Enigma

[ouchmyknee]

It’s baffling how poor the team is playing. For those of us who’ve been able to watch practice, what we’ve seen is definitely different than what we see on game day. Pike runs a great practice and the guys look a million times better. They actually hit shots and free throws and defend.

maybe we are just lacking gamers and I don’t know if that’s on Pike. I don’t think you can coach that up but maybe he needs to do a better job of recruiting that type of player. It’s been 2 games but Miller might be one. JY was one. sanders was one. But we don’t have a lot of them.

 

[ScarletDog]

Maybe it’s because we play against ourselves in practice.

 

[RUChoppin]

The team just isn't good this year, and the players look a bit lost and not sure how to handle the defenses they are seeing from opponents. Their confidence in their shot in gametime situations is just not there. The trust that their teammates will be able to score just isn't there.

A lot of dribbling. Not just not making the "extra" pass, but not making a first or second pass. Very little passing into the post, other than for alley oop attempts. Taking the shot that will still be there later instead of working for a better shot. Frequent disarray on defense, and guys either overcommitting to help or not knowing where they're supposed to be.

It's a mess.

It's clear that the introduction of Jones, Hyatt, and Agee hasn't gone smoothly - we lost three guys who'd been in the program for 3 years and knew their assignments, and picked up three guys that are still a bit clunky in knowing how they fit. And that's not putting it all on them - because the rest of the team doesn't seem to know how to function with these new moving parts (and the lack of the old parts), either.

Miller is a bright spot - he's busting his *** out there and doing everything possible to make a play. He seems to have a fire in his belly, which is great. Mag also sort of falls into that bucket - but not quite as much as Miller does. The rest feel like they're thinking too hard, pressing, their focus not fully there.... from Harper all the way down the roster to Reiber.

We were doing well the first 5 minutes, and things seemed to be clicking. Then Mulcahy blew a breakaway layup, and Jones missed a bunny on the next play after a McConnell steal.... and it felt like things started to spiral offensively. We didn't make a bucket from the floor from the 17:39 mark to the 9:04 mark. And then the defense started to unravel as the first half progressed - overcommitting to the paint, leaving shooters open, again.

It was like they had a plan going in, and then it totally evaporated once they hit adversity.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Mulcahy vs most B1G Power 5 guards...most guards dunk that, one blows a bunny.....it happens and not going to change how the game went. ..

Sometimes you can be in position and just don't have the ability over a 25 to 30+ game season, to make those plays.

If you are limited athletically, you have to be very methodical, precise and be able to make shots/grind/rebound.......we shouldn't be reliant on Jalen Miller's tenacity, he isn't an elite athlete, he is just willing to scrap and compete.....the roster needs an overhaul of 3 to 5 spots, from a competitive perspective, depending on what those new players bring to the table......I would say 2 spots that remain open and upgrading with the other 2 spots.

 

[RUChoppin]

Mulcahy vs most B1G Power 5 guards...most guards dunk that, one blows a bunny.....it happens and not going to change how the game went. ..

Sometimes you can be in position and just don't have the ability over a 25 to 30+ game season, to make those plays.

If you are limited athletically, you have to be very methodical, precise and be able to make shots/grind/rebound.......we shouldn't be reliant on Jalen Miller's tenacity, he isn't an elite athlete, he is just willing to scrap and compete.....the roster needs an overhaul of 3 to 5 spots, from a competitive perspective, depending on what those new players bring to the table......I would say 2 spots that remain open and upgrading with the other 2 spots.

Just felt like things were going fairly well up until that point. Mulcahy gets a big steal then misses the layup, then McConnell gets a big steal and Jones misses and close jumper, then the wheels came off the bus..... that stretch was some brutal basketball to watch.

15:21 - Mulcahy steal
15:17 - Mulcahy missed layup
15:05 - McConnell steal
14:56 - Jones missed bunny
14:50 - Illinois missed 3pt
14:43 - McConnell turnover
14:18 - Illinois turnover
14:04 - Miller missed layup
13:44 - Illinois missed 3pt
13:36 - Hyatt missed 3pt
13:24 - Illinois missed 3pt
13:13 - Illinois turnover
13:00 - Hyatt turnover on steal
12:45 - Illinois made 2pt
12:30 - Mcconnell missed 2pt
12:17 - Illinois made 3pt
12:07 - Mulcahy foul
11:53 - Illinois made 2pt
11:35 - Harper turnover on steal
11:23 - Illinois missed 3pt
11:21 - Mulcahy 2nd foul
11:14 - Illinois made 3pt
10:48 - Hyatt turnover on steal
10:41 - Illinois missed 3pt
10:14 - Harper made 2/2 FT
9:57 - Illinois made 3pt
9:33 - Harper layup blocked
9:32 - Hyatt foul
9:19 - Illinois made 2pt
9:07 - McConnell made 2pt (ending the drought)

Over those 11 possessions (running from 15:36 to 9:19), we went 0-6 FG, 2-2 FT, with 4 tov. While Illinois went off for 15 pts on 6/11 shooting. Score went from 8-7 to 23-9... and the game was basically over. We never got closer than 12 the rest of the way.

 

[RuBird]

Saw the thread title and I was hoping it was a point guard we signed

 

[RUJMM78]

There are 3 problem areas with this team,ie,shooting ,defense and rebounding.What happens in practice clearly hasn't transferred to game performance regardless if the opponent was Lafayette or Illinois.

