What did those guys have that Cliff didn't? HELP. One guy isn't winning in hoops.
If we had Cliff...
- Thread starter JerseyNoles
- Start date
Cliff is not the sort of talent where he can just willy nilly give up $1,000,000 to play for #24 Rutgers when getting paid that much more at #2 Alabama. Cliff struck jackpot at Alabama. He may never see that money again playing basketball.
Would not have worked!
And Cliff doesn’t fit this team!
Better for Lathan’s development not to have Cliff.
Lathan is already better for this team, he will only continue to improve.
Its awesome to watch
Fab 3!!! Baby!
It's not a Cliff vs Lathan debate. It's Cliff + Lathan > Ogbole + Lathan which isn't debatable
Also Cliff fits this year's team better than any other year
He clogs the middle on O, hurts spacing.
This team needs spacing for Harper.
When we go to the post we need a post passer for Hayes and Ace
Cliff can’t do that ,
We need the minutes for Lathan.
Cliff would also have difficulty being outplayed by a freshman.
Cliff only had 4 points tonight!
We have 2 of the top 3 draft picks and maybe the most talented center ever at Rutgers
And your still talking about an athlete playing basketball who isn’t here, he plays for another team!
We have basketball players now!
Cliff is gone!
Enjoy this team it doesn’t get better than this at Rutgers.
Last edited:
Does Cliff clog the middle more than Ogbole or Lathan? Lathan hasn't been spacing the floor. He's been establishing post position clogging the lane
The entire point of why Cliff is a better fit this year is bc we wouldn't need to go to him in the post and he could play to his strengths instead. Cliff had 4 points tonight on only 1 shot. Alabama isn't going to Cliff in the post and we wouldn't need to this year either. He had 7 boards and 3 blocks in 18 minutes. That's a good game. Trade that for Ogbole and we are elite
Again, there would be plenty if minutes for Lathan regardless. That's a non issue. It would be Ogbole left out not Lathan
Cliff is gone, addition by subtraction,
Focus on what is.
Rutgers has a great team.
If you can’t see the difference between how Latham plays, moves, footwork, IQ, face up O
There is no point. Cliff is gone he plays for Alabama.
GO RU!
You keep trying to make it Lathan vs Cliff
Cliff >>> Ogbole
Cliff + Lathan and Rutgers would have one of the best big men groups in the league if not country
It's also perfect to pair a veteran senior with a true freshman. They both bring different skill sets. Would have worked on so many different levels
Agreed there is no point, but pretty wild you think the team is better off with Ogbole than Cliff
Sigh...
It's not Cliff vs ogbole or vs sommerville. It's cliff vs the combo of derkack, Hayes, Martini and Acuff... And maybe even keeping Williams.
Because as pointed out several times in this thread, those 4 transfers and maybe even retaining Williams, probably did not even cost $1 m... And $1 m may not have been enuf to keep omiruyi as rumor has it he got $1.4 m fr Alabama and turned down more from elsewhere.
And no, I'd not rather have omiruyi than the 4 other transfers and/ or Williams.
This tears team is built around 2 superstars plus MULTIPLE complimentary pieces mostly all exchangeable position flexible tall lanky wings who can defend, drive and in at least 2 cases (Martini and Hayes) shoot the 3.
Having those multiple pieces is more important than having omoruyi and little depth. THAT was the choice, if omoruyi was even possible.
It's not Cliff vs ogbole or vs sommerville. It's cliff vs the combo of derkack, Hayes, Martini and Acuff... And maybe even keeping Williams.
Because as pointed out several times in this thread, those 4 transfers and maybe even retaining Williams, probably did not even cost $1 m... And $1 m may not have been enuf to keep omiruyi as rumor has it he got $1.4 m fr Alabama and turned down more from elsewhere.
And no, I'd not rather have omiruyi than the 4 other transfers and/ or Williams.
This tears team is built around 2 superstars plus MULTIPLE complimentary pieces mostly all exchangeable position flexible tall lanky wings who can defend, drive and in at least 2 cases (Martini and Hayes) shoot the 3.
Having those multiple pieces is more important than having omoruyi and little depth. THAT was the choice, if omoruyi was even possible.
