Rapid Reaction — Georgetown

Degaz-RU

Heisman
Dec 19, 2002
23,021
28,282
88
Hyatt with his third straight good game tonight. With GG seemingly on a short leash and having freshman inconsistency, and Cliff in an early season funk, Dre is our “go to” guy right now. For better or for worse.

We finally saw what Fernandes is capable of in the second half. He was shooting. He was dishing. He was defending. He was leading. I think we finally got the guy we thought we were getting. Hopefully he can use this second half as a launching point.

Another good game from Simpson too. He seems most in control of the team at PG, although Fernandes certainly took control in the second half too.

And that first half from JMike was something to behold. Now I see why people said he was “the best player on the floor” against St. John’s. The kid just has “it”, and he really took control in that first half, with aggressive defense and going to the hole under control. Even hit a nice three.

We still haven’t seen what Gavin can truly do. He had that one 25 point game against BU, but even there he wasn’t lights out. Tonight he was just 2-6 from deep and inexplicably 0-3 from the foul line. Still had 12 points, but I’m still waiting for a night when he’s just en fuego. But this is what you get from freshmen, even talented ones — inconsistency.

Who thought we’d have an effective full court press with two small guards (Simpson and Fernandes) up top? Not me. But their speed and quickness in the press REALLY bothered the Hoya guards, to the point where almost every GU possession was going to under 5 seconds. It’s only going to get better when Mag returns.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we got our best game from the three small guards in a game where Austin Williams was out. Not because I think Williams was playing poorly — he was fine — but because I think it shortened the rotation and allowed Simpson, JMike, and Fernandes to really get in a groove.

Cliff really is in a funk. Played better in the second half, but I wonder is HE’S still getting used to not having Paul and Cam running the show. It’s an adjustment for everybody.

I know people are critical of Pike’s rotations, but I thought tonight’s rotations were the tightest he’s had all year. This was the first game all year where I felt like the team had some rhythm, and it was because the rotation was shrunk to 7 main guys plus a little Palmquist and Chol to steal a few minutes. Other than that, it was tight and effective. I probably would like to see GG a bit more, but I think Pike is trying to bring GG along slowly and guard against hitting the freshman wall in February.

Really good win. Still have things to work on, like the bad free throw shooting, but there’s been steady progress in all facets of the team.
 
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S_Janowski

Heisman
May 24, 2009
14,307
27,529
113
Really liked was I saw for about 15-20 minutes tonight. The team was playing great D, running the court and stroking shots.

I was encouraged with Noah and impressed with JMike.

I’ve been pretty hard on Hyatt but he deserves credit - he’s played well the past couple games.

Concerning that we can’t seem to make layups and are still struggling at the line.

Overall it was a nice win but still ugly at times.

We’re lucky Georgetown stinks - other teams would have rolled back tonight as we didn’t play anywhere close to a complete game.
 

billgumpper

All-American
Nov 21, 2012
7,804
6,769
113
We shot much better tonight, had a great stretch shooting 3's but fell in love with it and started hoisting them up and not working for good shots. Jmike and Gavin definetly show flashes of how good they are going to be.
 

billgumpper

All-American
Nov 21, 2012
7,804
6,769
113
Rotation we only had 9 guys dressed tonight
I don’t like the fact he has Gavin on such a short leash now is the time to play him
Cliff is Cliff that’s all one can say has no basketball IQ and of course no hands and zero post moves
Cliff is what he is, he hasnt improved each of the last 2 years. He is still a great athlete playing basketball, not a basketball player that is also a great athlete.
 
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Degaz-RU

Heisman
Dec 19, 2002
23,021
28,282
88
We shot much better tonight, had a great stretch shooting 3's but fell in love with it and started hoisting them up and not working for good shots. Jmike and Gavin definetly show flashes of how good they are going to be.
24 of our 53 shots were from 3-pt range (and we hit 9 for 37.5%). That means 45% of our shots were from deep. I don’t have a problem with that 3-pt shot rate. I was probably only annoyed at 2 or 3 of the threes taken tonight, and I’d take 9-24 every day of the week.
 

RUDiddy777

Heisman
Feb 26, 2015
34,025
38,559
113
Hyatt with his third straight good game tonight. With GG seemingly on a short leash and having freshman inconsistency, and Cliff in an early season funk, Dre is our “go to” guy right now. For better or for worse.

We finally saw what Fernandes is capable of in the second half. He was shooting. He was dishing. He was defending. He was leading. I think we finally got the guy we thought we were getting. Hopefully he can use this second half as a launching point.

