Simpson played limited time at PG and was on the wing out of position most of the year. True freshman and the best year we have had from a true freshman in over 20 years. Only thing that limited his production was the coaching staff going to him too late in the year.
Noah Fernandes commits
- Thread starter Geo_Baker_1
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Simpson is starting at PG Noah will be in the Jacob young role next year. His health and size will limit him. If he’s hot on any given night his minutes will be extended
Not true .Sanders and Baker had far better freshmen seasons.
One thing is clear - Noah didn’t come here because he thought he’d be behind Simpson. Pike will make the call but IMO Simpson will be the 6th man and he’s perfect for the role. Shoot first ball handler who can come in and look to score.
Hopefully that’s true ! Your losing Caleb and potentially Paul two non shooters who other teams did not have to guard amd could help on Cliff and Cam.
Paul pounding the air out of the ball until there was 5 secs on the clock led to stagnant, no space, and no movement.
With improved shooting GG and explosive get to the rim DS / NF there will be more space. Our opponents will now have to double our PG’s which will lead to open looks for Cam and space for Cliff.
Agree. I think everyone was happy with Simpson’s year but it’s getting a little over the top now with some of his big supporters.
Agreed! Hopefully Pike plays the best players regardless of names or time on the banks. He made that mistake this year and hopefully he has learned.
Agree that Fernandes didn't come expecting to be a backup - but no one knows what the year will bring as it progresses. Hopefully we'll have good competition for minutes, and no "default minutes" where we can't take a guy off the floor because of a big dropoff to his backup.
On losing teams though. Wayyy longer leash
That’s a fair point, but it should be noted that Tez was never expected to play point nor even given the opportunity to bring up the ball so you can’t really compare assist numbers straight up. Also both averaged between 1-2 assists per game. The small sample size indicates there wasn’t a material difference in distribution impact from their frosh seasons. Tez is taller at 6-4 and plays bigger than his height. Better rebounder. Simpson came in the better ball handler. The point is those saying Simpson has shown way more potential that frosh Tez did his first year have a short memory.
They're also at different positions. Simpson is a combo guard in the 1/2 role, and Mathis was more of a scoring wing in the 2/3 role. Hard to compare the two of them, but there really isn't an equivalency there.
I'd say Simpson is being asked to perform the role that Jacob Young held, moreso than Mathis.
The similarities - both of them contribute most through transition and pentration. Both tend to force things as frosh. But understandable for frosh. Tez continued to force throughout his career.
I think Simpson has a little bit more pull up game in his arsenal, rather than having to get to the rim as much as Mathis. He's also better with the ball in his hands, and more willing to give it up when there's nothing there.
I agree he does force things at times, but he was also the only guy able to dribble penetrate. Next year he'll also have Fernandes, so not as much pressure to force into the lane by himself. Really interested to see how he progresses next year.
He was a classic Jekyll and Hyde player. Any night you didn't know which Montez would show up. Part of that was matchups as he didn't have a flexible style, he just did his thing. But when that thing worked he was great. Perfect sparkplug off the bench. He just didn't want to play that role.
He does have a better handle than Tez but Tez also wasn’t in the running for PG. He’s bigger and a better rebounder making it easier to slide to 2-3 as not as great of an outside shooter. Derek is better from charity.
OK, I don't remember that but yes, that is potential. My memory leads me to out of control, play ground ball, end to end getting stuffed, and the infamous airball layup. Those are all hard to erase from my memory and I think based on his most recent Rutgers production, he would have been a liability if he played the same way. Simpson is smooth, blows by defenders, and creates for himself. I hope those good times continue with Derek.
Tez definitely won us a few games as the best player in those games. I’m not looking up which ones but I know it was multiple.
I appreciated what he did here. Started LOTS of games in a row for us. At the end it was time to move on.
(Oh my his sometimes/often knuckle ball 3 point shot was … too much to watch)
I appreciated what he did here. Started LOTS of games in a row for us. At the end it was time to move on.
(Oh my his sometimes/often knuckle ball 3 point shot was … too much to watch)
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anon_0k9zlfz6lz9oy
Guest
Fair take that I can see after watching this. A poor mans geo. Shorter and less athletic version.
Yep. He had all the tools, but he was mistake prone and that never improved in his time here
Tez led the league in falling down whenever he missed a shot, but I loved his toughness, especially on the defensive end.
Simpson made errors of aggression, which is a positive for a freshman, imo. He also strikes me as someone who will continually improve. And for a smaller guy he also showed toughness on D.
Simpson made errors of aggression, which is a positive for a freshman, imo. He also strikes me as someone who will continually improve. And for a smaller guy he also showed toughness on D.
Some examples:
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2020-12-29-19-rutgers.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2019-01-21-20-rutgers.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2019-02-24-18-rutgers.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2020-02-01-16-michigan.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2019-01-09-19-rutgers.html
I.e., You guys were allowed to work through your mistakes?
Every single layup attempt resulted in Tez on the deck. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Yup. who was coach pikes gonna sub in if I was playing bad that year lol. Can’t compare my freshman year to Derek’s.
Wings can pass to more open teammates for a better shot, right? Unfortunately, that wasn’t a Montez strength.
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Thanks for the links, but I saw what I saw. Montez's last year here was a disaster.
Geo's freshman year by Kenpom Rutgers was 130 overall, 270 offense 270!
28th D.
This year 39/151/6 overall/off/def