Fordham, Mon., Nov. 4, 6:30p, FS-1

Silly Donovan said:
I don’t get the hate towards RJ. I guess many of you don’t get the fact that when you can beat the man who is playing you and score you do so and I’m sure Coach wants him to do so. It’s not like he took wild shots, he was 4 for 7. Are there areas of RJs game that can be improved?, of course but when he’s tearing it up as the season progresses you will all deny the crap you are laying on him now as he has now become the sites whipping boy.
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Obviously it's early and the polls don't close till 900...then absentee and military ballots will need to be tabulated...then will come recounts, court challenges and some measure of civil unrest. - But Rj Luis appears to be emerging from the pack as a Strong early favorite in his candidacy for the coveted 2024/2025 Carmine Abbatiello Most Favorite Player ( MFP ) award.
 
Fun night... couple takeaways...
-FOOD TRUCKS outside CA!!!.... wow.... nice touch.... just gotta figure out the whole security entrance thing lol... saw Rick tweet about it.
-Sim... wow. he developed
-Vince! it was only Fordham... but he looked more than serviceable which is a relief...
-RJ... man... if he doesnt extend his forearm on drives... and just lets himself get fouled... he'll be fine.
-Zuby... would have like to have seen a bit more dominance from him... esp against a weaker opp
-Channeling my inner CYO coach... but these guys have to "box-out"... saw a couple times where we arent putting a body on a guy and just jumping Straight Up...


My 5 yr old Hot Take of the Game.... "Wow Daddy... Sim wasn't good last year... and now he's REALLY Good".... lol sums it up...
 
Silly Donovan said:
It’s not hate? Zuby had a horrific game, out of position defensively, didn’t rebound at all against a smaller/weaker opponent, couldn’t score in close and generally looked out of it yet no one says anything. RJ’s second foul was a bogus call, after he just hit two threes and the RJ haters were on fire, just waiting for any sort of mistake. Go back and reread the posts if you don’t believe me.
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I think most of us are expecting a different version of RJ this year, without the health issues, and with an added year of experience and Pitino tutelage. A more mature, disciplined and productive RJ.

Now, one game does not a season make, but against a far inferior opponent, in a game where he could have made a statement right out of the gate, what did we see? The same version of RJ that we saw last season. Some bright spots offensively, some reckless play, some stupid fouls including the T, and a FG attempt.

What you call "hate", I see as "frustration" on the part of many in our fan base.
 
Very nice game. These guys have been schooled to keep their head up and pass first.

Khadary definitely the go to guy in this talented group which we haven't had in forever. I mean Shamorie was for sure, but when his teammates went cold they collapsed on him like a Florida hurricane on a double wide mobile home. Richmond can create his own shot, and is extremely dangerous with the ball in his hands 18 feet and in. He can dish too. Rebound too.

Sim looked solid without trying to do too much, made great decisions and had a nice stat line.

Aaron is going to be such a great addition. Nice range on his J. Tough as nails defender too.

Rick is a guru. Showing faith in Brady when ball isn't dropping and appreciating his well rounded game of passing, rebounding, and defending and that will give Brady confidence to start scorching the nets while playing within himself. We thought of his value as obe dimensional but Rick sees so much more.

Zuby was fine but not his best.. had a couple if cases of dropsies. Vince had a very nice night. Hang around the rim, eyes open, ready to receive for easy deuces. He will get better and better. As long as he doesnt shrink like Berwanger he will do fine.

Speedy is a Sonic type player, a 78 rpm record playing with 45s.

RJ is RJ. The one guy you glue your eyes to when he has the ball in his hands because he may do something you never saw before. Unfortunately that includes kicking 60 yard gield goals..

Such a deep and talented team not only no dropoffs when we make subs but each guy brings a different dimension.

Feeling like this may be an uber Comfort ride.
 
Think Rick is gonna love Lefty. Probably the youngest guy on the team and you could see last night how much he already understood. Helping guys get to the right spot, talking on defense, and some really high level passes. When him and Prey come back with the Brady 20 lb plan, they’ll be ready for big roles.
 
Jack Williams said:
My thoughts tonight:

- this is our best roster in a long time. Lavin’s second to last team, that inexplicably missed the tourney, might be the only other recent team I remember having as much talent.

