Mulcahy

[Scarlet Blind_rivals]

I must be watching a different Paul Mulcahy, who the refs are starting to target since his and our little 4 game ranked winning streak.

MSU 31 minutes, 6-9, 15pts, 12 ast. 2 PFs
OSU 37 minutes, 4-8, 12pts, 6 ast, 3 PFs
@ Wisc 37 minutes, 6-9, 18pts, 5 ast, 1 PF
Illinois, 36 minutes, 6-10, 13pts, 7ast, 2 PFs

last 4 games,
@ Purdue 33 minutes, 6-8, 15pts, 6ast, 5 PFs
@ Michigan, 22 minutes, 2-8, 5pts 2ast, 4 PFs
Wisconsin, 26 minutes, 3-6, 7pts 1ast, 4 PFs
@ Indiana 37 minutes, 2-8, 5pts, 3ast, 3 PF, ejected

He had 4 PFs, 3 times in the first 25 games this season.

 

[newell138]

McEnroe? You cannot be serious!

Fierce competitor, great player but also a bit of a whiner. Took himself out of games sometimes by worrying about the officials. I think it’s a compliment. Mac was one of the best

 

[RUinBC]

Most of you are complete tools. This kid is the epitome of a complete devotee to his sport and team. This is a kid who thinks 24 hours a day about his team and how he can better help his team. He’s now faced with a leadership role for pretty much the first time in the midst of the most stressful schedule stretch you could imagine. Yes, it’s gotten to him. But it’s not bc he’s a hot head or out of control, it’s because he lives for this team and wants to win with everything he’s worth.

 

[gregkoko]

Paul was very erratic but it was a hard fought, scrappy and tough game....I'm more concerned about his turning it over but these are huge growing pains for a player Pike and RU has invested a LOT of playing time over the last 3 seasons.

We will need everyone on Sunday and he gets a chance to redeem himself the rest of the way. Chill out on him for now, Hyatt and RHJ bailed us out.

100%. I hope the Paul we see over the next few weeks is the Paul from our four game run

 

[RUbot]

Not as much talent.... but Mulcahy has reminded me of Greyson Allen of Duke from the first time I saw him play, same passion, and now getting the same hate from opponents. Hate a player like that when he is the opponent but you have to love his passion when he is on your squad.

 

[Mr. Magoo1]

Fierce competitor, great player but also a bit of a whiner. Took himself out of games sometimes by worrying about the officials. I think it’s a compliment. Mac was one of the best

That was a joke…fell flat I guess

 

[RC1991]

There is no way Paul will be suspended and he shouldn’t be. If he needs any sort of punishment don’t start him against PSU. This fan base can be unbelievable at times with how you attack our own players with no benefit of the doubt.

 

[JonathanAlan]

I think everyone is way too critical of Mulcahy. The Indiana kid ( 0) earlier in the half got away with a foul when it looked like he hooked Mulcahy and , incredibly , it was Mulcahy who got the foul and not Johnson. And I think it was this earlier play that caused the flare-up at the end. And yes Mulcahy threw his arm out but it looked like Johnson pushed Mulcahy deliberately but was not called for a flagrant foul.

 

[ClassOf02v.2]

That was a joke…fell flat I guess

I got it.

 

[RU_DIO]

He was the best player in the Big Ten for 2 weeks and was the main reason Rutgers won 4 games in a row.

In the last 2 weeks his play is very sloppy and out of control. He needs to get his head straight.

It's stinks but he has reverted back to the way he was playing all year except for those 5 real good games. Hope he gets it together. We need him playing real well again.

 

[RUBlackout]

Most of you are complete tools. This kid is the epitome of a complete devotee to his sport and team. This is a kid who thinks 24 hours a day about his team and how he can better help his team. He’s now faced with a leadership role for pretty much the first time in the midst of the most stressful schedule stretch you could imagine. Yes, it’s gotten to him. But it’s not bc he’s a hot head or out of control, it’s because he lives for this team and wants to win with everything he’s worth.

Completely agree!

rutgers fans are terrible..ready to jump up and eat their own. This kid bleeds Scarlett

 

[RutgersRaRa]

There is no way Paul will be suspended and he shouldn’t be. If he needs any sort of punishment don’t start him against PSU. This fan base can be unbelievable at times with how you attack our own players with no benefit of the doubt.

There is no way we should punish him. If the league does something (I don't think they will), that's the way that goes. But for us to make some kind of point based on the end of tonight's game and sit him for even a minute in a game like the final one coming up against PSU, would be among the WEAKEST things we could do to our team, our fans, and our chances at making the tournament.

