PSU thoughts

[Danprusa_4]

Alright had to post this the next day because I know tons of our fans blood were boiling last night after that horrific loss so I’m hoping we’re all level headed now. It’s ironic because just a couple years ago our fans were complaining about not winning and now we’re somehow the best team in the BIG10 and now we complain when we lose. Truly ironic. Which means to the haters who are against pike on some days can’t even say he hasn’t done anything for our program because now our fans expect a win every night we play.

1. There were some Positives so I’ll start with that. Beginning of the game Reiber came out great and really gave us a spark down low with that dunk in which I thought would start getting our “stars” GEO and Ron going. Just wish pike played him rather than palmquist but palmquist showed that once he gets consistent he can shoot outside 3’s and of course put on a show with fouls. Another positive is that cliff for the most part showed he can become a shot blocker for us and once he’s able to really learn how to read players going in for layups he’s going to be tough to score on. Last positive is Hyatt for the most part did as much as he could to bring some good energy into the game.
Now negatives: unfortunately the negatives of this game very much outweighed the positives. I’ll start off with the obvious, Our Leaders Geo and Ron couldn’t step up to the plate and make shots for us, and when they couldn’t they brought their energy down and brought the whole team with them. There were spurts on defense where Geo tried igniting some spark but PSU capitalized every time with shots that diminished Geos intensity completely. Paul, Caleb played awful games and showed plays like we’ve seen in the beginning of the season that were dumbfounded plays that could’ve been handled better which could’ve led to points. Mconnell thought he was steph curry once again and wasn’t a team player and tried too much. Paul did what he had to do but just couldn’t find the right easy passes making it hard for himself to find points or assists. As well as palmquist shot he also showed he’s not even close to being big enough for this conference and was just being man handled on the defensive end which led to him trying to be the main actor on defense which none of the refs were buying. I like his cockiness but when he does dumb things his cockiness just makes him look plain stupid. Our Fts were key and we didn’t make them which could’ve kept us in this game longer which sucks because they can make FTS with ease at home. Now let’s get to coaching. Pike always keeps the high energy it’s up to the leaders and the team to match it, and they didn’t. But pike at times put out lineups that were just mind boggling and everytime we got within 5 points it was as if Pike just threw guys into the lineup that told PSU to just end our misery and score 10 points in 20 seconds to put them back up by double digits. It was frustrating to witness. Because we could’ve won this game. But we didn’t because lack of effort on both the players and the coaches.
Now all we can do is move on and hope this game meant something to them mentally and they come out with the will to win at Maryland this weekend in which we should get the W. But with this team we never know until we watch the first couple minutes. Anyway, everyone be safe and stay healthy and as always GO RU! (Feedback always necessary)

 

[zappaa]

To much for me to read Daprusa but I always like your take.
You actually hit the nail on the head in a previous thread.
If you didn’t watch the game, but knew we were playing a B1G 10 opponent.
Without looking at the score, you could check our box scoring, if Geo and Ron together had sub-par performances you’d know we lost.
If one of them had all star numbers, you’d know it was a close game, if they both had good nights, chances are we won, or competed our asses off with a chance at the end.
Rotations, substitutions, foul trouble, rebounding, effort are all pretty much irrelevant.
It’s about those two.

 

[rudad02]

Need to get their heads out of their asses, focus, & come out playing like mad dogs. On the road is irrelevant.

 

[richthedentist]

To much for me to read Daprusa but I always like your take.
You actually hit the nail on the head in a previous thread.
If you didn’t watch the game, but knew we were playing a B1G 10 opponent.
Without looking at the score, you could check our box scoring, if Geo and Ron together had sub-par performances you’d know we lost.
If one of them had all star numbers, you’d know it was a close game, if they both had good nights, chances are we won, or competed our asses off with a chance at the end.
Rotations, substitutions, foul trouble, rebounding, effort are all pretty much irrelevant.
It’s about those two.

The rotations are not irrelevant they were bizarre last night; How does Miller go from not even playing the first5 games and now he is our first sub off the bench his offense is horrible and he is NOT a good defender watch last night his man got by him so many times; and Palmquist so he made a 3 big deal how does he come in before Hyatt
Why Jones is in the doghouse I don't know but as has been discussed in other threads I will be shocked if he is not a goner after this year; I see no reason for him to stay which next year we are in BIG trouble

 

[zappaa]

The rotations are not irrelevant they were bizarre last night; How does Miller go from not even playing the first5 games and now he is our first sub off the bench his offense is horrible and he is NOT a good defender watch last night his man got by him so many times; and Palmquist so he made a 3 big deal how does he come in before Hyatt
Why Jones is in the doghouse I don't know but as has been discussed in other threads I will be shocked if he is not a goner after this year; I see no reason for him to stay which next year we are in BIG trouble

