Team looks like a TEAM Now

[Caliknight]

They share the ball, make plays that benefit their teammates, play hard, and are very connected on defense. I don’t care if it’s Nebraska, who has payed some very tight games. This is a team on the rise. 20 plus assists is a great sign for this team. You don’t get that unless your teammates are making the right basketball plays, looking for each other, and of course making shots. It’s no coincidence our shooting has gotten way better. We are taking much better shots based off of getting open looks due to ball movement, proper spacing, and cutting. It’s so much better.

I was wrong to doubt Pike. You hate seeing those ****** early season losses but I think we are always going to start slow. Pike is committed to finding the right rotations and combinations and he’s going to take a wide brush to do so. I’m not questioning that anymore.

 

[RUBlackout]

They share the ball, make plays that benefit their teammates, play hard, and are very connected on defense. I don’t care if it’s Nebraska, who has payed some very tight games. This is a team on the rise. 20 plus assists is a great sign for this team. You don’t get that unless your teammates are making the right basketball plays, looking for each other, and of course making shots. It’s no coincidence our shooting has gotten way better. We are taking much better shots based off of getting open looks due to ball movement, proper spacing, and cutting. It’s so much better.

I was wrong to doubt Pike. You hate seeing those ****** early season losses but I think we are always going to start slow. Pike is committed to finding the right rotations and combinations and he’s going to take a wide brush to do so. I’m not questioning that anymore.

Pin this so we carry this forward when people are ready with their pitchforks again

 

[IL Lusciato]

Well said.

 

[new jersey1_rivals661559]

At least three straight games of 20 assists… maybe four. When was the last time RU had that.

 

[zebnatto]

The increase in assists is not only due to the passers but we are cutting so much better giving kids like PM opportunities.

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

They share the ball, make plays that benefit their teammates, play hard, and are very connected on defense. I don’t care if it’s Nebraska, who has payed some very tight games. This is a team on the rise. 20 plus assists is a great sign for this team. You don’t get that unless your teammates are making the right basketball plays, looking for each other, and of course making shots. It’s no coincidence our shooting has gotten way better. We are taking much better shots based off of getting open looks due to ball movement, proper spacing, and cutting. It’s so much better.

I was wrong to doubt Pike. You hate seeing those ****** early season losses but I think we are always going to start slow. Pike is committed to finding the right rotations and combinations and he’s going to take a wide brush to do so. I’m not questioning that anymore.

LET'S GO CALIKNIGHT!

 

[Scangg]

Team chemistry is knight and day different from before the Purdue game.

 

[Knightmoves]

Agree.

Not to get ahead of ourselves but games at PSU and MD are huge for us next week.

 

[goru7]

At least three straight games of 20 assists… maybe four. When was the last time RU had that.

4. First time ever in our history of 4 straight games. The Covid break followed by the crappy teams Maine and CCSU allowed Pike and the players to find something , their confidence , their passing , no ball sticking , cutting , getting out on breaks, passing to the open player who is not hestitating and letting it go from 3. Beautiful wonderful basketball. That was a clinic today and I do not care how bad Nebraska was on defense today as we took away their will , just as a really good team does to their inferior opponent. Props to the players working through slumps and props to Pike and the coaching staff. Game plans have been awesome against Clemson , Purdue , Michigan and Nebraska.

 

[RU_DIO]

We are running an offense now and not relying so much on iso

 

[RU-ROCS]

At least three straight games of 20 assists… maybe four. When was the last time RU had that.

Where’s the guy who said Pike sucks cuz he never runs an offense?!

 

[Knightmoves]

Where’s the guy who said Pike sucks cuz he never runs an offense?!

Crickets.

 

[billgumpper]

They share the ball, make plays that benefit their teammates, play hard, and are very connected on defense. I don’t care if it’s Nebraska, who has payed some very tight games. This is a team on the rise. 20 plus assists is a great sign for this team. You don’t get that unless your teammates are making the right basketball plays, looking for each other, and of course making shots. It’s no coincidence our shooting has gotten way better. We are taking much better shots based off of getting open looks due to ball movement, proper spacing, and cutting. It’s so much better.

I was wrong to doubt Pike. You hate seeing those ****** early season losses but I think we are always going to start slow. Pike is committed to finding the right rotations and combinations and he’s going to take a wide brush to do so. I’m not questioning that anymore.

Completely different team after the layoff.

