Thought we played terribly today

[ouchmyknee]

Was at the game today with my two daughters and couldn’t help but laugh after the game. We played like we were passed out on the couch after eating too much for thanksgiving yet we still crushed them. I really hope that bodes well for the season.

I love Cliff, but he prob has the worst shooting % of any big in the conference. Also had a ton of turnovers today. Just really wasn’t his day.

Funny story. As I mentioned I brought my two daughters to the game. For my 2 year old, it was her first ever game. She has a blast even though she kept cheering “let’s go Mets”. Anyways, after the game I was standing by the locker room when I look over to see what my daughter is doing. There she is high giving the whole team. Durban thanks to Caleb and Pike for taking the time to talk to her.

 

[ScarletDog]

Last game was similar (Rider). We won by 30 and I felt like we played poorly. I think it's really the offensive end because we really overwhelmed Rider and CCSU's guards on the defensive end. Rider couldn't get any ball movement going and CCSU couldn't either for most of the game. The struggle is on the offensive end and I think it has a lot to do with inexperience at the PG spot. When Paul gets back we should be a lot smoother on offense...flow should be better. I tend to agree about Cliff. I've never seen a guy with his size hit the bottom of the rim with shots on a regular basis. Thought he was actually better offensively today where he didn't force it as much and actually got the ball above the rim with most shots. He has to NOT dribble...it's a turnover just about every time.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Wow…we acores 80 plus in a game with very few fast break points and shoot over 50% and we played badly???

How the perspective and expectations has changed !!!!

 

[S.W.A.I.N]

Was at the game today with my two daughters and couldn’t help but laugh after the game. We played like we were passed out on the couch after eating too much for thanksgiving yet we still crushed them. I really hope that bodes well for the season.

I love Cliff, but he prob has the worst shooting % of any big in the conference. Also had a ton of turnovers today. Just really wasn’t his day.

Funny story. As I mentioned I brought my two daughters to the game. For my 2 year old, it was her first ever game. She has a blast even though she kept cheering “let’s go Mets”. Anyways, after the game I was standing by the locker room when I look over to see what my daughter is doing. There she is high giving the whole team. Durban thanks to Caleb and Pike for taking the time to talk to her.

Cliff is shooting over 50% (9th best in the conference) and he was 2nd in the league last year…

 

[knightfan7]

I'm glad it wasn't just me. They had their highlight moment but it seemed like a couple guys were sleep walking during a lot of the game.

The first 6-7 minutes of the 2nd half were really bad.

 

[ScarletDog]

Cliff is shooting over 50% (9th best in the conference) and he was 2nd in the league last year…

Cliff should absolutely shoot over 50% when most of his shots are dunks. On his non-dunk shots it is rather ugly to watch. He’s improved, but he still lacks any kind of touch around the basket and he makes 3 ft shots look difficult.

 

[goru7]

Cliff should absolutely shoot over 50% when most of his shots are dunks. On his non-dunk shots it is rather ugly to watch. He’s improved, but he still lacks any kind of touch around the basket and he makes 3 ft shots look difficult.

You haven’t watched the Cliff I have watched. Yes, he has missed some shots but he is using both hands, using the backboard , and converting well. You are now expecting 30 point performances as 18-20 point nights are not good enough. Cliff has started to assert himself. Really looking forward to him being challenged by the BiG 10 big men. I think he will out athlete , out jump , out hustle and out shoot all of them. He has to be active defensively and front or deny the other big the ball and not be content to play defense from behind. It didn’t work in the Temple game when Reynolds had that game changing performance and will not work against Hunter Dickinson or Zach Edey . He has the athleticism to front and deny the ball and block shots. He also will attack offensively and get to the line a lot. Hopefully he is out of that 2 game funk shooting foul shots.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Apparently you forgot how poorly we played most games in the out of conference schedule the last few years. This is how we look until Big Ten place starts; at least we’re pretty much rolling over (almost) everyone.

 

[4theknights]

Up 20 at half and CCS comes out on a 11-2 run in the first three min of 2nd half and Pike calls time out and the rest of half we out scored them 37-13. It’s hard to stay focused for the team in a game they know at any time they can step on the pedal and pull away. The next five games will be critical to see how the team reacts with a sense of urgency in games clearly in doubt.
Even as a fan it’s hard to feel the juice in these games, expecting a whole new experience come Sat vs Indy. Go RU!

 

[Rufaninga]

Cliff should absolutely shoot over 50% when most of his shots are dunks. On his non-dunk shots it is rather ugly to watch. He’s improved, but he still lacks any kind of touch around the basket and he makes 3 ft shots look difficult.

You say his shot is ugly,
I say his shot looks like he could be here for another year . Not all bad

 

[ru66]

Imagine when we lose a tough game in the BIG (and we will ) how some of our players will be attacked--- basketball isn't an exact science .

