Disappointed in Cliff

[S_Janowski]

Cliff’s 3rd and 4th fouls are inexcusable.

I’m not sure if the 3rd was even a foul but he can’t put himself in that position to even get called for it. The 4th was horrific.

Did he even want to be out on the court today?

Tons of blame to go around for the entire roster and coaching staff today but we’re not going anywhere when the leaders of this team (Mulcahy, McConnnell and Cliff) lay an egg like we’ve seen the past 2 games.

 

[Degaz-RU]

I’m more disappointed in Cliff for his lack of improvement on offense. Unless he’s dunking, he can’t score. Doesn’t use the glass well, yaks jump hooks, and has two left hands.

Compare him to Dainja, who has great moves and a soft touch.

 

[RUJMM78]

Rutgers is a over achieving team that has been strong on offense and mediocre on offense.The inability to sustain offense is caused by the lack of go to scorers.That problem will hopefully be corrected with future recruiting.The objective in the remaining six games is to win the three home game and get at least one win on the road.The team plays hard but simply lacks scorers that are difference makers.

 

[ImBadRU]

Dainja is another center who eats Cliff.

 

[shields]

Learn to pass ball out when it is a poor shot. BB IQ stinks.

 

[Shelby65]

I’m more disappointed in Cliff for his lack of improvement on offense. Unless he’s dunking, he can’t score. Doesn’t use the glass well, yaks jump hooks, and has two left hands.

Compare him to Dainja, who has great moves and a soft touch.

Players don’t usually improve skills in college, especially related to coordination. Either you are coordinated by high school or you aren’t. You are who you are. The best college players get drafted the first year eligible.

 

[Scarletnut]

Couple thoughts on Cliff.
1) He needs to post up much closer to to the basket. Conversely, he shouldn’t be passed to unless he is closer to the basket
2) I wonder how much better, if at all, he would be with Jay Young still on the staff to coach the big men

 

[Scangg]

I’m more disappointed in Cliff for his lack of improvement on offense. Unless he’s dunking, he can’t score. Doesn’t use the glass well, yaks jump hooks, and has two left hands.

Compare him to Dainja, who has great moves and a soft touch.

Cliff was never going to have that kind of touch and natural feel for the game. He started playing bball too late

 

[Mr. Magoo1]

I’m more disappointed in Cliff for his lack of improvement on offense. Unless he’s dunking, he can’t score. Doesn’t use the glass well, yaks jump hooks, and has two left hands.

Compare him to Dainja, who has great moves and a soft touch.

That half hook line drive where he basically throws the ball at the rim needs a lot of work.

 

[Shelby65]

Cliff was never going to have that kind of touch and natural feel for the game. He started playing bball too late

Right. He is who he is. Good defender with little offensive skill.

 

[Mr. Magoo1]

I’m

Cliff was never going to have that kind of touch and natural feel for the game. He started playing bball too late

hopefully, his lack of improvement this season keeps him here another year.

 

[billgumpper]

Cliff’s 3rd and 4th fouls are inexcusable.

I’m not sure if the 3rd was even a foul but he can’t put himself in that position to even get called for it. The 4th was horrific.

Did he even want to be out on the court today?

Tons of blame to go around for the entire roster and coaching staff today but we’re not going anywhere when the leaders of this team (Mulcahy, McConnnell and Cliff) lay an egg like we’ve seen the past 2 games.

Cliff is avg at best. The Ill big man, just like any big man with a pulse, dominated Cliff today, and as usual Cliff's only baskets today were dunks. If you notice, the other teams big man is never in foul trouble because Cliff does not have the offensive skill set to put him there.

 

[richthedentist]

I’m more disappointed in Cliff for his lack of improvement on offense. Unless he’s dunking, he can’t score. Doesn’t use the glass well, yaks jump hooks, and has two left hands.

Compare him to Dainja, who has great moves and a soft touch.

And he is so soft on defense has 0 basketball IQ and just continue to force up bad shots can’t pass out of a double doesn’t box out there’s no way he ever sees the NBA he should definitely not leave early!!!

 

[billgumpper]

Right. He is who he is. Good defender with little offensive skill.

Good defender? I'm not sure what you are watching.

 

[S_Janowski]

Couple thoughts on Cliff.
1) He needs to post up much closer to to the basket. Conversely, he shouldn’t be passed to unless he is closer to the basket
2) I wonder how much better, if at all, he would be with Jay Young still on the staff to coach the big men

Yep - they feed him the ball way too far out. He doesn’t have the touch or moves to be posting up from 12 - 15 feet from the basket.

