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Time to start over with ballers and guys who want to compete

Derek Simpson, here is my talk: work on your shot your shooting percentage has to improve (else shoot less), learn to dish when doubled or when someone 6” taller challenges you in the lane, less hero ball and more team ball on offense, get the ball to the open man for higher percentage shots. Keep busting your ass on D and keep hitting the boards. You have a lot of upside if your play makes your teammates better.

Sounds simple…
 
I understand. But he was suggesting that fans would have unfairly ripped Derek if he shot 2-9 when they didn’t rip Jamichael, as if there’s a double standard, and he often tends to criticize Jamichael as a means to try to defend Derek. I was just pointing out a reason why Derek might be currently more prone to criticism in the forum than Jamichael is for not shooting well in a particular game. (And although Davis shot 2-9 in the game, Simpson’s 0-4 wasn’t necessarily much better..)
Stop the Simpson v. JMike debates……here is the answer to who is better………The Transfer Portal!!! We need a better guard, who can shoot, hit threes, and be consistently relied upon. If Derek transfers out so be it, if he stays then so be it, he will have what I assume will be a diminished role. Go get a quality guard in the portal to mix in with Dylan and JWill or one who can even start that will be ahead of Simpson and JMike in a rotation. JMike I assume will be here but he may actually get less minutes next year depending on what the roster looks like after the offseason dust settles. I personally think Derek will leave through the portal, whether he enters right away or he enters later due to Pike adding a guard to the roster through the portal. We complained about the guards all season, we complained about shooting, we complained about their inability to score……offseason is the time to address that and make changes.
 
Going off of O'Leary's unofficial scholly chart, assuming no changes are made we have the following:

1. Mag
2. Cliff
3. Oskar
4. Simpson
5. Woolf
6. Ogbole
7. J Wil
8. Chol
9. Gavin
10. JMike
11. Ace
12. Dortch
13. Lathan
14. Dylan Grant
15. Dylan Harper

We're two over the limit. Have to assume the two you need to cut are going to be guys that haven't gotten much time this past season. I think this ends up being Chol and Woolf. Simpson isn't going anywhere.

Harper, Grant, Lathan, Dortch, Ace, Gavin, JMike, JWil, Ogbole, Simpson, Oskar.

Mag we know is gone, and Cliff is on the fence. I mean we're talking roster turnover, but I think this is the team we're rolling into next season with.

It's really just 2 schollys open, and I'm pretty confident Cliff comes back so it's really just 1 scholly.
I think there will be more open Schollies. Let’s see how offseason shakes out but Pike could have anywhere from as low as two to four open to him. It’s conceivably possible that Mag, Cliff, Derek, Oskar, Ogbole, Woolf, Chol do not return…..maybe not all of them……but some mixture of them that could mean 4, 5, or 6 guys do not return. Cliff could return to play college basketball but enter a portal……let’s not forget he can only get NIL money from an international trip or game. Maybe he transfers to a school that can offer him that. Maybe he turns pro……Pike will be adding people in the portal just a matter of how many at this point.
 
let’s not forget he can only get NIL money from an international trip or game. Maybe he transfers to a school that can offer him that.
If this is his only obstacle to returning to Rutgers, I'd have to imagine we could find another school in the same boat to play us in Canada or something.
 
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If this is his only obstacle to returning to Rutgers, I'd have to imagine we could find another school in the same boat to play us in Canada or something.
You would like to think we could get that creative, not so sure they would be able to make that happen. The alternative is Pike tries to get a quick and definitive answer from Cliff shortly after end of season, then Pike doesn’t wait on Cliff this year, gets a quality big man in the portal and does not pass up chances on quality bigs (according to Mike and Richie on the pod Pike passed up a few who wanted to come as he waited on Cliff last season) while waiting on Cliff and then Cliff later decides he will return to college……maybe then I could see Cliff entering the portal to go to a school where he thinks he can get NIL and one that might showcase him next season for his professional prospects.
 
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Well, If the “lowly recruited sophomore” is going to take way more shots (273) than anyone else on the team except Andre (278) and miss 69% of them, and shoot under 30% in 18 of the 31 games (and exactly 30% in 2 more) then maybe some heat is warranted.

And I recall plenty of other players taking a lot of heat during the season too. Right now Derek is probably being mentioned more because of replies to G- RUnit’s staunch defense of him.
Unfortunately, someone on the team has to shoot. Gavin took shots at a faster rate than Simpson and was at 31% also, should we kill the freshman too? This was a very poorly constructed team, with threats no where. When guys who are limited have to try to carry a load, it most likely will be ugly. You need upperclassmen leaders to be a good team. We had none. May not have any next year, so be prepared.
 
You all forget three players that bolted or no showed: Spencer, Mulcahy and Ndongo. With those three you have one very good shooter and two better than average shooters. Throw in rebounds from Ndongo at the power forward and you are in the Tournie. You have the bench our staff projected. There was no one in place behind Ndongo to play at his level and we stunk the joint out on late season recruiting. If we did not get Jeremiah it could have been worse. Also, our offensive sets created a lot of midrange shots which historically the least effective. We were the fourth lowest p5 scoring team at 65.8 and also one of the worst shooting teams. Our rebounding was also down this year.
 
