Uh, they are both in huge offensive funks. Unless one or both of them break out soon I don’t like our chances in any game down the stretch.
McConnell and Mathis...?????
- Thread starter RUSCFORMERLYRULOU
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Young, Mathis and Johnson a combined 2 for 20. Pretty much the story in a nutshell there. And plenty of them while contested (especially in the case of Mathis and Johnson) were near the basket. Young just missed a ton of layups and 5 footers. And any outside shot by him is a bad shot because he's a bricklayer.
McConnell just not shooting. Not sure he is in a funk. Young and Miles missing the gimmies hurts and Montez has a rough rough game.
Pike's in a tough spot. You can either stick with who you feel are your best players and wait for them to shoot their way out of their slump; or you can play the bench looking for any hot hand. He's played a deep bench all season but for the first time in a long time, yesterday no one got hot.
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Thats the issue. Pauls given a very long leash and allowed to make mistakes that calebs not
expand on that......
based on last 1 or 2 game
based on current game
based on practice
based on the past 26 games
playing time is the best carrot to get people to buy in and stick to the plan and play defense. We are deep in to the season. It isn't simple any more
Do you see what goes on in practice? Mulcahy seems to be earning his minutes imo
You realize that you just listed about half of the rotation. There's a reason that RU is 200 something-ish in scoring in the country. We are and have always been offensively challenged. We win with D and rebounding. Yesterday was one of those days when, even with the D and rebounding, we just couldn't score enough. Until we get shooters and scorers, that's going to happen.
Gather yourselves, bring the D and rebounding, bring it hard, and go beat Wisconsin.
Mulcahy is earning his minutes, McConnell and Mathis have to show they can shoot at this level. Although Young missed too many layups, I thought he played excellent defense for the most part.
you don't know these things until they happen.
baker sits in crunch time and caleb turns the ball over when it should have been in geo's hands. baker by this definition was rightfully on the bench.
Last 5 games:
Mulcahy: 22.2 min, 6.8 pts (.652 eFG%, 14-23 FG, 2-6 3P, 4-5 FT), 3.0 rbs, 1.6 ast, 1.0 tov, 0.4 stl, 1.8 pf
Young: 20.0 min, 5.8 pts (.362 eFG%, 10-29 FG, 1-8 3P, 2-5 FT), 3.0 rbs, 1.0 ast, 1.5 tov, 0.8 stl, 1.8 pf
Mathis: 18.4 min, 4.2 pts (.250 eFG%, 7-30 FG, 1-11 3P, 6-6 FT), 2.8 rbs, 0.4 ast, 1.0 tov, 0.6 stl, 2.0 pf
McConnell: 21.2 min, 4.0 pts (.273 eFG%, 9-33 FG, 0-6 3P, 2-4 FT), 3.4 rbs, 0.2 ast, 0.8 tov, 0.6 stl, 1.6 pf
Mulcahy has been performing better than the earlier part of the season, while Young/Mathis/McConnell have been playing worse.
Mulcahy: 22.2 min, 6.8 pts (.652 eFG%, 14-23 FG, 2-6 3P, 4-5 FT), 3.0 rbs, 1.6 ast, 1.0 tov, 0.4 stl, 1.8 pf
Young: 20.0 min, 5.8 pts (.362 eFG%, 10-29 FG, 1-8 3P, 2-5 FT), 3.0 rbs, 1.0 ast, 1.5 tov, 0.8 stl, 1.8 pf
Mathis: 18.4 min, 4.2 pts (.250 eFG%, 7-30 FG, 1-11 3P, 6-6 FT), 2.8 rbs, 0.4 ast, 1.0 tov, 0.6 stl, 2.0 pf
McConnell: 21.2 min, 4.0 pts (.273 eFG%, 9-33 FG, 0-6 3P, 2-4 FT), 3.4 rbs, 0.2 ast, 0.8 tov, 0.6 stl, 1.6 pf
Mulcahy has been performing better than the earlier part of the season, while Young/Mathis/McConnell have been playing worse.
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What is Mulcahy doing that makes you think a top half B1G team should have him on the floor playing major minutes?
Michigan played great D and the refs let a lot of contact go around the basket. They are bigger and taller than we are. We needed to hit from the outside but when you are banging heads all game it’s tough to shoot at the end. Michigan also missed a lot of shots but made a few more than we did. This is Big 10’Basketball. It’s a grind. It’s a war twice a week.
Thanks for these stats
Also remember Geo took all their minutes by coming back full time healthy. A couple of these guys had greater roles with the Geo injury and don't seem to be adjusting well to that being taken away from them and thats not good for the team
I don't see Mulcahy as one of the top 5 players on offense yet and the offense seems to stagnate, too much dribbling, spacing has been bad. Not attributing that all to Mulcahy.
That's what I see at this point. I also saw Caleb doing a solid 8ppg and. 4.5 rbs, being an active defender and being a glue guy. He also had some clutch rebounds, hustle plays and buckets in crunch time. There were some mistakes (Maryland last couple minutes)
The move to Geo to start was a good one. I would prefer Caleb being a 25 minute guy off the bench who plays in crunch time.
Pike is seeing it differently. It is pure speculation about people practicing harder, people not buying in.
