Key point in game (Kiss)

[SirScarlet]

I thought a huge point in the game was when Kiss rejected the Husker player who was about to throw it down. He picked up his 4th foul, but that was huge.

a) it was a great foul to force them to shoot FTs
b) it showed everyone this isn't the 'same old Rutgers'

I loved it as it shows our team is gritty and won't back down from anyone.

this is now 2 games in a row where Kiss has been really active on D, and is giving full effort on both ends. he is starting to find his role as a key contributor. it's clear that the youngsters (Matthis, Harper) are ahead of him, but we NEED Peter Kiss to win games and get out of the basement.

Well done to him.

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

Kiss had some brutal turnovers in the 1st half, but he wasn't the only one. He's shown a propensity for turnovers throughout the season. That's what landed him on the bench to begin with. This must end.
If he continues to work his *** off on defense and knocks down OPEN looks, I'm good with Peter Kiss.

 

[SirScarlet]

Kiss had some brutal turnovers in the 1st half, but he wasn't the only one. He's shown a propensity for turnovers throughout the season. That's what landed him on the bench to begin with. This must end.
If he continues to work his *** off on defense and knocks down OPEN looks, I'm good with Peter Kiss.

agree...many ugly turnovers across the board.

I think we need Kiss to be a key role player on this team. and I believe last night was a good glimpse of what we can get from him as solid role/bench player. if I think of the players who won the game yesterday, his name doesn't immediately come to mind. but, he did some good things yesterday which contributed to the win. this big foul being one of them (IMHO).

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

agree...many ugly turnovers across the board.

I think we need Kiss to be a key role player on this team. and I believe last night was a good glimpse of what we can get from him as solid role/bench player. if I think of the players who won the game yesterday, his name doesn't immediately come to mind. but, he did some good things yesterday which contributed to the win. this big foul being one of them (IMHO).

You could define the same role for Thaim. Supposedly, Kiss and Thaim are two of our best shooters. If our "shooters" could knock down wide open looks, we wouldn't be 9-9.

 

[SirScarlet]

You could define the same role for Thaim. Supposedly, Kiss and Thaim are two of our best shooters. If our "shooters" could knock down wide open looks, we wouldn't be 9-9.

I have no inside info, but I believe this is what Pike had hoped...Issa looked to be choice #1...but I wonder if things are changing there. He could always play himself into a game with a hot night, but right now, I think Issa may be on the outside looking in. Kiss on the other hand has been slowly coming along. he's been doing a lot of little things that he wasn't doing earlier in the season. I pointed out in the NW game how he played 10+ mins in the first half...there were several times Pike could have taken him out, but he rolled with him. I only wish we ran some specific plays for him

there are many games left...and hopefully they can both get hot (in different games! lol)...we will need them to win games. I think everyone can agree with that.

and yes, I think we all hope that they would both shoot better. no argument there.

 

[trotter]

I'm sorry, but I can't wait till the day when we do not have to play Kiss, Doorson, and Thaim so much.
Thaim- shot has just disappeared. He has zero confidence. Every time he touches the ball he is looking to pass it immediately. He is no threat. Plays some decent defense though.
Kiss- Slow on defense. Shoots too much for his shooting percentage. I'd put him in in closing minutes for foul shooting.
Doorson- Can't hit a layup. Doesn't cut to the basket. Defense?

Very impressed with the young studs. They need more time not less. Pike seems to be on the same page. Carter should play more as well.

 

[dkostus]

I'm sorry, but I can't wait till the day when we do not have to play Kiss, Doorson, and Thaim so much.
Thaim- shot has just disappeared. He has zero confidence. Every time he touches the ball he is looking to pass it immediately. He is no threat. Plays some decent defense though.
Kiss- Slow on defense. Shoots too much for his shooting percentage. I'd put him in in closing minutes for foul shooting.
Doorson- Can't hit a layup. Doesn't cut to the basket. Defense?

Very impressed with the young studs. They need more time not less. Pike seems to be on the same page. Carter should play more as well.

Doorson has actually had great touch around the basket all season. A few bad games doesnt change that.

 

[Bob Chaewsky_rivals]

I'm sorry, but I can't wait till the day when we do not have to play Kiss, Doorson, and Thaim so much.
Thaim- shot has just disappeared. He has zero confidence. Every time he touches the ball he is looking to pass it immediately. He is no threat. Plays some decent defense though.
Kiss- Slow on defense. Shoots too much for his shooting percentage. I'd put him in in closing minutes for foul shooting.
Doorson- Can't hit a layup. Doesn't cut to the basket. Defense?
Very impressed with the young studs. They need more time not less. Pike seems to be on the same page. Carter should play more as well.

Kiss hit a huge three in crunch time last night and brought us back from 8-10 down vs. NW, Given an open three I'll take him over anyone else. Kid takes way too much criticism.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

That was a HUGE play IMHO as was the 3 he had hit earlier. Expected more but take what we can get the rest of this season!

