Harper had trouble getting his shot off against a big defender and then MEEKLY and SOFTLY just shut it down for the game. As it’s leader, he set a defeatist tone for the rest of the team with the exception of Jalen ”Glue” Miller. Other examples, Hyatt had ZERO points and PM 4. Jones was leading scorer with only 10 points.
Harper Scored 5 Points
- Thread starter FIJI'83
- Start date
hes always pouted and looked disinterested when things don’t go his way. Thinks he is Better than he is. Can’t have such a zero effort your senior year
He tried but he got locked down pretty much and when he tried to go the basket the lane was clogged with defenders since they didn't have to bother defending the perimeter against the rest of the team. His teammates can't make shots from any distance for that matter. Why wouldn't Harper get all the defensive attention? He's the only guy on the floor with any potential to score 15-20 points.
Only partially true. He has to be aggressive and get the ball and not let the defender get set and then beat him one on one all the time. Hawkins had some height and length on him and he could have used a quick first step and gone by and head faked him and fouled him out of the game. He can play a quicker 2 man game with Cliff in the post and get ready for the kick out shot. He absolutely cannot be as passive as he was when the team needed him to steady the ship, It did not help that Paul and Caleb had rough games and did not try to get him on the block. Everybody settled when they needed to be aggressive. Played soft and not tough. Really rough to watch tonight.
And he and Geo tested NBA waters this off season. I don't know what's more comical, that or Rodney Dangerfield in his prime
The same losers running down a kid who has helped bring more success to RU than they’ve ever had before will ***** and moan when his younger brother goes somewhere else.
All that is true. Teammates are causing problems.
Difference is that RHJ is supposed to be our problem solver.
He's the best player on the team.
He needs to start solving the problems other players are causing if he is going to be a star player.
As you said, he's the only one capable of scoring consistently.
Was 3rd team All-BIG last year.
Made a huge dog and pony show of the draft: waited until the absolute last minute to announce his return (which everyone knew he would do) and did it with this long weird IG video of himself - that I've never seen anyone else do. Usually it's just a simple statement about returning.
If you are going to talk the talk, he needs to start walking the walk.
Team only goes as far as he takes it.
Ron needs (most of the time) to be surrounded by good offensive players. Against good teams his primary weapon is outside shooting.
It is just so damn frustrating that you need to roll the dice and hope you get the engaged Ron. He was very good against Clemson. The other 3 games he just appears he isn’t there. The Lafayette game was unbelievable. I know the back is an issue, but…..
RHJ struggled, but he definitely was not the only one. The starting backcourt played a combined 50 minutes and they scored a total of 9 points on 4 of 18 shooting. You are not going to beat anyone like that.
You know little about basketball why would any one listen to you. Ron is and has been explosive , sorry you are such a loser you cannot see it. Go root for another team. Your snarky posts are worthless.
At the 4 he had 2 6'10 guys, at the 3, he had a Trent Frazier and Granderson a more complete 3 than him. He knew there was nothing he could do, so his effort sucked, maybe the players can blame Boroski being there.
His first two years he was often the finisher on the fast break after steals.
He’s really slowed down
I re watched his "return" announcement video (posted above).
He was shooting low even there. The last seconds really show it.
Reminds me of Shawn Marion a bit.
Can both these posts quoted above be true?
Does RHJ deserve criticism for that game? I think yes. I think his own father might have some advice based on that game.
Are people here going too far? I also think yes. And that RHJ's dad and his brother might agree.
I would note that late "pass" to no one from the wing from.. Hyatt? The announcers were all over that with "who was that to?" and so on. Well, it seemed that Harper was at the top of the arc and his defender with him.. and he faked like he was going to dive the lane.. which was open.. and I think that is why that pass was thrown.. and that, to me, begged the question.. why wasn't RHJ doing just that? Why wasn't he moving to make himself a better target more often?
People here get all over PM for dribbling the ball around... but if you watch him as he does that.. his head is always up looking for cutters and we practically never have any. Compare that to Caleb.. who really is doing better than in the very early games.. but he slid back this game and when things got out of hand just reverted back to looking for his shot like there is no one else out there. That, too, may be the result of no one playing like there is a team offense.. little motion.. too few passes.. but it is not something you want to see in a point.
There is so much "blame" to go around in this game.. but the announcers pointed out the need to double Kofi and how Illinois is always prepared for that and passed the ball around to get the open three look and when they hit those so well... well, we were not going to win with all those threes they hit. So the loss was no big deal in the grand scheme of things.. but the margin.. and the "quit" that came along with it.. that could very well be a big thing.
