Start Mag, Mulchay to first off the bench

[RRRRUUUU]

Mag was clearly a spark on offense but more importantly, he and Miller were great on defense.


The team seems to need more defensive intensity to start and my concern with mulcahy is in defending the 3 (Jones does this too but not unexpected for a freshman). They both give so much space that the contests aren’t effective.


Defense with Mag and Miller got them back in the game to close the first half and also in the 2nd half.

 

[RUBlackout]

Mulcahy seems to be the only one creating offense by passing the ball. While he is not great on defense he balances us out.
You need mag to come in and be that spark. You bring him in immediately after a slow start from
PM or CM off the bench and you need to do it quick so we avoid these close starts every game. Pike is AWFUL at subs and lineups so he needs to act quicker for a change.
Also when you have Mag and CM in the floor you should be pressing. Even if they get over half court they will have less time to develop plays and you have two of our better defenders out there to shut them down—doubt we will see that though

 

[RUChoppin]

At the end of the Nebraska game, it was Mag in for McConnell that helped spark our run, not Mag in for Mulcahy.

Mulcahy had a bad game against Nebraska overall - but we generally move better on offense with him in the game directing traffic. There were times during the game I saw him off-ball directing other players on where to go, when to set screens, etc. He strangely ended up helped us more with scoring than assists in this game, even without having the range from the arc.

If you'd told me going into the game that our leading scorers would be Baker, Mag, and Mulcahy, I'd have expected a loss that wasn't close.

 

[SirPerceval]

Our offense dies on the vine when Mulcahy is out. Mag can provide his spark off the bench.

 

[ScarletLongIsland_rivals]

I don’t understand how people think Miller is great on defense. Does he run around like crazy….yes. But he is constantly getting beat on defense

 

[RRRRUUUU]

I don’t understand how people think Miller is great on defense. Does he run around like crazy….yes. But he is constantly getting beat on defense

hes aggressive and helped get some key stops that changed the momentum of the game in both halves. Not a fan of the T or his offensive game, but we need someone with that attitude. JY brought that last year.

 

[rubaseball78_rivals]

Mag and Miller need to play more. When we were struggling to score I would have given Jayden a shot.

 

[RUChoppin]

This has been the rotation since Mag has been back from his injury the past 5 games:

Minutes (min/g for the 8-man rotation that has played all 5 games)
179 - Baker (35.8/g)
171 - Harper (34.2/g)
161 - Mulcahy (32.2/g)
147 - McConnell (29.4/g)
141 - Omoruyi (28.2/g)
58 - Hyatt (11.6/g)
53 - Mag (10.6/g)
45 - Reiber (9.0/g)
20 - Miller
9 - Palmquist
9 - Agee
7 - Jones

 

[RUChoppin]

Mag and Miller need to play more. When we were struggling to score I would have given Jayden a shot.

Jaden hasn't shown he can score, though? In the 9 games he's played against high major teams, he's averaged 9.1 minutes and 2.4 points, on .321 shooting.

 

[MLBash93]

hes aggressive and helped get some key stops that changed the momentum of the game in both halves. Not a fan of the T or his offensive game, but we need someone with that attitude. JY brought that last year.

JY could also play offense.

Miller is a net negative right now

 

[RUChoppin]

I don’t understand how people think Miller is great on defense. Does he run around like crazy….yes. But he is constantly getting beat on defense

Miller is a pest. He's the annoying type of defender who's right up under a guard's chin and jawing with him the whole time. He needs to work on his footwork and overall defensive concepts, but he brings a different style of defense than anyone else on our team - and that works against some guards. Not others.

 

[satnom]

This has been the rotation since Mag has been back from his injury the past 5 games:

Minutes (min/g for the 8-man rotation that has played all 5 games)
179 - Baker (35.8/g)
171 - Harper (34.2/g)
161 - Mulcahy (32.2/g)
147 - McConnell (29.4/g)
141 - Omoruyi (28.2/g)
58 - Hyatt (11.6/g)
53 - Mag (10.6/g)
45 - Reiber (9.0/g)
20 - Miller
9 - Palmquist
9 - Agee
7 - Jones

I would bump Mag and Hyatt mins 3-5 mins up and lower Paul and Caleb 3-5 mins respectively. I like Paul when game is tight towards end and need smart, experienced clutch play. Lowering Caleb mins gives him more juice to play defense the length of the court and limit his low percentage shooting. Mag plays high energy defense and attacks basket to score which is needed early in games. Hyatt can get buckets under the basket, mid range and three range. He can also handle the ball. Paul plays minus ball in 1st halves but he is a great combo with Cliff.

