Yea cam, Paul and Caleb were also on that team. Williams is not as good as any of those guys and his portal interest just confirms that.
Austin Williams Visiting RU
- Thread starter Knight Shift
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Yeah in 2022 he only had 34 points in a win vs. what became a 28 win/NCAA tournament Vermont team. Lol
Williams is what he is. Simpson, because he was a freshman, will make a bigger jump, and what makes you think Williams will shoot better than 20% in the Big 10?
And most of Williams' points came from finishes at the rim - a lot tougher to do that vs. MSU and Purdue than Vermont. Williams is getting offers from Manhattan and Duquesne. Simpson will wind up a top 10 or 15 player in RU history.
I have high hopes for Derek - a top 10 all time player seems like a reach for a guy without a developed outside shot.
Simpson being a top 10-15 Rutgers player would require him being a first team B1G Ten player at least two seasons.
Williams averaged 16.1 pts a game while shooting 50%! from the floor and is a physical player. He bullied people while at Hartford. He’ll be fine…not 16.1 fine…but fine.
Seriously
I hope the guy is right
But right now this is a ridiculous take - Simpson being a top 10 all time player
I like the kid but Wtf makes someone put that assertion out there at this point ?
He shot over 45% from three in high school, he can go by almost anyone, and the form on his mid range jump shot is near perfect. I said top 10 or 15 player, not just top 10.
Pretty funny. If he went into the portal today he would have multiple P5 0ffers. You really don't have a clue if you think he ends up at that level.
Geo shot better than him as a frosh. Mike Williams couldn’t miss as a HS kid. Very bold prediction based on available data,
I’d say he’s predicting he will have a sophomore year like Mathis . Up and down. Streaky 20-24 min. Then he will transfer somewhere he knows he’ll get 30 mpg and a nice NIL deal to be a star. I’m not saying that’s a lock to happen but right now the only data available is a frosh season with stats that resemble Tez frosh year. So it’s not any more unreasonable than your prediction at this point. We don’t know which direction he will go yet.
Firstly, if you’ve been following RU basketball for a long time, you’ve seen plenty of “elite” shooters in high school not pan out - Mike Williams, Austin Carroll, Peter Kiss, Justin Sofman, and on and on…sometimes it unfortunately doesn’t translate to the next level, and last year that was the case.
And yeah you said top 10 or 15 - which includes the top 10 - which I said is a reach. I’ll further say 11-15 is an equally unlikely scenario.
I don't make predictions based on available data. I'm making this one based on years of experience evaluating players and watching 95% of RU basketball games since 1975. Harper shot 27% as a frosh and he plays some in the NBA. Baker shot 30% from three for his career at RU. If Simpson stays for four years he will end up a better shooter and player than Baker. He'll be a better player than Williams next year. John Battle is probably a top 10 RU player and you would have never thought that after his freshman year.
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Well if he’s going to be that good, do you think he will stay here next year with Dylan as the primary ball handler?
Also, hopefully he’s hoisting up 500 three point shots 6 days a week like EO did his last year here and the year after he left.
If Simpson entered the transfer portal this year he would have had tons of P6 offers. Ant Wright has him ranked as the 5th best sg in the big ten.
There will be plenty of minutes for both Simpson and Williams. I like that we added a guard with some size. Mods have said repeatedly over and over that the staff is looking for a starting 2 so I would expect Williams to have the inside track to start but they both may play similar minutes where it isn't really that big of a deal which one starts
Simpson bringing the energy as a 6th man is a very good role for him as a sophomore. There's nothing wrong with that. If he ups his efficiency and can shoot a respectable percentage from 3, he will be tough to keep off the court
Noah and Derek is a short and skinny backcourt duo though where Williams might be a better fit for size and defense. Simpson the spark plug, energy, instant offense guy off the bench
Simpson bringing the energy as a 6th man is a very good role for him as a sophomore. There's nothing wrong with that. If he ups his efficiency and can shoot a respectable percentage from 3, he will be tough to keep off the court
Noah and Derek is a short and skinny backcourt duo though where Williams might be a better fit for size and defense. Simpson the spark plug, energy, instant offense guy off the bench
That's hard to answer. I think they give him a nice NIL deal to stay, and I think he and his father are very loyal. I also see him as more of a two guard. I have no inside info by the way. JaMichael Davis, Dylan, and Simpson can all play the point. Aside from bringing the ball up, Pikes offense doesn't really feature a single PG. If the 24-25 team wants to make a deep run they will need some experience, and Simpson will be a Junior and probably a leader by then, plus I think he will probably want to be a part of it. I also think a lot of freshmen shooting woes are nothing more than nerves and getting used to a new level of pressure.
Yep, over the last 3 years I can count Baker, Mulcahy, Young, McConnell, Spencer, Harper, Simpson who have all been used or capable of bringing the ball up the court. Expect that to continue because the team certainly does not look to one player after getting a rebound.
Don't know anything about Williams but ending with Minnesota (13min) is short changing Simpson a bit. He was a major part of the team in every game after that.
Northwestern - 23min (12pts - 2nd on the team)
Michigan - 36min (13pts - 2nd on the team)
Purdue - 27 min (18pts - led the team)
Hostra - 40min (19pts - 2nd on the team)
Regardless, it sounds like HC Pike is looking to bring in a transfer to start alongside Fernandes and put Simpson on the bench.
Will be interesting how long that lasts.
