Granted they were playing Molloy. But the team looks to be much improved. I liked what I saw of Sa, Thiam, Johnson, Gettys and especially Eugene Omuryei ( sp?). Defensive effort was definitely there. Gettys looks to be an excellent late pick up--nice touch around the basket , big body.
Team looks to be much improved
- Thread starter jonS
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They are better. Some lapses on defense vs Malloy were terrible, especially off the dribble. They can play 10. Outside shooting options are present. Tough to judge how they really can board, Malloy was small. But we are bigger than last year, and should not wear down as much. Need to see how we play in the half court possession by possession in a tight game. Much better enthusiasm on the bench.
Couple of possessions, the offense look really smooth especially passing from high posts. Corey needs to be a better defender. Deshaun can board. Williams looks like he can shoot the 3 this year. Getty's cannot jump, put his width and decent touch around basket will help.
Couple of possessions, the offense look really smooth especially passing from high posts. Corey needs to be a better defender. Deshaun can board. Williams looks like he can shoot the 3 this year. Getty's cannot jump, put his width and decent touch around basket will help.
simple as this. We have a BASKETBALL TEAM back at Rutgers again. Not anywhere near perfect but I like the chemistry, the passing, and limited stupid plays. Very limited.
Team appeared to have focus and fouls were committed trying to make plays and being aggressive after the ball.
Drexel will be interesting read after this warm-up.
and in another word...FUN.
Team appeared to have focus and fouls were committed trying to make plays and being aggressive after the ball.
Drexel will be interesting read after this warm-up.
and in another word...FUN.
I think it's more than that. I've watched over the past 3 years wondering how you find 5 guys to put on a court that can't play basketball. Pick-up games were smoother. Coach Pikiell looks like he's put the pieces together better.....and you already know that they're in better condition than Eddie's teams.
I agree. But we are still a work in progress. Still giving up too many wide open looks from 3, some very risky passing against the zone on offense and less than stellar long-range shooting by all except Mike Williams. But, I like what I've seen so far and think Piekell will get this team to improve. Generally, a much better effort on defense and on the boards compared to last season. That means a lot.
First look at Michigan State tonight--no big bruisers. They had a fine recruiting class, especially Bridges, who had a big game against Arizona and though just a freshman is probably better than anyone we have. Three or four conference wins, plus most of our OOC games would be a nice season and a step up.
TL
TL
Reserve any real judgement until after the Drexel game. Lose that one and it will tell us a lot about things to come this season.
Just some observations. Last year we were perfectly capable of looking bad against ANY foe.
This years team LOOKS like they have some swagger...like a different attitude. The stats were nice,,,we have a couple of 7ft rebounders. Gettys looked good & was a scrapper! . Apologies but a guy I never heard of Omoruyi from Canada contributed. 6pts, 5rebs, 4assists. Nigel Johnson 14pts 5 rebs. Mike Williams contributed 17pts.....THESE are the kind of solid contributions we need from the "TEAM"....add 13 pts & 10 REBs from Freeman & this looks to be a well rounded team. On a more subtle note Cory Sanders got to be a POINT GUARD and had 8 assists, 6pts, 3 steals.
What a difference a COACH makes !
PS..I saw more POSITIVE observations posted by you guys so far than ever...
We WILL sneak up on a few people this year,,,,
This years team LOOKS like they have some swagger...like a different attitude. The stats were nice,,,we have a couple of 7ft rebounders. Gettys looked good & was a scrapper! . Apologies but a guy I never heard of Omoruyi from Canada contributed. 6pts, 5rebs, 4assists. Nigel Johnson 14pts 5 rebs. Mike Williams contributed 17pts.....THESE are the kind of solid contributions we need from the "TEAM"....add 13 pts & 10 REBs from Freeman & this looks to be a well rounded team. On a more subtle note Cory Sanders got to be a POINT GUARD and had 8 assists, 6pts, 3 steals.
What a difference a COACH makes !
PS..I saw more POSITIVE observations posted by you guys so far than ever...
We WILL sneak up on a few people this year,,,,
First thing I was looking for is foot movement on the perimeter defense, saw it, much better than the past.
