that could be...
Freshman are supposed to be inconsistent. Let's hope that he is more reliable on a game in game out basis over the next 3 years.
GAME 29 PENN STATE: Flubbing the last line of the movie
- Thread starter bac2therac
- Start date
that could be...
Freshman are supposed to be inconsistent. Let's hope that he is more reliable on a game in game out basis over the next 3 years.
If you were to analyze Caleb's turnovers and usage when Geo is in the game vs. not you would see 2 completely different stories.
Trust me Pike wants to give Baker more rest. Am I the only fan who gets nervous when Baker is out of the game? How many times has Pike has to rush Baker back in to the game?
I believe Geo plays better with Caleb too. Geo over a full game without another ballhandler playing along side is not the same player. I think back to those games against Columbia and Fordham where our team wasn't gelling. I would argue that the minute that Pike started trusting McConnell and giving him major minutes was the point where this team got a heck of a lot better.
BAC, nice well written script. Loved your analogy to the movie script gone wrong.
1) I have to give Penn State a lot of the credit for our first half. Yes, we were late and did not get a lot of 50/50 balls but Penn State looked very quick and their entire defense, from their point guards pressuring Geo, to Reeves locking down Ron , and Their shot blocking center Watkins taking away at least 2-3 layups, was as good as I have seen all year out of an opponent.
2) Resilence. That will be the in word to define this team if you are asked about the 2018-2019 season . What a great trait for a young team. All of a sudden , we were getting the 50/50 balls, we were blocking shots, playing lock down defense, and moving the ball on offense for dunks or layups or kick outs for threes. Really a thing of beauty and the main reason I absolutely love this team and one of my favorites in watching 43 years of Rutgers basketball.
3) Eugene was absolutely great tonight except for maybe 3-4 plays, giving up 2 putbacks because of the failure to box out , the bad outlet to Geo that was badly overthrown and one more that I am forgetting but for the rest of the night , he was ridiculously good, from the post, at the foul line , and defensively in the second half he held Stevens to only 7 points taking away their main weapon. He had the quietest 23 points but was an absolute warrior.
4). Myles Johnson is an absolute beast down low and on the glass, both offensive and defensive , blocking shots , and clearly has developed tremendously and his confidence is growing every game and he is fouling less. But he learned a couple of hard lessons that most big man never learn and that is , to take your time and use your pivot foot, and secondly to gather and go up strong with 2 hands not one . Despite fumbling the pass from Caleb with 11 seconds , he gathered right under the basket and instead of taking his time, pivoting , gathering and flushing with 2 hands for the win, he tossed it all the way out to Harper on the wing. This is an incredible teaching video to show him. Then at the end , if he went up with 2 hands and caught the rebound and flushed it , instead of going up with one hand, and it looked like he was bumped by Eugene, and he lost control and went up with one hand and Reeves made the great block . Again teaching video, 2 hand flush there , he likely gets fouled by Reeves if it doesn’t go in. Overall, he had a really good game and will be our big man for the next 3 years.
5) Caleb and Ron had mostly terrific games with only a couple of costly turnovers but hit big shots, big threes, and made great passes. Ron flushed a few on 2 nice passes from Eugene and then sone timely threes. Caleb’s shooting has really improved and it is a shame Myles couldn’t handle that dime as Caleb’s passing is fabulous. Also both are playing defense and getting better at it every game.
6) Finally, the last 2 points are why we lost the game, and that is getting down 19 at the half , eventually 20, spotting Penn State too much of a cushion and Geo throwing up the goose egg. Almost unfathomable that we had chances at 40seconds and 4 chances with 12 seconds to win this game after that putrid first half, but we did. Also almost unfathomable we almost won even if Geo was scoreless. 2 amazing things that tells you how far this team has progressed and how they are never out of a game. I thought Geo was going to hit the corner 3 for the tie, but didn’t but Myles had the tip in over Watkins to cut it to one. I thought he was going to hit the 3 at 42 seconds that Reeves blocked. I thought he was going to hit that last three after he pump faked the first defender but was long. Geo was harassed the entire game especially the first half but we cannot get zero from him ever again. Even 1 point is a tie and 2 points is a win. I still cannot believe he did not score. Another gut punch loss for this fan base , but a team that did not play well for a half, did not shoot well almost the whole game but still had a chance to win in the last 2 possessions against a much improved hot Penn State squad , reminds us of how far this team has come.