Bottom line: we need more offense early in games. Hopefully Pike tweaks the minutes.

GO RU

 

[BillyC80]

I don’t understand how people think Miller is great on defense. Does he run around like crazy….yes. But he is constantly getting beat on defense

When you play as tight to your man as Miller does, yes, your man will get by you at times, and that’s what help D is for. In the meantime he forces the opposition to use up valuable seconds just getting into their offensive sets, and at times that puts the opponent into a frenzied mode.

The kid is fearless and along with Mag we need that aggressive intensity that only they bring to the floor. Miller has gotten clobbered on some blind screens and he just picks himself up and gets after it. He’s a defensive weapon like an anti-ballistic missile, and I’m glad to have him in our arsenal.

 

[RU2323]

Agree with starting Mag, but it’s McConnell to the bench not Paul. Caleb is solid D, sure, but he’s crippling them on offense. He took 16 shots against Maryland. Wild.

Love Caleb on D, but Mag should be starting. He’s another option on offense and I’m not sure there is too much drop off between Mag and Caleb on D. Bring Caleb’s energy off the bench.

 

[FIJI'83]

As I have posted numerous times before the most glaring problem with this team is the lack of speed, quickness, and handle at the guard position especially the total absence of a a PG with that skill set (since the unfilled hole in line up created by the departure of JY). The switch you propose would move PM out of the PG role where he is at times effective against small guards where thru his sheer size he can force his way into the paint to dish, and predominately place Baker back in the PG role. The major problem with this is that Baker lacks the speed and quickness to consistently beat his man off the dribble to penetrate and dish. This would make the team even more of a perimeter offense which it is ill suited for due to lack of accuracy and scorer’s touch throughout the line up. Mag is very athletic but still so raw. A better option would be to put Mag in the line up replacing RHJ in the SF position (another glaring hole in the construction of this team is the absence of a viable PF). This would inject more out of the gate intensity and then allow RHJ to hopefully figure out how and where to launch 3s when he comes in. However, I doubt RHJ would accept such a 6th man role.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Mag was clearly a spark on offense but more importantly, he and Miller were great on defense.


The team seems to need more defensive intensity to start and my concern with mulcahy is in defending the 3 (Jones does this too but not unexpected for a freshman). They both give so much space that the contests aren’t effective.


Defense with Mag and Miller got them back in the game to close the first half and also in the 2nd half.

Thought Mag was great last night. But disagree, overall, that PM shouldn't start.

PM's value on the floor is hard to overstate, most of the time. He has a lot of value as a ball distributor. And he does a great job off the ball setting low screens and being where he needs to be.

Where he really shines is when he's away from the ball on D. He does a phenomenal job of reading the cues and interfering with other team's defenses. It's the kind of thing most people don't pay attention to, or so it seems. Most people watch the play near the ball, not the play away from it. Do that the whole game and you'll miss what's so great about PM.

But it's also the kind of the thing any coach is going to totally love about him. He's often a huge part of our D causing other teams to run low on the shot clock - because he is so disruptive to their offensive flow, showing up right near where they want the ball to go while also not letting the guy he's marking get too free.

It'd be great if he was a pure shooter as well. And sometimes he gets caught a little bit too far from his guy while doing the stuff I mentioned above. And yeah, he's not the most athletic guy out there, so some match-ups are a problem. But I can totally see why Pike loves him and plays him so much.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Miller is pretty good on D. Young and inexperienced, and a bit small. But still pretty good. And he often seems to get inserted into the game to guard the fastest player with the best ball skills from the other team. So he's gonna get beat at times.

He needs a lot of work and experience with his D off the ball. He gets caught too far from his man too often, and winds up having to sprint out to pressure a shot which makes it too easy to pump fake him and drive which leaves us 4 v 5 for a few seconds or so while he recovers.

But that stuff comes with experience and coaching. With Miller's quickness, if can pick up some of PM's off-the-ball skill, he's going to be a pretty good defender. At that point, his size will be his only limiting factor.

