Your starting five?

[winfield102]

Don't worry. Many people here were pretty confident JWill and Davis would shoot better this year.

They all just need a couple more games to improve on their 3pt shooting.
Davis: 22.2% (22.2% career)
Derkack: 20.8% (25.6% career)
Williams: 28.6% (26.0% career)

I'm sure they'll improve as we play better teams and better defenses......

Post of the day!!

 

[Mr Magoo]

Mystifying post.

1) And not only directed at this poster ... why the hate for Williams and the love for Derkack? Look, I like Derkack, and think he is better than he has shown this season. But Williams, quite simply, is better: He is a better 2-point shooter (with an actual mid-range game), a better 3-point shooter this year, a better FT shooter and a better defender. Derkack has a somewhat better ass/TO ratio (fewer TO, more assists), and is a slightly better rebounder ... but that is it.

2) Why the hate on Davis? He has been pretty darned solid the last 5 games since he was put into the starting line-up, has visibly moved his FG%, 3-point FG% and even FT% upwards the last 5 games ... is now in the last 5 games showing the on-ball defense many had been expecting ... and has a FANTASTIC assist/turnover ratio of 26 assists to just 6 turnovers ... and 27 points in the last 3 games (27 mpg) - on 9-22 FG, 4-11 3-point FG, 13 assist, 8 steals, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and ... ZERO turnovers. And NOW you say cut him out of the rotation completely?

In fact, I am not sure any RU player other than Bailey, Harper, Sommerville or Williams has had 3 consecutive games as goo as Davis' last 3 games (Williams has had 2 3-game stretches better; Sommerville has had 2-3 3-game stretches as good or better). Well, maybe Derkack has had some similar stretches also (similar offensive efficiency, more rebounds, many more turnovers, poorer overall defense). - Derkack vs Davis is a bit of trading off rebounds and FT shooting for on-ball defense and better facilitation/taking care of the ball ... and potential more offense (Derkakc should be considered to have a higher scoring ceiling, Davis a higher play-making ceiling)

Agreed that Davis has been playing better of late but I’ve never been a fan. No way is he a B1G starter (we only have two of those anyway)…at least if you want to win. He’s not a shooter, not an offensive threat, and if you watched the Columbia game, they sagged on the 2-3 and dared him to shoot, thereby clogging the lane. I think his D is overrated also. I’d use him to plug in when others mess up but since there is no accountability on this team, that won’t happen. I will admit that I was surprised by the zero turnovers, so youn got me there. Perhaps I can’t get my perception of him out of my head.

I agree with you that Williams is better than Derkack, although just as frustrating. I like Williams better off the bench, however. He just doesn’t seem to mesh well with the starters. He seems lost (when he’s not sliding all over the floor, that is). I’m also not saying that he wouldn’t finish the game, depending on the situation.

 

[RedChucken123]

If we were looking at last year, I’d say JWill was one of the highlights. This year with Dylan and Ace getting the most touches, JWill has been a hot mess when the ball ends up in his hands at the top of the arc and he tries to play hero ball when he has no business doing so. I’ll give some credit for his defense and rebounding.

It’s like he knows it’s his last year and scouts are watching all of our games, but it is not doing the team any good. (Nor him and any scouting gametape.) Let him be 6/7th man off the bench and hopefully chemistry will be a lot better.

 

[KnightTerrors]

It’s becoming clear there is no lineup mix that will significantly improve us defensively. If that’s the case, our path to winning is scoring which we’ve shown we can do.

Dylan, Ace and Jwill can’t sit more than a few minutes. Acuff to me is the guy I would give big minutes to right now and pray that he figures it out. Everyone else should be matchup/in game play decisions.

 

[winfield102]

Does any lineup make us better defensively? I don't think so.

Line up changes could make the offense better, but would definitely make the defense worse. I just can't see a defensive-minded coach doing this. He's not a guy that's going to maximize these players on offense.

Just tell them what you want out of them offensively. No question in my mind that this has not been well defined by Pike. We wouldn't see Lathan posting up in the strong side post when Ace or Dylan have the ball on the wing.

Acuff, Hayes and martini should be working extremely hard to hunt quality threes when they're in the game. Too many instances of them deferring or not working hard enough to get into a good shooting position when the ball comes to them. I don't think Pike has made it clear to them what their value is. "You're the number one option when you are in the game, we need you to shoot 3's... but it has to be a quality look."