1) I have to give Penn State a lot of the credit for our first half. Yes, we were late and did not get a lot of 50/50 balls but Penn State looked very quick and their entire defense, from their point guards pressuring Geo, to Reeves locking down Ron , and Their shot blocking center Watkins taking away at least 2-3 layups, was as good as I have seen all year out of an opponent.
2) Resilence. That will be the in word to define this team if you are asked about the 2018-2019 season . What a great trait for a young team. All of a sudden , we were getting the 50/50 balls, we were blocking shots, playing lock down defense, and moving the ball on offense for dunks or layups or kick outs for threes. Really a thing of beauty and the main reason I absolutely love this team and one of my favorites in watching 43 years of Rutgers basketball.
3) Eugene was absolutely great tonight except for maybe 3-4 plays, giving up 2 putbacks because of the failure to box out , the bad outlet to Geo that was badly overthrown and one more that I am forgetting but for the rest of the night , he was ridiculously good, from the post, at the foul line , and defensively in the second half he held Stevens to only 7 points taking away their main weapon. He had the quietest 23 points but was an absolute warrior.
4). Myles Johnson is an absolute beast down low and on the glass, both offensive and defensive , blocking shots , and clearly has developed tremendously and his confidence is growing every game and he is fouling less. But he learned a couple of hard lessons that most big man never learn and that is , to take your time and use your pivot foot, and secondly to gather and go up strong with 2 hands not one . Despite fumbling the pass from Caleb with 11 seconds , he gathered right under the basket and instead of taking his time, pivoting , gathering and flushing with 2 hands for the win, he tossed it all the way out to Harper on the wing. This is an incredible teaching video to show him. Then at the end , if he went up with 2 hands and caught the rebound and flushed it , instead of going up with one hand, and it looked like he was bumped by Eugene, and he lost control and went up with one hand and Reeves made the great block . Again teaching video, 2 hand flush there , he likely gets fouled by Reeves if it doesn’t go in. Overall, he had a really good game and will be our big man for the next 3 years.
5) Caleb and Ron had mostly terrific games with only a couple of costly turnovers but hit big shots, big threes, and made great passes. Ron flushed a few on 2 nice passes from Eugene and then sone timely threes. Caleb’s shooting has really improved and it is a shame Myles couldn’t handle that dime as Caleb’s passing is fabulous. Also both are playing defense and getting better at it every game.
6) Finally, the last 2 points are why we lost the game, and that is getting down 19 at the half , eventually 20, spotting Penn State too much of a cushion and Geo throwing up the goose egg. Almost unfathomable that we had chances at 40seconds and 4 chances with 12 seconds to win this game after that putrid first half, but we did. Also almost unfathomable we almost won even if Geo was scoreless. 2 amazing things that tells you how far this team has progressed and how they are never out of a game. I thought Geo was going to hit the corner 3 for the tie, but didn’t but Myles had the tip in over Watkins to cut it to one. I thought he was going to hit the 3 at 42 seconds that Reeves blocked. I thought he was going to hit that last three after he pump faked the first defender but was long. Geo was harassed the entire game especially the first half but we cannot get zero from him ever again. Even 1 point is a tie and 2 points is a win. I still cannot believe he did not score. Another gut punch loss for this fan base , but a team that did not play well for a half, did not shoot well almost the whole game but still had a chance to win in the last 2 possessions against a much improved hot Penn State squad , reminds us of how far this team has come.
First off it seemed like there were soooo many plays where the ball bounced their way over and over on the same possession to answer back runs and yet the team didn't get deflated and kept answering back. Their resilience is pretty remarkable. This would have been an epic comeback ughhh... frustrating but proud of the fight the team showed.
I miss attack mode Mathis. I would rather him play aggressive and take the ball hard to the hoop and live with a couple forced looks then to see him basically not look to attack the rim all game long and chuck a couple threes.
Myles has so much potential. Would love to see him get MEAN inside and throw that weight around more. Use that size and clear out space. Be forceful and powerful. Sometimes it seems like he doesn't want to hurt anyone around him. Get nasty in there!! Throw it down big man! One time!