Another good game from Simpson too. He seems most in control of the team at PG, although Fernandes certainly took control in the second half too.

And that first half from JMike was something to behold. Now I see why people said he was “the best player on the floor” against St. John’s. The kid just has “it”, and he really took control in that first half, with aggressive defense and going to the hole under control. Even hit a nice three.

We still haven’t seen what Gavin can truly do. He had that one 25 point game against BU, but even there he wasn’t lights out. Tonight he was just 2-6 from deep and inexplicably 0-3 from the foul line. Still had 12 points, but I’m still waiting for a night when he’s just en fuego. But this is what you get from freshmen, even talented ones — inconsistency.

Who thought we’d have an effective full court press with two small guards (Simpson and Fernandes) up top? Not me. But their speed and quickness in the press REALLY bothered the Hoya guards, to the point where almost every GU possession was going to under 5 seconds. It’s only going to get better when Mag returns.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we got our best game from the three small guards in a game where Austin Williams was out. Not because I think Williams was playing poorly — he was fine — but because I think it shortened the rotation and allowed Simpson, JMike, and Fernandes to really get in a groove.

Cliff really is in a funk. Played better in the second half, but I wonder is HE’S still getting used to not having Paul and Cam running the show. It’s an adjustment for everybody.

I know people are critical of Pike’s rotations, but I thought tonight’s rotations were the tightest he’s had all year. This was the first game all year where I felt like the team had some rhythm, and it was because the Rory was shrunk to 7 main guys plus a little Palmquist and Chol to steal a few minutes. Other than that, it was tight and effective. I probably would like to see GG a bit more, but I think Pike is trying to bring GG along slowly and guard against hitting the freshman wall in February.

Really good win. Still have things to work on, like the bad free throw shooting, but there’s been steady progress in all facets of the team.

Great write up.

Was really cool to see/hear the crowd rallying behind Noah, hope he noticed the love. What a gutsy performance. He’s seemed meek all season, but hope he finally found his confidence today

Really love watching Palmquist play. Blue collar. In the middle of everything. Tough. Landed on his head and popped back up. Gotta think he’s the heart of the team.

JMike. What a game. Love the hustle. He’s gonna be fun to watch. .

Officiating was abysmal. Just awful.
 

needmorecowbell

Heisman
Oct 28, 2007
9,692
10,850
78
By far their best game tonight. Tons of energy and guys were active. The ball moved and the guys looked confident. Cliff had a tough matchup but the guards stepped up big time. JMD played great in the first half, Noah played great in the second half and Derek had a very good all round game. That press really gave Georgetown trouble and produced some easy buckets. Now they need to bring this effort and focus every night. A great step in the right direction.
 
Dec 5, 2022
1,346
1,664
0
When he makes multiple mistakes on defense you pull him, let him watch, learn and get talked to on the bench before you put him back in the game. PERIOD.
But the dudes that made multiple mistakes on offense don’t get punished? Lol cmon now buddy. This benching of Gavin lost us the Princeton game and if Georgetown wasn’t god awful it could have lost us the game tonight too. Smarten up.
 

seels2662

Heisman
Aug 16, 2005
25,004
18,002
113
Gavin needs more minutes. This is getting ridiculous. Benched for the entire second half even though he was arguably our best player in the first half is nonsense.
He was awful on defense, and he shows zero energy out there. Multiple times he could have easily grabbed a rebound if he crashed the boards even a little. If he wasn't ordered to run his part in a set he wouldn't move three feet the whole game.
 
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RU-Choppin-Ohio

Heisman
Jul 31, 2011
33,110
38,113
113
He was awful on defense, and he shows zero energy out there. Multiple times he could have easily grabbed a rebound if he crashed the boards even a little. If he wasn't ordered to run his part in a set he wouldn't move three feet the whole game.
Exactly ! No one gets a pass if they are not showing the right effort. IMO, when yo see him on the court you almost see him thinking too much about where he needs to be on defense....too tentative. The good thing its only game 4 and I am sure he will improve.
 

Rokodesh

Heisman
Aug 30, 2007
16,499
14,102
73
But the dudes that made multiple mistakes on offense don’t get punished? Lol cmon now buddy. This benching of Gavin lost us the Princeton game and if Georgetown wasn’t god awful it could have lost us the game tonight too. Smarten up.
lol... we lost the Princeton game for 1 million different reasons. The whole team was awful. Georgetown is horrible, this game was never in doubt with or without Gavin.
 

