Rutgers post game thread

[HoosierHoopster 7,122]

12 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Anthony's shot was #1 on SportsCenter Top 10.

What a great moment for him

[reconmkd 4,416]

I think I have found a good comparison/nickname for Gallo. Wild Thing! When he plays like Wild Thing it's great, but when he plays like civilized Vaughn you get me in the second pic!

[Home Jersey 8,074]

Is it an overreaction to say Leal putting the clamps on Bailey (as much as a college player reasonably can vs. a future NBA all star, anyway) merits him stepping into a bigger role in the rotation? That was nothing short of impressive.

He’s not one of the most talented on the roster but there’s no denying he is one of the best at doing small things to impact winning. Let Reneau go to work as TJD-lite on offense for the second unit and start Rice / Gallo / Leal / Mgbako / Ballo.

Heavy dose of Goode for Mgbako and Reneau for Ballo. Could be very mistaken but I think Rice / Gallo / Leal / Goode / Ballo played a good bit yesterday and was our best unit. Those guys playing hard together seemed to have good chemistry as a unit and very clear roles. It felt like we were watching real team basketball for a while. And it’s cliche, but I love how obvious it is that Goode cares so much about the name on the front of the jersey. Maximum effort. Looks like more of a vocal leader than you’d expect from a transfer bench player.  

[Stuhoo 81,447]

15 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

Is it an overreaction to say Leal putting the clamps on Bailey (as much as a college player reasonably can vs. a future NBA all star, anyway) merits him stepping into a bigger role in the rotation? That was nothing short of impressive.

He’s not one of the most talented on the roster but there’s no denying he is one of the best at doing small things to impact winning. Let Reneau go to work as TJD-lite on offense for the second unit and start Rice / Gallo / Leal / Mgbako / Ballo.

Heavy dose of Goode for Mgbako and Reneau for Ballo. Could be very mistaken but I think Rice / Gallo / Leal / Goode / Ballo played a good bit yesterday and was our best unit. Those guys playing hard together seemed to have good chemistry as a unit and very clear roles. It felt like we were watching real team basketball for a while. And it’s cliche, but I love how obvious it is that Goode cares so much about the name on the front of the jersey. Maximum effort. Looks like more of a vocal leader than you’d expect from a transfer bench player.  

The starting thing for Leal is an overreaction, but starting Goode instead of Malik makes sense. Then we have a bench of Malik, Leal, Carlyle, and Tucker which is kinda nice.

[Home Jersey 8,074]

Just now, Stuhoo said:

The starting thing for Leal is an overreaction, but starting Goode instead of Malik makes sense. Then we have a bench of Malik, Leal, Carlyle, and Tucker which is kinda nice.

I just feel like Leal proved he can do more than I believed he could with that showing vs a 6’10 top 3-5 NBA draft pick. He hustles, has good chemistry particularly with Gallo and his understanding of the scheme I think can help reduce a few of Mgbako’s mental mistakes. Really feel like he is a difference maker when it comes to them playing as a unit rather than 5 individuals. I feel like Mgbako at the 3 and Goode at the 4 doesn’t tend to go well for us. I’m sort of dying to see Reneau in a sixth man role subbing in for Ballo - feel like that would help us avoid scoring droughts. If Carlyle and/or Tucker start playing even marginally better, we’d be a much different team IMO

[RaceToTheTop 26,156]

2 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

I love the reactions of the three referees:

• The one closest to the play? A standard "shot good" signal.
• The baseline ref, second closest to the play? No reaction at all - his partner has the call.
• Referee Jeffrey "High Knees" Anderson, farthest from the play? Big flourish like his guy just hit the Super Bowl game winning field goal.

I will say one thing about High Knees....unlike some other refs who also seem to make exaggerated calls, at least High Knees seems to be a decent ref.

[Demo 20,332]

54 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

The starting thing for Leal is an overreaction, but starting Goode instead of Malik makes sense. Then we have a bench of Malik, Leal, Carlyle, and Tucker which is kinda nice.

I don’t see any scenario in which Reneau doesn’t start. It took Woody 3 years to sort of give up on mass subs. He’s not moving his leading scorer to the bench off a couple of games. But they can, and absolutely should, create rotations to minimize the 2 big stuff. The guy that lineup is killing is Rice. 1 guy, Hepburn, has been able to stay in front of him all year. You create space for that kid and you’re gonna get good looks all day. But running a high ball screen where he turns the corner and is staring at a clogged lane is wasting what he offers you. And on Leal, and I know I’m being a hater here, guilty as charged, I would be fine if he took every minute of Tucker’s until they’re able to drill into his head that he can impact winning beyond hunting the toughest imaginable 2’s to take. Regardless of his talent, I am not a fan.

