GIVE RAK THE BALL

[NineOneSeven]

My obligatory post-game Rak thread

Great game. Tough turnover at the end but you know what? Not even upset with it. He wasn't expecting the double team, how often is he doubled? Love that he got the ball there with a chance to make a play, he's typically very good at kicking it out to our guards for open looks too. He is gaining confidence on O to makes plays in crunch time. This is what we need. Low post scoring. The question mark preseason. We have found it.

I love it.

 

[MSOrange]

I'm also actually getting very confident when we get the ball inside to him. Very happy with his improvement this year.

 

[two3zone]

Loved how jb stuck with him having 4 fouls as well. Not much BMK today.

 

[BlackKnight76]

Any win against Pitt is a great win.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The development of Rak as a blossoming post scorer should be very, very scary for the rest of college basketball.

Rak didn't miss a shot today. Perfect from the floor and perfect from the line. Throw in the 4 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals and he had himself a pretty nice day.

 

[Libero2]

Rak struggled to get defensive rebounds today, but he got the most important one, the last one.

his 10 points were a thing of beauty.

 

[NineOneSeven]

He battled downlow. Didn't get a ton of boards, but if you watch the replays, he is constantly surrounded downlow or getting screened by Pitt guys while others dive to the hoop for shots/boards. He is going to be sore tonight.

 

[newmexicuse]

His game sealing FTs at the end were mucho cool !!!

 

[Rocco]

10 points, 4-4 FG, 2-2, FT, 3 HUGE blocks, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist.

No big deal. Do you Rak.

 

[Madbiker]

Wow he's developing a nice hook shot. He needs to get more shots.

 

[BlackKnight76]

The best part is he scored in four completely different ways from different ranges. He's becoming a very strong FT shooter as well.

 

[NineOneSeven]

The best part is he scored in four completely different ways from different ranges. He's becoming a very strong FT shooter as well.

Underrated from the line. 70+% from any center is good, especially when we've watched guys like Onuaku out there struggle.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Underrated from the line. 70+% from any center is good, especially when we've watched guys like Onuaku out there struggle.

Eh, I rather enjoyed watching Onuaku at the line.

 

[jekelish]

Next year, when he's not splitting minutes at center (depending on wherever Coleman winds up and how much he plays) and if he can stay out of foul trouble, I think 10 and 8 is a very realistic possibility for him, I think.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Next year, when he's not splitting minutes at center (depending on wherever Coleman winds up and how much he plays) and if he can stay out of foul trouble, I think 10 and 8 is a very realistic possibility for him, I think.

I think Rak's one of those guys that will do really well at the draft camps and workouts and get a long look as an NBA player. I'm not saying he'll be an NBA player, but I think as he continues to improve he'll be interesting enough to make teams think about him as a back end rotation big.

 

[Kevind13]

Eh, I rather enjoyed watching Onuaku at the line.

I wish they would make a effort earlier in the game like they used to with Arinze. When he gets early points he plays with energy

 

[Deano]

Thank you Mike Hopkins for the improvement in Rak's game. Like JB says it takes 3-4 years for the big guys at times to get used to the college game coming from HS. Hopefully (still keeping fingers crossed) things will start to tur positive for DC either this year or next.

 

[2-3zone]

I've been on the Rak bandwagon since Canada, I thought he looked like a different player back then and it's great to see this low post scoring threat blossoming before our eyes. I found myself yelling at my TV 3-4 times today when Rak had Zanna pinned and our guards wouldn't get him the ball

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

The development of Rak as a blossoming post scorer should be very, very scary for the rest of college basketball.

Rak didn't miss a shot today. Perfect from the floor and perfect from the line. Throw in the 4 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals and he had himself a pretty nice day.

Agreed. The missing piece to our puzzle is a legit post scorer. Rak's little baby hook is filling that in nicely.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Rak is our best all around center. It's not close.

DC and Baye can contribute, and we'll need them, but it's getting more and more obvious who the best overall player is.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I wish they would make a effort earlier in the game like they used to with Arinze. When he gets early points he plays with energy

I completely agree.

 

[Jack Hall]

My obligatory post-game Rak thread

Great game. Tough turnover at the end but you know what? Not even upset with it. He wasn't expecting the double team, how often is he doubled? Love that he got the ball there with a chance to make a play, he's typically very good at kicking it out to our guards for open looks too. He is gaining confidence on O to makes plays in crunch time. This is what we need. Low post scoring. The question mark preseason. We have found it.

I love it.

He and freshman kid can split it

 

[Melancer46]

If not for those last few minutes where we got murdered on the boards as a team, I thought that was possibly his best game. Good things happen when we look to get him the ball.

My only complaint is that he knew that double team was coming. You could literally see him look right at #0, think to himself "if I go that way, he'll double me", and then he dribbled right into it anyways.

 

[OttoMets]

If not for those last few minutes where we got murdered on the boards as a team, I thought that was possibly his best game. Good things happen when we look to get him the ball.

My only complaint is that he knew that double team was coming. You could literally see him look right at #0, think to himself "if I go that way, he'll double me", and then he dribbled right into it anyways.

Yeah, it was a bad play. He identified the double, calmly went through a couple options, then deliberately dribbled. A rare foolish play. Really good game otherwise.

Apart from that, funny to see so many people to hop onto the bandwagon with GoHam; it's increasing with every game. 'Hey, Christmas has offensive skills! He can shoot free throws! He can score with both hands!'

Meh. He's been able to do this for three years. Now he's starting to get a few touches and some consistent minutes. If he hadn't been ignored on half the occasions that he sealed his man today, he'd have put up some terrific numbers.

 

[Cuse315Pat]

He really does need more touches. Especially when he runs the floor after getting a block or steal. He goes right to the rim whenever he gets a good defensive stop. But nobody seems to dump the ball down to him when he's 1 on 1 with his man directly under the basket. It'd be hard to defend him when you can't jump without hitting your head on the rim.