And how many of pikiell's contributors did over the years? This man (along with his fantastic staff) have a track record of identifying talent in under the radar places just like you have a track record of being a total douchebag with an opinion that is basically worth nada.
Watched Souf's recruiting video again.....
- Thread starter WGLTAUD
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I think people are a little bit confused on the interest in Douby because his recruiting heated up so late. I think with Webb it was kind of the opposite with early offers including Villanova, then his stock seemed to drop a bit.
His 2nd year stats were posted in the original thread when he committed. But, lots of people ignored them and continued to harp on his first years stats. Guys like @RickB113 continue to talk about those same first year stats and ignore his recent stats. Some other guys even picked out individual games when he was hurt to support their narrative that he was not worthy of being picked up.
This was not a last minute pickup to get a warm body, he was targeted as the #2 PG on the board after Pikiell missed on the NY PG who selected Ga. tech.
I am thoroughly confused by this post. Over the years? This past Thursday was his one year anniversary as head coach of Rutgers. And only one (Gettys) out of his five recruits he brought in was a major contributor.
His next six months decides if he will be here for the long term or not.
I did not ignore his second year stats. They were awful too. His highlight video is really unimpressive considering it is a highlight video. No other school in the country was recruiting him. As the poster above said one out of five of pikes recruits so far have contributed significantly. We will see what happens.
If I made a 6 minute highlight video of my high school career it would include 359 seconds of advertising space.
okay....so now we live in a world where 11.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 4.3 apg and 47% shooting stats are awful for a passing PG.
His tape showed exactly what he wanted to highlight....his passing skills and his ability to move the ball around on offense. If he wanted to show some outside shots being made he could have.....unless you think a 47% shooter never made an outside shot.....lol
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Those stats are definitely not awful. Shooting 47%, 6 RPG and 4 Assists per game, shows a big improvement from his first year.
For freshman, Thiam and Omoruyi had solid contributions. I don't know what you expected, considering the perception of the program prior to Pike's arrival.
So his time at Stony Brook and the assistants times at UConn Pitt etc dont count? Pikiell took a team full of guys nobody else wanted to the NCAA tourney. And those other guys he brought in each contributed to our collective improvement at different points. Frosh and newbies shouldn't be counted on to be the difference makers when we had starting caliber players already in the program.
His final numbers aren't really that much better than his freshman year – – his most impressive number is 6'2" tall and 210 pounds. Obviously, statistics don't tell the whole story, but I don't think a case could be made for him based on statistics, We'll see what kind of intangibles he brings. http://www.mccathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/bios/mensah_souf_9yrv
No one is ignoring the second year stats. Mensah is just not a shooter.
http://mccathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/bios/mensah_souf_9yrv?view=career&pos=sh
He was 2-9 from range this year over 24 games (22%) after going 9-31 last year in 29 games (29%). He just doesn't shoot threes - and in the rare moments when he does, he doesn't often make them. He was also just 50-88 from the line this year (57%), after going 56-117 last year (48%).
Because he's not a shooter, his points must come mostly in the lane. That doesn't help us open up defenses that are already clogging up the inside.
He also has a 1.2 Assist/Turnover ratio (4 ast / 3.2 to) - which aren't great numbers for a pass-first guy against Juco competition. When adjusting for minutes played, he had 5.8 turnovers per 40 min... well above the 3.6 and 3.5 of Sanders and Omoruyi, who had the most for us last year (and above the 4.1 and 4.0 that Bishop Daniels had in 2014-15 and 2015-16)
I'm sure Pikiell and Co. see some potential in him, and I'm looking forward to see how they mold him within their system - but his numbers aren't jumping off the page right now as someone who's going to give meaningful minutes that will be a step up from what we saw last year.
This is similar to what you would see at Creighton and Witchita State. They take players like you describe and coach them up. We do however, need to start landing the above average player and really good player to succeed in the tough B1G. I have faith that Pikiell will get this done.
Thank you! Those are the stats I am talking about. His shooting percentage from three and the foul line are beyond bad for a guard. He has no highlights of making any jump shots. He has no other D1 offers. I'm guessing between his poor shooting number and no offers he can't shoot. And the competition is bad. Most of these kids shooting percentages go down as well when facing big ten guards. If a guy is shooting 45% from three at a JC I expect him to shoot around 37% in the big ten. So Mensah is looking at negative percentages
Unless you are building teams that are beating Vermont, Albany and other America East Conference teams, you are correct, it doesn't count. I'm sorry Mensah is a bad pickup. I don't care about Pikiel's wins at Stony Brook I care about wins at Rutgers. He had a great pickup in Doucoure. He needs to get about 3-4 more players at this level for him to succeed. Mensah is not one of them.
I'm not quite sure why there is so much angst or anxiety of the 5th guard on a roster.
Mensah was offered and the stats or highlights don't scream out starter, but I'd probably hitch my wagons to developing and playing Geo Baker, vs trying to figure out how much or how little Mensah will contribute.
As far as whether the recruits the staff have landed or kept have contributed, it's extremely early to make any sort of determination BUT I find it strange that no one is questioning the coaching aspect of the staff.
Sanders, Baker, Mensah, Williams and an expected new guard are going to be the backcourt next year.
The other item that is somewhat false is the notion that if 2018 recruiting isn't somehow a grand slam, then Pikiell or the staff are doomed to fail. There are way too many ways in this new wave of college basketball, to retool a roster. Grad Transfers, JUCO's, Prep school and High School all provide resources for a Top 8 or 9 players you need to have.
If Mensah was offered today and verballed, then the posters complaining have every right to question it.....however, at the time of the "verbal", Pikiell is less than 15 games into his career here at RU, has no idea what Nigel Johnson might do, has started with the assumption that Sanders has Pro aspirations.