Wouldn’t have mattered if Ron and Geo throw 40 at them. We’d be talking about how Pikes subs contributed to the win

 

[RU05]

The rotations are not irrelevant they were bizarre last night; How does Miller go from not even playing the first5 games and now he is our first sub off the bench his offense is horrible and he is NOT a good defender watch last night his man got by him so many times; and Palmquist so he made a 3 big deal how does he come in before Hyatt
Why Jones is in the doghouse I don't know but as has been discussed in other threads I will be shocked if he is not a goner after this year; I see no reason for him to stay which next year we are in BIG trouble

I liked Hyatt's effort last night. Thought he was more active than anyone this side of Cliff.

But he was 1-7 from the field. 0-4 from 3. 2-4 from the line. 4 points in 12 minutes. I think his game summed up the game for the entire Rutgers team. It wasn't the effort, it was the inability to make shots.

 

[Danprusa_4]

To much for me to read Daprusa but I always like your take.
You actually hit the nail on the head in a previous thread.
If you didn’t watch the game, but knew we were playing a B1G 10 opponent.
Without looking at the score, you could check our box scoring, if Geo and Ron together had sub-par performances you’d know we lost.
If one of them had all star numbers, you’d know it was a close game, if they both had good nights, chances are we won, or competed our asses off with a chance at the end.
Rotations, substitutions, foul trouble, rebounding, effort are all pretty much irrelevant.
It’s about those two.

Of course we is what I said with the “our stars had terrible shooting nights” phrase

 

[zappaa]

Of course we is what I said with the “our stars had terrible shooting nights” phrase

Ron and Geo are so important, I don’t think anyone else on our team can have a good game without one of them going off.
Has Paul ever had a strong game when those two didn’t

 

[Scangg]

To much for me to read Daprusa but I always like your take.
You actually hit the nail on the head in a previous thread.
If you didn’t watch the game, but knew we were playing a B1G 10 opponent.
Without looking at the score, you could check our box scoring, if Geo and Ron together had sub-par performances you’d know we lost.
If one of them had all star numbers, you’d know it was a close game, if they both had good nights, chances are we won, or competed our asses off with a chance at the end.
Rotations, substitutions, foul trouble, rebounding, effort are all pretty much irrelevant.
It’s about those two.

It was me who said that in another thread

 

[Scangg]

The rotations are not irrelevant they were bizarre last night; How does Miller go from not even playing the first5 games and now he is our first sub off the bench his offense is horrible and he is NOT a good defender watch last night his man got by him so many times; and Palmquist so he made a 3 big deal how does he come in before Hyatt
Why Jones is in the doghouse I don't know but as has been discussed in other threads I will be shocked if he is not a goner after this year; I see no reason for him to stay which next year we are in BIG trouble

Really pushing hard the Miller isn't a good defender narrative

 

[BillyC80]

This loss was more about our Inability to make shots than anything PSU did, but I don’t want to shortchange PSU completely.

They have 3 B1G wins, same as us, and one of theirs is on the road. They also played Purdue evenly until the very end, and they beat Indiana, whose only other loss was in double OT by 2 points at Cuse.

Sometimes you watch a team and they look so beatable, and yet they find a way to win. I really don’t think “the road” was the biggest factor, we just couldn’t make open looks, similar to our early OOC games at home. I think we bounce back at MD.

 

[RU05]

Ron and Geo are so important, I don’t think anyone else on our team can have a good game without one of them going off.
Has Paul ever had a strong game when those two didn’t

This is kind of an interesting question. Though I think I disagree with your point.

Yes Mulcahy had a bad game. 2-6 from the field, 6 points, and half of both of those was a garbage time 3 late in the game. 4 assists. 3 rebounds.

And sure, Mulcahy's assist totals are going to look a lot better when he can dish to Harper and Harper makes shots.

But Mulcahy missed some gimmies last night. And for the season he is shooting 35%. Last year he shot 47%. He shot 54% as a freshman. From 3 he is shotting 28% this year. Last year he shot 39%. He's just not shooting well enough. And he does, for the most part, do a good job getting himself high % shots, but he is missing them too often.

And I don't think there is linkage between his missing easy shots, and Harper and Baker making or missing shot.

Having lost Young and his offense, Mulcahy bringing more to the table this year was key, but he hasn't. Scoring up a bit, but efficiency way down. We give him a pass because he does so many other things kind of overlook the scoring, but it's an issue. Especially when he's missing shots he should be making.