 

[kcg88]

It's college basketball, basically every team outside the top 5 looks really crappy for 4 minute stretches even against bad opponents.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Was at the game today with my two daughters and couldn’t help but laugh after the game. We played like we were passed out on the couch after eating too much for thanksgiving yet we still crushed them. I really hope that bodes well for the season.

I love Cliff, but he prob has the worst shooting % of any big in the conference. Also had a ton of turnovers today. Just really wasn’t his day.

Funny story. As I mentioned I brought my two daughters to the game. For my 2 year old, it was her first ever game. She has a blast even though she kept cheering “let’s go Mets”. Anyways, after the game I was standing by the locker room when I look over to see what my daughter is doing. There she is high giving the whole team. Durban thanks to Caleb and Pike for taking the time to talk to her.

Great story about your daughter.

Everything else you said is a bunch of bullsh!t.

 

[RUInsanityToo]

It's college basketball, basically every team outside the top 5 looks really crappy for 4 minute stretches even against bad opponents.

This. Even professional players go through crappy stretches when it makes you wonder what they are doing out there.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Anyone around in the 70s would see this post and think it reminded them of listening to knoghtline. Half the callers in 1976 called to complain that we never won by enough …LMAO

 

[Joey Bacala]

Let's pump the brakes on "played terribly." Were they a little sloppy today? Yes. Would this get it done against the meat of our schedule? No.

But I think you need to consider two things: 1) Pike is putting a lot of combo's out on the floor that won't be there when Paul is back, and he is giving Woolfolk and Simpson a ton of minutes because their development needs to be accelerated for the B1G slate. 2) It was Caleb's first game back, some players have never played in a game with him before (Woolfolk, Simpson, Cam). Also, his timing was off as he got back in the flow. Totally expected that he would be shaking off a little rust even against lower competition. However, when Caleb is on the floor the whole team plays better defense, that was immediately evident.

 

[GM]

Cliff should absolutely shoot over 50% when most of his shots are dunks. On his non-dunk shots it is rather ugly to watch. He’s improved, but he still lacks any kind of touch around the basket and he makes 3 ft shots look difficult.

You underrate how easy it is for Cliff to get dunks. Probably about 80% of his dunks are dunks he only is really able to dunk, not many players have as quick and high of a standing jump as him.

 

[ouchmyknee]

Great story about your daughter.

Everything else you said is a bunch of bullsh!t.

Were you at the game? It def wasn’t their best performance and everyone else around me agreed. But it’s fine. Can’t expect them to be on every game. The point was that this team didn’t play a great game and still whacked ccsu. I like that.

 

[goru7]

Were you at the game? It def wasn’t their best performance and everyone else around me agreed. But it’s fine. Can’t expect them to be on every game. The point was that this team didn’t play a great game and still whacked ccsu. I like that.

Turnovers were too plenty and the few minute second half stretch with the missed layups and turnover but that accounted to like 8 of the 40 minutes. The three point shooting by Cam , foul shooting in general , the cutting for easy Mag and Woolfolk buckets , the relentless defense with our length and causing shot clock violations , and the extended positive minutes for Jalen, Dean , and Derek were all very positive. So I am a glass half full guy. Your post was mostly negative in a blowout which a why you have no credibility

 

[ouchmyknee]

Turnovers were too plenty and the few minute second half stretch with the missed layups and turnover but that accounted to like 8 of the 40 minutes. The three point shooting by Cam , foul shooting in general , the cutting for easy Mag and Woolfolk buckets , the relentless defense with our length and causing shot clock violations , and the extended positive minutes for Jalen, Dean , and Derek were all very positive. So I am a glass half full guy. Your post was mostly negative in a blowout which a why you have no credibility

Were you at the game? It wasn’t just me who thought they weren’t their best. But I guess we all have no credibility.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

There were a lot of things I didn’t like, but in 140 possessions (70 on each side) and 5 guys there are 700 opportunities for a RU guy to have a bad possession. I am not bad at finding them.

Net net I was pleased with the overall performance.

I’ll say it was a B and move on

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Great story about your daughter.

Everything else you said is a bunch of bullsh!t.

He wasn’t exactly wrong about us starting each half. He isn’t completely wrong about Cliff either.

It is a compliment to say we won by 30 and still didn’t play great. I’d have to go to the archives, but I don’t think he is a negative a guy.

 

[ouchmyknee]

I’m only negative when it comes to football

 

[goru7]

Were you at the game? It wasn’t just me who thought they weren’t their best. But I guess we all have no credibility.