When we land a replacement for Nigel as a 5th year or elsewhere, is when we can determine how much or how Mensah may determine his impact. There are going to be more moves made, it's best to not worry too much about Mensah at this point....The staff is on the case, doesn't mean they will get their first choice for any one player, but there are enough players to fill in the gaps for next year.
Mensah was offered and the stats or highlights don't scream out starter, but I'd probably hitch my wagons to developing and playing Geo Baker, vs trying to figure out how much or how little Mensah will contribute.
As far as whether the recruits the staff have landed or kept have contributed, it's extremely early to make any sort of determination BUT I find it strange that no one is questioning the coaching aspect of the staff.
Sanders, Baker, Mensah, Williams and an expected new guard are going to be the backcourt next year.
The other item that is somewhat false is the notion that if 2018 recruiting isn't somehow a grand slam, then Pikiell or the staff are doomed to fail. There are way too many ways in this new wave of college basketball, to retool a roster. Grad Transfers, JUCO's, Prep school and High School all provide resources for a Top 8 or 9 players you need to have.
If Mensah was offered today and verballed, then the posters complaining have every right to question it.....however, at the time of the "verbal", Pikiell is less than 15 games into his career here at RU, has no idea what Nigel Johnson might do, has started with the assumption that Sanders has Pro aspirations.
When we land a replacement for Nigel as a 5th year or elsewhere, is when we can determine how much or how Mensah may determine his impact. There are going to be more moves made, it's best to not worry too much about Mensah at this point....The staff is on the case, doesn't mean they will get their first choice for any one player, but there are enough players to fill in the gaps for next year.
He has only been here 1 year and you are already declaring him a failure as a recruiter. You are tripping over your clear agenda.
Way to figure everything out over one post and never read anything I have said in the last 12 months. So let me tell you my actual position. I have no idea if he is a good or bad recruiter, nor does anyone else no matter how much they pretend they know everything. The next six months will decide how good of a recruiter he is (and how long he will be our coach). However this pickup was not a good pickup.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion
Personally, i would view it premature given he hasn't even gotten to campus yet and our staff showed their chops this year.
You are at a point that when I see your name I already know what you wrote. You post the same message in every thread.
I don't know how much angst/anxiety I have, though I'll admit to some level of confusion.
At a time when the staff was talking constantly about needing shooters, with only two scholarships to offer, we went with a guy who isn't a shooter. I can't say I understood it at the time, and I still don't, really - though I have faith that the staff sees something that they want to mold, or maybe they see him as a lock down defender or playing an important part of a larger picture that I can't see. We still need shooters, though.
That's bullcrap this is one of only a very few posts that I have criticized the coach I have been for the most part complimentary.
What concerns me right now is that the two leading scorers ,Sanders and Johnson ,have expressed interest in leaving while other players who were non scorers appear to be staying.Sanders status is still up in the air and hopefully he will return.Johnson will transfer and he scored 20 points in his last two games .Tough love is now required to encourage 2-3 players to leave where they will have a better chance to play and succeed.Transfers are happening all over the country and Rutgers can't waste a year prior to at least 4 players graduating/leaving next season.
I am not one to question the recruiting of Pikiell & co, so please do not misconstrue my posting of this link. Below are the 2017 JUCO rankings - you'll see Shakur Juiston (#1) and De'Quon Lake (#15) at the top of the list. Souf Mensah is not mentioned.
http://www.jucorecruiting.com/2017jucotop100
http://www.jucorecruiting.com/2017jucotop100
47% FG Avg is outstanding for a guard. I was expecting below 30% from the comment that his stats were terrible. What was his FT%?
He was 50-88 from the line this year (57%), and 56-117 last year (48%).
47% (45% this year) is definitely outstanding for a guard... because guards usually take the most outside shots on the team, which drives down their overall percentages. Mensah doesn't take very many outside shots (2/9 from range this year), so his numbers will be closer to those of a big whose FG% comes largely off of layups.
How the hell can you shoot 47% from the field and 57% from the line as a guard? And last year he was 48% from the line?
Here is what I don't understand about so many players today: Did it not occur to you that you would be shooting free throws? How hard is that to get good at?
When the strong majority of your shots are within 2 feet of the basket on layups and put backs?
such is life as a Scarlet Knight haha. Well heres to hoping. Ill take Lake to replace Gettys in the interim then.
As a point guard? Seems odd. But I'm not knocking the kid. The idea of a 24 year old player who looks strong as an ox and is quick as a back up point guard looks to me like it has potential. I just don't understand why he is so bad at free throw shooting.
Everybody does do it. Not a team in Division 1 that doesn't average better than 60%. My point is that it is a key component of the game. It is 100% predictable. And it matters. How can you not get better than 58% at it?
It does seem odd. Nothing in his stats through two years say that he's a shooter - he very rarely takes shots from behind the arc (and hits sub 30% when he does), and he shoots sub 60% from the line. Given his high number of rebounds, I'd imagine he plays a lot around the basket, driving for layups and cleaning up misses. If he could draw the defenses in and kick out to a shooter, that'd be something - but right now we don't have anyone outside to really kick to.
Now, I'm sure the staff sees something they want to capitalize on - maybe there's something in his shooting form they feel is correctable, or maybe he plays really tough on-ball defense, or whatever. They definitely see more than what's on the stat sheet, so we'll see how it plays out.
More importantly, who's the guy that will make the open shot? What opponent is going to push up on guards who are bad shooters?
Webb's stock dropped because people realized that he didn't have enough offensive skill to score consistently in a major conference. That was borne out at RU. Villanova has usually had guards who can shoot.
I agree that he hasn't shown much as a recruiter yet. But I disagree that he should have only 6 more months to show it.