Scangg

Heisman
Mar 19, 2016
25,476
49,465
113
The Gavin defensively liability talk is overblown. It's definitely not so bad that he's unplayable for almost the entire half. He also needs to play to improve

When the team is in a scoring drought with Gavin on the bench, that's the perfect time to bring him back in to try to spark the offense
 
Dec 5, 2022
1,346
1,664
0
lol... we lost the Princeton game for 1 million different reasons. The whole team was awful. Georgetown is horrible, this game was never in doubt with or without Gavin.
And one of those reasons was because we sucked offensively. Guess who could have helped with that. I’ll give you time to think.
 

RU-Choppin-Ohio

Heisman
Jul 31, 2011
33,110
38,113
113
The Gavin defensively liability talk is overblown. It's definitely not so bad that he's unplayable for almost the entire half. He also needs to play to improve

When the team is in a scoring drought with Gavin on the bench, that's the perfect time to bring him back in to try to spark the offense
A guy can also learn a lot by watching. See the effort of others and where he should be on defense. He is a future star but defense is not there yet. I dont think anyone used the words defensive liability.
 

fatsam98

Heisman
Mar 23, 2005
44,191
40,114
113
Team is getting there. Can’t wait until Mag is back, then it will get real interesting.

Really liked what I saw out of the guards tonight. They stepped up.
I think I agree, but Georgetown sucks -- they allowed layup after layup to Holy Cross of all teams. Regardless, was good to see some fire from Noah and J-Mike's Jacob Young impersonation
 

RU-ROCS

All-American
Feb 5, 2003
12,514
7,775
113
Hyatt with his third straight good game tonight. With GG seemingly on a short leash and having freshman inconsistency, and Cliff in an early season funk, Dre is our “go to” guy right now. For better or for worse.

We finally saw what Fernandes is capable of in the second half. He was shooting. He was dishing. He was defending. He was leading. I think we finally got the guy we thought we were getting. Hopefully he can use this second half as a launching point.

Another good game from Simpson too. He seems most in control of the team at PG, although Fernandes certainly took control in the second half too.

And that first half from JMike was something to behold. Now I see why people said he was “the best player on the floor” against St. John’s. The kid just has “it”, and he really took control in that first half, with aggressive defense and going to the hole under control. Even hit a nice three.

We still haven’t seen what Gavin can truly do. He had that one 25 point game against BU, but even there he wasn’t lights out. Tonight he was just 2-6 from deep and inexplicably 0-3 from the foul line. Still had 12 points, but I’m still waiting for a night when he’s just en fuego. But this is what you get from freshmen, even talented ones — inconsistency.

Who thought we’d have an effective full court press with two small guards (Simpson and Fernandes) up top? Not me. But their speed and quickness in the press REALLY bothered the Hoya guards, to the point where almost every GU possession was going to under 5 seconds. It’s only going to get better when Mag returns.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we got our best game from the three small guards in a game where Austin Williams was out. Not because I think Williams was playing poorly — he was fine — but because I think it shortened the rotation and allowed Simpson, JMike, and Fernandes to really get in a groove.

Cliff really is in a funk. Played better in the second half, but I wonder is HE’S still getting used to not having Paul and Cam running the show. It’s an adjustment for everybody.

I know people are critical of Pike’s rotations, but I thought tonight’s rotations were the tightest he’s had all year. This was the first game all year where I felt like the team had some rhythm, and it was because the rotation was shrunk to 7 main guys plus a little Palmquist and Chol to steal a few minutes. Other than that, it was tight and effective. I probably would like to see GG a bit more, but I think Pike is trying to bring GG along slowly and guard against hitting the freshman wall in February.

Really good win. Still have things to work on, like the bad free throw shooting, but there’s been steady progress in all facets of the team.
Good recap. I’ve been hard on Fernandes, who played poorly the first couple games. But I agree that we finally saw his upside tonight. Great energy and tenacity on both ends of the floor. I just wish he kept his head up more on offense. But I think we saw tonight in a game what Pike must see in practice.
 

rtabachk

All-American
Jan 14, 2007
4,773
6,018
113
I watched the Princeton and Georgetown game. Did not see Bryant or BU. It hit me at the beginning of tonight's game when the announcer said that there were several scouts in the stands to watch Cliff. To me he doesn't look like he's progressed from last year whatsoever. He's missing dunks, he can't box out or rebound, and his hands down low are quite awful. He looks like he's going through the motions.

