Basketball is back.
The Rutgers men’s basketball team’s first official practice of the 2019-20 season is on Thursday and there is a buzz and optimism surrounding the program it has not seen in quite some time.
Coach Steve Pikiell’s club has talent and depth and the fans are certainly ready (beat reporters, too) for tip-off on Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m. against Bryant at the RAC in Piscataway.
With that being said, here are a few thoughts and questions about the team heading into the year.
How good can sophomore Ron Harper Jr. be?
Like most of the freshmen on the team, Harper started off slow last season, but improved as the year went on. Improvement is something he knows as Harper did just that in high school at Don Bosco Prep as he turned himself into a four-star recruit. Harper scored in double-figures 10 times last year with eight of those games being against Big Ten competition. The versatile guard/forward has changed his body. He can shoot, pass, and dribble. Pikiell told TKR he is posed for a breakout year.
Will the frontcourt hold up?
The Scarlet Knights have a bevy of guards and forwards who can stretch the floor. But what about the big guys? Losing Shaq Doorson, who had his best season as a senior in 2018-19, to graduation and Eugene Omoruyi, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, will be tough, but the expectation is that redshirt sophomore Myles Johnson and senior Shaq Carter are ready to handle the load. Don’t forget about Mamadou Doucoure as well, who received a medical redshirt and is a redshirt sophomore. He gained valuable experience as a true rookie two years ago. Don’t be surprised if you see the 6-foot-6 Harper or the 6-foot-5 Akwasi Yeboah, a grad transfer, at the power forward spot at times. Right now, though, Yeboah is out for a little bit due to a lower body injury. Recruiting a big or two going forward is vital for the 2020-21 season.
Defense?
Over the years, Pikiell’s teams have shown grit, toughness, and the ability to play defense. Sure these guys can still defend, but the loss of assistant coach Jay Young is key. Young was an important part in the development of the bigs and the defense. Nonetheless, Pikiell has said he likes the scoring ability of his squad, but the defense is a work in progress. Maybe it’ll be a different story during these practices compared to runs over the summer and in Spain. Omoruyi and Doorson were key defensive stoppers last year and they’re both gone. Omoroyi took countless number of chargers while Doorson was a thick tree inside at 7-feet. Perimeter defense is even more important than ever.
Sharing the ball and scoring
On the Spain trip, in four games, Rutgers recorded 80 assists on 150 made field goals (opponents had 22). That’s not bad. Of course, the Scarlet Knights didn’t play the best of competition, but they got the opportunity to run the offense, build chemistry, and gel with each other in a game. Rutgers has a slew of ball handlers in Geo Baker, Caleb McConnell, Paul Mulcahy, Jacob Young, and even Harper that can run the floor. Pikiell thinks this team can get out in transition and Rutgers is equipped to do so. With the way basketball is now, players don’t always head toward the basket, but instead sprint to the corners and set up for 3-pointers. Rutgers shot 31 percent from behind the arc last year and that arc has moved back a little bit to the international mark. Baker, McConnell, Yeboah, Harper, and Peter Kiss can all drain shots from deep. Once they do that, that opens up driving lanes for guys like Young and Montez Mathis and even centers Johnson, Carter, and Doucoure.
The Montez factor
Speaking of Mathis, he was steady last season as the four-star rookie averaged 8.5 points per game with most of the damage coming near the basket. Mathis is explosive and get to the rim and he can be a solid defender, but he struggled a lot in Spain as he averaged 5.3 points per game on 9-of-22 shooting including 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. Getting Mathis involved early in games and getting his confidence level up would give Rutgers and himself a boost. The one good thing for Mathis on tour overseas is that he rebounded well with 21 board, which was the highest among the guards.
People sleeping on McConnell?
At the beginning of the 2018-19 season, McConnell looked like a deer in the headlights, but the Jacksonville, Fl. native turned it on near the end of the campaign. Over his final four games, the SPIRE Academy (Oh.) product averaged 11.3 points per game. His six multi-point games came against Big Ten foes as well including a career-best 25 at Illinois in February. All the talk about the guards is about Baker, who is the leader of the team, Young, the quick and explosive transfer, and Mulcahy, the shiny new freshman, but don’t sleep on McConnell. The soft-spoken 6-foot-7, 190-pounder can play the 1-3, can knock down shots, can register assists, and get steals on defense.
Free throws anything but?
A common occurance the last couple of years has been the inability to consistently make foul shots. Pikiell always says they work on free throws in practice (and they do) but the results haven’t shown up with the lights on. Last season, Rutgers finished No. 339 in free-throw percentage at 63.7 percent and No. 336 the year prior at 65.2 percent. In Spain, Rutgers shot 62.8 percent from the charity stripe. With Rutgers expecting to be in more games this year, making the freebies or not could mean whether the Scarlet Knights win or lose.
This is Baker’s team
There is no question that Baker is the leader of the Scarlet Knights and he will be voted as a captain. Even last year as a sophomore, he was a vocal guy at practice. It comes with the territory being the main point guard, too. Baker is now entering his third year in the program.
What other thoughts and questions do you have? Drop a line in the message board.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
