2023-24 PSU MBB Thread
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
I turned it off at halftime. There was no aspect of the game whatsoever that was going well for PSU. No rebounding, poor defense, TONS of turnovers.
From a neutral observer perspective, that was a pretty tough watch. With about 4 mins left in first half, they had 3 less turnovers than points. But what I think would really make someone sore was the defensive effort. An offense is really good if it shoots 67% in the first 24 mins but they also need some help with defensive breakdowns. Sparty abused PSU inside and took advantage of wide open looks when guards crashed the post. Oh and MSU also missed 3-4 chippies in those first 24 mins. Offensively, it was a rough look. Ace had no room to work but also passed up open LAYUP looks to kick it out for a contested 3 (big pet peeve). Puff needs to be more involved than what he was. Wahad got abused by Hall and Sissoko inside. Hicks was average at Temple, not sure how anyone thought he’d make the jump in class to Big Ten competition.
Also, Rhoades is a giant whiner and yet the refs let him yammer on and on. He should have been T’d up 2 mins into the game. But coaches have all the power with that now and can get away with almost whatever they want.
Also, Rhoades is a giant whiner and yet the refs let him yammer on and on. He should have been T’d up 2 mins into the game. But coaches have all the power with that now and can get away with almost whatever they want.
It's really a talent issue this year...Rhoades did what he could on the recruiting front, but it'll take a bit to get guys in here at the level that we need to compete in the Big Ten. Kanye has made a big jump, but no one else has exceeded expectations to me this season (and Ace isn't playing as well as he will at some point, and has in the past). Many seemed hopeful that this team was ready to compete this year (some were talking tournament/bubble or us being better than we were last season), but we're right about as good as I was projecting based on our roster (I had us as about the 105th best team coming into the season, and have us at 115 today). Below is a post I made on the Rivals board on June 10th that kinda sums up what we've got...
Just to give a sense of where Bart is coming from, here is this year's squad, and how they fit in last season with their PRPG! rating, which is his offensive rating to give a sense of how much they contributed per game over a replacement level player at that end...
Baldwin (3.0) - best player on the 62nd ranked team (VCU)
Wahab (2.4) - 2nd best player on the 203rd ranked team (Georgetown)
O'Boyle (2.3) - best player on the 266th ranked team (Lafayette)
Mitchell (2.0) - 3rd best player on the 332nd ranked team (UMKC)
Hicks (1.1) - 6th best player on the 105st ranked team (Temple)
Kern - (1.1) - 7th best player on the 62nd ranked team (VCU)
Johnson (0.9) - 6th best player on the 40th ranked team (NC)
Dunn (0.5) - 9th best player on the 40th ranked team (NC)
Clary (0.4) - 9th best player on the 36th ranked team (PSU)
Aire (-0.1) - 12th best player on the 27th ranked team (Miami, Fl)
Brown (-0.3) - 12th best player on the 36th ranked team (PSU)
Lilley (n/a) - not in the top 12 on the 36th ranked team (PSU)
Gudmundsson - freshman
Just to give a sense of where Bart is coming from, here is this year's squad, and how they fit in last season with their PRPG! rating, which is his offensive rating to give a sense of how much they contributed per game over a replacement level player at that end...
Baldwin (3.0) - best player on the 62nd ranked team (VCU)
Wahab (2.4) - 2nd best player on the 203rd ranked team (Georgetown)
O'Boyle (2.3) - best player on the 266th ranked team (Lafayette)
Mitchell (2.0) - 3rd best player on the 332nd ranked team (UMKC)
Hicks (1.1) - 6th best player on the 105st ranked team (Temple)
Kern - (1.1) - 7th best player on the 62nd ranked team (VCU)
Johnson (0.9) - 6th best player on the 40th ranked team (NC)
Dunn (0.5) - 9th best player on the 40th ranked team (NC)
Clary (0.4) - 9th best player on the 36th ranked team (PSU)
Aire (-0.1) - 12th best player on the 27th ranked team (Miami, Fl)
Brown (-0.3) - 12th best player on the 36th ranked team (PSU)
Lilley (n/a) - not in the top 12 on the 36th ranked team (PSU)
Gudmundsson - freshman
Ace and Wahab are also definitely Big Ten level players that would be good fits on most (or at least many) teams. But behind them, our other guys aren't at that level.
Ace doesn’t shoot very well and I think he often tries to do too much. Wahab has terrible hands and is really not a good offensive player. They may be Big 10 level players, but not upper level Big 10 players.
Living just outside of DC have seen Q play quite a bit over the last couple years, both for Georgetown and Maryland. There was nobody associated with the university of Maryland, who cared when he left. He was not getting any time on a team that wasn’t a top-level team.
I was pleasantly surprised with the first six or seven games that he had, even being against poor competition. But since then his true player style has come back, he only has one offensive move, and does not have the strength or fight to control the boards on his own like John Harrar did.
ace is under performing so far and Hicks has been terrible. Johnson and Dunn are not physical enough for this conference, but both have a lot of skill. I don’t think they win more than five or six conference games, but there is enough skill on the roster that they can pull off a win against a couple teams they shouldn’t.
“Wasn’t getting any time”? He started 31 of 32 games. He had a decent season for them.
Though leaving wasn’t a bad move, as Reese was clearly the future.
End of the year he was averaging 13 minutes. Padded stats against fluff ooc teams, and had no future with the team. Sure he started, but he’d play until the four minute TV timeout at the beginning of the game in half then play two minutes in each half just to give JuJu a break.
I think we win three conference games…I don’t see five or six wins. Hope I’m wrong, but unless they play out of their butts like they did against OSU, I just don’t see it.
PSU was 2-13 on 3s in the 1st half. Make half of those, and the feeling would be much different at the half.
pretty safe. 77-73, PSU, with 10.9 sec left, and PSU going to the line to shoot 2 (and they made both of them)
Final: 79-73, PSU. The refs wave off a dunk by PSU at the buzzer
PSU! Put a bronze statue of Rhoades outside the BJC! We have a coach who knows how to beat OSU and Michigan!!
Yesterday I posted “They stink.” I apologize.
You didn't say anything that wasn't true based on their malodorous play in the previous game. Today they made amends, though. They have a talent shortage relative to most of the other teams in the conference, but they play hard. It's impressive that they've beaten both tOSU and UM.
I require a beer!Malodorous. Bob requires correct spelling.
First time I’ve gotten to see us in person this year…fun atmosphere, as The Palestra is such a great place to see a game. Thought the difference was our ability to limit their second chances, creating a lot of turnovers, and our ability to get to the line. Nothing comes easy for us at the offensive end, as Michigan was collapsing so much that there were no driving lanes. But really turned up the D during that big run (also helps that this isn’t a normal Michigan team).
Rhoades was not happy with Kern’s play at the end….glad he was very apologetic to Howard and Phil.
Rhoades was not happy with Kern’s play at the end….glad he was very apologetic to Howard and Phil.
FIFYI don’t see two more wins on the schedule.
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