Good things happen when we get Harper and Caleb looks. They can both shoot the three and get to the rim.
Ahh Geoooo bad night for laying an egg. I feel bad for him as I know he is feeling responsible for the loss and wanted to get that W for Shaq.
KIssa back to not contributing much. Kiss had an excellent tip pass to Myles.
EO is just a warrior. Can't imagine how bad that first half would have gone without his points. Playing on one leg. He does have a few real bad possessions still where he forces things but great heart effort and hit FTs.
Make it up to shaq and end his regular season with a W
I miss attack mode Mathis. I would rather him play aggressive and take the ball hard to the hoop and live with a couple forced looks then to see him basically not look to attack the rim all game long and chuck a couple threes.
Myles has so much potential. Would love to see him get MEAN inside and throw that weight around more. Use that size and clear out space. Be forceful and powerful. Sometimes it seems like he doesn't want to hurt anyone around him. Get nasty in there!! Throw it down big man! One time!
Good things happen when we get Harper and Caleb looks. They can both shoot the three and get to the rim.
Ahh Geoooo bad night for laying an egg. I feel bad for him as I know he is feeling responsible for the loss and wanted to get that W for Shaq.
KIssa back to not contributing much. Kiss had an excellent tip pass to Myles.
EO is just a warrior. Can't imagine how bad that first half would have gone without his points. Playing on one leg. He does have a few real bad possessions still where he forces things but great heart effort and hit FTs.
Make it up to shaq and end his regular season with a W
As Pike said several weeks ago, maybe it was “the phones” that got us in the 1st half.
I thought PSU forced us to play a style that we shouldn’t have wanted to play - we seemed out of control in the 1st half. Up and down giving the ball away, playing too fast and not under control. PSU was playing the same way but they were converting and we were not. Next thing you know we’re down big.
We didn’t settle into a half court offense, and didn’t get the ball to Gene on the block like we usually do and did in the 2nd half. That style of ball in the 1st half is not our game and we paid for it.
We didn’t settle into a half court offense, and didn’t get the ball to Gene on the block like we usually do and did in the 2nd half. That style of ball in the 1st half is not our game and we paid for it.
Another excellent write up but the game was dictated by #5 Wheeler for PSU....he got into Baker defensively, hustled and bothered the flow of the offense. And when PSU is scoring points, you can carry Wheeler, who cannot shoot or is reluctant to shoot when left open.
When Wheeler left the court, RU got better looks and played better on offense. When RU rallied, Chambers of PSU went to Myreon Jones in place of Wheeler at guard, who delivered some nice drives and a layup and another drive or two, right around our guard defense, for a Stevens layup.
It is very difficult to find combinations of a dominant defensive player who can't score BUT need him on the court.....that's what Wheeler is for PSU.....but it saps a high amount of energy to play great defense for 30 + minutes over a 2 to 3 month period, without some lapses.
Mathis was essentially Wheeler for PSU, except that razor sharp defense wasn't there tonight and guards that I figured would be shut down, started getting layups.
There's a large gap now created that I think everyone would agree where RU plays 9 or 10 players, but there are really only 6 players I feel comfortable with on both ends of the court.
Eugene
Bake,
McConnell
Harper
Mathis
Myles Johnson
The remaining players of Kiss, Doorson, Carter and Thiam are players where I watch them hoping they deliver something on either end of the court vs expecting them to. Or I view whatever they give us as a bonus or most likely the difference between winning or losing.
RU adds 2 important players that go with the 6 that I feel are most consistent or likely to be counted on....adding Paul Mulcahy and Jacob Young gives RU 8 legitimate big time players that can dribble, pass, ahoot/score or know how to play defense, even if they're not a dominant individual defender.
If the staff can find or retool things to make that 9 or 10 reliable players who can defend, play, then RU goes to the ability to play as the hunted.
Bac's point about playing as underdog is THE story....the 2nd half fits what RU is comfortable with and will be the story at Indiana and in Chicago. But adding another defensive player to help keep guards out of the paint, off the bench, is important for nexr year and beyond.
