me put it this way to you....If I saw Matt Bullock in a sweatsuit, I know well enough that he's not athletic.....seeing Shaq Carter however, you can tell the dude is athletic.......we'll re-discuss 11 months from now

Ah, so “athletic” means “not fat.”

 

[SkilletHead2]

I spoke with Mike Williams before the game and unless I misheard - which is possible given my hearing is getting bad and the music was blaring - I could have sworn he said 1 more game - which indicated to me that he will be back for the Northwestern game on Tues 2/13 - if not sooner for the Nebraska game. Guess we'll find out soon enough but I'm rather confident that I heard correctly.

Hey Phil (and others in same boat),
Not sure if your hearing comment was a joke or not, but my hearing got bad about 10 years ago, and about 8 years ago I developed tinnitus in my right ear. It was unrelenting and tremendously upsetting. Friends and Moms Skillethead kept badgering me about my (lack of) hearing. Finally, I consented to seeing an audiologist. Turns out I had moderate hearing loss in both ears, with the right ear being worse.

So the deal at most audiology clinics is that they test you a lot and develop a prescription (much like glasses) and then make a pair of hearing aids for your prescription. I went high end, so my hearing aids adjust to various settings and have some other features. You get to try them out for a month, and if you don't like them, you just pay for the hearing test, etc. (would have been $300 for me). But, the first time I tried them on, it was just like when the water finally clears from your ears after swimming. I thought everybody would sound like they were on speaker phone, but in fact, everybody sounded like all of a sudden they were speaking clearly. It was an amazing difference. And, and this was just a huge benefit for me, the tinnitus went away. Whenever I have my hearing aids in, I have zero tinnitus. When I take them out, it comes right back.

Bottom line is that I love my hearing aids. Since my hair is longish, it covers the hearing aids. I'm actually going to the audiologist tomorrow for my annual check up and may end up getting new ones as these are 7 years old and the power in them eventually goes.

So if your hearing comment was for real, I would recommend trying this out. Made a world of difference for me.

 

[kcg88]

Souf Mensah also "seems quite athletic." And he is. But can he play ball is the question. On athleticism we're probably in the 8-12 range in the conference. From a skills standpoint we're last and it's not particularly close.

 

[Local Shill]

Souf Mensah also "seems quite athletic." And he is. But can he play ball is the question. On athleticism we're probably in the 8-12 range in the conference. From a skills standpoint we're last and it's not particularly close.

throwing the eight out there is generous.

 

[Local Shill]

There are still positives to find this season. Getting back to full strength will help immensely from a talent and mental standpoint

Win the last two home games and a first-round Big Ten tourney game and I will buy that.

Finishing with the same or fewer conference wins than last year? No way can that be spun as a positive.

 

[bac2therac]

Win the last two home games and a first-round Big Ten tourney game and I will buy that.

Finishing with the same or fewer conference wins than last year? No way can that be spun as a positive.

agree...RU played an atrocious non conference schedule that was rated 329. To finish 13-18/3-15 or 12-19/2-16 will be a huge disappointment no matter how you look at it injuries or not

at minimum this team needs two wins to save some face for the season.

Everyone gets all warm fuzzies over close losses to Purdue or MSU but fail to realize that the rest of the league even the bottom feeders do it too..Iowa only got beat 96-93 to Michigan State, Indiana only lost to Michigan State by 3. Most teams play close games with better opponents at some point. They are still losses and your record is what it says it is

 

[Vegas pj]

at minimum this team needs two wins to save some face for the season.

Yikes! That's a sad commentary on the state of RU b-ball.

 

[MGSA99]

Positive news - Three weeks left in the season.