 

[sunsetregret]

The biggest difference to me is that the team stopped shooting a ton of terrible contested step-back 3s. We can barely make the wide-open ones; the contested ones are just wasted possessions and they were the hallmark of our half court offense for 2 and a half years.

 

[Caliknight]

The biggest difference to me is that the team stopped shooting a ton of terrible contested step-back 3s. We can barely make the wide-open ones; the contested ones are just wasted possessions and they were the hallmark of our half court offense for 2 and a half years.

They stopped doing it because they are getting better looks through the flow of running proper offense with guys cutting and ball movement. Our poor shooting is directly correlated to not doing that. Passing the ball on the perimeter and dribbling through the shot clock being forced to make a tough shot. Basketball is a very simple game where fundamentals create good looks. See Wisconsin. Making shots is only going to reinforce that. So much good tape to look at. Putting up 93 will keep their attention.


A great by product is our ft shooting being much better. When you start seeing the ball go in, it carries to the line. Hey maybe these aren’t so hard after all.

 

[HeavenUniv.]

https://www.nj.com/rutgersbasketbal...r-game-headlines-strong-team-performance.html

 

[JonathanAlan]

They stopped doing it because they are getting better looks through the flow of running proper offense with guys cutting and ball movement. Our poor shooting is directly correlated to not doing that. Passing the ball on the perimeter and dribbling through the shot clock being forced to make a tough shot. Basketball is a very simple game where fundamentals create good looks. See Wisconsin. Making shots is only going to reinforce that. So much good tape to look at. Putting up 93 will keep their attention.


A great by product is our ft shooting being much better. When you start seeing the ball go in, it carries to the line. Hey maybe these aren’t so hard after all.

I'm glad you mentioned Wisconsin because in some ways the way we're playing now reminds me of a Wisconsin team . Like Wisconsin we lack the super athletic players and rely on good flow on offense , putting players in good looks for shooting and lots of assists. Add to that our rebounding has improved as has our defense.

 

[Caliknight]

They are a model for how to get open looks. Same with Gonzaga. They obviously have great players but to cut and move you only need to understand basketball, which really isn’t that complicated. I’m not sure if this isn’t being taught at the high school level as much or if AAU hoops, where showcasing your individual talent is the goal, is more dominant, but I see a lot of low IQ basketball across the board. Maybe it starts at the top with the NBA where iso and two man games are so prevalent.

In any event it’s great to see this team working with each other to get open looks for themselves and each other. Regardless of competition, that might be the most complete game I’ve seen under Pike.

 

[RUBOB72]

They stopped doing it because they are getting better looks through the flow of running proper offense with guys cutting and ball movement. Our poor shooting is directly correlated to not doing that. Passing the ball on the perimeter and dribbling through the shot clock being forced to make a tough shot. Basketball is a very simple game where fundamentals create good looks. See Wisconsin. Making shots is only going to reinforce that. So much good tape to look at. Putting up 93 will keep their attention.


A great by product is our ft shooting being much better. When you start seeing the ball go in, it carries to the line. Hey maybe these aren’t so hard after all.

Yup free throws are so much …I don’t wish to jinx them but…BETTER …perhaps those long days in the new practice facility does make a difference after all.

 

[Caliknight]

I think it’s more of just making shots from the field. Seeing the ball go through the basket does wonders for confidence at the FT line. I guarantee they aren’t doing anything different with FT’s in practice. The only thing that’s changed is they expect to make them now. You can see it in the body language alone.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

They share the ball, make plays that benefit their teammates, play hard, and are very connected on defense. I don’t care if it’s Nebraska, who has payed some very tight games. This is a team on the rise. 20 plus assists is a great sign for this team. You don’t get that unless your teammates are making the right basketball plays, looking for each other, and of course making shots. It’s no coincidence our shooting has gotten way better. We are taking much better shots based off of getting open looks due to ball movement, proper spacing, and cutting. It’s so much better.

I was wrong to doubt Pike. You hate seeing those ****** early season losses but I think we are always going to start slow. Pike is committed to finding the right rotations and combinations and he’s going to take a wide brush to do so. I’m not questioning that anymore.

It's the same good half court offense they have always run. The only difference between then and now is the execution of the offense.

 

[Caliknight]

If you aren’t executing the offense you aren’t running it.

What’s very noticeable as of late- The ball movement is much crisper as is the cutting. It’s much more synchronized. It’s all leading to more open looks and far less ISO’s with the shot clock running down taking step back 20 foot prayers. Seeing guys standing around passing the ball around the perimeter after being held on to or lots of dribbling is hopefully a thing of the past. The ball can move faster than a person can. It looks like the squad is understanding this basic concept now.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

OP 100% correct in the gist of this thread.