RU needs the Penn State version of Wheeler...someone besides Mathis to turn loose and ask that player to harass a Stevens, Bohannon, Carsen Edwards, Romeo Langford for about 15 minutes a night. We don't need more scoring, we need to stop good guards from scoring. Right now Mathis has to be both....scoring threat and asked to be dominant defensive player. When either doesn't happen, RU struggles.
The good news....Baker and Mathis scored 2 points and I walked out thinking they still should have won. 2 months ago if that happened, RU loses by 12 to 15....
When Wheeler left the court, RU got better looks and played better on offense. When RU rallied, Chambers of PSU went to Myreon Jones in place of Wheeler at guard, who delivered some nice drives and a layup and another drive or two, right around our guard defense, for a Stevens layup.
It is very difficult to find combinations of a dominant defensive player who can't score BUT need him on the court.....that's what Wheeler is for PSU.....but it saps a high amount of energy to play great defense for 30 + minutes over a 2 to 3 month period, without some lapses.
Mathis was essentially Wheeler for PSU, except that razor sharp defense wasn't there tonight and guards that I figured would be shut down, started getting layups.
There's a large gap now created that I think everyone would agree where RU plays 9 or 10 players, but there are really only 6 players I feel comfortable with on both ends of the court.
Eugene
Bake,
McConnell
Harper
Mathis
Myles Johnson
The remaining players of Kiss, Doorson, Carter and Thiam are players where I watch them hoping they deliver something on either end of the court vs expecting them to. Or I view whatever they give us as a bonus or most likely the difference between winning or losing.
RU adds 2 important players that go with the 6 that I feel are most consistent or likely to be counted on....adding Paul Mulcahy and Jacob Young gives RU 8 legitimate big time players that can dribble, pass, ahoot/score or know how to play defense, even if they're not a dominant individual defender.
If the staff can find or retool things to make that 9 or 10 reliable players who can defend, play, then RU goes to the ability to play as the hunted.
Bac's point about playing as underdog is THE story....the 2nd half fits what RU is comfortable with and will be the story at Indiana and in Chicago. But adding another defensive player to help keep guards out of the paint, off the bench, is important for nexr year and beyond.
RU needs the Penn State version of Wheeler...someone besides Mathis to turn loose and ask that player to harass a Stevens, Bohannon, Carsen Edwards, Romeo Langford for about 15 minutes a night. We don't need more scoring, we need to stop good guards from scoring. Right now Mathis has to be both....scoring threat and asked to be dominant defensive player. When either doesn't happen, RU struggles.
The good news....Baker and Mathis scored 2 points and I walked out thinking they still should have won. 2 months ago if that happened, RU loses by 12 to 15....
Last edited:
We played them even or better everywhere except the three-point line. It's frankly amazing we had a shot when they were 7-17 and we were 4-24.
I have to think Mathis is taking his FT struggles with him to other parts of his game (not driving the ball, and as noted his defense was off tonight). He hasn't been a *good* shooter at all this season, but it's been especially bad in the last five games: 4-16 (25%)... Ouch.
I have to think Mathis is taking his FT struggles with him to other parts of his game (not driving the ball, and as noted his defense was off tonight). He hasn't been a *good* shooter at all this season, but it's been especially bad in the last five games: 4-16 (25%)... Ouch.
A
anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
that man is on the bench. Jacob Young. Im telling you he will be our best on ball defender next year. Go watch some of his texas tape, lockdown
Agreed . I like Mathis and at times I think he's our best on-ball defender but last night he was getting beaten like a drum. And he needs to work on his fouls shots in the off season because he gets fouled a lot but misses too many FTs. As far as the game as a whole , for me the biggest factor in PSU winning was their first half defense. Their in-your-face constant defensive pressure unsettled Rutgers and literally took them off their game. Wheeler was exceptional and forced Geo into a number of bad shots. And Stephens is one tough player.....
