I think Pike didn’t really think about the makeup of this roster sufficiently. He failed to see that we would be deficient in rebounding. I’m sure he thought Cam would be back but even if Cam came back, we don’t have enough prime time shooters. Griffiths might eventually help but at this point he’s a defensive liability. I know we forced Illinois into a lot of turnovers but I really can’t say we are a good defensive team. The step up in competition is exposing our deficiencies. I realize Illinois is really good but I fear what we saw today will be reoccurring.
Poorly constructed team
- Thread starter Scarletnut
- Start date
The press has been very effective at 1) forcing turnovers and generating some easy buckets and 2) using up some of the shot clock and giving the opponent less time to work in their half court offense. Big problem today was you need to make shots in order to set up your press, and we couldn’t do that to save our lives.
Slow starts offensively are occurring too frequently because the team has no go to scorer.The corrective action probably won't happen until next season when Bailey and Harper are on the court.This will be a transition season .
The press is also forcing Pike to give additional minutes to guys who should be playing less.
The plan was to have Cam and Paul for one more year. That’s a lot of experience, a much better defensive team and a better shooting team too.
Cam and Paul screwed us. We grabbed some mercenaries late to field a full team. It's who we are this year. We basically have 8 bench players and 2 starters. Just gotta roll with it and keep expectations low.
I don’t think PM screwed us. I think he knew he wouldn’t play as much on a running team. Cam screwed us.
Yes, this is the toughest part to gauge. Is Illinois a top 2-4 team in the big ten? If so, then it probably doesn’t mean much.
We made them look better than they are. They’re a mid B1G team
Paul would have played plenty. You seriously think Paul couldn't get minutes on this team!?!?
Utterly bad take, Fernandes has yet to prove he can fill Paul's shoes. He's averaging less than 3 assists/game and provides absolutely no leadership for a 5th year guy. Meanwhile Paul is averaging over 6 assists on a team that actually plays up tempo while RU talks about it and looks dysfunctional. Washington averages almost 83 PPG compared to 70 PPG. Paul >>>>> Noah
Best B1G team I have seen.so far this year. Best defensive team as well. Lengthy and athletic. Add in a go to scorer like 6'6 Shannon and they will be tough to beat.
IMO, we have the typical overreactions to 1 game.
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Why did Hobbs leave and make a lateral move, if that, 1000 miles away and take Ndongo with him. I thought these guys were good friends. There must have been some sort of falling out.
Yes, Pike had mentioned fernandes was brought in specifically to fit cams game (pre transfer).
Cam was the go to score in likes mind. He left in the middle of the night and it left us with Austin Williams.
A serviceable player but not a replacement for cam. If the transfer happens early in the cycle maybe pike can go to the top guys and say “you will be our main option”.
Cam screwed Pikiell after he sought him out. Plain and simple
Hobbs was always 1b to knights 1a. If Hobbs wants to be a head coach again Rutgers was not the quickest path.
Knight will be poached first.
PM wanted to be THE PG. I don't think the staff saw it that way. He still would have played a lot of minutes. Funny thing is, he is playing almost no PG for Washington.
True, but I've also seen everyone in the B1G play and IMO Purdue is clearly better. I also think MSU and Indiana are as good defensively.
Look at the matchup Chow. Not one of those teams have the length and athletism that Illinois has on the perimeter. This is just a bad matchup for Rutgers this year.
Regardless, Paul’s averaging significantly more assists per game than anyone on our roster. Heck, Cam would be tied for team leader in assists. That’s setting aside the scoring.
The things this board talks itself into.
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I seriously doubt Illinois finishes any lower than top 4 unless they have significant injuries. They have the best guard (maybe the best player) in the conference in Terrence Shannon Jr and play elite defense. They’re very good.
And they have tremendous size. Gonna be a tough matchup for anyone. They're a great team when they can shrug off losing Kofi and keep on chugging along.