Legit think if we found the $$ and kept Cliff, assuming he was willing to come back and we got all the other kids we got, we could be a final 4 team
Throw in Mawot (assuming he didn’t take the bag and mail it in) and assuming he has any eligibility left (not sure if he does), and it’s a final 4 team IMO
Throw in Mawot (assuming he didn’t take the bag and mail it in) and assuming he has any eligibility left (not sure if he does), and it’s a final 4 team IMO
Watching Cliff the other day has me changing my tune. Year 5 Cliff that is going through the motions isnt year 3 Cliff who played with more desire.
Lloyd Moore is a great comp to Lathan. He was highly skilled offensively and badly overweight coming in. With a coach like Pike maybe he could have been a big star. Littlepage screwed up everything.
I happened to check out the box score of the Alabama game last night during our game. I said to myself I'm glad we have what we have right now.
It’s amazing how far we have come. Hard to believe I worked with Lloyd Moore at a summer job at Revlon when he was at RU.
He was on the assembly line with the rest of us college kids. Had respect for him for that. Certainly a long way from NIL and not a watch the grass grow job.
This. The scouting report said Latham can score. We knew he could put up points vs mid majors. When Ace is back, that’s not going to be the role we need him to fill though. Can he rebound and defend?
For sure. But Lathan is the one who supposedly didnt want to play behind elite competition so it’s safe to say he would’ve been a flight risk if Cliff stayed. So it’s hard to look at it that way. When Ace is back in the line up, Lathan’s offense will be less of a necessity. So it will really be about Lathan’s D which is currently a major question mark when we go up against real teams. Against SJU Lathan served no purpose. If he’s a liability on D and we don’t need his offense, that’s going to come up again. It’s really a question of how quickly he can improve on D.
Perhaps. But even a less motivated Cliff would be a major upgrade on D.
Cliff certainly not worth $1.4 million, but if you have crazy booster money to throw around then why not. Must be nice to be Alabama
Although Ogbole is the starter he is only averaging 7.5 minutes a game and doesn’t play at all at the end of the game if it is still close. He might get more minutes if matched up against someone whose size and strength makes matchups a problem. For now I think the comparison is Cliff and Lathan vs Lathan, Martini and Ogbole. That being said Cliff will be missed, but if Lathan, Martini and Ogbole can keep the center spot from being a glaring weakness, the improvements at other position will put this team in a position where they can be very good!
Lathan wasn’t in at the end against St Peters. Zach played center down the stretch. My guess is Ogbole will have to play more against bigger teams with stronger centers. I guess we’ll see soon enough.
Cliff was never going to accept staying here and deferring to the two freshman. It was much easier for him to accept a lesser role on a veteran team that was returning most of its key players from a Final Four run. Plus he got paid to do it.
I watched the highlights against Arkansas State and Bama never once passed to Cliff unless it was for a potential dunk. There were no post ups. That’s probably the way we should have played with him. Guessing his post moves are still nonexistent
It’s like they said, we’ll give you the money but then you gotta play the way we want you to play.
Cliff has recently been dealing with back problems again, and Coach Oats is intentionally limiting Cliff’s in game minutes to try to keep Cliff fresh. In 3 games Cliff is averaging 17.9 minutes, 10.7 pts on 12-13 fg and 8-11 ft, 8 rpg, 2 bpg, 1 topg, and 3.3 pf per game. I expect that his playing time will significantly increase when his back issue heals or improves.
As a complete side note to this discussion my recollection was that Hinson's Franklin team was much better than weak. Long time ago so my memory could be off so I looked it up. Franklin was the Mid State Division champ (and Somerset Cty Tourney champ) in both his junior and senior seasons.
Also saw this excerpt from an article about Trenton Central:
"The game I most remember is when Malcolm X Shabazz came in here (1978-79 season) and were one of the top teams in the country. They had huge guys, 6-9, 6-7, and I had my career high on them. I had 29 points."
But Garner’s memories of the old Alley were not all fond, especially of his final game. The Tornadoes lost by one point in overtime to Roy Hinson’s Franklin team in the state semifinals.
Last edited:
I agree with your thought its better for Lathan's development, BUT, it was Lathan who spent all his time in the paint last night, looking to shoot when he'd touch the ball. It was Ogbole who actually passed out of the paint to a shooter, sadly that was JWill. If he's going to do the things you are worried Cliff would have done, better to have actual Cliff plus Lathan for the year.