Second thing I looked for was how the coaches handled the players during the game (coaching them up). Pretty much every time a player came out after a mistake, coach let them sit for a few minutes, then went over and to them and calming discussed things with the player. Instead of an immediate coaching which could be looked at as anger, he calmly talked to the player.
And the assistants were talking to players at different times of the game too.
Liked what I saw in those 2 aspects. Which are two important indicators going forward as a program.
Second thing I looked for was how the coaches handled the players during the game (coaching them up). Pretty much every time a player came out after a mistake, coach let them sit for a few minutes, then went over and to them and calming discussed things with the player. Instead of an immediate coaching which could be looked at as anger, he calmly talked to the player.
And the assistants were talking to players at different times of the game too.
Liked what I saw in those 2 aspects. Which are two important indicators going forward as a program.
For the first time in a many years I am going to be spending a few of my hard earned pesos Sunday on a team that intrigues and excites me. I am not buying my final 4 tix quite yet but baby steps will do.
One of the biggest takeaways I had was that they seem to know how to attack a zone. I haven't seen that in a few years. There was crisp and fast passing (which we saw employed against RU so many times) and solid movement by the five guys on the court.
Coach gets into it too... especially early in the game, he got into a defensive stance on the sidelines and was fired up.
I know it was against Malloy, but they look like they understand fundamentals.
Coach gets into it too... especially early in the game, he got into a defensive stance on the sidelines and was fired up.
I know it was against Malloy, but they look like they understand fundamentals.
What's important is the news guys look to be good contributors..gettys sa and thiam all look like major minute contributors and each has beat out guys already on the roster in some ways. That bodes very well
This was my big takeaway also. You could see that once Malloy went into the zone, our team was passing quickly and crisply in and out.
I agree with the comment above, however, that there were too many ill advised passes over the top of the zone. Those passes will get intercepted by bigger or more athletic teams.
A few other observations:
1. Gettys was a great pickup. That kid will help us win games.
2. Sa was bigger than I thought. It looks like he will be the primary "big" off the bench and will play some 5 as well as the 4.
3. Nigel is an incredible athlete. I just hope he can find a consistent jumper.
4. Williams was the MVP last night. If he can hit from downtown consistently, it provides Sanders and Johnson with a legit kick out option, and will force defenses to NOT sag into the lane on drives, thereby opening up the dribble penetration even more.
5. I like what I saw out of Thiam too. He's going to hit threes for us too.
6. Disappointed in what I saw out of Doorson. He looked soft.
7. Omoruyi is a nice player who will provide some intangibles off the bench. He also looks taller than his listed 6-6, and has really good length. Could be a good weapon for zone defense.
Pikiel has been talking up Omoruyi all Fall. He has stated he loves his defense and positional flexibility.
I look forward to seeing the team Sunday (could not go Friday).
Great post. In the second half last night, for 2.50$ in the nosebleeds, there was not a better place to be in Jersey. My brother and I had a great time.
About Thiam, in the first half coach told him to start pump faking his shots, and the next play, BOOM, he did it. The ball was being switched out of the zone, and Thiam pumped the shot, make them jump, switched back over. It looked like he said to Thiam, hey, you might not be able to get the shot, but always pump fake it and take them off their feet. Fantastic job by Coach P, and great execution by Thiam.
I like Sa too. I want to see him go straight up with his hands. Doorson only got a few minutes, so it is hard to tell. Early. I will say, Gettys is extremely important. It is also important Doorson mimicks Gettys play to he can do it next year, and this year. Doorson had a nice board, but just lost touch of it.
I was most impressed by Sanders with 8 assist. A selfless leader who loves to see his team mates do well. It is earlym so I want to refrain from any critique, but he should drive the gaps more against the next zone. They did a nice job contracting and expanding the opponents defense.
Freeman and Omoyuri had that nice foul line flash in the zone. Freemans spin move is pretty much automatic, and will be iconic at one point in our times seeing him. Terrific player.
Gettys might be the most important player on the team this year.