We lost the game ...in part ...by playing 11 guys in the first ten minutes and no one got into rhythm...no flow
While it’s too late to change that...we need to pick 8 or 9 guys next year and stick with them ...and that means a couple of pretty decent players who on losing team of Rutgers yesteryear aren’t getting P/T. That’s a must and a sign of developing a winning program
While it’s too late to change that...we need to pick 8 or 9 guys next year and stick with them ...and that means a couple of pretty decent players who on losing team of Rutgers yesteryear aren’t getting P/T. That’s a must and a sign of developing a winning program
Mathis did struggle badly off the ball defensively...and the ball moved a bit slower out of his hands offensively ...no qualms about sitting him in the last 10...wasn’t his day
He will be fine
A
anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
I think we should use the last scholly to get a grad transfer front court player. Ideally an athletic one more than a bruiser
We played hesitant and scared in the first half. I don't think we were ready for the level of on ball pressure PSU brought, and a looser whistle early was to the Nits' advantage as they were blanketing us defensively.
You could tell Baker was a bit gun shy and afraid of getting his pocket picked. When our bigs did get the ball down low, they either hesitated before deciding what to do (which led to turnovers) or they tried to go up simply/softly for layups that got blocked (instead of throwing head fakes to get defenders off their feet and going up strong). We matched their defensive intensity for the first 10 min or so, but then they started heating up and we couldn't buy a bucket. We fell into their trap of settling for outside shots instead of going inside, and we were stone cold out there. Omoruyi was the one bright spot, but he was also trying to do too much at times - which led to turnovers and putbacks by PSU.
PSU punched us in the mouth and had us staggered. We looked lost on offense, and were starting to look lost on defense. Pike was trying to sub in different guys to try to give a spark and wake the team up, but we couldn't get our legs under us.
I would love to know what Pike said at halftime. We really were a different team after regrouping for 15 minutes. Defensive intensity kicked up, fight kicked up, offense started working better, we punished them for their aggressive defense (Harper's cuts, starting to penetrate more against pressure and getting them in foul trouble, etc). Unfortunately Baker/Mathis never really got unstuck, Omoruyi was still trying to do too much at points, and a couple of freshmen couldn't suddenly play with upperclassman maturity to close it out.
It was a great comeback - just fell short. Should be a great object lesson for next year, and something Pike can trot out as motivation. It isn't a game the team will forget soon, especially Johnson and Baker. Hopefully it's a foundation stone in their development that lets them build themselves up more next season.
You could tell Baker was a bit gun shy and afraid of getting his pocket picked. When our bigs did get the ball down low, they either hesitated before deciding what to do (which led to turnovers) or they tried to go up simply/softly for layups that got blocked (instead of throwing head fakes to get defenders off their feet and going up strong). We matched their defensive intensity for the first 10 min or so, but then they started heating up and we couldn't buy a bucket. We fell into their trap of settling for outside shots instead of going inside, and we were stone cold out there. Omoruyi was the one bright spot, but he was also trying to do too much at times - which led to turnovers and putbacks by PSU.
PSU punched us in the mouth and had us staggered. We looked lost on offense, and were starting to look lost on defense. Pike was trying to sub in different guys to try to give a spark and wake the team up, but we couldn't get our legs under us.
I would love to know what Pike said at halftime. We really were a different team after regrouping for 15 minutes. Defensive intensity kicked up, fight kicked up, offense started working better, we punished them for their aggressive defense (Harper's cuts, starting to penetrate more against pressure and getting them in foul trouble, etc). Unfortunately Baker/Mathis never really got unstuck, Omoruyi was still trying to do too much at points, and a couple of freshmen couldn't suddenly play with upperclassman maturity to close it out.
It was a great comeback - just fell short. Should be a great object lesson for next year, and something Pike can trot out as motivation. It isn't a game the team will forget soon, especially Johnson and Baker. Hopefully it's a foundation stone in their development that lets them build themselves up more next season.
Need a shooter. Doesn't need to be high-volume. Just a guy who can hit 40% from 3.
Nice recap.
Regardless of the second half I still find this loss to be crushing and difficult to absorb. The last sequence was down the other end and perhaps better that I did not process it all so quickly to know how good a look Myles initially had in the paint. Not sure I want to find a TV replay.
The question for me is whether this group is talented enough to reach a level where they raise their level of play on a consistent basis so we don't have to endure first halves like that any more. That was awful. Effort should never take a night off at the college level.
I agree with Shack that the size of the rotation creates challenges and potentially it will be harder next year as there is no way everyone is going to like their role particularly on the perimeter.