[J34 1,489]

[str8baller 5,375]

1 hour ago, Home Jersey said:

Could be very mistaken but I think Rice / Gallo / Leal / Goode / Ballo played a good bit yesterday and was our best unit

That was my impression too but I wasn’t watching very attentively.  It doesn’t seem like that should work, but Ballo leal and Trey make a nice core defensive unit.  Leal and Goode understand spacing and make the spot up shooting thing work. 

[8bucks 6,476]

27 minutes ago, J34 said:

I think this can be misleading as he played in mop up minutes for a lot of the wins. It would be more beneficial to see his +/- impact in games where the final score is close. 

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,519]

If this team were to ever met its ceiling it would involve Mgbako and Tucker being dedicated to playing winning basketball.

I love Mgbako’s shot, be he takes some horrible forces. Doesn’t do enough winning basketball plays. Is Tucker allergic to taking the ball to the rack? Or pretending to be a playmaker? Maybe the staff wants him to “fill it up off the bench” but he’s playing terrible basketball in the process.

Then Carlyle. He’s almost unplayable at the moment. I don’t know if his shot is always this broken or what. But he hunts it and his misses are BAD.

Anyway I stated long ago, Leal and Galloway needed to play a lot more. I think they will.

We’ve got lots of issues but if Rice, Gallo, Reneau, Ballo, Goode, Mgbako start playing good ball, there is a team there somewhere.

That said the Penn State game is a great barometer. They are an underrated good team.


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[HoosierHoopster 7,122]

2 hours ago, Demo said:

I don’t see any scenario in which Reneau doesn’t start. It took Woody 3 years to sort of give up on mass subs. He’s not moving his leading scorer to the bench off a couple of games. But they can, and absolutely should, create rotations to minimize the 2 big stuff. The guy that lineup is killing is Rice. 1 guy, Hepburn, has been able to stay in front of him all year. You create space for that kid and you’re gonna get good looks all day. But running a high ball screen where he turns the corner and is staring at a clogged lane is wasting what he offers you. And on Leal, and I know I’m being a hater here, guilty as charged, I would be fine if he took every minute of Tucker’s until they’re able to drill into his head that he can impact winning beyond hunting the toughest imaginable 2’s to take. Regardless of his talent, I am not a fan.

The clogging the lane thing has been so obvious for so long it's just like a lump under the pillow that keeps you tossing all night trying to find a comfortable place. And yeah, no way Malik is being relegated to the 2nd unit, not even remotely in the cards. But playing more 1-big units and longer is a key that could unlock the ridiculous doors Woody throws up in the face of potential W's. What kills me is that he never seems to learn, despite how well a unit plays he just stubbornly reverts to the usual main 2-big unit no matter how poorly it performs. Has been doing that every season since day 1. Still hoping the gradual move away from mass subs converts to more 1-big units and more of perimeter game, so we actually put up respectable points and can hang with higher scoring teams.

[Home Jersey 8,074]

7 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

The clogging the lane thing has been so obvious for so long it's just like a lump under the pillow that keeps you tossing all night trying to find a comfortable place. And yeah, no way Malik is being relegated to the 2nd unit, not even remotely in the cards. But playing more 1-big units and longer is a key that could unlock the ridiculous doors Woody throws up in the face of potential W's. What kills me is that he never seems to learn, despite how well a unit plays he just stubbornly reverts to the usual main 2-big unit no matter how poorly it performs. Has been doing that every season since day 1. Still hoping the gradual move away from mass subs converts to more 1-big units and more of perimeter game, so we actually put up respectable points and can hang with higher scoring teams.

This is my laughable hot take / maybe the ultimate dumb angry fan thing to say … but … since you’re right no way Reneau is going to the bench, screw it, have him start at the 5 and make an example out of Ballo coming off the bench the rest of the year (also not happening for a multitude of valid reasons). Whatever it takes to get these guys locked in on playing winning basketball. Could be a wake up call, could obviously also ruffle feathers and have the opposite effect though. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for the HC to “play the bad guy” if it helps a locker room get unified and focused. But you really have to know your locker room to make sure you’re pressing the right buttons. More concerned with who finishes the game, not starts it. Can go with whoever is better that day.

[8bucks 6,476]

33 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

If this team were to ever met its ceiling it would involve Mgbako and Tucker being dedicated to playing winning basketball.

I love Mgbako’s shot, be he takes some horrible forces. Doesn’t do enough winning basketball plays. Is Tucker allergic to taking the ball to the rack? Or pretending to be a playmaker? Maybe the staff wants him to “fill it up off the bench” but he’s playing terrible basketball in the process.