Pikiell has the details going. He knows what he is doing. Last night, he had the guys clap on bench- detail, but very important. It keeps the players positive and engaged instead of players coming out of the game and being frustrated because they missed some looks, played poorly. Clap, and you focus on the moment. You stay positive.
He also had players go to fans after the game. Get them involved, show the fans some love. I was not in the student section, but I will be back Sunday. It worked.
I will get an RU chant going against Drexel. More fun to be had at the RAC this weekend.The spaceship takes off in 5.4.3.2.1
RRRRR
what about the aggressive play/moves by Jonathan Laurent (sp) ..definitely looked like progressed into year 2. he FINISHED his shots.
Did you see coach stand back on the time outs and discuss things with other coaches while young was sitting with the team talking. Then coach steps in and leads the discuss. And they way coach interacted with the refs ? Just some off-play observations but I Like.
Did you see coach stand back on the time outs and discuss things with other coaches while young was sitting with the team talking. Then coach steps in and leads the discuss. And they way coach interacted with the refs ? Just some off-play observations but I Like.
Wait, you mean coaches are allowed to talk to each other?
And assistant coaches are allowed to talk to the players?
Isn't that confusing to the players?
(Sorry - I just have to pinch myself that the nightmare is over)
Was very much impressed and its nice having an experienced coach right out of the box. The most impressive thing was the ball movement and offensive flow, which lead to some nice easy layups and balanced scoring. We all know Corey can score at will, but he had a really good game as point guard. Oddly unsung hero of the game.
Gettys was a nice addition. He has such a soft touch underneath and predict he wiill become a fan favorite. His enthusiasm was contagious.
Freeman and Johnson especially in the 2nd half were very impressive and Johson's dunk was as good as any we have seen at the RAC.
Last year Williams scared me every time he touched the ball. Started off this season the same as he missed his first two wide open threes and them pouted and let his man have a wide open layup. I immediately thought uh oh another on 1 for 15 games. Instead he recovered and played a really good game and was a shot in the arm in the second half and probably player of the game. Kudos to his improvement and good coaching. Liked the announcer saying 5 for 3 (So Clever!).
Defense lacked intensity and movement at times and will need some work and Malloy shot lights out. Thought Corey would bulld up his steal stats. Yet when we had to, we went on the impressive 20-2 run to put the game away. Malloy wasn't a bad little team and I wonder how they will do in Div II.
Was Knight and Day an advertisement for Wrestling and Football? Still not thriilled with what they did in Section118. Keep shrinking the RAC is not the answer. Liked the close captioned board as public address system still leaves alot to be desired. Violin National Anthem was nice touch with Color Guard.
Loved Eddie but already can tell we are much improved. Loved the coaching staff with former head coaches as assistants. A blueprint football should have followed and hopefully we improve AND sneak some wins. Not mutually exclusive.
Gettys was a nice addition. He has such a soft touch underneath and predict he wiill become a fan favorite. His enthusiasm was contagious.
Freeman and Johnson especially in the 2nd half were very impressive and Johson's dunk was as good as any we have seen at the RAC.
Last year Williams scared me every time he touched the ball. Started off this season the same as he missed his first two wide open threes and them pouted and let his man have a wide open layup. I immediately thought uh oh another on 1 for 15 games. Instead he recovered and played a really good game and was a shot in the arm in the second half and probably player of the game. Kudos to his improvement and good coaching. Liked the announcer saying 5 for 3 (So Clever!).
Defense lacked intensity and movement at times and will need some work and Malloy shot lights out. Thought Corey would bulld up his steal stats. Yet when we had to, we went on the impressive 20-2 run to put the game away. Malloy wasn't a bad little team and I wonder how they will do in Div II.
Was Knight and Day an advertisement for Wrestling and Football? Still not thriilled with what they did in Section118. Keep shrinking the RAC is not the answer. Liked the close captioned board as public address system still leaves alot to be desired. Violin National Anthem was nice touch with Color Guard.
Loved Eddie but already can tell we are much improved. Loved the coaching staff with former head coaches as assistants. A blueprint football should have followed and hopefully we improve AND sneak some wins. Not mutually exclusive.