 

[RUChoppin]

Miller is pretty good on D. Young and inexperienced, and a bit small. But still pretty good. And he often seems to get inserted into the game to guard the fastest player with the best ball skills from the other team. So he's gonna get beat at times.

He needs a lot of work and experience with his D off the ball. He gets caught too far from his man too often, and winds up having to sprint out to pressure a shot which makes it too easy to pump fake him and drive which leaves us 4 v 5 for a few seconds or so while he recovers.

But that stuff comes with experience and coaching. With Miller's quickness, if can pick up some of PM's off-the-ball skill, he's going to be a pretty good defender. At that point, his size will be his only limiting factor.

He's 6-2.... Only looks small because our team is mostly 6-6 or taller. We had Jacob Young listed at 6-2, too

 

[Kbee3]

He's 6-2.... Only looks small because our team is mostly 6-6 or taller. We had Jacob Young listed at 6-2, too

My wife actually came into the room while I was watching the game last night, watched a little of it, and then asked me why the little kid was out there for Rutgers.
I just laughed...aand told her that he was the future of Rutgers basketball.

 

[RUChoppin]

My wife actually came into the room while I was watching the game last night, watched a little of it, and then asked me why the little kid was out there for Rutgers.
I just laughed...aand told her that he was the future of Rutgers basketball.

Only one on the team that makes Miller seem his true height is Aiden Terry at 5-10, lol.

Crazy to think that in Pike's first season here, our guard rotation was Nigel Johnson (6-1), Corey Sanders (6-2), and Mike Williams (6-2).... and we're now looking at Miller as short.

 

[mildone_rivals]

He's 6-2.... Only looks small because our team is mostly 6-6 or taller. We had Jacob Young listed at 6-2, too

6'2" is pretty small. Like Young, he will struggle some with certain shooting PGs that are equally quick but taller. Also, I think Young was probably a bit quicker, although that's hard to say for sure.

I'm not knocking either player. Just acknowledging the obvious reality that, all other things being equal, height is a tough advantage to overcome in basketball. Lucky for Miller and Young, all other things are rarely equal. So they can use lateral quickness and quick hands to overcome a height deficit - at least in lots of cases.

 

[Scangg]

JY could also play offense.

Miller is a net negative right now

Except his +/- was +9

Thought Mag was great last night. But disagree, overall, that PM shouldn't start.

PM's value on the floor is hard to overstate, most of the time. He has a lot of value as a ball distributor. And he does a great job off the ball setting low screens and being where he needs to be.

Where he really shines is when he's away from the ball on D. He does a phenomenal job of reading the cues and interfering with other team's defenses. It's the kind of thing most people don't pay attention to, or so it seems. Most people watch the play near the ball, not the play away from it. Do that the whole game and you'll miss what's so great about PM.

But it's also the kind of the thing any coach is going to totally love about him. He's often a huge part of our D causing other teams to run low on the shot clock - because he is so disruptive to their offensive flow, showing up right near where they want the ball to go while also not letting the guy he's marking get too free.

It'd be great if he was a pure shooter as well. And sometimes he gets caught a little bit too far from his guy while doing the stuff I mentioned above. And yeah, he's not the most athletic guy out there, so some match-ups are a problem. But I can totally see why Pike loves him and plays him so much.

Paul gets caught over helping quite often and can't recover to contest the 3. At times it's a poor decision and the help isn't needed, but he does understand help defense. He just has to know who the shooters are better

 

[rutgersron]

Jaden hasn't shown he can score, though? In the 9 games he's played against high major teams, he's averaged 9.1 minutes and 2.4 points, on .321 shooting.

It doesn't seem like his teammates have confidence in him. I've seen him wide open a number of times but they don't pass to him. I would like to see him shoot to see what he has.

 

[RUChoppin]

It doesn't seem like his teammates have confidence in him. I've seen him wide open a number of times but they don't pass to him. I would like to see him shoot to see what he has.

He's shot more per minute played than anyone else on the team, but missed a ton and has seen his minutes drop in favor of other guards.

Hoping he can work his way back into the rotation, but so far it doesn't look like things have clicked for him yet.

 

[richthedentist]

Mag was clearly a spark on offense but more importantly, he and Miller were great on defense.


The team seems to need more defensive intensity to start and my concern with mulcahy is in defending the 3 (Jones does this too but not unexpected for a freshman). They both give so much space that the contests aren’t effective.