Besides the missed wide open dunk v Princeton, two plays today stuck out which to me epitomize Cliff:

1. 15:15 left in the first. Griffiths gives him a good pass down low which he wasn't ready for and couldn't handle and then off the loose ball Simpson gives him a good ball that he barely handles and he can't get it to the rim before he gets fouled. He looked goofy there.
2. 14:40 left in the first. Georgetown drives and puts a ball up and Cliff after the initial block attempt lands and stands there like a lawn gnome. No boxing out nothing just stares at the ball as everyone fights for position around him. Then as the ball starts coming down, late to the party, he jumps and slaps Motumbo over the top because Motumbo got there first eventhough he wasn't the closest guy, for his second foul.

Those two plays (please watch them) epitomize his deficiencies which have been there for a few years now. Poor hands and poor rebound awareness.

I'm not saying he's bad, he's above average but he's not elite out there in these first few games. He's an elite body type yes but I'm not seeing the improvement from last year in his basic abilities around the rim. He's plateaued to me.

Can someone please explain if I'm entirely wrong here?
 

RUDivision

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2023
2,671
2,155
42
Good game and great to see the guards all play well. Finally a Noah sitting and was hustling on D. J Mike another good defensive game, continues to work the glass , good shooting night for him but tends to take too many shots(IMO). Derek nice night consecutive strong games and lights out from the FT line. Needs to continue on finishing at the rim . Cliff being cliff ! Wolfe continues to impress and grow every game. Gavin let him play Pike. Yes he misses some rotations but Cam missed the same if not more and Gavin is a better scorer. Let the kid play
 

JudgeSmails56

All-American
Dec 1, 2019
4,801
7,093
113
Gavin is definitely a little hit and miss, but he looks to be our best shooter since Douby.. I’m not counting Spencer since he was here and gone in a year.
 

RUDivision

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2023
2,671
2,155
42
I think I agree, but Georgetown sucks -- they allowed layup after layup to Holy Cross of all teams. Regardless, was good to see some fire from Noah and J-Mike's Jacob Young impersonation
Agreed love Jmikes energy and fearless approach. Best part besides his defense is he will take any shot and keep shooting. Biggest concern he will take any shot and keep shooting. Lol
Very Jacob Young like but it’s early and he needs more time to settle in. Pike can manage bad shooting nights with minutes hopefully similar to Jacob young.

Good to see all 3 guards show up tonight.
 

RU-Choppin-Ohio

Heisman
Jul 31, 2011
33,110
38,113
113
The complaints about playing time for 1 guy is head scratching. 38-32 at the half. In the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, Rutgers outscored G-Town 26-16 to take a 64-48 lead.

So....why are a few people complaining because 1 guy got limited minutes in that stretch? Obviously, the lineups being played is what built that 16 points lead to put the game away when G-Town only scored 16 points in 15 minutes.
 

RU848789

Heisman
Jul 27, 2001
65,459
44,500
113
As I said in the thread I just posted, was so great to finally see Simpson/J-Mike/Fernandez all play very well for the first time this season (not counting Derek's good 2nd half against Bryant) on both sides of the ball. I think we all knew they were capable, but they've just struggled, so nice to see them doing what they're capable of - obviously we're much better with them playing well.
 

RedTeamUpstream94

All-American
Jan 15, 2021
3,543
6,644
113
Great write up.

Was really cool to see/hear the crowd rallying behind Noah, hope he noticed the love. What a gutsy performance. He’s seemed meek all season, but hope he finally found his confidence today

Really love watching Palmquist play. Blue collar. In the middle of everything. Tough. Landed on his head and popped back up. Gotta think he’s the heart of the team.

JMike. What a game. Love the hustle. He’s gonna be fun to watch. .

Officiating was abysmal. Just awful.

officiating was terrible . Imho equally bad both ways. Some real head scratchers
 

RUDivision

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2023
2,671
2,155
42
The complaints about playing time for 1 guy is head scratching. 38-32 at the half. In the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, Rutgers outscored G-Town 26-16 to take a 64-48 lead.

So....why are a few people complaining because 1 guy got limited minutes in that stretch? Obviously, the lineups being played is what built that 16 points lead to put the game away when G-Town only scored 16 points in 15 minutes.
Completely fair and not complaining just want to see Gavin have as many minutes as possible before we start Big ten play. If we are going to have the success we all want then Gavin is going to have to be that guy(we all know he is).
So not complaining just asking to let him play through things and continue to get experience and grow on the court.
Good sound game by the guys and I am sure Pike has a plan in place moving forward into January and beyond
 

winfield102

All-Conference
Jun 15, 2005
7,272
3,080
113
Noah - liked him looking to shoot. It's a must. Missed 2 layups that can't be missed.