 

[BOCA93]

More often than not Kiss is a liability on D. Idk if I was imagining it or not but NU seemed to key on him anytime he was in. Agreed, his foul to prevent the dunk was a pivotal moment as was knocking down the open 3. He seemed to get a bit of his confidence / swagger back last night. Good to see because they need him to win these types of games.

 

[blueoyster]

He also nailed a 3 pt free throw sequence. That seemed to bolster his confidence as well as energise the crowd! Given our struggles at the charity stripe lately, I thought that was a key part of the game.

 

[toby83]

H eknocked down Cole free throws late as well

 

[RU at the shore]

Harper and Kiss at the "3."

Issa garbage time or emergency only, please

 

[SirScarlet]

Kiss hit a huge three in crunch time last night and brought us back from 8-10 down vs. NW, Given an open three I'll take him over anyone else. Kid takes way too much criticism.

my only criticism of Kiss has been: a) he needs to be more confident (e.g. step up and take the shot) and b) his buy in on D. In terms of B, he has definitely stepped up there. we know he's never going to be Mike Jones (old school Wenzel reference to one of my favorite all time RU players)...BUT, he has given effort the last few games, and the output has been noticeable.

On A (confidence), I am starting to see that come around...and felt a separate thread was warranted to call him out in a positive way.

 

[SirScarlet]

More often than not Kiss is a liability on D. Idk if I was imagining it or not but NU seemed to key on him anytime he was in. Agreed, his foul to prevent the dunk was a pivotal moment as was knocking down the open 3. He seemed to get a bit of his confidence / swagger back last night. Good to see because they need him to win these types of games.

I lked your post as I agree with everything bolded....especially the part about NEEDING him to win these types of games...spot on

I will say that if you watch him closely, while he's not a defensive stopper, he's starting to shed the 'liability' label. he has been a willing defender the past 2 games...and if that trend continues, he will be viewed as an average defender vs. a liability.

My 2 cent prediction.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Doorson has value when we are playing teams with bigger Centers. He has been our most consistent post defender and shot blocker, and is also doing a good job rebounding. He is like a rock underneath on defense.

There are games when Johnson can thrive and others when Doorson is a better fit. Last night, the matchups did not favor Doorson because Nebraska's bigs are of the smaller, quicker variety (e.g. Roby).

Doorson will continue to be needed in his post defense and rebounding role, and the nice thing about his game this year is that he's developed a couple of nice post moves on offense too.

 

[Scangg]

Kiss should be ahead of issa but I still would like to see more McConnell minutes. Kiss is more of a spot up shooter so he fits better when we have him on the floor with better offensive players. Lineups with kiss thiam and Doorson have no chance for success due to lack of movement and creative offensive ability. Absolutely looked confident shooting FTs where Myles and Mathis struggled at the end. Thankfully it was out of reach bc of kiss knocking down his

Doorson should be matchup based for the most part only playing against big bruising centers. Otherwise want more Myles and Carter minutes as the offense is just so much better with them on the floor.

Thiam is tough to watch at this point. It's sad bc he has some skills but the mindset just isn't there. The B1G is too much for him to handle. He's always pass first and has zero confidence in his shot. He attempted to penatrates and pull up for a mid range jumper that was off the backboard unintentionally. He's scared of contact for the most part and doesn't have the foot speed on the parameter. He stumbles a lot and plays off just enough that his length doesn't matter and the player can get their 3 off

 

[Knights 1212]

Kiss played well last night. He went 3-3 on free throws in the first half and hit a huge three near the end game. He finished with 8 points.

 

[mikefla]

Unfortunately (in retrospect) I picked Kiss as my "fav NEW player" early on. Since then Mathis, Johnson(aka long beach)have stepped up hugely...
and to lesser degrees Carter, Harper, and McConnell have also stepped up at various times.

Thiam seems to be in a coma...so I still hope KISS finds the swagger he had early on !
We need him !

 

[OntheBanks]

Last night their non-starters played a total of 25 minutes. Our non-starters played 86 minutes. They had 6 bench points. We had 31.
It's nice to have depth and to bring in decent fresh players in, and I'd like to see this happen for the rest of the year.

 

[dkostus]

Kiss should be ahead of issa but I still would like to see more McConnell minutes. Kiss is more of a spot up shooter so he fits better when we have him on the floor with better offensive players. Lineups with kiss thiam and Doorson have no chance for success due to lack of movement and creative offensive ability. Absolutely looked confident shooting FTs where Myles and Mathis struggled at the end. Thankfully it was out of reach bc of kiss knocking down his

Doorson should be matchup based for the most part only playing against big bruising centers. Otherwise want more Myles and Carter minutes as the offense is just so much better with them on the floor.

Thiam is tough to watch at this point. It's sad bc he has some skills but the mindset just isn't there. The B1G is too much for him to handle. He's always pass first and has zero confidence in his shot. He attempted to penatrates and pull up for a mid range jumper that was off the backboard unintentionally. He's scared of contact for the most part and doesn't have the foot speed on the parameter. He stumbles a lot and plays off just enough that his length doesn't matter and the player can get their 3 off

Doorson has been doing well against a a lot of teams. His minutes are going to be limited either way. I hope he's okay after hustling back for that block last night.