 

[BillyC80]

The team just isn't good this year, and the players look a bit lost and not sure how to handle the defenses they are seeing from opponents. Their confidence in their shot in gametime situations is just not there. The trust that their teammates will be able to score just isn't there.

A lot of dribbling. Not just not making the "extra" pass, but not making a first or second pass. Very little passing into the post, other than for alley oop attempts. Taking the shot that will still be there later instead of working for a better shot. Frequent disarray on defense, and guys either overcommitting to help or not knowing where they're supposed to be.

It's a mess.

It's clear that the introduction of Jones, Hyatt, and Agee hasn't gone smoothly - we lost three guys who'd been in the program for 3 years and knew their assignments, and picked up three guys that are still a bit clunky in knowing how they fit. And that's not putting it all on them - because the rest of the team doesn't seem to know how to function with these new moving parts (and the lack of the old parts), either.

Miller is a bright spot - he's busting his *** out there and doing everything possible to make a play. He seems to have a fire in his belly, which is great. Mag also sort of falls into that bucket - but not quite as much as Miller does. The rest feel like they're thinking too hard, pressing, their focus not fully there.... from Harper all the way down the roster to Reiber.

We were doing well the first 5 minutes, and things seemed to be clicking. Then Mulcahy blew a breakaway layup, and Jones missed a bunny on the next play after a McConnell steal.... and it felt like things started to spiral offensively. We didn't make a bucket from the floor from the 17:39 mark to the 9:04 mark. And then the defense started to unravel as the first half progressed - overcommitting to the paint, leaving shooters open, again.

It was like they had a plan going in, and then it totally evaporated once they hit adversity.

Good comments here, especially regarding those missed bunnies early on. When your opponent misses wide open layups or fumbles a rebound out of bounds or can’t handle a slam dunk alley oop, you begin to think, wow, these guys really suck, and you get more confident as a result.

If we didn’t blow so many easy opportunities in the first half, maybe IL starts to doubt themselves a little and tightens up. It likely wouldn’t have mattered for the outcome but it may have made this a more competitive game.

 

[dbegleiter]

Maybe it’s because we play against ourselves in practice.

This is actually a fair point. Guard wise, when they play teams like Illinois with athletic guards we simply cannot match up with them. They go up against themselves in practice, but then are faced to guard quicker more athletic players in real games

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Mulcahy vs most B1G Power 5 guards...most guards dunk that, one blows a bunny.....it happens and not going to change how the game went. ..

Sometimes you can be in position and just don't have the ability over a 25 to 30+ game season, to make those plays.

If you are limited athletically, you have to be very methodical, precise and be able to make shots/grind/rebound.......we shouldn't be reliant on Jalen Miller's tenacity, he isn't an elite athlete, he is just willing to scrap and compete.....the roster needs an overhaul of 3 to 5 spots, from a competitive perspective, depending on what those new players bring to the table......I would say 2 spots that remain open and upgrading with the other 2 spots.

We have 2-3 months to find out how many spots should be open.

I want Andre Hyatt thrown to the trash heap right now. Prior to the Rutgers-Newark game I wanted Jacob thrown to the trash heap.

Issa getting minutes was a symptom of a problem. We have a player or 2 who are getting minutes that are also a symptom of a problem.

 

[zebnatto]

I’m not as tough on Paul as most, but his failure to slam that breakaway (or to slam ever) is really inexplicable.

 

[kcg88]

I wonder what the game day prep is like. They always look like they have heavy legs. If you've ever tried to play basketball right after running or doing squats you know the feeling.

It's been an issue for a while. I joked about it back in 2019:

 

[superfan01]

M

It’s baffling how poor the team is playing. For those of us who’ve been able to watch practice, what we’ve seen is definitely different than what we see on game day. Pike runs a great practice and the guys look a million times better. They actually hit shots and free throws and defend.

maybe we are just lacking gamers and I don’t know if that’s on Pike. I don’t think you can coach that up but maybe he needs to do a better job of recruiting that type of player. It’s been 2 games but Miller might be one. JY was one. sanders was one. But we don’t have a lot of them.

You can't compare practice to games. In practice you know the players your going against and the defenses you will see. Games are different

 

[koleszar]

There are 3 problem areas with this team,ie,shooting ,defense and rebounding.What happens in practice clearly hasn't transferred to game performance regardless if the opponent was Lafayette or Illinois.

At least we've still got dribbling.

 

[RutgersRaRa]

Maybe they should go back to practicing in the RAC.

 

[Anon1751594821]

M

You can't compare practice to games. In practice you know the players your going against and the defenses you will see. Games are different

Not sure what you exactly mean. Our scouting is tremendous and run everything that our opponents run in practices leading up until the game.

Of course, it doesn't mean that the talent on the opponent won't outperform our scout teams. LOL

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[willisneverrana43]

It’s baffling how poor the team is playing. For those of us who’ve been able to watch practice, what we’ve seen is definitely different than what we see on game day. Pike runs a great practice and the guys look a million times better. They actually hit shots and free throws and defend.

maybe we are just lacking gamers and I don’t know if that’s on Pike. I don’t think you can coach that up but maybe he needs to do a better job of recruiting that type of player. It’s been 2 games but Miller might be one. JY was one. sanders was one. But we don’t have a lot of them.

Can you provide more detail on what you mean by “for those of us who’ve been able to watch practice“? What’s the sample size? Because I saw one or two pre-season articles about a great shooting practice followed by other articles about bad shooting practices. And we’ve all seen RU’s shooting numbers in actual games over the last few years. They’re not good.

You need to be Oliver Stone to see an enigma here. It’s crystal clear.