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.