Who We Are, Who We Arent

[RURahh]

WE ARE

a) a well coached team
b) a team who loves each other and plays unselfish
c) a team who will never lose because it got out-hustled
d) most likely the most athletic team on the court
e) a team who will score in transition
f) an elite defensive team
g)a position-less team from 1-4
h) VERY DEEP


WE ARE'NT

a) a good FG shooting team (tons of missed chippies)
b) a good free throw shooting team
c) a good 3 point shooting team

Rutgers will win its share of games, and hoping we make the tournament and I personally think we are a Sweet 16 or better team. Our team is built for a run in the tournament given that defense and hustle never take the night off, and we are one of the deepest teams in America. We have yet to see our boys put together their best basketball, when it happens, we can beat anyone in the country (You Can Call Me AL)
Iff Caleb s back at full strength, we are a totally different team. Caleb is our BEST foul shooter and our best or second best defender. He adds length to the team and changes matchups dramatically.

Our 1-4 will compare favorably to almost any team we play, which is why I think this team goes as far as Myles Johnson can carry us. Myles is a Top 25 Center when he is allowed to play, and having Cliff to absorb minutes will add 4 points and 3 rebounds to MYLE's STAT LINE.

Finally, since it is the subject de jour, lets take a brief look at Rutgers foul shooting

RHJ 55%
MM 53%
MJ 48%
Cliff 37%

Those 3/4 players will be key to our success and will be at the line often. Not sure if there is a way to improve free throw shooting between now and March, the 4 mentioned players are all very talented and the first 2 are descent 3 point shooters, so their FT shooting is puzzling. Having Caleb shooting at an 80% clip is Needed to help us win games this year, but lets face it, Rutgers will win, and most times, we will WIN UGLY. Its impossible not to love this team, and I think a decade or 2 from now we will look back at these guys as the building blocks that started the first of many NCAA appearances.

We have our warts but we have the athletic talent to win on any given night, lets enjoy the team for what it is, and appreciate the best coaching staff ever assembled on the Banks

And finally, my hope is that I can turn on a NY Sports Report, and RU Basketball can actually be the lead story, above St Johns and above Seton Hall, its a constant reminder of how far we had fallen and how much we have improved !!!!!

 

[Westcoast]

Actually, we've become a solid 3 put shooting team. Look at the last 7-10 Big 10 games. Our percentage will surprise you.

 

[djrc89]

I don’t think we are a team that thinks it should win night in and night out. I think they think they can beat anyone but I don’t think they know it. They shouldn’t have lost this game today. And Iowa is a really good team and deserves credit for coming in here today and doing what needs to be done.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Actually, through 9 games, we ARE a good 3-pt shooting team. We are 68-173, which is 39.3% and I think top 30 in the entire country. That’s a pretty good sample size too, so hopefully not a fluke.

I’m also not sure I’d call us an elite defensive team quite yet. We are a GOOD defensive team, but we’re giving up 71.6 ppg, which is a good bit higher than last year (62.7). Of course, we’ve played a lot of really good offensive teams, so that may have skewed the average a bit.

I agree with everything else you said.

 

[Kbee3]

We have our warts but we have the athletic talent to win on any given night, lets enjoy the team for what it is, and appreciate the best coaching staff ever assembled on the Banks

And hope that we can keep them here.

 

[RUJeffro]

Free throws.....shoot with the legs....just watch Garza.

 

[RURahh]

While I agree with the sentiment about our better 3 point shooting these past few games, it still feels like a bit of an abberation to me. RHJ has really upped his game and Geo is Geo. I just have no confidence is JY or MM when they launch from deep but so far so good. Mulcahy might have the best looking stroke out of all but always seems hesitant to put it up. Have heard raves about Palmquist but none of the freshmen seem ready this year, would be a bonus if we get more than 10 -15 points from them combined in any given game . Simply puzzling how RHJ and Tez can look so good from 3 and so bad from the line, not sure if I can remember any players shooting 3s better than free throws

 

[rudad02]

I don’t think we are a team that thinks it should win night in and night out. I think they think they can beat anyone but I don’t think they know it. They shouldn’t have lost this game today. And Iowa is a really good team and deserves credit for coming in here today and doing what needs to be done.

Disagree, think they believe they will win every time out.

 

[goru7]

WE ARE

a) a well coached team
b) a team who loves each other and plays unselfish
c) a team who will never lose because it got out-hustled
d) most likely the most athletic team on the court
e) a team who will score in transition
f) an elite defensive team
g)a position-less team from 1-4
h) VERY DEEP


WE ARE'NT

a) a good FG shooting team (tons of missed chippies)
b) a good free throw shooting team
c) a good 3 point shooting team

Rutgers will win its share of games, and hoping we make the tournament and I personally think we are a Sweet 16 or better team. Our team is built for a run in the tournament given that defense and hustle never take the night off, and we are one of the deepest teams in America. We have yet to see our boys put together their best basketball, when it happens, we can beat anyone in the country (You Can Call Me AL)
Iff Caleb s back at full strength, we are a totally different team. Caleb is our BEST foul shooter and our best or second best defender. He adds length to the team and changes matchups dramatically.