In some seasons, through Rutgers darker days, I recall watching a game on TV... where you can compare apples to apples as comparing what you see in person to what yo see on TV can be misleading...

...in any case.. You'd see a Rutgers game and think.. man, we look slow... or man, this just doesn't look like "Basketball".. looks like a pickup game.

So, the first problem to solve was talent.. which might show up as speed in watching games.. guys in control of what they were doing.

And this season, even in early games, the guys looked like they had talent.. they looked like D1 basketball players. But they did not look like a team... just a bunch of individuals... and the end product was poor. It looked like pick-up games and was not good enough to beat poorer talent that was played like a team.

TEAM BASKETBALL is here and hopefully here to stay.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

It's the same good half court offense they have always run. The only difference between then and now is the execution of the offense.

just not true. dead wrong. last year we ran more of an NBA-style ISO thing. CLear out for Harper or Geo or just transition offense with the fast guys... or like hot-potato.. whoever had the ball last as time ran out.

Oh.. I see. you specified "half-court offense".. still wrong but we can eliminate talking about the transition game.. last year when teams got back and forced us into a half-court offense we did ISO and took late shots through one-on-one moves.. mostly... only occasionally kicking out to someone standing around for a three.

Read Cali's post as to what we are now doing of late.

 

[Caliknight]

The other thing that shouldn’t go unnoticed is what forcing a team to defend does to help our defense.

It’s a lot easier to defend when guys are standing around watching one guy dribble. It takes a lot out of you to defend guys that are moving constantly along with the ball. At some point your offense starts to be impacted because you don’t have the legs you would otherwise. Good offense can help your defense and vice versa, provided you are connected.

It also leads to more baskets for us limiting the run out opportunities after bad misses and unbalanced floors.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

just not true. dead wrong. last year we ran more of an NBA-style ISO thing. CLear out for Harper or Geo or just transition offense with the fast guys... or like hot-potato.. whoever had the ball last as time ran out.

Oh.. I see. you specified "half-court offense".. still wrong but we can eliminate talking about the transition game.. last year when teams got back and forced us into a half-court offense we did ISO and took late shots through one-on-one moves.. mostly... only occasionally kicking out to someone standing around for a three.

Read Cali's post as to what we are now doing of late.

People were saying (including the OP) earlier this year that Pikiell DOES NOT run an offense. That's incorrect. What we are doing of late is executing the offense the way it should have always been executed.

Before....the players were standing around, not moving enough, dribbling too much, not passing enough and taking too many contested shots.

Now....they are doing all of the things they should have been doing. Player movement, ball movement, etc.

It's not like Pikiell installed a new offense after the first 7 games. He just worked on the execution, including telling Mulcahy and McConnell to stop dribbling so damn much.

 

[Caliknight]

People were saying (including the OP) earlier this year that Pikiell DOES NOT run an offense. That's incorrect. What we are doing of late is executing the offense the way it should have always been executed.

Before....the players were standing around, not moving enough, dribbling too much, not passing enough and taking too many contested shots.

Now....they are doing all of the things they should have been doing. Player movement, ball movement, etc.

It's not like Pikiell installed a new offense after the first 7 games. He just worked on the execution, including telling Mulcahy and McConnell to stop dribbling so damn much.

We were most certainly not running an offense earlier this year. Maybe this is what they were coached to do in practice but they clearly were not doing it. I can buy that. Execution means you are running an offense.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

People were saying (including the OP) earlier this year that Pikiell DOES NOT run an offense. That's incorrect. What we are doing of late is executing the offense the way it should have always been executed.

Before....the players were standing around, not moving enough, dribbling too much, not passing enough and taking too many contested shots.

Now....they are doing all of the things they should have been doing. Player movement, ball movement, etc.

It's not like Pikiell installed a new offense after the first 7 games. He just worked on the execution, including telling Mulcahy and McConnell to stop dribbling so damn much.

Then I refer you back to the comment that if you are not executing an offense then you are not running the offense.

They had more practices in preseason and through the time they were playing so poorly than they had since the horrible losses at the end of November. So, did they really learn how to execute the offense properly since then.. or did the desperation of losing cause the players to be more coachable suddenly? Or was Pike not teaching it properly or not at all?

Semantics.

All I know is they are playing like a team now. They are running a team offense now. I don't really care how it happened.. I just want it to keep happening.