Rutgers matchup questions/thoughts/guesses
- Thread starter OrangeDW
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Per Kenpom Rutgers would have the 3rd best defense in the ACC behind only UVA and Duke. Mathis, Young, and Harper are all elite on ball defenders. One of Mathis and Young was on Griffin last season and basically completely shut him down.
Jacob Young 6’3” is a R-SR. His older brother was in the league for a few seasons and his father was on Phi Slamma Jamma. He transferred in from Texas a couple years ago. After sitting a year he played last season and was really solid down the stretch. Pikiell says he’s the most improved player this season and it shows early. He might be the fastest player in the B1G. He’s probably good for 10 fast break points a game all by himself but he’s not much of a shooter.
Jr. Montez Mathis 6’4” was a big recruiting win over Ollie at UCONN. Pikiell first top 150 recruit and he plays like it. He’s a step slower than Young but a little bigger and stronger. He’s a nightmare on defense and a good slasher and rebounder on O. Not a great shooter.
Ron Harper Jr (Jr. 6’6) is the son of NBA if yesteryear’s Ron Harper. He does everything and he does it well. He’s a great defender. Great rebounder. Good shooter. He tends to play around the perimeter but has the muscle to take it inside if he wants to.
Paul Mulcahy (So. 6’6”) is a long true PG. He’s the only true PG on the whole team and starts when Baker is out. He’s a decent defender and good rebounder. His passing is next level and looks to past first all the time. He doesn’t shoot much but I think he will have to for RU to win tonight.
Omoruyi and Johnson on the interior are pretty good. Omoruyi physically looks like a Junior but you can tell the game is still a little too quick for him. He’s a freak athlete though and you will see flashes of what he will become. Hes already a tremendous rebounder and he has only been playing hoops for 4 years so he’s very raw especially on offense. He basically only scores on dunks and put backsNo way he doesn’t get drafted down the road imo.
Johnson would be one of the better centers in the B1G if he could just stop fouling so much. He’s a great shot blocker and rarely misses near the hoop. Not super athletic like the rest of the team but he’s always in the right place. Really smart kid. Finishing up in the engineering school, speaks fluent Japanese, has his own charity for inner city kids to get into STEM. He will likely come off the bench but he’s better than Omouyi for now overall.
Freshmen Mawot Mag, Dean Reiber, and Oskar Palmquist will likely all see the floor as well.
Mag is already a good defender. Haven’t seen him shoot a ton but he plays hard.
Palmquist is supposedly the best shooter on the team but he’s slow on defense so Pikiell hasn’t let him see the floor all that much yet. He may need to play as he might be RUs best shot to shoot over top of the zone
side note: no one can shoot free throws. RU is averaging 55% on the year. Mathis and Johnson get to the line a lot and might be the worst 2 free throw shooters on the team
Jacob Young 6’3” is a R-SR. His older brother was in the league for a few seasons and his father was on Phi Slamma Jamma. He transferred in from Texas a couple years ago. After sitting a year he played last season and was really solid down the stretch. Pikiell says he’s the most improved player this season and it shows early. He might be the fastest player in the B1G. He’s probably good for 10 fast break points a game all by himself but he’s not much of a shooter.
Jr. Montez Mathis 6’4” was a big recruiting win over Ollie at UCONN. Pikiell first top 150 recruit and he plays like it. He’s a step slower than Young but a little bigger and stronger. He’s a nightmare on defense and a good slasher and rebounder on O. Not a great shooter.
Ron Harper Jr (Jr. 6’6) is the son of NBA if yesteryear’s Ron Harper. He does everything and he does it well. He’s a great defender. Great rebounder. Good shooter. He tends to play around the perimeter but has the muscle to take it inside if he wants to.
Paul Mulcahy (So. 6’6”) is a long true PG. He’s the only true PG on the whole team and starts when Baker is out. He’s a decent defender and good rebounder. His passing is next level and looks to past first all the time. He doesn’t shoot much but I think he will have to for RU to win tonight.
Omoruyi and Johnson on the interior are pretty good. Omoruyi physically looks like a Junior but you can tell the game is still a little too quick for him. He’s a freak athlete though and you will see flashes of what he will become. Hes already a tremendous rebounder and he has only been playing hoops for 4 years so he’s very raw especially on offense. He basically only scores on dunks and put backsNo way he doesn’t get drafted down the road imo.
Johnson would be one of the better centers in the B1G if he could just stop fouling so much. He’s a great shot blocker and rarely misses near the hoop. Not super athletic like the rest of the team but he’s always in the right place. Really smart kid. Finishing up in the engineering school, speaks fluent Japanese, has his own charity for inner city kids to get into STEM. He will likely come off the bench but he’s better than Omouyi for now overall.
Freshmen Mawot Mag, Dean Reiber, and Oskar Palmquist will likely all see the floor as well.