As for Thiam, I get peoples complaints. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if he comes up big for us in a game or two down the stretch, and is better than we expect next year. There's a reason you need depth and experience.

 

[ChasRC69]

I'm sorry, but I can't wait till the day when we do not have to play Kiss, Doorson, and Thaim so much.
Thaim- shot has just disappeared. He has zero confidence. Every time he touches the ball he is looking to pass it immediately. He is no threat. Plays some decent defense though.
Kiss- Slow on defense. Shoots too much for his shooting percentage. I'd put him in in closing minutes for foul shooting.
Doorson- Can't hit a layup. Doesn't cut to the basket. Defense?

Very impressed with the young studs. They need more time not less. Pike seems to be on the same page. Carter should play more as well.

In B1G games, Kiss is averaging 6 (SIX) shots per game. He is second, only to Geo, in 3-point % (.346). And you want him to shoot less? Regarding defense, he's made major strides. The only time last night that he had any trouble was when he had to guard Palmer. Not many people are going to look good when guarding him.

 

[Goku]

I'm happy for him, as he seems to have redefined his game to make it out onto the floor and contribute. We need him to hit the open three and play hard defense. And the team needs to do a better job than last night to get him the ball to hit the free throws to ice the game

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

If the goal is about 15 3's a game, Baker should take 5, Kiss should take 5.

And 5 or more or for the rest of the team....between Harper, Thiam, Mathis, McConnell...depending on how the game is going and who is hot.

 

[Rokodesh]

Doorson is very good defensively, don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want him playing

 

[Night Man]

Doorson has been doing well against a a lot of teams. His minutes are going to be limited either way. I hope he's okay after hustling back for that block last night.

As for Thiam, I get peoples complaints. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if he comes up big for us in a game or two down the stretch, and is better than we expect next year. There's a reason you need depth and experience.

Too early to give up on Thiam as a RU player... not saying he should be given 20 min a game to work through it, but we should be hoping he gets better because he has 1.4 years left and I just don't think he's a lost cause who could never contribute again. I just think he's playing like crap right now.

 

[scarletNJ49]

I wonder if Issa will retire/transfer after the season and opens up a spot for a 5th year. Doucoure could be another one.

On Kiss, he is a huge upgrade as our 4th guard 2/3 over what we have had here in the past. Even if Young is the real deal that is a nice top 5 next year and may let PM redshirt when he gets here. Made a huge difference for Johnson.

 

[Anon1751594821]

I wonder if Issa will retire/transfer after the season and opens up a spot for a 5th year. Doucoure could be another one.

On Kiss, he is a huge upgrade as our 4th guard 2/3 over what we have had here in the past. Even if Young is the real deal that is a nice top 5 next year and may let PM redshirt when he gets here. Made a huge difference for Johnson.

PM redshirt? Why is the starting point guard redshirting? Very doubtful.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[dkostus]

I wonder if Issa will retire/transfer after the season and opens up a spot for a 5th year. Doucoure could be another one.

On Kiss, he is a huge upgrade as our 4th guard 2/3 over what we have had here in the past. Even if Young is the real deal that is a nice top 5 next year and may let PM redshirt when he gets here. Made a huge difference for Johnson.

This is the **** I hate. People openly hoping (sure, it's slightly couched) that people will transfer. Really disrespectful given the amount of time and effort these guys have put in.

 

[hoquat63]

Even if Young is the real deal that is a nice top 5 next year and may let PM redshirt when he gets here. Made a huge difference for Johnson.

About as likely as Harper redshirting this year.

 

[waretown]

PM redshirt? Why is the starting point guard redshirting? Very doubtful.

Best of Luck,
Groz

no redshirt for PM

 

[tru2ru1]

I wonder if Issa will retire/transfer after the season and opens up a spot for a 5th year. Doucoure could be another one.

On Kiss, he is a huge upgrade as our 4th guard 2/3 over what we have had here in the past. Even if Young is the real deal that is a nice top 5 next year and may let PM redshirt when he gets here. Made a huge difference for Johnson.

PM will start from the 1st game, there is no way, unless injury, that anyone with a clue thinks he will redshirt.

 

[SleepingGiantIsAwake]

LOL on PM redshirting....that’s a good one.

I’m really glad that Pike tightened the rotation up, he gave everyone time early to develop and to see how they’d produce under the lights but this is not CYO where everyone has to play. He’s still giving both Issa and Kiss time but they know they have to produce within their roles or they’ll sit.

Kiss can jump and hit open shots. He’s a liability on D in the B1G, just not there physically with speed & strength. Needs to play within his game just like vs Neb and be a solid contributor off the bench.

When Issa caught the ball in half court on the wing on Mon he didn’t even look at the basket was looking to pass right back.....this is basic stuff...be a threat to score! ....his confidence is shot. He has length on D but gets burned a lot especially on 3s. He’s best on D when we play zone. I have a feeling once he relaxes he’s going to go off a few games.

 

[Anon1751594821]

no redshirt for PM

Of course not. That he even suggested it for RU, was comical.

Best of Luck,
Groz