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This team has potential. It's pretty much a completely new group but there are legit players. We will lose some game we should win but also think the opposite will be true. 15-16 wins I think is a fair goal here. Some nice new additions in Thiam, Sa, Omenyuri, Gettys, Johnson. Sanders and Laurent didn't even need to do too much last night in offensive end which was nice.
Great to have a coach that can actually coach. Passing much better and defense seems improved. More hustle
Great to have a coach that can actually coach. Passing much better and defense seems improved. More hustle
Williams was the player of the game but it wasn't only because he knocked down some threes, and a couple key threes at important parts of the game, but he came in and locked down number 32 who was on fire early in the second half with Laurent guarding him. Willams came in and made him much more uncomfortable. Other then fouling him on a three he stopped him.
Good point MadRU. I made that same observation to my seat mate during the game. Number 32 was killing us, almost single-handedly cutting our lead to only 5 points, so Coach Pike put Williams on him after a timeout and Mike shut him down. Changed the game.
Hardly saw that with Jordan. Young was very focused because the bigs were fouling, which is his realm.
Gettys was a big surprise v. what I saw in the open practice. I wonder how his game translates when he isn't much, much bigger than the people he's playing against.
#32 was the coaches son. He shot almost 41% on 3's last year. He is very good. I believe he problably is only playing at D-2, Molloy because his father is the coach there. I'm pretty sure he could play and contribute at many D-1 schools.
I am surprised how "international" we are.
2 guys from Senegal...one by way of Florida
a surprise GOOD get from Toronto Canada where I spend my summers
Amsterdam by way of the Canary Islands
and something ive never seen..a kid from Lisbon Portugal...with a stopoff in Texas
Add 2 kids from my now home state of Florida(Sanders and Laurent)
and I am liking this teams mix,,,
I credit Pikiel for looking "far and wide"..........
First I think it's tough to tell a lot based upon one game vs Molloy, but I'm a little less upbeat than most. I think patience is the key word.
We've got a bunch of nice parts but it's gonna take a while to jell and some kids are gonna natural fill out. I'm also not as upbeat about Gettys. Good to have such a big guy out there but I think he'll have a helluva time against tougher competition. Anyone know why Doorson saw so few minutes. He didn't play well when he did get in but I think we'll need him.
We've got a bunch of nice parts but it's gonna take a while to jell and some kids are gonna natural fill out. I'm also not as upbeat about Gettys. Good to have such a big guy out there but I think he'll have a helluva time against tougher competition. Anyone know why Doorson saw so few minutes. He didn't play well when he did get in but I think we'll need him.
I would not judge Doorson based on 1 minute last night. He was anything but soft in Big10 play as a freshman. I think he is incredibly rusty with a year off with injury. Hopefully, he comes along. Coach has said some nice things about him at practice.
Omenyuri , Sa, Thiam are all very nice additions to the team. Omenyuri looks to have a Big Ten body, nice touch and decent handle. Getteys will be a force when Big Ten play starts. Nice soft touch and good hands. Also big plus having Freeman back. I'm looking forward to the Drexel game.
Hopefully Drexel plays some man to man so we can see how everyone performs against a different defense also. More room for Corey and company to penetrate.
Johnson has a very good handle. AND, Yes, he will be better against man where he can use his speed to get into the lane.
I feel like facing all zone was a blessing in disguise
1. We got to work against it
2. We were almost forced to play deliberate and under control. Some of our guys, especially Johnson, were probably super amped to make plays. Zone takes that out of you.
1. We got to work against it
2. We were almost forced to play deliberate and under control. Some of our guys, especially Johnson, were probably super amped to make plays. Zone takes that out of you.
This is a amazing point FIG. The more zone we see in OOC play the better for us when we play BIG. I did like the quick passes, going in and out of the post, to beat the zone movement. The repetitions can only help us. So, Drexel, play that 2-3 all game, we need the practice finding the open looks and improve FG %. Thiam has me excited. Its not just the 3 pt shooting but his high motor. Just don't want to jump the gun here but he could emerge to be a outstanding for us.