 

[RU05]

There is no way Paul will be suspended and he shouldn’t be. If he needs any sort of punishment don’t start him against PSU. This fan base can be unbelievable at times with how you attack our own players with no benefit of the doubt.

If he's not suspended by the conf, then no way would I expect Pike to punish him. It was dumb and all but seems more dumb because of the late game situation. I don't think the action itself was all that egregious.

 

[Knights 1212]

Paul wants to win so bad that at times his emotions get the best of him. I would want him definitely on my team if I was the coach. He just needs to settle down a little. I don't think he should be suspended. He is a great guy if you really get to know him. I hope he learns from this and contributes so much for us going forward.

 

[RU05]

I think everyone is way too critical of Mulcahy. The Indiana kid ( 0) earlier in the half got away with a foul when it looked like he hooked Mulcahy and , incredibly , it was Mulcahy who got the foul and not Johnson. And I think it was this earlier play that caused the flare-up at the end. And yes Mulcahy threw his arm out but it looked like Johnson pushed Mulcahy deliberately but was not called for a flagrant foul.

What the Indiana kid did wasn't all that bad. Paul has to keep his cool there.

But we won, I think we should be able to laugh about it now. If we lost it would have been a different story.

And Pike needs to get it into all the guys heads the importance of keeping their composure.

 

[NBKnight]

IU was called for a foul, so it wasn't exactly scot-free.

He was called for the initial foul, not the shove which caused Paul’s reaction.

 

[rutobs]

We would have never gone on that 4-0 run without his play.

Totally agree with this, but if he played like that from the beginning of the season, do we lose all of those early games? It goes both ways. I have thought from the beginning of the season that he should always have been the 6th man off the bench; play him the same amount of minutes if you want, but not as the starter.

 

[NBKnight]

Totally agree with this, but if he played like that from the beginning of the season, do we lose all of those early games? It goes both ways. I have thought from the beginning of the season that he should always have been the 6th man off the bench; play him the same amount of minutes if you want, but not as the starter.

If he plays the same amount of minutes, what difference does it make?

 

[wheezer]

There is no way Paul will be suspended and he shouldn’t be. If he needs any sort of punishment don’t start him against PSU. This fan base can be unbelievable at times with how you attack our own players with no benefit of the doubt.

The suspension would be a league decision, not be a Pike decision

And Pike will start him if not suspended

 

[NiTeKnight]

Paul was very erratic but it was a hard fought, scrappy and tough game....I'm more concerned about his turning it over but these are huge growing pains for a player Pike and RU has invested a LOT of playing time over the last 3 seasons.

We will need everyone on Sunday and he gets a chance to redeem himself the rest of the way. Chill out on him for now, Hyatt and RHJ bailed us out.

And Cliff too! Four big free throws late.

 

[billgumpper]

Because of the headband?

No, because he cries about every foul he gets.

 

[KingOfTheEast]

Paul is the man. Was a **** call

 

[ScarletKid2008]

Since Day 1 Paul has always paid waaaay too much attention and reaction into the refs. I always hated it. Always seemed like he was thinking about gaming the refs more than playing the game at times.

I love a tough player who never looks for a foul. Almost as if they expect a foul is never coming and in defense if they get called they’re just stone cold

 

[RU848789]

This shouldn’t matter, but in light of the Michigan/Wisconsin incident, I would not be at all surprised to see a suspension. I hope I’m wrong.

He didn't actually throw a punch (although it was a flagrant 2 and a really dumb play), unlike those players in the UM/WI game - and that was post-game, when that kind of behavior is even less acceptable. not in the heat of the moment, like Paul's reaction. Highly doubt he gets suspended.

 

[rutobs]

If he plays the same amount of minutes, what difference does it make?

If he plays the same amount of minutes, what difference does it make?

My point is, if he starts the game on the bench, he gets a better "feel" for how the game is going, doesn't get any quick fouls, etc. He's just not that consistent as a starter; and that's not putting him down in any way. He may not play the same minutes every game(that's probably not what I meant to say), but he would/should/could bring more juice off the bench than anyone else. Just my opinion.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

What Paul did was stupid and he shouldn’t have swung like he did but I keep seeing it referred to as a punch in places. A punch is a closed fist deliberate act of violence like Diabate for Michigan delivered several times last week. Not a reckless swinging of the arms when being pushed out of bounds and fighting for the ball. Absolute bs if he gets suspended and hope that there is an announcement one way or the other so it doesn’t become an ongoing source of angst and a distraction. Our bench is weak. We do need everyone for Penn State. But we’re Rutgers so I’m expecting the worst from the Big Ten.