Gavin - keep shooting. I like no hesitation.

Hyatt - another nice shooting game,

Simpson - the mid range needs to go away. 3 in the first 4 minutes of the game? No!!

Cliff - why do they pass him the ball when he tries to post up but is no where near the basket? The staff needs to correct this. We aren't good enough for these inefficient possessions.

We must press. Allows us to only have to defend a half court set for 12-14 seconds. I just don't see us being able to to successfully defend for 20-23 seconds. With 9-10 in the rotation, we gotta delay teams from getting into their half court sets.

We continue to struggle finishing at the rim. Painful to watch.
 

RU MAN

Heisman
Oct 29, 2001
23,756
10,481
113
Hyatt with his third straight good game tonight. With GG seemingly on a short leash and having freshman inconsistency, and Cliff in an early season funk, Dre is our “go to” guy right now. For better or for worse.

We finally saw what Fernandes is capable of in the second half. He was shooting. He was dishing. He was defending. He was leading. I think we finally got the guy we thought we were getting. Hopefully he can use this second half as a launching point.

Another good game from Simpson too. He seems most in control of the team at PG, although Fernandes certainly took control in the second half too.

And that first half from JMike was something to behold. Now I see why people said he was “the best player on the floor” against St. John’s. The kid just has “it”, and he really took control in that first half, with aggressive defense and going to the hole under control. Even hit a nice three.

We still haven’t seen what Gavin can truly do. He had that one 25 point game against BU, but even there he wasn’t lights out. Tonight he was just 2-6 from deep and inexplicably 0-3 from the foul line. Still had 12 points, but I’m still waiting for a night when he’s just en fuego. But this is what you get from freshmen, even talented ones — inconsistency.

Who thought we’d have an effective full court press with two small guards (Simpson and Fernandes) up top? Not me. But their speed and quickness in the press REALLY bothered the Hoya guards, to the point where almost every GU possession was going to under 5 seconds. It’s only going to get better when Mag returns.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we got our best game from the three small guards in a game where Austin Williams was out. Not because I think Williams was playing poorly — he was fine — but because I think it shortened the rotation and allowed Simpson, JMike, and Fernandes to really get in a groove.

Cliff really is in a funk. Played better in the second half, but I wonder is HE’S still getting used to not having Paul and Cam running the show. It’s an adjustment for everybody.

I know people are critical of Pike’s rotations, but I thought tonight’s rotations were the tightest he’s had all year. This was the first game all year where I felt like the team had some rhythm, and it was because the rotation was shrunk to 7 main guys plus a little Palmquist and Chol to steal a few minutes. Other than that, it was tight and effective. I probably would like to see GG a bit more, but I think Pike is trying to bring GG along slowly and guard against hitting the freshman wall in February.

Really good win. Still have things to work on, like the bad free throw shooting, but there’s been steady progress in all facets of the team.
Degaz, great summary. Speaking for me, I think you pretty much summed up everything I witnessed. And yes, that includes Pikiell's substitutions. If I had one critique on Steve's substitutions, it was when in the middle of the second half when we went into a bit of a funk and allowed Georgetown to cut our big lead in almost half. That's where I believe he should have brought in Gavin. I think his ability to score from deep and near the rim was missing as the shot selection by everyone on the floor at that time was head scratching. But aside from that and the missed FT's I thought we looked really good as a team tonight, and I especially loved our defensive pressure, which caused over twenty-four+ TO's leading to 25 points.
 

RU-Choppin-Ohio

Heisman
Jul 31, 2011
33,110
38,113
113
Completely fair and not complaining just want to see Gavin have as many minutes as possible before we start Big ten play. If we are going to have the success we all want then Gavin is going to have to be that guy(we all know he is).
So not complaining just asking to let him play through things and continue to get experience and grow on the court.
Good sound game by the guys and I am sure Pike has a plan in place moving forward into January and beyond
Payers develop in practice and gain experience in games. I think he is still developing on defense. Another thing is Effort. I always watch games twice, so I don't have the answer, but, was the Effort there with the player in question?

Every player gets pulled for stretches. Just think back to last year at how often Simpson, Hyatt, Wolf and even Spencer got pulled for short and even long stretches last year. Mulcahy got pulled. McConnell got pulled if he started forcing up bad shorts. It's what every coach at every level in every sport does. It really happens a lot with Freshmen but as mentioned it even happens with veterans.
 
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