That's what I see at this point. I also saw Caleb doing a solid 8ppg and. 4.5 rbs, being an active defender and being a glue guy. He also had some clutch rebounds, hustle plays and buckets in crunch time. There were some mistakes (Maryland last couple minutes)
The move to Geo to start was a good one. I would prefer Caleb being a 25 minute guy off the bench who plays in crunch time.
Pike is seeing it differently. It is pure speculation about people practicing harder, people not buying in.
Young offensively was putrid last night.....on the flip side he was a MAJOR factor on the defensive end. Simpson was completely controlled when he was in the game. The 20 or so minutes he was not in the game Simpson was effective.
It's not a comparison to other B1G teams, but a comparison to the other options on the roster. To flip that question, what is Mathis/Young/McConnell doing that makes you think a top half B1G team should have them on the floor playing major minutes? SOMEONE has to take those minutes.
Maybe not turning it over and shooting Rutgers out of a game
You are making my point.....Top 1/2 of B1G teams are not asking a perimeter player to be this
That is the problem.
I don't want to be sky is falling and i want to be a rational fan. The irrational and emotional fan in me thinks we are doomed. When I see Paul and Shaq Carter in the game when things are being decided and Caleb Young Myles and Mathis on the bench I am VERY worried.
....and that is what concerns me. Not that Pike is playing the wrong players....it is the fact that he is playing the right players.
Other than Maryland game, what did you see about Caleb's game that you didn't like in crunch time? I suggest you watch the last few minutes of several of RU's wins earlier this year and last year to see how many winning plays Caleb made
To Bac's point though.....Caleb was not good at all defensively vs. Michigan.
Defense has been our calling card and PT has been the carrot to play D.
Defense has been our calling card and PT has been the carrot to play D.
That he hasn't been able to hit the broad side of a barn for several games. He started 11/26 from behind the arc over his first 15 games.... and has since gone 3/23 over the next 13, and 0 for his last 13 attempts. He's 9/21 from inside the arc over the last 5 games, with just 1 assist in those 106 minutes. He hasn't been making the effort plays, and he has been much more passive lately without the ball and on defense.
I don't know if he's just slumping, or hit a sophomore wall, or is just in his head... but he hasn't looked good the last several outings.
Spot on comments Its truly amazing that Rutgers has a 17-1 record at the RAC with such inconsistent scoring.What concerns me in the last 4 games is the dwindling number of players that are putting points on the score board.Baker,Harper and Yeboah need to score in high double figures to make up the difference.
Fair enough. Maybe hitting a wall, maybe mental. I don't think Pike's reducing his minutes has been good for his head, but that is life in major college sports. He seems like one of those players who are more effective with a good amount of minutes and don't think his play for 2/3 of the season warranted a reduction in minutes.
Sometimes I wonder if people watch the games. Young may have been 2-10 but his misses were all ones that basically rolled around the rim 5 times and then out. Mathis was getting hammered every time he drove.
McConnell to me seems to be the guy who hasn’t handled himself well since the Geo resurgence. I think he needs to do what Mulcahy has done- focus on defense and then the offense will come naturally.
I’m generally not a complainer about Pike’s offenses, but my one complaint is how we played against the 2-3 zone. To me we have 3 player that are perfect to catch the ball at the free throw line in McConnell, Harper and Yeboah. All three can nail the midrange jumper if the defense sags, or drive at it and finish or kick out. Instead we put Myles there on a few possessions. One resulted in an easy bucket for Harper. The next was a turnover.
McConnell to me seems to be the guy who hasn’t handled himself well since the Geo resurgence. I think he needs to do what Mulcahy has done- focus on defense and then the offense will come naturally.
I’m generally not a complainer about Pike’s offenses, but my one complaint is how we played against the 2-3 zone. To me we have 3 player that are perfect to catch the ball at the free throw line in McConnell, Harper and Yeboah. All three can nail the midrange jumper if the defense sags, or drive at it and finish or kick out. Instead we put Myles there on a few possessions. One resulted in an easy bucket for Harper. The next was a turnover.
Not many want to even talk about “walls”.
they are real, especially for our athletes that are succeeding or trying to succeed in the classroom.
think about Myles. 3rd year engineering student. Tests don’t go away when you are playing 1000 miles away on a Wednesday. They are either there when you come back or to be taken on the road. Myles could be staying up to 3AM studying. Also don’t underestimate flying and staying in hotel rooms.
they are real, especially for our athletes that are succeeding or trying to succeed in the classroom.
think about Myles. 3rd year engineering student. Tests don’t go away when you are playing 1000 miles away on a Wednesday. They are either there when you come back or to be taken on the road. Myles could be staying up to 3AM studying. Also don’t underestimate flying and staying in hotel rooms.
Tez and Caleb seem to b lacking some confidence and with reduced minutes hard to get out of funk...you can add Myles too..confidence lacking, needs to make statement around the rim.. got shots blocked last night. We need these three really good players to only focus on the next game and just play hard with solid d and shots will fall.
Don’t hang your heads guys! I really felt Michigan not a good matchup for us.. both games had long dry spells largely due to their tough D in paint.
Don’t hang your heads guys! I really felt Michigan not a good matchup for us.. both games had long dry spells largely due to their tough D in paint.
We need McConnels foul line jumper. He doesn't miss from there. Miles just needs to use two hands if hes gonna dunk. I think it's very small fixes with these 2 offensively.
Our offense has been challenged for a few years now. You're kidding yourself if you think the fixes are small. It's going to take time and additional personnel.