Regardless of the second half I still find this loss to be crushing and difficult to absorb. The last sequence was down the other end and perhaps better that I did not process it all so quickly to know how good a look Myles initially had in the paint. Not sure I want to find a TV replay.
The question for me is whether this group is talented enough to reach a level where they raise their level of play on a consistent basis so we don't have to endure first halves like that any more. That was awful. Effort should never take a night off at the college level.
I agree with Shack that the size of the rotation creates challenges and potentially it will be harder next year as there is no way everyone is going to like their role particularly on the perimeter.
A
anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
We have that guy, his name is ron harper who is 24/62 from 3 since big ten play started in january, good for 39%. Caleb is no slouch either from 3 shooting 40% from 3 in big ten play.
And we still went 4-24 from 3 and our season-long numbers are bad. Can't have too many shooters.
A
anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
Jacob young is a willing shooter. He was only around 30% from 3 at texas but he stretches it
In Wall Street speak, sometimes a temporary loss can pay the largest dividends down the road!
They will take this lesson to heart, and it will pay dividends down the road. Until then, this team has exceeded my expectations for this season and I see us continuing to improve. We are going to be a dangerous team someday. #RUMBB #ILIKEPIKE
They will take this lesson to heart, and it will pay dividends down the road. Until then, this team has exceeded my expectations for this season and I see us continuing to improve. We are going to be a dangerous team someday. #RUMBB #ILIKEPIKE
There was a point in the middle of the 1st half were there was a loose ball and 2 Penn state players dove on the floor while Rutgers players watched.
Your point is spot on.Baker is the assumed go to scorer and tonight failed to score one point.At the same time it was a collective failure on offense with missed layups,foul shots and 3 pointers.What is really disappointing is that such performances are happening too often at home.This loss also can't be blamed on youth because Penn State had freshmen on the court and they defended and scored.
The blame goes on the entire team for the 1st half performance. We did fine in the 2nd half despite Geo's shooting woes. If we dug ourself a 10 point hole we would have been fine.
Baker is not the assumed go to scorer on this team. This isn't Rutgers 2017-18, 2016-17, or 2015-16.
Just because they young also doesn’t mean if we are more experienced we wont handle similar situations better. You don’t think more experience will lead to better play in big games generally?
There's only a game or two left in the season, but Ron Harper is turning into a "go-to" scorer, as he can both hit from deep AND drive to the hoop with force.
This is always a BS argument. The challenge of "youth" isn't that the players are "not good", but that they're "not consistent".
He is not a go to scorer. There is no go to scorer
We saw in the 1st half that when a team dials up their defense we don't have a player that can really create their own shot. If we arent disciplined and let our offense work and get good shots we are done.
The beauty of this team and why we are much improved offensively is that we get shots distributed fairly equal from 1 thru 5 AND we are diversified by location on the court.
Most of our guys are not afraid to have the ball in their hands (chemistry is important here) so we don't need a go to scorer.
Just have to avoid being too selfless - when you've got your shot, you have to go after it hard. Johnson's two opportunities at the end are at the forefront of my mind, but Omoruyi's "should I/shouldn't I" midrange jumper was painful to watch happen. And too often (especially in the first half) we had bigs get the ball and not immediately try to score, but hesitate or look for a "more open" man.
While i agree I'll live with what we have now.
It is so refreshing to watch this team relative to what we have been offensively in the past.
Great point. Pikiell was probably frustrated with the lack of focus early and tried to tinker with the lineup to settle the team down but it didnt work. Thiam was great at Iowa but didnt produce on his three point attempts, Kiss struggled, Carter was overmatched. At one point i can remember a really bad combo of players without Geo and i was infuriated because we were losing touch with Penn State. Not everyone has to play all the time especially late in the season. Next year we add Young/Mulcahy so if they are still here Kiss/Thiam minutes shrink to zero.
That McConnell pass to Johnson was a thing of beauty !!! That entire sequence by McConnell was such smart basketball. He back cuts on the hand-off because PSU is overplaying it .. gets a clear lane to the basket .. has 3 PSU defenders drawn to him .. and softly dishes it off to Myles for what should be a dunk. People will forget though .. that would've left about 9 seconds or so on the clock which is an eternity.