- Luis is going to wow you sometimes, and he is going to piss you off sometimes. My biggest question for him this year - do you want to win basketball games or do you just want to showcase yourself? Because he’s the one player who stuck out to me tonight as the guy primarily concerned with “getting his”. Will be keeping an eye on that

- Wilcher, Zuby, Richmond, Smith and Scott are all great pieces and I’m excited to watch them play this year

- the ones I’ll be watching closely going forward: Vince and Brady. Vince showed signs of being a capable back up. He’s active, a little slow, but big and strong. Excited to watch his development this year. As for Brady, I believe in him. He’s a heady player. Just need his catch and shoots to fall at a decent clip, I fear better teams will try to pick on him a bit on defense though.
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I like Brady (high basketball IQ) but a step to slow on the defensive side. Was consistently beat off the dribble last night.
 
Amaseinyourface said:
Think Rick is gonna love Lefty. Probably the youngest guy on the team and you could see last night how much he already understood. Helping guys get to the right spot, talking on defense, and some really high level passes. When him and Prey come back with the Brady 20 lb plan, they’ll be ready for big roles.
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What i really liked about garbage time was that Rick entrusted Sim, then Brady to be the one rotation player on the court to stabilize things. Shows how Rick is building those guys because in those situations having one guy on the court that will hold the team together is an important role these 2 are growing into.

Rick does everything with purpose. Great to watch.
 
When Richmond was with Seton Hall, I used to think he got away with traveling every time he took the ball to the basket.

However, after watching him last night... I KNOW he gets away with it.

Crowd was on the refs for some missed travels against Fordham, but I think we need to be more tolerant of that this year than we have been in the past. It would be to our benefit (if they're not calling it on the other team, then they won't call it on Kadary).
 
I guess it does have to be said. RJ did score 12 points in 13 minutes. His shot looks a lot better. Obviously, he has to get better on the mental side of the ball. He let the refs get in his head and take him out of the game. But he definitely looked like a guy who can average 16-18 points easy this year -- which is a lot for being on a good team in college.
 
91law said:
I like Brady (high basketball IQ) but a step to slow on the defensive side. Was consistently beat off the dribble last night.
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I think that is overblown. He got matched up twice with a 6'0 guard in space with no help whatsoever. He needs to be in a better defensive stance, but he's not winning that matchup all year. He's basically the same height as Zuby. He's not a guy that teams target on defense. He held his own defending the 4, he's fine defending the 3, and can deal with taller 2's. Our 5 needs to be ready going forward to assist in the lane to force a pull up or contested layup.
 
Amaseinyourface said:
Think Rick is gonna love Lefty. Probably the youngest guy on the team and you could see last night how much he already understood. Helping guys get to the right spot, talking on defense, and some really high level passes. When him and Prey come back with the Brady 20 lb plan, they’ll be ready for big roles.
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Him and Prey are clearly on the same page. Likely to see Prey in for any minutes Lefty plays. Will need as many guys that can handle and pass as possible with Sim not quite a PG. Wilcher-Lefty-Glover probably gets you there in the aggregate next year with a skilled stretch 4 like Brady or Luis. Add Deivon and it definitely gets you there.
 
Marillac2 said:
I think that is overblown. He got matched up twice with a 6'0 guard in space with no help whatsoever. He needs to be in a better defensive stance, but he's not winning that matchup all year. He's basically the same height as Zuby. He's not a guy that teams target on defense. He held his own defending the 4, he's fine defending the 3, and can deal with taller 2's. Our 5 needs to be ready going forward to assist in the lane to force a pull up or contested layup.
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Dunlap is lucky that the whole supporting cast are full of good help defenders with length. So if Pitino can position them right, we should be able to get away with it.

But, he has to hit shots for this trade-off to be worth it.
 
dk423 said:
Dunlap is lucky that the whole supporting cast are full of good help defenders with length. So if Pitino can position them right, we should be able to get away with it.

But, he has to hit shots for this trade-off to be worth it.
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Exactly, especially on a team that appears deficient shooting threes and stresses aggressive, quick defensive play. Smith and Kadary are adept at finding open shooters and Brady needs to capitalize on those opportunities or lose time.
 
dk423 said:
Dunlap is lucky that the whole supporting cast are full of good help defenders with length. So if Pitino can position them right, we should be able to get away with it.

But, he has to hit shots for this trade-off to be worth it.
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We don't have that typical Pitino centerfielder at the 5, so we will have to get there as a team. Luis and Scott are very capable blocking shots from behind and it will be needed. I think Maker gives us that guy next year, but Prey is probably our best chance this year and he is weeks away (hopefully).

Same goes for rebounding. I think we are going to have to learn that one the hard way with an early season loss where we get dominated on the glass. It can't all just be Kadary giving us ++ rebounding from the 2 or 3.

Our team has less beef that a vegan restaurant.
 
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