Defense with Mag and Miller got them back in the game to close the first half and also in the 2nd half.

What games have you watched Miller is terrible on defense has absolutely no offense commits fouls like crazy because he is always getting beat has 2 technical which leads the team
He should not even see the floor

 

[richthedentist]

It doesn't seem like his teammates have confidence in him. I've seen him wide open a number of times but they don't pass to him. I would like to see him shoot to see what he has.

His shot is horrible hopefully he can work on it

 

[RUChoppin]

6'2" is pretty small. Like Young, he will struggle some with certain shooting PGs that are equally quick but taller. Also, I think Young was probably a bit quicker, although that's hard to say for sure.

I'm not knocking either player. Just acknowledging the obvious reality that, all other things being equal, height is a tough advantage to overcome in basketball. Lucky for Miller and Young, all other things are rarely equal. So they can use lateral quickness and quick hands to overcome a height deficit - at least in lots of cases.

6-2 is pretty average for a B1G point guard.

Top 20 players by Assists/Game, which includes the top guy from each program (only including players who have played at least 10 games... which only excludes 6-1 Andre Curbelo)
5-10 Fatts Russell (Maryland)
6-0 Joe Toussaint (Iowa)
6-0 Tyson Walker (MSU)
6-0 Sam Sessoms (Penn State)
6-1 Eli Brooks (Michigan)
6-1 DeVonte Jones (Michigan)
6-1 Jamari Wheeler (Ohio State)
6-2 Alonzo Verge (Nebraska)
6-2 Boo Buie (Northwestern)
6-2 Trent Frazier (Illinois)
6-3 Xavier Johnson (Indiana)
6-3 AJ Hoggard (MSU)
6-3 Da'Monte Williams (Illinois)
6-4 Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
6-4 Payton Willis (Minnesota)
6-4 Geo Baker (Rutgers)
6-4 Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
6-5 Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
6-5 Sasha Stephonofic (Purdue)
6-6 Paul Mulcahy (Rutgers)

Of the ones we face on other teams, 10/18 are 6-2 or shorter (and 13/18 are 6-3 or shorter).

I don't think 6-2 is a significant disadvantage to overcome, though there will be some challenging assignments. I think Miller just looks short on our team, since the next two shortest guys in the rotation are Baker (6-4) and Harper/Mulcahy (6-6).

 

[LETSGORU91]

At the end of the Nebraska game, it was Mag in for McConnell that helped spark our run, not Mag in for Mulcahy.

Mulcahy had a bad game against Nebraska overall - but we generally move better on offense with him in the game directing traffic. There were times during the game I saw him off-ball directing other players on where to go, when to set screens, etc. He strangely ended up helped us more with scoring than assists in this game, even without having the range from the arc.

If you'd told me going into the game that our leading scorers would be Baker, Mag, and Mulcahy, I'd have expected a loss that wasn't close.

How bout the behind the back pass from Mulcahy for the layup at the end of the game. The dude has no quit when he is on the floor.

 

[zebnatto]

I like Mag, too, but overall seems we’re going a little Mag Crazy.

 

[goru7]

Regarding the OP’s title of the thread, I have said in other threads , that scoring 70 points increases our chances of success. My preference is either Hyatt, Jones or Mag start for 5-6 minutes each half , and play more if playing well and Paul or Caleb’s minutes get reduced a little bit to 28-32 , or more if not scoring enough, so give one of the 3 a chance for 10 points or more. Others have said no messing with the starting lineup at this point and just hope the starters play better. Either way if we could get close to this distribution each game we get to 73 and looking for at least 70:

1/2 Ron and Geo 16 points (32)
3/4. Paul and Caleb 15 points combined , 8 and 7 but with less minutes. ;
5) Cliff - 10 points ;
6/7/8- Hyatt (6); Mag(6) and Reiber(4);
9/10/11- Miller, Jones, Oscar- 0points.

We cannot continue to have 12 points or less from Paul and Caleb with each getting 32-35 minutes. Hyatt, Mag and Jones have to be given their extra minutes either as a starter or off the bench to get us at least 10 more points. Geo and Ron averaging 16 points overall 32, is not unreasonable considering what they are already doing , but some of the pressure on both to score more ( greater than 20) will be relieved with the extra scorer. Getting 14 out of Cliff and Dean is also not unreasonable. It is time for our guys to play to their full potential. Maybe with the step up in competition our players step up their game.

