This was the game where Carino should have tried to take a victory lap due to Simpson’s performance. He played great, even had 8 rebounds, very impressive game for him. I am hoping that at some point or even by season’s end, Derek is the best player on the team as it will mean he has made a nice jump in his Sophomore season. Was hoping him and Gavin would be #1 and #2 for this team at some point this year leading into being able to make big contributions next year, but it looks like Gavin is going to have work through some concerning struggles at the moment. I hope he figures it out this year as we need him next year. Gavin is obviously nowhere near the #2 guy at the moment, but this program needs him so this should be a huge priority for the coaching staff.
Simpson
- Thread starter RAC93
- Start date
His best game this year. We won't see many of these as he takes so many difficult shots. Was the banked 3 was the contested one off the dribble? The drive where he just threw it towards the backboard? The made contested pull up from 15 on a fast break?
If he were properly coached, he could be dangerous. He should be watching fernandees drive. He is the most under control on fast break drives.
If he were properly coached, he could be dangerous. He should be watching fernandees drive. He is the most under control on fast break drives.
Definitely a great game for him. Confidence is half the battle in being a scorer and he is definitely confident. With this team he will be able to put up as many shots as he wants. Let's see what he can become. Looked great yesterday..
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I disagree that he takes "so many" difficult shots. Of course, Alpha scoreres always take some difficult shots, but most of Derek's are good looks and were last night.
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I agree.
Against stone hill for example - the frustration for me wasn’t that he took too many shots or that he took difficult shots .
The frustration was that he got himself open and took good shots but he just clanked them
I have always felt that IF Simpson can become more consistent and accurate with his shot, that he has the tools to be a good Big Ten player. We saw that last night, have seen flashes in other games during his time on the Banks. What I hope for this year is the shot improves and his scoring average bumps up as he takes a jump as a Sophomore. We need Simpson and Gavin to succeed, probably the most two important pieces on this team when you think of the future. Simpson can have a role next year, possibly a big role, but only if he progresses. Last night was a great sign. Gavin has had moments, but he is in a terrible slump right now. Priority #1 for the staff should be getting Gavin going again. If Gavin hits a couple more shots last night, they win. JMike is important too, but I think expectations are higher for Gavin and Simpson.
Simpson has that Jacob Young confidence. That's just innate. Can't teach that. Great trait to succeed more times than not.
Agreed, he feels like he is closest thing to a lead guy/go to guy on the team.
Plus speed. Ive already made that comparison with JY. Athletic talent that is sorely need. Will be a nice piece next year. And if Dylan leaves after one year would be a nice piece senior year.
Have heard from many we are not tough enough but two games in a row where Derek has rebounded quite well. Crickets.
Steal was one of few breakaway and ez points we got. Has always been a good defensive player even when shot not falling.
He is also a very good foul shooter.
That three against Stonehill saved us from an upset for the ages. We should be thanking our lucky stars. He had a very nice game against Stonehill despite the naysayers. 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals plus game winning shot. That’s an incredibly solid all around game, not just scoring, where nobody else showed up.
The shrill Carino was correct for a change.
Have heard from many we are not tough enough but two games in a row where Derek has rebounded quite well. Crickets.
Steal was one of few breakaway and ez points we got. Has always been a good defensive player even when shot not falling.
He is also a very good foul shooter.
That three against Stonehill saved us from an upset for the ages. We should be thanking our lucky stars. He had a very nice game against Stonehill despite the naysayers. 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals plus game winning shot. That’s an incredibly solid all around game, not just scoring, where nobody else showed up.
The shrill Carino was correct for a change.
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Agreed. Simpson has elite quickness and good hops which you can't teach. So, if his shot is falling he is a handful to defend. Gavin looks like he's lost all confidence. As Bartow commented on last night's broadcast, his body language is downright downtrodden. Hopefully the staff finds a way to boost his confidence and gets him to play to his high talent level sometime soon, as the offense defintitley needs him.