Starting is one thing (Fernandes will start). But in terms of total PT - is everyone really so certain that Noah isn’t the one whose only going to play 22-24 mpg? He is likely the weakest link on D which always matters a lot with Pike. If Williams and Simpson split the minutes at the 2 and back up Noah and GG at PG and wing, they probably both average in the 25+ range.
Lol. Vermont lost to 4 seed Arkansas by 4 in the NCAA that year. Arkansas made it to the regional final that season. You obviously haven’t been paying attention to how the BigTen has been doing in the tourney lately.
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Interesting point. Pike does value defense and Noah is tiny, and I don't think he is known as a good defender. Will be interesting to see how he plays D under Pike... if he struggles, how much might it impact his PT
Your judging a kid based on one isolated game from years ago? Come on man. The scouting report on the kid says he plays defense though. A good portion of defense is about grit and willingness to put in the effort. So hopefully that will carry to the next level.
He’s not. In fairness, I haven’t watched the kid much. Paul wasn’t a talented defensive player but he fought hard and it was a big advantage having 4 years experience playing team defense in our system with a kid like Caleb. There will probably be more of a drop off there defending in the half court sets than people think.
Simpson, Williams, GG (if he buys in early on D, Mag and Cliff could be a solid defensive unit - in press for sure but also in the halfcourt sets). So we’ll see…
The other thing with Noah is that he’s not likely to slide over to the 2 or 3 so he’ll only really play if he’s bringing up the ball. If Simpson plays point for 10-12 minutes and Davis gets a shot for 5-7 min or so- that cuts into Noah’s time by default.
Dude dominated a really solid mid-major squad that gave Arkansas a better game than #1 Gonzaga did that tourney. Whether he plays 12 minutes per game or 30, Rutgers is really thin at guard so he’d be a major piece toward an NCAA run.
Again - it was one game. Here look - I can do the same the other way. Much more recently in late Feb 2021-22, Austin Williams only managed 5 points on 1-7 shooting (14%) against a mediocre UMBC team and fouled out.
That doesn’t make sense. That’s like saying Wilt wasn’t that good because anyone could score a 100 in a game lol. And don’t tell UVA that UMBC isn’t any good lol. Who on the current roster is even capable of scoring 34 against a decent team in a game? Career high for Fernandes is 29.
I think GG is capable because of his length and shooting touch. Honestly he’s capable of scoring 34 on like 15 attempts if he’s got a smaller defender on him.
The point is - it was ONE game and he was surrounded by Hartford level talent so he was taking the bulk of the shots. Also - stop acting like that Vermont team was elite and would’ve challenged for a BIG title just because they played ONE close game against Arkansas. On another day that season, a 15-17 Maryland team beat Vermont by double digits. Do you see my point now?
And by the way, I’m not even that high on Simpson’s game. I’m not convinced yet either way what level player he will be for us. But the notion that he couldn’t put up video game like stats on a given day playing on a low major team where he was the best player by far is ridiculous.
Lots of the same type of arguments being made here that were made last summer about Cam Spencer.
Not saying Williams will score 13+ ppg, but he sounds like he will be a valuable piece in the backcourt. Now gives us four true guards, all of whom can handle the ball, and reduces any perceived need to play GG at guard.
Plus gives us a bigger guard who plays good defense.
Not saying Williams will score 13+ ppg, but he sounds like he will be a valuable piece in the backcourt. Now gives us four true guards, all of whom can handle the ball, and reduces any perceived need to play GG at guard.
Plus gives us a bigger guard who plays good defense.
This is all sounds good to me
Considering the late timing - seems like a good addition
Noah Fernandes will play a lot. Pikiell probably loves him after he saw him go for I believe 17 points and 11 assists against a really good Rutgers defensive team a few years ago.
On defense he was probably be matched up against 6'1, 6'2 PG's. He will be fine.
On defense he was probably be matched up against 6'1, 6'2 PG's. He will be fine.
No and I wasn’t saying he would perform that way every game against a mid-major. Neither did Austin Willams. Anyone can have a game or two where they “can’t miss”. If you have that kind of day on a team where your usage is very high you will put up big numbers on that given day.
I like the pick up in Williams by the way. I’m not dismissing the possibility that he could outplay Simpson. But to conclude he’s better based on one isolated game seems silly. Also - Williams won’t play point so it’s apples to oranges looking at Simpson’s turnovers. That won’t be a factor differentiating their PT. As a 2, Derek will turn it over less.
Vermont is 280-113 under John Becker the last 12 seasons.
American East 162-30, non conference 118-83.
That is an average season of 23.3-9.4 for 12 seasons.
Since 16-17, Vermont points against ranked 11th, 21st, 17th, 4th, 26th, 12th and 22-23 was 81st, so they are known for their pacing and defense year in and year out.
Vermont best non conference win was @ St John's, was an NCAA team that year, and almost won @ Virginia in 2019-20 and many close calls vs P6s the last 5 years or so. They are quite competitive year in and year out. Don't dismiss his career high 34pts, 8/6 vs Vermont and 20 plus points in the other 2 games he played in against them.
American East 162-30, non conference 118-83.
That is an average season of 23.3-9.4 for 12 seasons.
Since 16-17, Vermont points against ranked 11th, 21st, 17th, 4th, 26th, 12th and 22-23 was 81st, so they are known for their pacing and defense year in and year out.
Vermont best non conference win was @ St John's, was an NCAA team that year, and almost won @ Virginia in 2019-20 and many close calls vs P6s the last 5 years or so. They are quite competitive year in and year out. Don't dismiss his career high 34pts, 8/6 vs Vermont and 20 plus points in the other 2 games he played in against them.