 

[RU05]

Really pushing hard the Miller isn't a good defender narrative

I'd have to pay better attention, is he getting beat off the dribble at a high rate? I legit do not know.

But I do like Miller's defensive intensity. Pretty sure Pike appreciates it as well. Coaches always value work ethic. I definitely think it plays into why Jones is not seeing much playing time.

 

[BillyC80]

I'd have to pay better attention, is he getting beat off the dribble at a high rate? I legit do not know.

But I do like Miller's defensive intensity. Pretty sure Pike appreciates it as well. Coaches always value work ethic. I definitely think it plays into why Jones is not seeing much playing time.

Miller only played a few minutes, but he had one defensive play where he blanketed his man (Sessoms?) who tried to draw a foul and shoot over him, but Miller blocked it cleanly and I believe we came away with the ball. He also scored for us in the same sequence. With more PT he’ll keep getting better and better. Can’t knock his effort.

 

[RU05]

Miller only played a few minutes, but he had one defensive play where he blanketed his man (Sessoms?) who tried to draw a foul and shoot over him, but Miller blocked it cleanly and I believe we came away with the ball. He also scored for us in the same sequence. With more PT he’ll keep getting better and better. Can’t knock his effort.

The color analyst spoke a couple times of a RU defender going under the screen which allowed for a good look for PSU. Was that Miller?

Seems every time I notice Miller on D he is in a deep defensive stance up tight on a ball handler. Like I say, I might need to pay better attention, but from my loose viewings, he has the look of a quality defender.

 

[BigRnj]

I was at the game yesterday. Here are a couple of quick observations:

1) You can analyze this game a dozen ways but it comes down to shots not falling, not rotations, not attitude, not Pike, not Mag’s teeth, not a lot of the nonsense that comes up on this board. Just an example, I counted 3 three pointers that rattled out that were then rebounded by psu, plus we were awful from the line. Those 9 points and a few more free throws falling were the difference between a toss up and a bad loss.
2) psu was tough on D, tough on the boards, and forced some turnovers, give them credit for last night, but they are not a good team. They hit a few tough shots late in the shot clock and got a few bounces… that’s hoops.
3) The Bryce Jordan Center is lame, quiet, devoid of atmosphere. RU PLEASE RENNOVATE THE RAC AND NEVER REPLACE IT WITH A SOUL-LESS MULTI-PURPOSE FACILITY (future RU hockey can play at the prudential center and cover shu banners when they have games). Other than the cult rant of We Are, there were no cheers, nothing original. Their Penn State Lionesses dance team looked like 8 grad students in winter parkas, and their band was on par with a high school effort. Bland, quiet, and disinterested was the overall atmosphere.
4) The game and campus literally were a White Out. Excluding the athletes I only saw a handful of non-whites anywhere on campus or at the game. No diversity and no reflection of larger society.

 

[MLBash93]

The problem we had last night was the problem we have always had in most of our games that we lose.

If a team gets in our face defensively and we aren't hitting iso shots we are toast.

Rutgers wins when one of two things happens, they find ways to get open looks and hit those open looks, or they just go nuts making shots that wouldn't be relied on over the course of a season.

Clemson/Purdue/Michigan/Nebraska - allowed us open looks and allowed us to get comfortable in our sets - we on those games.

Seton Hall / Penn State / Illinois - hounded us and we never got close

 

[Scangg]

I'd have to pay better attention, is he getting beat off the dribble at a high rate? I legit do not know.

But I do like Miller's defensive intensity. Pretty sure Pike appreciates it as well. Coaches always value work ethic. I definitely think it plays into why Jones is not seeing much playing time.

He plays intense pressure D so yea he might get beat occasionally, but he's obviously a good defender who projects as a very very good defender as he develops. He's got quick hands and feet and the mentality of a defender which is huge.

Disregard the dentist trying to push his agenda. It's an odd take at best

 

[RU05]

The problem we had last night was the problem we have always had in most of our games that we lose.

If a team gets in our face defensively and we aren't hitting iso shots we are toast.

Rutgers wins when one of two things happens, they find ways to get open looks and hit those open looks, or they just go nuts making shots that wouldn't be relied on over the course of a season.

Clemson/Purdue/Michigan/Nebraska - allowed us open looks and allowed us to get comfortable in our sets - we on those games.

Seton Hall / Penn State / Illinois - hounded us and we never got close

I don't want to dismiss PSU's D, but I thought we had plenty of open looks that we just missed.