 

[RUChoppin]

Couple thoughts on Cliff.
1) He needs to post up much closer to to the basket. Conversely, he shouldn’t be passed to unless he is closer to the basket
2) I wonder how much better, if at all, he would be with Jay Young still on the staff to coach the big men

Very much #1.... when he's too far out, I am almost yelling at the television for him to pass it back out. He tries too hard to go 1v1 from 10+ feet out, and it rarely ends well.

The 4th foul was cheap, and he should know better. The 3rd foul was highly questionable - not quite sure what the ref was calling there. Had that been almost any other player who was routinely pressing in the backcourt, I don't think that would have drawn a whistle.

 

[[email protected]]

Cliff’s 3rd and 4th fouls are inexcusable.

I’m not sure if the 3rd was even a foul but he can’t put himself in that position to even get called for it. The 4th was horrific.

Did he even want to be out on the court today?

Tons of blame to go around for the entire roster and coaching staff today but we’re not going anywhere when the leaders of this team (Mulcahy, McConnnell and Cliff) lay an egg like we’ve seen the past 2 games.

Cliff needs to come back next year and work on:

Reducing Ricky tack frustration fouls

His hands : securing the ball & keeping possession

And Develope two or three mid range shots

Without improvement imo Cliff doesn't get drafted.

Mo

 

[richthedentist]

Couple thoughts on Cliff.
1) He needs to post up much closer to to the basket. Conversely, he shouldn’t be passed to unless he is closer to the basket
2) I wonder how much better, if at all, he would be with Jay Young still on the staff to coach the big men

Agreed about Jay Young that was a huge loss for our big man development you have a coaching staff of 5 point guards who the heck is going to coach the big men?? Apparently no one

 

[Scangg]

Cliff is avg at best. The Ill big man, just like any big man with a pulse, dominated Cliff today, and as usual Cliff's only baskets today were dunks. If you notice, the other teams big man is never in foul trouble because Cliff does not have the offensive skill set to put him there.

Cliff was just nominated for the Kareem award as one of the 10 best big men in the country

Good defender? I'm not sure what you are watching.

Cliff is one of the highest rated defenders in the country according to multiple advanced statistics

Did you not see what happened when he was off the court today?

 

[cm_13]

Cliff is avg at best. The Ill big man, just like any big man with a pulse, dominated Cliff today, and as usual Cliff's only baskets today were dunks. If you notice, the other teams big man is never in foul trouble because Cliff does not have the offensive skill set to put him there.

Not sure I understand this take. Dainja had a big game because Cliff was on the bench for as long as he was. No one else had an answer for him.

He should be criticized for the bad fouls he picked up but idk how you come away from that game thinking Cliff got dominated by their big.

 

[Scarletnut]

Not sure I understand this take. Dainja had a big game because Cliff was on the bench for as long as he was. No one else had an answer for him.

He should be criticized for the bad fouls he picked up but idk how you come away from that game thinking Cliff got dominated by their big.

Dainja scored pretty well on Cliff when he was in the game too. In fact, scored too easily on him

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

I’m

hopefully, his lack of improvement this season keeps him here another year.

He will be back.

 

[kupuna133]

I expect cliff to make fundamental mistakes. The other 2 with C’s on their chest need to step up. They can’t allow long stretches of no scoring. Paul and Caleb get caught up pounding the ball into the court for long stretches of the shot clock. I know cam can be streaky but it’s almost like they are playing keep away at times. Needs to be more action and movement on O. Cliff and his foul problem today was not the only issue.

 

[RUChoppin]

Not sure I understand this take. Dainja had a big game because Cliff was on the bench for as long as he was. No one else had an answer for him.

He should be criticized for the bad fouls he picked up but idk how you come away from that game thinking Cliff got dominated by their big.

7 of Dainja's 15 points came while Omoruyi was on the bench.

 

[rubjk]

Cliff’s 3rd and 4th fouls are inexcusable.

I’m not sure if the 3rd was even a foul but he can’t put himself in that position to even get called for it. The 4th was horrific.

Did he even want to be out on the court today?

Tons of blame to go around for the entire roster and coaching staff today but we’re not going anywhere when the leaders of this team (Mulcahy, McConnnell and Cliff) lay an egg like we’ve seen the past 2 games.

2 of the fouls were barely if fouls at all. Who else laid an egg? Illinois played very good defense the second half and missing dunks and layups led to a few 4 point swings.

 

[S_Janowski]

2 of the fouls were barely if fouls at all. Who else laid an egg? Illinois played very good defense the second half and missing dunks and layups led to a few 4 point swings.

I said in the OP I don’t know if the 3rd was really a foul. The 4th was definitely a stupid reach in.

But Cliff needs to play smarter - no reason to be defending a guy that closely after a missed basket or reaching when you are teetering on foul trouble.

If Cliff isn’t in foul trouble with stupid fouls we don’t need to dip into our bench (Reiber/Woolfolk) as much.