I think we all agree that Simpson and Griffiths are important pieces to the puzzle next season. We need Hyatt and Fernandez to play to try to win games this season. But we need Simpson, JMike, and Griffiths to get a steady diet of seasoning this year so they can be valuable next year. Pike will have to find the balancing act. It's not going to be easy though. If all of JMike and Griffiths minutes last night went to Williams and Woolfolk instead, we probably would have won. But if you want to write off this year and be better next year, Pike has to keep giving the Freshman plenty of time on the court.
And he isn’t afraid of driving to the rim and getting hammered for free throws. We need more of that when we are struggling hitting baskets.
At least for this season, I would also add Cliff who seems to have become the forgotten man in this offense recently. When they are on, Cliff and our guards are capable of complementing each other and opening up looks inside our opponent's defensive rotations.
We don’t have a squad to make a serious run this year like the past several years. I for one would love to see development focused on. This team is highly unlikely to win 10 games in the conference. Being perfectly honest, they may not even get 8. Even if they won 10 they probably don’t make the tourney. I am all for competing and trying to win of course, but benching Gavin and burying him in the rotation and giving him zero minutes should not happen just to achieve a goal of making the tourney that is highly unrealistic this year. Wolf is not the answer, don’t want to make this about him, but he is starting to wander off into Oskar territory of being irrelevant. Let Simpson be the guy, let’s see if he sinks or swims. Keep giving Gavin minutes, let’s see how he holds up in Big Ten play……we can still focus on other guys and try to win, but this team can only win so many games.
That’s harsh, I am guessing you have seen more of Simpson to make an assessment, but was curious on Gavin. Have you seen enough that you don’t think he can contribute? I am concerned about him, hoping he turns it around, so just curious what your take is on Gavin.
I think Simpson is tough b/c that “chest middle” high ball screen stuff is the closest thing we have to repeatable offense, but he doesn’t make great decisions out of it. Behind the FT line it’s a low % pull-up, if he gets past the FT line it’s usually a pretty reckless drive at a post defender
I have low expectations defensively for Dylan and Ace so unless Gavin improves a lot i have a tough time seeing us defend with those 3. In addition, offense shouldnt be an issue as both can create.
As for Simpson until I see enough to change my mind I see him as a guy backing up both guard positions playing 10-15 MPG. There may be games where he is very inportant, but i think he is depth.
Lets be really honest right now…..we arent epicly bad on offense despite Derek and Gavin….we are bad because of Derek (and a lesser extent Gavin). Winning teams get a LOT more out of their PG then we do.
That's fair. As things stand now, if you have all 3 of these guys on the floor, that's putting a heckuva lot on Mag and whoever to cover a lot of ground defensively. Our defense will suffer, but our offense will be SIGNIFICANTLY better.
The more outside shots Derek makes, don’t care if 2s or 3s, the more respect he will get from refs when he takes it to the basket. Kid has been hammered countless of times taking it to the rim with no calls since last season. He’ll have to show he’s a consistent scorer to get to the charity stripe more. If this happens, he’ll average in the high teens in pts because he’s such a great foul shooter.
Team has to get Gavin going and these two along with JaMike will be fun to watch.
GO RU
Derek at least has potential to get to the free throw line. No one really gets easy points at the line on this team, another reason why I don’t like jacking up 30 threes a game as you don’t draw fouls. Derek shoots free throws at a high percentage so it would be nice if he could average about 6 FTs per game. Right now he averages about 4 per game.
In fairness to Simpson he had a complete game for the ages against OSU.
It doesn’t get much better than 9-16 shooting, 23 points, 7 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
This follows a similar all around effort against Stonehill which he hit a three to win the game.
Posters have to start giving him some more credit.
Agreed, the guy has his flaws but when you look at this roster, who has potential to have a game like Simpson did against OSU? Who can do what he did against PSU or Indiana last year? I love Andre Hyatt but he doesn’t have that type of potential. Gavin might, maybe Noah but we have not seen it from Noah yet, he had a good game against OSU and SHU, but a lot of passive play from him. Not sure who else can lead this current team, seems to me it has to be Simpson. Use this season to see if he can.
Noah had 19 in the win VS. SHU on 11 shots, but that isn't the point. We need our guards helping us........
Getting Cliff 14
Hyatt 11
Gavin (if he plays) 10
Mag 8
A Will 4
Woolf 2
3 PG scoring 8 each 24
73 points total
Keep opponent in mid 60s and bingo.