Then Carlyle. He’s almost unplayable at the moment. I don’t know if his shot is always this broken or what. But he hunts it and his misses are BAD.

Anyway I stated long ago, Leal and Galloway needed to play a lot more. I think they will.

We’ve got lots of issues but if Rice, Gallo, Reneau, Ballo, Goode, Mgbako start playing good ball, there is a team there somewhere.

That said the Penn State game is a great barometer. They are an underrated good team.


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The problem i have with Leal is while he can give you some valuable minutes in a game here or there he usually only does one thing helpful in those games.  Yesterday he played good D but was largely neutral on the offensive end.  It would sure help if he gave some scoring, had some assists or at a minimum shot FT better than 62%.  

[Home Jersey 8,074]

6 minutes ago, 8bucks said:

The problem i have with Leal is while he can give you some valuable minutes in a game here or there he usually only does one thing helpful in those games.  Yesterday he played good D but was largely neutral on the offensive end.  It would sure help if he gave some scoring, had some assists or at a minimum shot FT better than 62%.  

Meh, he shot 100% from the floor (the buzzer beater prayer at end of first half). Sank two FTs. 5 boards, 4 assists, no turnovers in 18 mins. The ball doesn’t stick with him, looks to pass first usually… doesn’t really take bad shots and doesn’t need to score to be effective. His defense on Ace Bailey was very impressive to me and I think he is a big help to Mgbako in terms of where to go on D. The thing I take issue with in saying he can give you some good minutes here and there is that I feel like we hardly ever see him get enough burn in a game. His career high minutes are 25 against Sam Houston this year and he’s averaged 14 in his career. As a former Indiana Mr. Basketball player, that surprises me a bit. I also value the chemistry he and Gallo seem to have formed over all these years. Feels to me like he has earned a spot in the rotation playing 20+ mins every game. 

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,519]

1 hour ago, 8bucks said:

The problem i have with Leal is while he can give you some valuable minutes in a game here or there he usually only does one thing helpful in those games.  Yesterday he played good D but was largely neutral on the offensive end.  It would sure help if he gave some scoring, had some assists or at a minimum shot FT better than 62%.  

While I agree his lack of forcing is exactly what this team needs that is full of guys hunting shots.  If he can get those same guys better looks by his hustle, intelligence, generosity, the ball flows much better.  Need a longer sample, because he did pass up a few that even I was, WTHeck. 
 

and BBIQ has sorely lacked under the Woodson Era and Leal is very good at that aspect of the game on both sides of the floor. 

[J34 1,489]

3 hours ago, 8bucks said:

I think this can be misleading as he played in mop up minutes for a lot of the wins. It would be more beneficial to see his +/- impact in games where the final score is close. 

Usually if you're playing mop up minutes, it's not anywhere close to 15+ minutes

[HoosierHoopster 7,122]

1 hour ago, Home Jersey said:

This is my laughable hot take / maybe the ultimate dumb angry fan thing to say … but … since you’re right no way Reneau is going to the bench, screw it, have him start at the 5 and make an example out of Ballo coming off the bench the rest of the year (also not happening for a multitude of valid reasons). Whatever it takes to get these guys locked in on playing winning basketball. Could be a wake up call, could obviously also ruffle feathers and have the opposite effect though. I don’t think it’s a bad thing for the HC to “play the bad guy” if it helps a locker room get unified and focused. But you really have to know your locker room to make sure you’re pressing the right buttons. More concerned with who finishes the game, not starts it. Can go with whoever is better that day.

Yeah I hear you. I’m sure Woodson will mindlessly roll out the same usual starters against PSU and PSU will then proceed to light us up as they have every time under Woodson. But if he has Malik or Ballo then switched and runs more 1-big lineups the talent is there, if it hustles like against Rutger, to score well and succeed.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 85,067]

Dylan Traeger -

After grabbing 12 rebounds last night off the bench against Rutgers, Oumar Ballo now ranks second in the Big Ten in rebounds per game (9.4). Ballo is fourth in the Big Ten in total rebounds (122), 10 boards out of first. Sat out of Indiana's game last Sunday.

[HoosierTownie 163]

6 hours ago, RaceToTheTop said:

I will say one thing about High Knees....unlike some other refs who also seem to make exaggerated calls, at least High Knees seems to be a decent ref.

I was at the game last night, close to the floor and the guys behind were a little lubed up and getting on the refs most of the second half, officiating wasn't the best in their defense.  Any way, at some point Anderson was right in front of us with his back to us and one guy made a comment referring to Anderson as Valentine, and Anderson put both index fingers to his temples and just shook his head, never turned around.  I found it pretty hilarious.