Mulcahy should start because the alternatives are not good.

 

[JavaDunk18]

It is unfortunate that in the last minute of 3 of our biggest wins of the year (Michigan St., Illinois, & Indiana) there is something to put a downward spin/worry factor on it. (Miller ankle, Ron Finger, & Paul FFoul).. We were fine after the first 2, and will be fine after this.. It should be a compliment to Paul that next season crowds on the road will treat him like a few of the talented w Superhigh BB IQ Duke players were over the years. (Reddick, Allen, etc).. these mistakes will numb him to that, hopefully starting with deep tournament runs in both the Big Ten & NCAA this season..

 

[ru66]

Is this real? Only RU fans would discuss
suspending one of its own for that foul-- no one else anywhere,as I can tell, even has that on their mind

 

[wheezer]

Is this real? Only RU fans would discuss
suspending one of its own for that foul-- no one else anywhere,as I can tell, even has that on their mind

Again, it is the worry that the league over reacts and suspends him for 1 game
Our school is not suspending him

The concern is real and beyond the control of our program

 

[ru66]

Again, it is the worry that the league over reacts and suspends him for 1 game
Our school is not suspending him

The concern is real and beyond the control of our program

I don't think the concern is real as I said who else is taking about it?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

HE DID NOT THROW A PUNCH!

Can our own fans stop this nonsense? He threw an elbow which qualifies as an F2. He got what he deserved. But throwing an elbow/arm requires being held by the opponent or at least being initiated by a basketball play. It isn’t even close to the same. Targeting in football carries an automatic suspension because of the concussion risk - otherwise it would not. Even still - it would only be the first half of the next game right?

There’s no way this warrants a suspension from PSU or further discipline from Pike. You move on and learn.

 

[wheezer]

I don't think the concern is real as I said who else is taking about it?

It doesn't matter who is talking about it, but you can bet that the league looks at it

 

[Chanticleer108]

If you re-watch the foul sequence, the defender first leans/pushes Paul, then he pushes, almost slaps Paul in the face which to me triggered Paul “swinging” at him. Just defending himself at that point. Is what it is. RU won. I was surprised the refs didn’t call a double technical. The defender’s was a little more hidden while Paul’s was more overt.

 

[RAC’emUp]

At one point in the second half Paul was actually in conversation with a ref - turned away from the play - as IU brought the ball up. Pike needs to put in a rule like: talk to only your teammates and coaches.

 

[bitnez]

It’s ridiculous to suggest that if you believe Paul went too far, almost cost his team, and needs to make sure this doesn’t happen again (especially with 20 second left in a tight game), you are not a fan. And no one is calling for Paul to be suspended, but to pretend if we don’t discuss it the league won’t either is odd to say the least.

One other thing — Paul getting T’d up has been coming. I didn’t expect it to be an incident like this but he’s been visibly frustrated for the last 3-4 games. BTW, I still love the kid, but it’s ok to be objective too.

 

[Scarlet Blind_rivals]

I think Paul's frustratIons started around the 3 minutes(3:07) mark with when he was called for that offensive foul on the dribble hand off to Geo, screen and grabbed by the IU defender. If anything that should have been a foul on IU not Paul. How Paul could have dribbled the ball while grabbing the defender was a blatantly bad call by the refs.

 

[newell138]

Completely agree!

rutgers fans are terrible..ready to jump up and eat their own. This kid bleeds Scarlett

no one is eating their own, we all saw what he is capable of, he led the team during that 4 game run, thats it.

 

[newell138]

At one point in the second half Paul was actually in conversation with a ref - turned away from the play - as IU brought the ball up. Pike needs to put in a rule like: talk to only your teammates and coaches.

i noticed that too

 

[patk89]

This can't happen again and I doubt it will. At that point in the game, with so much riding on the outcome, you just can't let your emotions take over. Dumb. Maybe easier said than done but that would have been an all time brutal loss for RU if Indiana had ended up winning. Paul is an above average B1G player and played at an all league level and carried RU over those 4 ranked teams in a row. We need him. But huge win last night!

 

[LeapinLou]

What a cruel irony it would have been if one of the least selfish players in the history of RU basketball would have sabotaged the entire season with the most selfish act of the 2021-22 season.

That said, no way he is getting suspended. See you Sunday, wiser for the experience.