Rutgers Exhibition

So played great for 1st half and last ot and shaky for 2nd half and 1st ot. Win by double digits...Pitino has what he needs play in the system play winning ball get out of system ...shaky. Should give him ammo to practice and instill his mindset.....
 
Some brief observations. Disappointed with the crowd of about 2/3 full. Jenkins is a good pg but, as someone else observed, may have difficulties with a pesky defender ala posh. Soriano and Ludlum had some trouble finishing inside but I arreibute much of that to rutgers' interior defense. Dkk why we saw so little of zuby in second half. Ball in Taylor's hands alot; expect less when dingle is back and Witcher settles in after a rough start. Lucky to win after such poor foul shooting down the stretch. Appreciate a game like this rather than against the likes of miss valley state. Hope they do a game like this every preseason.
Yes was surprised the crowd was larger
But turned into an exciting game. Obviously winning is the key
 
I know this does not matter much, but assuming Dingle starts who comes off the bench.
Considering how well the 5 started, maybe he’ll just bring Dingle and/or Luis off the bench to really bolster the first wave of subs.
 
Haven't posted much this year, but have regularly canvassed the Board.

Definitely looks like exciting times lie ahead for Johnnies hoops!
 
Just got back to the game and will provide thoughts as they come to me so forgive if not super organized.

Jenkins is very good in PnR and will be a very good but not great player at this level. Rutgers tough D was really able to neutralize him in the 2nd half and the OTs. He is a good floor general.

The talent is obvious with Sim but he won't be carrying the team out of the gate. Has a lot to learn on both sides of the ball but he will be an amazing player down the road, no doubt about it.

Alleyne is steady and a shot maker. Know exactly what we're getting with him.

Taylor is a menace on D and is a great rebounder. He's very long and lanky and moves very well for his size to stay in front of guys. Has a little bit of an offensive game, hit a big 3 in 2OT but much more of a slasher and asset on D. Was included in Offense/Defense subs at the end of the game.

Ledlum is solid but not a complete game changer. Wasn't great at finishing around the rim today but has high basketball IQ. May take a bit for him to adjust to the disparity from IVY League to this level. He was way more athletic than IVY leaguers and stuff he got away with at that level will need to be improved here. Very good rebounder and defender.

Soriano is still Soriano. Cliff definitely was in his head a bit as Soriano passed on a couple easy looks thinking Cliff would reject them. Needs to be more assertive in those situations sometimes but overall still very good.

Zuby was pretty meh today. Didn't really play at all in the 2nd half and OTs as Pitino leaned on Soriano the whole way and Soriano played with 3 fouls the whole time.

Dunlap is thin as a rail. Played decent minutes today but would be surprised to see him get more than spot minutes in big games in year one. Smooth offensive game though and definitely another guy that will be very good down the road. There was a point in the game where Pitino yelled "You did exactly what I told you NOT to do" at Brady when he was walking to the bench during the timeout which got a decent laugh from us.

Drissa played better than I thought in his decent minutes. Very active on D and on the glass.

Conway was the first guy off the bench and then didn't play at all. Pitino was yelling directions at him the whole time he was in. He's not going to get any minutes this year.

Ayo can't play at this level yet.

Overall the press really shook Rutgers early but they settled in. They are a well coached group. Knew their D was going to clamp down in the 2nd half and it did and again while Jenkins is solid he's not going to be a guy that is creating his own shot and scoring every time down the floor. Obviously thats where Dingle and Luis will be major helps.

Were solid defensively throughout but Rutgers has always been offensively challenged. No consistent defenses lapses from what I saw which is a positive sign. Again, Glenn Taylor Jr really helps on that end of the floor. Defensive rebounding was very strong and Pikiell's teams always hit the offensive glass hard so was very pleased with that. Taylor helps there too.

Tough to gauge them more as a team from this game with key guys like Dingle and Luis out but decent view of them individually as well as they overall systems on both ends of the floor.

Would have never known based on the crowd, coaches, players, refs etc. that this game was being played in October and didn't count. Everybody was into it, players diving on the floor and everything. Felt like a game in February.
 
Funny, but I found the crowd to be larger than I ever expected and there was a nice amount of electricity in the air for an exhibition game smack dab in the middle of a Saturday afternoon during college football season. It felt like a meaningful conference game. Also, I love...LOVE how Coach was involved in every possession and how he was in some of the players faces when it was needed. Looking forward to this season.
 
Happiest person today ? Marillac for all his Alleyne talking this off-season :)
My thinking on this is shooting will be an issue outside of Dingle, and you know what you get with him.

He’s a smart, experienced kid who is always in good defensive position, can defend 1-4, and hits open shots.

Luis is better suited to come off the bench for quick offense, but could expand his role with good defense and if he can hit jumpers. His release looks pure.

Taylor is most exciting to me. You just don’t see kids that tall move so well often. He has to get a lot better finishing around the rim.
 
Fun to bounce the balls and get the wrinkles out, team will be very competitive in Uber challenging BE. We have some solid pieces, depth, Joel is more than adequate big & college ball still is guards game & we have plenty. Like this group in year 1 I might add.
 
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Will also add that there was a big difference in demeanor, body language, and responding to coaching from this group than the past 5-8 years. Everybody was engaged with each other, with the coaching and everything. Obviously just an anecdotal view in a very short amount of time, but encouraging sign to me nonetheless.
 
Cliff O on Rutgers is a very athletic big man. Soriano did ok considering. He won't see that many tougher defenders this season though the Big East has a few. Soriano won't carry you to the NCAA tournament but certainly won't hold you back.
 
Once Rutgers made their run and the game became close Pitino shut down the substitutions and played his most experienced players: (Soriano, Jenkins, Alleyne, Ledlum and Taylor Jr.) down the stretch and throughout double overtime. The tying three pointer at the end of the first OT by Alleyne changed the narrative and a disappointing loss turned into a thrilling double overtime win. I thought many of the players had some moments and was especially pleased to see Drissa's contributing so much. He really had a very good all around game.

Jenkins executed four really beautiful alley-oop dunk plays to Soriano. It definitely appears to me that Jenkins is our main Point Guard and Pitino will rely heavily on him to be the team's QB. Hopefully Dingle will be able to play the point too, so that they will have a way to go when Jenkins is out. I also imagine Wilcher will play the point at times too and should grow into that role with some more experience.

I was very impressed with Taylor Jr.'s all around game and it will be interesting to see if Luis will take some of his minutes when he comes back or if they find a way for them to play together. Alleyne can defend really well and is not shy about putting up shots. Joel looks much more svelte and played his best ball during OT. Ledlum seems to have a high basketball IQ and will be a contributor. Joel had a double double, and additionally Taylor Jr. and Ledlum missed getting one by a single rebound and Jenkins missed it by just a single assist.

All in all the crowd energy and size was very high for this time of the year and I imagine empty arenas for SJU games will be few and far between going forward.
 
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