Our 1-4 will compare favorably to almost any team we play, which is why I think this team goes as far as Myles Johnson can carry us. Myles is a Top 25 Center when he is allowed to play, and having Cliff to absorb minutes will add 4 points and 3 rebounds to MYLE's STAT LINE.

Finally, since it is the subject de jour, lets take a brief look at Rutgers foul shooting

RHJ 55%
MM 53%
MJ 48%
Cliff 37%

Those 3/4 players will be key to our success and will be at the line often. Not sure if there is a way to improve free throw shooting between now and March, the 4 mentioned players are all very talented and the first 2 are descent 3 point shooters, so their FT shooting is puzzling. Having Caleb shooting at an 80% clip is Needed to help us win games this year, but lets face it, Rutgers will win, and most times, we will WIN UGLY. Its impossible not to love this team, and I think a decade or 2 from now we will look back at these guys as the building blocks that started the first of many NCAA appearances.

We have our warts but we have the athletic talent to win on any given night, lets enjoy the team for what it is, and appreciate the best coaching staff ever assembled on the Banks

And finally, my hope is that I can turn on a NY Sports Report, and RU Basketball can actually be the lead story, above St Johns and above Seton Hall, its a constant reminder of how far we had fallen and how much we have improved !!!!!

I understand your belief and sentiments , but your a and c are not accurate. We are a real good 2 point shooting team and as pointed out a good 3 point shooting team . We have strengthened our shooting a lot. Yesterday against Iowa was unusual as we took 71 shots , 16 more than Iowa , most of them good shots and a number of those wide open looks, but did not shoot well yesterday . We got on the glass especially improved our offensive rebounding . Another thing that is different than the last 2 years is our defense is not playing elite and is no where close to where we can be and much worse than either of the last 2 years. The good news is that we are capable of locking down people.
Most of your other thoughts are great and thoughtful. I think our players think they will win any time they step on the floor and you know what , so do I.

 

[RURahh]

My comments about the poor shooting are mostly in relation to the huge amounts of free shots (within 2 feet) that we manage to miss each game. It's clear that the coaches have drawn up some great plays to get good looks, but so often players like MJ or MM are missing chippies. That seems much easier to fix than the free throw situation, but the main takeaway from my OP is that if and when we lose, we will be talking about all the missed EASY opportunities at either the foul line or layups.

With all that said, when we finally play a complete game (we came close versus Illinois) we can beat any team in the country given our depth and balance and coaching

 

[winfield102]

Geo is shooting 27% from 3. Shot 28% last year. Right now, the other four are at 40% or higher. I'd say all of them are better catch and shoot shooters from 3 than him. I'd love to see a breakdown for geo (off the dribble, catch and shoot).

 

[RURahh]

ok...currently down by 11 and not looking good but I will make the following Statement

There is only 1 team that is outside of the Top 10 that can beat Rutgers.......and that team is Rutgers!!!!


As I have said before, if/when we lose, its almost a guarantee that we will be lamenting about either free throw shooting or missed chippies or both......They both seem very fixable but yet we are speaking about it yet again tonight....,.

Coaching is phenomenal, defense is excellent, gotta find a way to fix those top 2

 

[ScarletDave]

Mental mental mental

Psychiatrist is 5 seasons iverdue

team should have turned it around by now and make a roaring comeback

will we even score 50

 

[RURahh]

its all very fixable...if anything, it just gives me even more confidence to bet on the OSU game if we are giving 5 or less

 

[winfield102]

Michigan State had better athletes on defense. They absolutely locked us down. Many of our missed layups were really prayers thrown up at the hoop.

 

[RURahh]

disagree...we had many good looks that were far from prayers...

Again, if/when we lose, it will be free throws and missed FG from within 3 feet....the 3 pointers will come and go, not depending on it to win many games, we will have better defense and better transition game than almost any team we play, put the free throws and chippies on the other side of the ledger and we are a Sweet 16 team!!!

 

[RURahh]

Well, the post about us being a Top 30 3 point team certainly didnt age very well, but was correct at the time.

Again, I dont expect us to lose many (if any) more games because we got out-hustled and I do believe we will out-reobund most of our opponents once Cliff comes back, if only because it will make Myles even more of a monster !!!!

 

[ScarletDave]

MSU and OSU were bad matchups for us. They have height at all 5 positions, we play small ball, and 50% of our height is injured (Cliff). Michigan is another example of this. It will be hard for this RU team to beat those ones without hot shooting because of the lack of rebounding against tall teams like this. Hate to tell you, Wisconsin is like that too, and they’re next. Guys gotta figure out the offense if we want a shot.

 

[RUJMM78]

ok...currently down by 11 and not looking good but I will make the following Statement

There is only 1 team that is outside of the Top 10 that can beat Rutgers.......and that team is Rutgers!!!!


As I have said before, if/when we lose, its almost a guarantee that we will be lamenting about either free throw shooting or missed chippies or both......They both seem very fixable but yet we are speaking about it yet again tonight....,.

Coaching is phenomenal, defense is excellent, gotta find a way to fix those top 2

Defense isn't elite or excellent right now.They commit too many fouls and are allowing far too many offensive rebounds.

 

[shields]

We seem to be able to beat Wisconsin though.

 

[RUJMM78]

We seem to be able to beat Wisconsin though.

spot on comment but right now Rutgers isn't playing well enough to defeat a opponent that has inside scoring and lives on the foul line.