 

[BigRnj]

I love Mag’s energy and his up side. He’s about to make a jump and see more playing time. He’s an all in type of guy , give him a chance and he’ll sink his teeth into the game. Oh wait…

 

[RRRRUUUU]

What games have you watched Miller is terrible on defense has absolutely no offense commits fouls like crazy because he is always getting beat has 2 technical which leads the team
He should not even see the floor

richthedentist I think needs to make a visit to richtheoptometrist

 

[satnom]

As I have posted numerous times before the most glaring problem with this team is the lack of speed, quickness, and handle at the guard position especially the total absence of a a PG with that skill set (since the unfilled hole in line up created by the departure of JY). The switch you propose would move PM out of the PG role where he is at times effective against small guards where thru his sheer size he can force his way into the paint to dish, and predominately place Baker back in the PG role. The major problem with this is that Baker lacks the speed and quickness to consistently beat his man off the dribble to penetrate and dish. This would make the team even more of a perimeter offense which it is ill suited for due to lack of accuracy and scorer’s touch throughout the line up. Mag is very athletic but still so raw. A better option would be to put Mag in the line up replacing RHJ in the SF position (another glaring hole in the construction of this team is the absence of a viable PF). This would inject more out of the gate intensity and then allow RHJ to hopefully figure out how and where to launch 3s when he comes in. However, I doubt RHJ would accept such a 6th man role.

Serious question: did you just start watching RU basketball? You’re proposing RU’s best overall player and one of the best scorers in the BIG conference coming off the bench?

Can’t make this stuff up.

GO RU

 

[mildone_rivals]

Paul gets caught over helping quite often and can't recover to contest the 3. At times it's a poor decision and the help isn't needed, but he does understand help defense. He just has to know who the shooters are better

Sure, but even the best defensive players get caught over-helping. Even in the pros.

In this case, I would overlook it because, however often it happens, it's dwarfed by how many times PM quietly disrupts what the other team's offense wants to do. And it seems Pike overlooks it, too. I'm guessing, at least in large part, for that same reason.

It's something PM can improve on for sure. But it's also something the team lacks when PM's not on the floor.

PM is kind of like a football CB who has a "quiet game". You want your CB's to have quiet games because it means the other team's QB has no good opportunities to target whomever the CB is covering, or even throw the ball in areas the CB is in.

So much of our great D stems from PM showing up exactly on time where the other team wishes he wouldn't. It's easy to miss when it happens because, by being there, PM halts the progression of passes and the ball can't come his way, at least not until changing hands a couple more times first. Which takes time off the shot clock.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

My 1st reaction is NO!

However if the plan is to play Mag more than 10 minutes in a half my answer is YES

Mag plays real hard and asks to come out when he is tired. Did that last night.

If you only going to play less than 10. He plays 2 shifts one at 15 minute mark and one later. If he plays 10+. Start him and give him 3 shifts with obvious rests in between

I doubt staff ready to play him 20+ (I would)

 

[BigEastPhil]

- Mulcahy starts

- Guys off the bench who contribute need to play more minutes

- Whise minutes should be reduced? Caleb

 

[mildone_rivals]

- Mulcahy starts

- Guys off the bench who contribute need to play more minutes

- Whise minutes should be reduced? Caleb

Player minutes has to be a game to game-time decision, except where there are specific match-up concerns on D or where we can maybe create matchup problems on O for an upcoming opponent. But otherwise, it’s about who’s in foul trouble, who is on, who is off, etc.

At least that’s what makes sense to me.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

It doesn't seem like his teammates have confidence in him. I've seen him wide open a number of times but they don't pass to him. I would like to see him shoot to see what he has.

I did notice a certain player refuse to pass to him when he was wide open. Not cool.

 

[ancienthooper]

Love Mag and Pikes will find a way to get him some more minutes. Paul leads arguably the best conference in the country in assists. End of discussion.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If our bench become playable…..

Id like to see on an average day 20 minutes per half of non center bench play.

ron and Geo 32. Paul and Caleb 28.

who plays that 40?

my eyes say Mag 24 Jalen 8 Hyatt 8. Obviously that changes based on play and the opponent.