Back to the theme of this thread... any problems with RHJ from this game.. I think that's on Pike. I don't know what Pike or our assistant coaches might have said to players during that game but some of the negative behaviors reported here for RHJ (and others) should have been handled DURING THE GAME.
zap..agree, but thats not quickness. thats effort. quickness is burst and blow-by. hes never had that. even mulcahy has a quicker first step, but cant convert from there.
what hes good at is using his big body to his advantage....he can bully most 3s around the hoop. but he aint quick or fast. He plays taller than he is.
in contrast, myles wasnt coordinated enough or tough enough to using his body to his advantage. on offense, myles played much shorter than he is.
This is absurd and clear that you didn't really watch the game.....Coleman Hawkins has a 6'10 frame and 7+ foot wingspan....there is no "driving past the defender".....there is a reason recruiting involves wingspan, height, quickness etc.
In order to be competitive, as we have seen in the last 2 to 3 years (even in Harper's frosh season), you have to have other options.
Illinois (like other teams have seen players like Harper for 3 or now 4 years). In past years, Damontre Williams or Georgi from Illinois were on the court and that was a bad matchup for Illinois vs Harper. When teams realize what matchups hurt them, like Harper, like Weiskamp of Iowa, like players like Isiah Livers at Michigan, you have to have true players who can impact an opponents better players.
What specifically do you have to do, to stop Paul Mulcahy, if he has the ball....you can sag off him, or just allow him to casually dribble into the lane, where he cannot jump over his defender.....he doesn't score or look to score, he is mostly looking to pass....if I am guarding Harper and I see Mulcahy drifting into the lane, I am staying glued to Harper.
The ball doesn't move and Illinois or any team is 100% with Mulcahy bringing the ball up, dribbling the air out of the ball and not moving it....you're not armed with 1 or 2 and done type of players to have Mulcahy just dribbling the shot clock down and then giving it to Harper, who is guarded by a quicker, lengthier player and asking him to score.
Fans need to understand that when RU doesn't win, that they throw out casual comments asking our best player to be superman......the game is 5 on 5.....which position if we compare to Illinois, on an athletic, shooting, leaping, quickness, skills, does RU have an advantage, player to player??
Mulcahy vs Trent Frazier (5th year).....??
McConnell vs Plummer
Kofi vs Cliff
Harper vs Hawkins
Jones vs Williams (5th year)
Add in lack of athletes off the bench in size/skill.....?? Once you remove Baker, Jacob Young, Mathis, Myles Johnson from the equation all in comparison to Illinois last year, which allowed Ayo Dousumu and Andre Curbelo to just dominate the ball, Illinois actually plays more team oriented now, once you remove Curbelo from the equation.....and Curbelo is miles better off the dribble than Mulcahy....
Any team that has a guard that just holds the ball for 15 to 20 seconds of a 30 second shot clock, isn't going to be effective....and then if you want Harper to start with the ball, is that the best way to get him open shots???
RU needs to develop its only other potential scoring, passing option in Jones.....and then hope when Baker is healthy, you can share the responsibility of creating offense.....blaming Harper, who generates the focus of an opponent, especially off a 23 PT game....what did fans expect??? Did you expect Illinois to ignore Harper let him run wild, uncovered???
Of course ,Harper got all the attention of the Illinois defense because he is the only offensive threat without Baker on the court.His demeanor on the court shows the highs and lows of emotion.Harper and Baker supposedly came back for another year because of the disappointment in the NCAA Tournament loss to Houston.There were high expectations going into the season especially after the scrimmages against Villanova and Uconn.Sadly,reality set in during the first six games where the team showed little evidence of cohesion.Harper had some very good games and in others not a integral part of the offense.The team dependence on Harper without offensive support will result in disappointment on the court and among the fan base.
Someone has to be running the break to get him to finish. Who's doing that on this team? Mulcahy? Hyatt? Jones? Come on. We've had ZERO fast breaks this year.
All I got from that video was, we must use bigger rims in practice or that is 6 shots out of 100 and took an hour to film.
Hawk, now don’t sound clueless like Shelby. Harper averaged over 20 points a game in the 5 prior games playing Illinois before last night. He had multiple games of 25 and 28. He ate Giorgi for lunch. Pike ran the same play 3 straight times where Ron got the ball just to the left of the foul line near the wing , made a simple head fake and blew right past him and finished with 3 straight layups . Giorgi was 6’10 or 6’11 like Hawkins and Ron could have done the same thing . Go ask Underwood about Harper and he will tell you the nightmares he has. Now I love Ron and I love his game and I love when he brings it all, his drives, post ups , threes, his alley oops and what is usually real good defense. I also know he did not do that last night and 5 points by him is unacceptable and he would be the first one to tell you. You are a big tape guy , go watch those 5 games Harper has played against Illinois and those are some of the best games he has played.
If Harper has higher aspirations he better pick it up, and fast. That effort and those results don’t cut it and it’s not even close.
It’s a message board.
When RHJ plays well everyone kisses his *** as they should.
Frankly speaking, Harper has the potential to be damn good night in and night out, but IMO he easily loses focus gets lazy and soft. He needs to be a leader. Sadly, he has shown the inability to lead and disappear.