Rather see 5 guys connected than 1 guy trying to win on his own. We aren't connected and certainly weren't connected against OSU
I am with you that the guards both Noah and Derek have done a terrible job passing and getting the front court favorable offensive shots. The front court , Cliff , Gavin and Aundre have all missed their share of open shots when the passes have been made.
But at the same time the only way to consistently win is for our guards to get 30 plus a game. I do not want to see 0 points from Noah or 5 points from Derek on 3-15 shooting. However , when you are hot and shooting well , Derek and Noah or whoever JMike or Austin , have to keep on shooting. We need offensive points from the guards to have a chance to win every game.
The second half was the first time the lockdown intense tough defense and rebounding showed up all year. Ohio State an elite offensive team was held to 30 points which would have translated to 60 points if we showed up defensively in the first half, and followed your recipe to win. Remember we missed 4 wide wide wide open 3’s in the last 10 minutes of the second half , Gavin , Aundre , Noah and Derek that just 1 make likely gets us the win and 2 makes definitely gets us the win.
Connected is great, under Ron and Geo team was very connected. We also had Ron or Geo to get us buckets late or close out a game along with that connectivity. Cam could also hit a key shot late. This team does not have a go to guy who can get a bucket late in games.
The failure to get points from the bench players is another explanation for long scoring droughts.The starters are replaced for rest ,poor performance or foul trouble.The roster simply doesn't provide enough consistent scoring to put the team in position to win games at crunch time.
Oskar and Wolf offer very little from the bench. Gavin needs to provide 10-12 ppg off the bench, much needed. They have to get him going, should be #1 priority for the staff as they need his scoring. A little something out of Gavin against OSU and that game was a win.
This is spot on. If Gavin and Derek were playing up to expectations consistently the whole machine would be working a lot better.
The guards not getting others involved is OK if they are shooting well and scoring. The problem is they haven't been able to do it consistently and when they aren't scoring, they aren't setting up teammates either
And how many rebounds, steals, assists and game winning shot?
Better yet! Who played better?
Teammates have to show ability to score. That’s been few and far between.
I, for one, hopes that Derek takes the mantle and becomes our defacto leader on the court.
Derek will have his ups and downs / his peak and valleys but he’s as good as we have who can hit a trey/ can hit the 12 footer or take it to the Rac !
Derek will have his ups and downs / his peak and valleys but he’s as good as we have who can hit a trey/ can hit the 12 footer or take it to the Rac !
Derek may have already taken the mantle with the season saving shot vs. Stonehill, followed up nicely by his scoring against OSU...Win the next two, and the narrative on the season can still change..
Pendulum swings....some folks were writing off Simpson just a couple weeks ago and could never get to Geo's level. Other folks are suggesting he can/should be the alpha dog (perhaps by default since there may not be another one on the roster, at the moment). He doesn't lack for confidence so it might well be his opportunity to seize.
Was the Stonehill game winner followed by strong OSU performance the breakthrough he needed 1/3 of the way through his soph season to take him game to another level? We can only hope so. I don't know that the OSU stat line is that close to being repeatable for him, at least not yet. If he brought that 3-4 more times this season (out of 18 remaining games), that'd be a lot. While I don't think we can reasonably expect OSU-level output, some greater consistency would be nice to see going forward from here during conference play.
He has shown flashes of potential and we're waiting for it to come together. Hopefully we're in the midst of watching that maturation unfold so I'll just try to enjoy the process, which has admittedly been a bit frustrating to this point with the ups and downs.
Was the Stonehill game winner followed by strong OSU performance the breakthrough he needed 1/3 of the way through his soph season to take him game to another level? We can only hope so. I don't know that the OSU stat line is that close to being repeatable for him, at least not yet. If he brought that 3-4 more times this season (out of 18 remaining games), that'd be a lot. While I don't think we can reasonably expect OSU-level output, some greater consistency would be nice to see going forward from here during conference play.
He has shown flashes of potential and we're waiting for it to come together. Hopefully we're in the midst of watching that maturation unfold so I'll just try to enjoy the process, which has admittedly been a bit frustrating to this point with the ups and downs.