I also think Cliff got away with a few reaches/fouls throughout the game.

 

[SAE96]

I expect cliff to make fundamental mistakes. The other 2 with C’s on their chest need to step up. They can’t allow long stretches of no scoring. Paul and Caleb get caught up pounding the ball into the court for long stretches of the shot clock. I know cam can be streaky but it’s almost like they are playing keep away at times. Needs to be more action and movement on O. Cliff and his foul problem today was not the only issue.

They tend to lose confidence in their offensive game. It surprising because both are upperclassmen.

Paul in the second half of MSU and Caleb in the first half today, were both very aggressive. I don't know why they can't bring that offensive mentality to every game.

It's a long season. I expect them to lead in the BIG Tournament and the NCAAs.

 

[FIJI'83]

Cliff was never going to have that kind of touch and natural feel for the game. He started playing bball too late

He needs to attend a preeminent Big Man’s Camp next summer, maybe it will help.

 

[richthedentist]

Not sure I understand this take. Dainja had a big game because Cliff was on the bench for as long as he was. No one else had an answer for him.

He should be criticized for the bad fouls he picked up but idk how you come away from that game thinking Cliff got dominated by their big.

Absolutely not what game did you watch he had his way with Cliff when he was in

 

[cm_13]

Absolutely not what game did you watch he had his way with Cliff when he was in

I watched a game where as soon as Cliff sat in the second half our team collapsed.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

Cliff needs to come back next year and work on:

Reducing Ricky tack frustration fouls

His hands : securing the ball & keeping possession

And Develope two or three mid range shots

Without improvement imo Cliff doesn't get drafted.

Mo

Unfortunately, Cliff is unlikely to improve those skills much with another year in college and his game has so many holes I just don’t think he will get a G League invite where there would be more intensive coaching and reps to try and fix his game.

 

[Loyal-Son]

Cliff is avg at best. The Ill big man, just like any big man with a pulse, dominated Cliff today, and as usual Cliff's only baskets today were dunks. If you notice, the other teams big man is never in foul trouble because Cliff does not have the offensive skill set to put him there.

WTF is your problem? Average at best?

Cliff was just nominated for an award as one of the top 10 big men in the country.

Shows how much you know about basketball - nothing!!

He started late in basketball, but he has exceptional athletic skills. Just watch him get up after being knocked to the floor.

He is learning the game, and there is absolutely no reason to imagine he will not end up playing the game well at a high level. He is still figuring things out.

I personally love the young man and his attitude.

No one is a harder worker, so I can't imagine him not being highly successful in the end.

 

[cm_13]

I said in the OP I don’t know if the 3rd was really a foul. The 4th was definitely a stupid reach in.

But Cliff needs to play smarter - no reason to be defending a guy that closely after a missed basket or reaching when you are teetering on foul trouble.

If Cliff isn’t in foul trouble with stupid fouls we don’t need to dip into our bench (Reiber/Woolfolk) as much.

I also think Cliff got away with a few reaches/fouls throughout the game.

The third foul is inexcusable. Just get back on D, nothing good comes out of him trying to pressure someone in the backcourt there.

 

[RUChoppin]

The third foul is inexcusable. Just get back on D, nothing good comes out of him trying to pressure someone in the backcourt there.

It really felt like the whistle was "you shouldn't be trying this" rather than "you fouled him".. a center walling up in the backcourt after committing a turnover, they were just expecting a frustration foul that I personally didn't see actually occurring.

 

[cm_13]

It really felt like the whistle was "you shouldn't be trying this" rather than "you fouled him".. a center walling up in the backcourt after committing a turnover, they were just expecting a frustration foul that I personally didn't see actually occurring.

There definitely wasn’t much there but it could have so easily been avoided.

 

[Vassar69]

 

[Scangg]

Cliff needs to understand just how important him being on the court is for this team. If he needs to let up a layup so be it. Can't be reaching in and picking up dumb fouls

Look for a dominate bounce back win at the RAC

 

[bac2therac]

Cliff has to man up

His silly fouls are killing the team

He was absolutely abused on the boards in key moments

his stat line is more window dressing rather than whats going on out there

 

[rufeelinit]

Bardo said that if Edey and TJD were not in the conference Cliff would be the top dog. Not seeing it that way. I thought Rebraca got the better of him in the first game against Iowa, and certainly Dianja looked his equal this afternoon. I am sure Hunter Dickinson will be looking to establish himself when we play them in a couple of weeks. I realize Cliff does not get much help from our other bigs but he just is coming up small in key matchups where we need him to hold his own.

 

[willisneverrana43]

The guy has another double double and people are disappointed. Yup, everything is as normal here after a loss.