Mag is already a good defender. Haven’t seen him shoot a ton but he plays hard.
Palmquist is supposedly the best shooter on the team but he’s slow on defense so Pikiell hasn’t let him see the floor all that much yet. He may need to play as he might be RUs best shot to shoot over top of the zone
side note: no one can shoot free throws. RU is averaging 55% on the year. Mathis and Johnson get to the line a lot and might be the worst 2 free throw shooters on the team
I get it. Rutgers being stacked with talent will take some getting used to after years as a dumpster fire of a program... but they do have talent.
The starting lineup will be all 4 star recruits. Young, Mathis, Mulcahy, Harper, and B1G Cliff
CuseFaninVT
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Most interesting bit for me tonight will be seeing how our guards react to pressure.
eatmatsroe
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is it safe to assume that if SU gets decent defensive play and rebounding, this match up could easily turn into a ugly, low scoring, can go either way, bricklayers convention from the perimeter?
Orangezoo
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I fully expect we see Marek as a regular release valve especially given his matchup will be traditional bigs.
CuseFaninVT
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Alan has done a bit of that as well so far. But with Joe and Kadary out there, I imagine they can handle it.
Also want to see my guy Mike on the TV.
Mike Larkin - Men's Basketball Coach - Rutgers University Athletics
Mike Larkin returns for his fifth season with the Scarlet Knights in 2023-24 and has been promoted to one of two administrative positions with on-court coaching
scarletknights.com
OrangeDW
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Yup. It sounds like Marek will be a huge key to this game. The matchup problems he can create on offense need to outweigh the matchup problems created by his lack of size on defense. Need him on the court and not in foul trouble.
Orangezoo
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I expect some turnovers from the guards but also that Kadary will need to make them pay for overplaying in their mtm. In losses last year often the lead guards had good games like Winston for MSU, Cowan for MD and Simpson for Michigan.
moqui
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he sucks, tell your coach
moqui
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OrangeDW
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Marek is a 6’9, skinny, skilled senior forward, who is playing center because our starter is hurt and our other centers are young. Very good passer and versatile - he’s comfortable with the ball on the perimeter, and can go off the dribble a bit. Not a great outside shooter but he is capable of making them. Has a nice midrange touch.
Orangezoo
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Marek is a matchup problem if he stays out of foul trouble. He is comfortable handling the ball and can go coast to coast off a defensive rebound and start the break.
The big piece we added this year beyond Griffin is Kadary Richmond. He is a big guard at 6-5 with a very good handle who will likely look to beat his man quickly in a tight mtm scenario. He finishes pretty well early on so far and has very good vision. He is a true PG. If Richmond can break down his man it will most certainly create issues with multiple shooters around him. It also could leave the weakside open for Guerrier who does a nice job on the glass.
The key will be can RU play well enough on offense to let them setup their D, can they rebound well and can they force tough shots all night by preventing guys like Kadary and Dolezaj making plays in the paint.
SU is missing two huge pieces that would have a sizeable impact on the game. Defensively, we are a bit better with Kadary as he has shown to be a menace at the top of the zone and can create his share of turnovers with his length and good anticipation. He also has several blocks on 3pt attempts too.
OrangeDW
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Will be a good test for Kadary. He ate up Niagara, but a strong, experienced, defensive minded team that some here say plays the bump and grab kind of defense that we all hate so much...that will be a challenge for him. He’s got all the tools to be a star at some point, but this is just his 4th game and probably one of the tougher man to man opponents he’ll see...can he can effectively go by people and get it done today? We’re in really good shape for the season if he can.
Really wish we had Buddy. He’d draw a ton of defensive attention. Hopefully Girard is on again today. He’ll need to take far better care of the ball than he did last game too.
eatmatsroe
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Young will cover the quickest smallest guard and is a great on ball defender. The type that picks up full court and is just annoying all game. Mathis will cover the best wing defender and is a physical big guard who plays hard nose D.
The weakness will be Mulcahy. He is a 6'7 PG who can get beat off the dribble and over helps at times.
Harper is a strong versatile undersized but thick 4 who is another really good defender.
At the 5 sounds like your starter would match up better with Cliff who is athletic and can move. When Myles is in the game he won't be able to guard him on the parameter but Myles should be able to dominate him physcially inside
moqui
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hah! jokes on you! we don't have any guards who are both quick & small
su has 4 guys who help bring the ball up, including tonight's starting center
OrangeDW
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Hmm. Harper - Guerrier should be an interesting matchup then.
Girard is our smallest guard but not overly quick.
Richmond isnt overly quick either - he’s 6’5 - I’d say more crafty with good moves off the dribble.
Griffin is not really a ball handler but will pull it from anywhere with no conscience. He was so so in game 1, bad in game 2, and insanely hot in game 3.
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