Wooten, Tonejc, Garavaglia
- Thread starter Zebnatto1!
- Start date
Rutgers really needs a Cam Spencer type 3 point shooter to have any succes in the B1G Ten.
Then again - the year we had him wasn’t one of the years we made the tournament. As someone else pointed out, our team as a whole shot at a higher 3 point percentage last season than Cam Spencer’s team did.
FWIW everyone other than Lino who currently projects to log meaningful PT at the 1-4 shot over 35% from deep last year. Smith, Tariq, Jones, Buchanan, and JMike. Sydnor was 34.8% two years ago.
The last two teams made more and shot a higher % than Cam's team
Yeah it amazes me that some of our fans still focus on this as the key for us. Maybe one day with a different coaching system. Pike teams need to rebound. His system flat out doesn’t work with sub-par numbers on the glass. We made the tournament (twice if you count 2019-20) only shooting 31% from 3 as a team. Our best 2 offensive seasons - by far.
2019-2020 was a huge year for Rutgers because we turned things around because we had somewhat closed the talent gap and played with incredible toughness and tenacity. This year’s team has also closed the talent gap, but still can only be successful if they likewise demonstrate similar toughness and tenacity, which goes beyond simply rebounding. This year’s team overall is probably not as flawed offensively as the 2019-2020 team so there probably won’t be as many opportunities for offensive rebounds, but they still need to be a good rebounding team, play tough defense, take advantage of the home whistle at the RAC and turn teams over to be really good.
I also think this year’s team doesn’t have to rely on a center who shoots 36% … from the line and constantly got into foul trouble like Myles Johnson who Rutgers desperately needed to keep on the court for defense and rebounding.
Oh don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying we’ll definitely be good if we’re decent at rebounding. I’m simply rendering this a prerequisite for any Pike team to be competitive. There’s a difference. Even with other strengths, the system we play requires reliable rebounding.
On defense we dare teams to shoot, and leave 3 point shooters open (especially ones that don’t shoot em at a high percentage). It’s a trade off to better interior D than we’d otherwise have talent wise. That strategy falls apart when you can’t reliably secure the defensive rebounds on missed shots. Put backs after good defensive sets are gut wrenching.
On offense, we’re never efficient with pretty ball movement and shooting. Pike teams are at their best with second chance opportunities in the mix.
Garavaglia arrived late I believe. After the New Year he might be able to contribute in key spots. He’s fairly athletic, has good size and shoots well. Is he a quality 3 and D guy in the BigTen? Yet to be determined.
By the end of the year I think we'll get a lot.
Earlier this year in a discussion about playing time because someone insisted we had too many "players" on the roster, I said several will be end of bench types. You basically identified who they are. A couple of others will have limited playing time as well. They are not running out 12-13 guys every night like some past seasons.
Spencer at Rutgers made a 3 pointer to defeat top ranked Purdue and then started at UConn and they won a national championship.
What’s your point? That was one game out of over 30. RHJ hit a halfcourt 3 to beat Purdue once too. The bottom line is, the team we had with Cam on it didn’t make the tournament. And as a team, it wasn’t even a better 3 point shooting team than the past 2 dumpster fire teams we’ve had. Having an elite perimeter shooter is great, but it’s not close to single the most important thing the program needs this season to turn things around.
Look - let’s put this another way. There are going to be games where you tip your cap and the opponent is just making everything. Minny shot 58% from 3. We were 39% and didn’t attempt that many, but we weren’t winning a game where the opponent went 15-26 from the perimeter last season.
But look at games we were absolutely in the position to win like Michigan State when WE shot 58% from deep. The reason we didn’t win was because we allowed the Spartans to grab 12 offensive rebounds out of an available total of 25 (we grabbed only 13 defensive boards in that game). Michigan State got a second chance on 48% of our stops in that game!
But look at games we were absolutely in the position to win like Michigan State when WE shot 58% from deep. The reason we didn’t win was because we allowed the Spartans to grab 12 offensive rebounds out of an available total of 25 (we grabbed only 13 defensive boards in that game). Michigan State got a second chance on 48% of our stops in that game!
The narrative is that basketball is becoming bigger men shooting longer 3s. If you look at 2025-26 season stats, none of the top 10 3pt shooting teams finished with a top 10 ranking. (None made the top 20) Half of the top 10 rebounding teams finished in the top 10. Conclusion: Basketball is still rebounding, turnovers and quality shot selection. I don't think there is a single stat that corelates to winning as closely as team rebounding. Shooting is nice but not as nice as getting/stopping extra shots.
Top teams 2025-26 season
1 Michigan
2 Connecticut
3 Arizona
4 Duke
5 Illinois
6 Purdue
7 Houston
8 Iowa State
9 Florida
10 St. John's
Rebounding Eff 2025-26 season
1 Florida
2 Tennessee
3 Michigan State
4 Duke
5 Arizona
5 Saint Mary's
7 Illinois
8 Pacific
9 Miami
10 Michigan
3 Pt Shooting 2025-26 season
1 Belmont 41.0%
2 Saint Louis 39.9%
3 Yale 39.4%
4 Texas Tech 39.1%
5 Boston University 38.8%
5 North Carolina State 38.8%
7 Saint Mary's 38.7%
8 Colorado State 38.6%
8 Liberty 38.6%
10 Penn 38.5%
10 Tulsa 38.5%
Top teams 2025-26 season
1 Michigan
2 Connecticut
3 Arizona
4 Duke
5 Illinois
6 Purdue
7 Houston
8 Iowa State
9 Florida
10 St. John's
Rebounding Eff 2025-26 season
1 Florida
2 Tennessee
3 Michigan State
4 Duke
5 Arizona
5 Saint Mary's
7 Illinois
8 Pacific
9 Miami
10 Michigan
3 Pt Shooting 2025-26 season
1 Belmont 41.0%
2 Saint Louis 39.9%
3 Yale 39.4%
4 Texas Tech 39.1%
5 Boston University 38.8%
5 North Carolina State 38.8%
7 Saint Mary's 38.7%
8 Colorado State 38.6%
8 Liberty 38.6%
10 Penn 38.5%
10 Tulsa 38.5%
Someday a team will win a college Championship with 5 starters all shooting a very high 3pt percentage and an average height of 6’8” so the team also rebounds very well.
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