I know he’s a true Frosh. I expect him to improve and perhaps be a star player eventually. But right now he’s a weakling out there. Physically overmatched on looks but also in-game. We need to bulk him up significantly if he’s going to be able to handle big minutes in big games and be able to defend the way we’ll need him to. His physical disadvantage showed vs MSU and showed again tonight.
Simpson
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At this rate he should have 48 as a senior!
Oh lord, here come the couch coaches thinking they have something wise to say about a true freshman.
Does everyone need to start their own thread for every player they thought had a bad game?
Of all the people to call out, not sure I’d choose Simpson tonight.
Of all the people to call out, not sure I’d choose Simpson tonight.
Simpson played well. I guess fans expect every guy to be perfect. SMH
I thought he played a great game. That drive to the basket was Corey like.
His speed is amazing.
His speed is amazing.
Simpson drove to the hoop along the baseline at least once tonight. Seemed like he was the only one of our perimeter players willing to take it to the hoop (weakling and all per OP).
He’ll be good. Hes making some mistakes out there right now, particularly on defense and rebounding. But Pike specializes in coaching up for those.
He is starting to get his stroke back, and while he gets lost on D at times, he’s got the speed we sorely lack.
I got laughed at for saying Simpson will fill in for Mag. Just like in the MSU game, Simpson again got the important second half minutes. Let the kid play and he will reward us in 3-4 weeks.
He played quite well. He should have been PG down stretch and not Paul.
Imagine watching the game tonight and thinking you know what I should really start a thread bashing Simpson
This was his best game since last Indiana
This was his best game since last Indiana
How did he do against Trey Galloway?
How did our defense do as a team when Pike finally had a until he felt Ok playing man against?
The silver lining in this game, to me, was how he played.
It will not be too long until Simpson officially joins the starting 5. It could be as soon as next game. I have been his biggest critic practically all season. The last 1 1/2 games shows me (and Pike) he gives us the best chance of winning.
He's going to add some muscle in the off-season. He played well overall last night.
This 100%. I wish Miller didn’t look so awful because he’s going to be important too if we shift to more of a 4 guard oriented style. He’s the only sub that will fit into that scheme and outside a few possessions at the end of halves Pike tends to like to stick with consistent styles of play to not upset flow too much. I don’t see us switching back and forth too often. This was apparent even in the announced starting line ups. Caleb was announced at the 4 in Mag’s spot. Hyatt at the 3. The longer term plan likely to be to play 3 guards with Caleb shifting to forward. Hyatt just isn’t a perimeter player though.
For those who wanted more Hyatt and Palm, I wonder who they thought would guard TJ III with Caleb sitting?
Look at how Geo developed his body during his time at Rutgers. I expect the same from Simpson. There are multiple guards in the B1G who can bully just about anyone. Hoggard is a beast. Obviously Simpson needs to get much stronger and I believe he will. Just love his confidence. Speed kills.
He is naturally petite, you can't bulk him up too much or it will affect his speed and agility (more so agility). Ja Morant plus 20lbs muscle would not be Ja Morant. If Caleb was 225 he would not be DPOY. Depends on the player, I think Woolfolk can easily handle another 20-30lbs.
He needs to work on his shot more than body right now. He has great ball handling and blow by speed that can even out his lack of strength at the moment.
I think he should have had the ball actually more to drive and create since Paul wasn't doing it; You can't expect a 6'2" freshman guard to be rebounding against bigger guys this is one of the issues with this 4 guard offense; it worked against MSU but didn't last night although with a couple of different bounces and calls at the end we could have still one despite everything that occurred last night
Cliff was guarding TJD it was Thompson who was guarded by Paul at times but we just can't play Miller he's still a total zero on offense and not even good on defense as witnessed by his stupid foul on the 3 point shot last night
I feel like we all saw that video from practice were Miller locked down Ron Harper Jr in one on ones and all of a sudden we thought he was going to be Caleb II. I’m not really sure that’s translated into gameplay much. His offense is non existent. I don’t think he’ll be part of our long term plans.
Miller??? Miller looked completely lost out there and is one dimensional as it limits us on offense other than a swing pass.
Simpson just forces too many things but last night he actually played composed and I thought he should have had the ball more to create off the dribble. I thought he played very well in limited minutes.
Simpson just forces too many things but last night he actually played composed and I thought he should have had the ball more to create off the dribble. I thought he played very well in limited minutes.
He’s not ready “yet”. Pike needs him this year so he will keep playing and the hope is that he slowly improves. He’s got the tools but just needs to catch up mentally.
He looked terrible. But Simpson’s development could earn him filler minutes. We will not shift back and forth possession to possession from 4 guard line up style with man defense to something completely different. Pike will reserve the swap for the end of the first half. His staple.
Miller turned momentum of a few games around with his defense last year. Until Mag got hurt Simpson basically took on the role Miller had. Now that Simpson most likely takes on more minutes there could be an open spot for 5-10 minutes. Miller is the capable defensive body left.
Yes he has looked real bad this year. So has Simpson, but I think that is about to change with more "guaranteed" minutes on the way.
Miller had hurt us more often than not with fouling shooters and often threes.
The glass half full says at least he got out on the shooter.
If the 2023 Guard coming in next year doesn’t push Miller further down the depth chart then he will be considered a miss. I can’t think of any Top 25 type programs that have a defensive specialist (meaning no offense) gaining quality minutes at the shooting guard spot. Especially a defensive specialist that isn’t that remarkable on defense.
He’s a great kid by all accounts and a remarkable basketball played to be going to college for free based on his skills. He’s just not. B1G player IMO. No shame in that.
He won’t play a ton. Nobody is saying that. If we shift to more of a 4 guard play style he could see 5 or so filler minutes here or there to spell guards without shifting schemes.
If he is going to have a legitimate role in the future it would have to be as a backup point guard. Does he currently look overmatched offensively? YES
He is not the type of player I'd be looking to take off the roster. Even if he is 3rd string point guard he is a tremendous asset replicating what we will see in real games on the defensive end in practice.
Galloway seemed to get position on Derek relatively easily on the tip-in and foul on Derek with 48 seconds to go that put Indiana up 7. A little more strength could definitely help.
And for anyone saying that putting on some muscle would slow him down, take a look at the bodies and musculature of the most successful Olympic 100m sprinters, and sprinters/cheats who've been popped for using steroids/PEDs, often after having noticeable increases in body musculature and corresponding improvements in speed and performance. Obviously too much bulk and weight gain would be a negative, but he definitely has room to add some additional musculature and strength that would be of benefit to his entire game if done properly.
That’s fine. I can’t speak to the value of the scout team in practice (as it relates to roster management) but I get that it certainly has value.
If Paul isn't going to create offense someone has to. Simpson can at least get into the lane. I'd like to see how he looks with some high ball screens to get into the lane