Not only that game but every home game for many years. Already acknowledged the sloppiness but you failed to mention our spurtability. We went from 11-11 too 31-13 and again from 46-35 to 66-48. Cam was almost flawless in the first half . Our close out defense to prevent attempted threes not just made threes was impressive. Better games ffrom Mag, Jalen, Dean and Derek. Woolfolk with another game that shows he will a big part of the rotation and not just a 5 minute backup for Cliff. Lots of positives. Nice to mention a few negatives without focusing on that in a 35 point blowout.Your title of your thread is what is terrible,,,,You want terrible go look at yesterday’s football game. Have some perspective !!!

 

[RUJMM78]

Rebounding,3 point shooting,Cliff staying out of early foul trouble and minutes played by Paul and Caleb are the factors which will determine Rutgers performance in the next two weeks.Rutgers can't have a Temple like performance in the first half of games.Spencer needs to be the go to scorer at crunch time because he is a outstanding foul shooter and can make 3 pointers .

 

[ru66]

I'm more worried about our rebounding.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I'm more worried about our rebounding.

This is a concern of mine .

 

[Loyal_2RU]

This is a concern of mine .

Yup

 

[bac2therac]

The OP isnt entirely wrong but not r8ght either. That game though to me shouldn't have been scheduled. Too much of the same broth on the schedule

 

[Joey Bacala]

The OP isnt entirely wrong but not r8ght either. That game though to me shouldn't have been scheduled. Too much of the same broth on the schedule

Don't worry BAC the broth gets a lot thicker this week.

 

[NBKnight]

Were you at the game? It def wasn’t their best performance and everyone else around me agreed. But it’s fine. Can’t expect them to be on every game. The point was that this team didn’t play a great game and still whacked ccsu. I like that.

There is a huge difference between between not playing their best and playing terribly.

 

[ScarletDog]

You haven’t watched the Cliff I have watched. Yes, he has missed some shots but he is using both hands, using the backboard , and converting well. You are now expecting 30 point performances as 18-20 point nights are not good enough. Cliff has started to assert himself. Really looking forward to him being challenged by the BiG 10 big men. I think he will out athlete , out jump , out hustle and out shoot all of them. He has to be active defensively and front or deny the other big the ball and not be content to play defense from behind. It didn’t work in the Temple game when Reynolds had that game changing performance and will not work against Hunter Dickinson or Zach Edey . He has the athleticism to front and deny the ball and block shots. He also will attack offensively and get to the line a lot. Hopefully he is out of that 2 game funk shooting foul shots.

Cliff is an athletic freak....but has horrible hand-eye coordination. I'm glad he's developing more of a game inside, but it's still extremely ugly. If it's not a dunk, it's ugly as hell. Needs to learn to use the glass and make the easy point-blank shots. I agree he will need to deny the ball to the stronger bigs in the league. His defense is not great and he will need to out work the competition in the conference games. He's improved since frosh season quite a lot, but he still raw. Love the kid and hope he plays within himself and keeps working hard.

 

[ScarletDog]

You underrate how easy it is for Cliff to get dunks. Probably about 80% of his dunks are dunks he only is really able to dunk, not many players have as quick and high of a standing jump as him.

He's an amazing dunker...and a terrible chip-shot maker. Every big should shoot a high percentage when they are 2 feet from the hoop on majority of shots. He needs to develop touch around the rim and needs to explode up on his layups like he does his dunks. He's made progress...but lots of work to do.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

The OP isnt entirely wrong but not r8ght either. That game though to me shouldn't have been scheduled. Too much of the same broth on the schedule

It’s possible the scheduling of Rutgers Newark had a big hand in us breaking the NCAA drought.

 

[bowlgoal]

Great story about your daughter.

Everything else you said is a bunch of bullsh!t.

Connecticut looked non competitive with the exception of the first part of the second half. Its very hard to judge much of anything against all of these teams. Temple and Umass Lowell will win alot of games.

Not sure how you can play terrible when you win by 30 and hold the opponent to three, 3 pointers?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

The OP isnt entirely wrong but not r8ght either. That game though to me shouldn't have been scheduled. Too much of the same broth on the schedule

I’m with you on wishing we’d schedule a more interesting mid-tier pre season tourney. However, in fairness CC was easily the worst team we played so far outside of maybe Columbia. The teams we played early last year were comparatively worse than the ones we’ve played this year. UMass-Lowell is 6-1 (the loss was against us). Sacred Heart is 3-3 (2 of the losses to us and UMass-Lowell). Rider isn’t as bad as their record or the way they played against us - the timing of the game right after their trip to Ireland probably didn’t help them.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

...
I love Cliff, but he prob has the worst shooting % of any big in the conference. Also had a ton of turnovers today. Just really wasn’t his day.

Early on I thought our guard took Cliff out of the game.. they just did not include him on offense. Cliff was purely put on "cleanup duty" from what I saw. When that happens, I think, there is less proper sharing of the ball as players look to take "their turn" when they get a touch. Leads to sloppy play. Maybe Pike should call an early timeout in the first half when there is not enough "team ball" on offense.