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Starting lineup of Mulcahy, Spencer, Williams, Ndongo, and Cliff would've been a tournament-level rotation. Lots more size for rebounding, a spot-up shooter at 2, Paul working the PnR with Cliff, Baye's all-around solid game... then bench players are Mag and Hyatt in front court, Simpson/Davis/Noah in the backcourt... we would've been pretty solid.

Oh well.
 
I think a lot of rosters — including ours — are going to see major turnover. Even more than what we all seem to expect. And no that’s no insider info. I simply think that 60-80% of every roster will go into the portal because why not. You never know what you can get.
 
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Starting lineup of Mulcahy, Spencer, Williams, Ndongo, and Cliff would've been a tournament-level rotation. Lots more size for rebounding, a spot-up shooter at 2, Paul working the PnR with Cliff, Baye's all-around solid game... then bench players are Mag and Hyatt in front court, Simpson/Davis/Noah in the backcourt... we would've been pretty solid.

Oh well.
Williams was not expected to play at all this season though. It took a mid season law suit and rule change for him to get on the court
 
Williams was not expected to play at all this season though. It took a mid season law suit and rule change for him to get on the court
True... so put a healthy and dedicated (haha, right?) Mag in at the 3 and away you go.
 
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Then stop shooting and be a PG.
Aundre, Gavin, JWill all took more shots than Derek per 100 possessions, Mag almost an equal amount. DS led the team in assists per 100 possessions, over JWill with lower TO's than JWill. He was also able to stay on the court because he played D and committed the fewest fouls per 100.
Our offense pretty much dictates EVERYONE shoots. Dylan just didn't do it well at all this year. He was average to plus at everything else. Hard to do much more as PG on this team when no one shoots well, moves without the ball well, ect.
 
Aundre, Gavin, JWill all took more shots than Derek per 100 possessions, Mag almost an equal amount. DS led the team in assists per 100 possessions, over JWill with lower TO's than JWill. He was also able to stay on the court because he played D and committed the fewest fouls per 100.
Our offense pretty much dictates EVERYONE shoots. Dylan just didn't do it well at all this year. He was average to plus at everything else. Hard to do much more as PG on this team when no one shoots well, moves without the ball well, ect.
This is all correct and it explains why Simpson (correctly) plays major minutes on THIS team. But that doesn't guarantee his role going forward.
 
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Aundre, Gavin, JWill all took more shots than Derek per 100 possessions, Mag almost an equal amount. DS led the team in assists per 100 possessions, over JWill with lower TO's than JWill. He was also able to stay on the court because he played D and committed the fewest fouls per 100.
Our offense pretty much dictates EVERYONE shoots. Dylan just didn't do it well at all this year. He was average to plus at everything else. Hard to do much more as PG on this team when no one shoots well, moves without the ball well, ect.
The problem was Derek over penetrated into no man’s land and never probably spaced the floor to initiate the offense thru Cliff. Cliff should have been targeted by Derek and JMike and Noah and Jeremiah and the first 3 were terrible at getting Cliff the ball and shots. Cliff also if doubled should have been encouraged or demanded to kick out for a 3. The best time to shoot a 3 is when it is kicked out or off an offensive rebound. Our shooting % from 3 would have been a lot better if they were shot that way by everyone Gavin , Hyatt , Noah or Derek. Instead we relied on guards shooting more shots than they should missing more shots than they should and turning Cliff into a 5/6 point player most nights. That was boneheaded offense with disastrous shooting results that turned shots into turnover like possessions and turned close games into double digit deficits. No getting a bucket to stop a drought and stop the momentum . The total misuse of Cliff this year resulting in the pathetic offense and shooting display we witnessed
 
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Starting lineup of Mulcahy, Spencer, Williams, Ndongo, and Cliff would've been a tournament-level rotation. Lots more size for rebounding, a spot-up shooter at 2, Paul working the PnR with Cliff, Baye's all-around solid game... then bench players are Mag and Hyatt in front court, Simpson/Davis/Noah in the backcourt... we would've been pretty solid.

Oh well.

I don't believe Williams is here if Mulcahy and Spencer leave.
Both Williams were reactions to them leaving.
 
This is all correct and it explains why Simpson (correctly) plays major minutes on THIS team. But that doesn't guarantee his role going forward.
Don't disagree at all. Don't think we can roster three point guards that can't shoot at all from the outside. I almost don't care which goes, as I'm not as high on JWill as most.
 