 

[RU-ROCS]

I was at the game yesterday. Here are a couple of quick observations:

3) The Bryce Jordan Center is lame, quiet, devoid of atmosphere. RU PLEASE RENNOVATE THE RAC AND NEVER REPLACE IT WITH A SOUL-LESS MULTI-PURPOSE FACILITY

This is the biggest problem I have with RU's road loss last night. If you can't win on the road against a bottom tier team in a half-empty arena, how are you going to win anywhere else on the road in the Big 10? It does not bode well.

 

[Danprusa_4]

I think not

 

[Danprusa_4]

This is the biggest problem I have with RU's road loss last night. If you can't win on the road against a bottom tier team in a half-empty arena, how are you going to win anywhere else on the road in the Big 10? It does not bode well.

Agreed

 

[rume]

This is kind of an interesting question. Though I think I disagree with your point.

Yes Mulcahy had a bad game. 2-6 from the field, 6 points, and half of both of those was a garbage time 3 late in the game. 4 assists. 3 rebounds.

And sure, Mulcahy's assist totals are going to look a lot better when he can dish to Harper and Harper makes shots.

But Mulcahy missed some gimmies last night. And for the season he is shooting 35%. Last year he shot 47%. He shot 54% as a freshman. From 3 he is shotting 28% this year. Last year he shot 39%. He's just not shooting well enough. And he does, for the most part, do a good job getting himself high % shots, but he is missing them too often.

And I don't think there is linkage between his missing easy shots, and Harper and Baker making or missing shot.

Having lost Young and his offense, Mulcahy bringing more to the table this year was key, but he hasn't. Scoring up a bit, but efficiency way down. We give him a pass because he does so many other things kind of overlook the scoring, but it's an issue. Especially when he's missing shots he should be making.

Paul cannot provide enough to overcome loss of Young. Paul is a glue guy. Not athletic enough to defend well or create his own shot. Moreover, he is not a good shooter. Young, even with his faults, was a great defender who could take games over with his offense. This team needs major talent upgrade for next year.

 

[richthedentist]

Miller only played a few minutes, but he had one defensive play where he blanketed his man (Sessoms?) who tried to draw a foul and shoot over him, but Miller blocked it cleanly and I believe we came away with the ball. He also scored for us in the same sequence. With more PT he’ll keep getting better and better. Can’t knock his effort.

That was his only good sequence watch he got beat and lost his man at least 4-5 times while he was in there and unfortunately he brings almost nothing to the offensive side of the ball;

 

[RU05]

Paul cannot provide enough to overcome loss of Young. Paul is a glue guy. Not athletic enough to defend well or create his own shot. Moreover, he is not a good shooter. Young, even with his faults, was a great defender who could take games over with his offense. This team needs major talent upgrade for next year.

I was speaking purely offensively. Young was a high end perimeter defender and clearly Mulcahy is not that.

But Mulcahy does create looks for himself. He is quite adept at maintaining his dribble in traffic, and is able to create space via the pass fake, or even just the threat of a pass. So he gets clear looks down near the basket. He had opportunities last night but he missed. Even in Nebraska, a game where we all though he played well, he missed a couple easy shots down low.

He's not a mid teens scorer, but he should be in that 10-12 range. IMO at least.

 

[BillyC80]

That was his only good sequence watch he got beat and lost his man at least 4-5 times while he was in there and unfortunately he brings almost nothing to the offensive side of the ball;

Rich, having a discussion with you on this board is like pulling teeth. I watched the whole game again.

Miller played 4 minutes in the first half and 2 minutes in the second half. In those 6 minutes, his man scored on one jumper in the paint. On another play his man did get by him but he reached in for a non-shooting foul so he prevented his man from scoring.

Meanwhile Miller had two points of his own, an offensive rebound and a blocked shot. Other than that he played good defense on his man, who was usually either Sessoms or Pickett. So our true freshman drew the toughest assignments while he was in there, and acquitted himself well.

 

[Scangg]

Rich, having a discussion with you on this board is like pulling teeth. I watched the whole game again.

Miller played 4 minutes in the first half and 2 minutes in the second half. In those 6 minutes, his man scored on one jumper in the paint. On another play his man did get by him but he reached in for a non-shooting foul so he prevented his man from scoring.

Meanwhile Miller had two points of his own, an offensive rebound and a blocked shot. Other than that he played good defense on his man, who was usually either Sessoms or Pickett. So our true freshman drew the toughest assignments while he was in there, and acquitted himself well.

Thissss

 

[Danprusa_4]

Paul cannot provide enough to overcome loss of Young. Paul is a glue guy. Not athletic enough to defend well or create his own shot. Moreover, he is not a good shooter. Young, even with his faults, was a great defender who could take games over with his offense. This team needs major talent upgrade for next year.

Yes. I was going to put it this way to answer him.