I don't believe Williams is here if Mulcahy and Spencer leave.
Both Williams were reactions to them leaving.
Maybe but losing Cam and Ndongo were absolutely huge losses with out 3 point shooting as well as 2 point shooting taking a dive and our rebounding a year long problem would have been solved by Ndongo. Our horrendous defensive rebounding cost us 4-5 games this year. Expending all that defensive energy and allowing a defensive rebound to create another possession that eventually was converted was a regular staple all year. Never corrected and more than a few forwards didn’t even attempt to jump for rebounds. Breakdown of film would be brutal
 
Maybe but losing Cam and Ndongo were absolutely huge losses with out 3 point shooting as well as 2 point shooting taking a dive and our rebounding a year long problem would have been solved by Ndongo. Our horrendous defensive rebounding cost us 4-5 games this year. Expending all that defensive energy and allowing a defensive rebound to create another possession that eventually was converted was a regular staple all year. Never corrected and more than a few forwards didn’t even attempt to jump for rebounds. Breakdown of film would be brutal
It was, kinda.

In Nov-Dec we gave up 34.3% O rebounds (against mainly noncon opponents many of which were quite weak teams)
From 1/1/24 to present we gave up 29.5% O rebounds (against stronger conference opponents)

The D1 average is 28.6%. So we did improve quite a lot actually from the beginning of the season but it's still a bit of a weakness (esp relative to the rest of our defensive numbers)
 
The problem was Derek over penetrated into no man’s land and never probably spaced the floor to initiate the offense thru Cliff. Cliff should have been targeted by Derek and JMike and Noah and Jeremiah and the first 3 were terrible at getting Cliff the ball and shots. Cliff also if doubled should have been encouraged or demanded to kick out for a 3. The best time to shoot a 3 is when it is kicked out or off an offensive rebound. Our shooting % from 3 would have been a lot better if they were shot that way by everyone Gavin , Hyatt , Noah or Derek. Instead we relied on guards shooting more shots than they should missing more shots than they should and turning Cliff into a 5/6 point player most nights. That was boneheaded offense with disastrous shooting results that turned shots into turnover like possessions and turned close games into double digit deficits. No getting a bucket to stop a drought and stop the momentum . The total misuse of Cliff this year resulting in the pathetic offense and shooting display we witnessed
I'm partially with you. Cliff's shot rate was very low for this team. However, his post game is very limited. He did, however, often draw attention and probably could have kicked back out for more open looks. Don't know if it would have worked out that way, as he was so shot starved, it was usually going up if he got it.

I actually think J WIll was worse with floor spacing, at least DS beat his man off the dribble and got himself open looks. J Will was much better at making the one's he made for himself though. Cliff's numbers don't really show much of a difference in the last ten with JWill, with his points and attempts down very slightly.
 
I'm partially with you. Cliff's shot rate was very low for this team. However, his post game is very limited. He did, however, often draw attention and probably could have kicked back out for more open looks. Don't know if it would have worked out that way, as he was so shot starved, it was usually going up if he got it.

I actually think J WIll was worse with floor spacing, at least DS beat his man off the dribble and got himself open looks. J Will was much better at making the one's he made for himself though. Cliff's numbers don't really show much of a difference in the last ten with JWill, with his points and attempts down very slightly.
That is my point . All the guards including Jeremiah were score first , shot first and not pass first guards that killed our offense especially Derek. JWill made a few mid ranges but if you are going to handle as much and not give Cliff the ball you better make 6-8 of them. Never happened. In no universe should all the guards , and I am including some of JMike ‘s 2-10 or Noah’s 2-10 shooting days , have more shots than Cliff unless they were on fire like Noah’s 5-5 from three point range against Wisconsin . Remarkably Noah only shot 6 times and was 6-6 but Cliff was 6-11 and 13 points good balance and Jeremiah 6-15 and 18 points. Again , maybe too many Jeremiah shots and maybe more Cliff but better balance than when Cliff has only 2-3 shots a game.
 
I think there will be more open Schollies. Let’s see how offseason shakes out but Pike could have anywhere from as low as two to four open to him. It’s conceivably possible that Mag, Cliff, Derek, Oskar, Ogbole, Woolf, Chol do not return…..maybe not all of them……but some mixture of them that could mean 4, 5, or 6 guys do not return. Cliff could return to play college basketball but enter a portal……let’s not forget he can only get NIL money from an international trip or game. Maybe he transfers to a school that can offer him that. Maybe he turns pro……Pike will be adding people in the portal just a matter of how many at this point.
Mag is gone
 
Aundre, Gavin, JWill all took more shots than Derek per 100 possessions, Mag almost an equal amount. DS led the team in assists per 100 possessions, over JWill with lower TO's than JWill. He was also able to stay on the court because he played D and committed the fewest fouls per 100.
Our offense pretty much dictates EVERYONE shoots. Dylan just didn't do it well at all this year. He was average to plus at everything else. Hard to do much more as PG on this team when no one shoots well, moves without the ball well, ect.
You must be related to him.
 
No insider info but I know Cliff and Mag are tight. If Cliff left last year, I think Mag would have left too. Guys like to get out and score. Mag may see himself as a someone who should be averaging 15+ per game rather than just being a defensive stopper. The irony is that Pike helped bolster Mag's profile by making him into such a good defender and he gives his guys carte blanche on offense. But, who knows, I'm speculating.
Thing is when he was healthy he was having those type if scoring games this year
 
We also ran a lot of more sets for Gavin late in year that got him open looks from top of key which seems to be his most effective shot
 
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