Happy Valley Insider - Penn State set for Big Ten opener against Maryland
Penn State opens up Big Ten play on the road against Maryland on Wednesday night.
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Basketball GAMEDAY THREAD: Penn State versus Maryland
- Thread starter Dylan Callaghan-Croley
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Is the 7'0" transfer from Miami fully healthy yet and able to play?
Surprisingly the team seems to lack toughness I thought Rhoades would be able to instill. They better exhibit that soon or the B1G season will be a disaster.
I think Ace should be starting @ PG and Clary @ 2 spot. The other 3 starters, Q, Kern and Puff.
Happy Valley Insider - Penn State set for Big Ten opener against Maryland
Penn State opens up Big Ten play on the road against Maryland on Wednesday night.
Is the 7'0" transfer from Miami fully healthy yet and able to play?
Surprisingly the team seems to lack toughness I thought Rhoades would be able to instill. They better exhibit that soon or the B1G season will be a disaster.
Tonight is the first time I’ve bet on us this year…should be a good game (well, “good” in the aspect of being close…expect to see plenty of bricks as both teams need to win with defense).
They need to switch something up, my concern is Clary and Baldwin both starting at the guard spots is the lack of size during Big Ten play.
You are correct that this team lacks toughness. They also lack discipline. I can't remember a PSU team that does a worse job playing defense with their feet, blocking out, and rebounding.
PSU has a slim chance against Maryland if Clary is healthy but he still wasn't against 2-7 Bucknell. ESPN gives us a 26% chance to win.
The problem is their definition of defense is harassing the guard bringing the ball up court to see if they can get a turnover. That's fine and maybe it's good for a five turnovers per game. But sine it's all hands they allow opponents to blow by them and have a clear path to the basket. They also don't crash the boards so they give up a lot of second chance baskets.
The Big 10 as a whole also seems to be better this season than last. This season has 2 or 3 conference wins written all over it, with which I can live if there is hope for the future under Rhoades.
We lose Wahab after this year. At this point the only new player will be 3* guard Jahvin Carter. I don't expect a big improvement next year without a big man and a couple of other quality players from the portal.
Our defense will be better than it’s been the past few games (and was better in prior games)…key against Maryland is collapsing when we help and forcing them to beat us by making 3’s. Most teams will hurt us from deep, but Maryland doesn’t have the personnel to do so.
With the portal, there really is no excuse for a long rebuilding project. Even the best teams in college basketball now only have, at most, three really outstanding players and the rest are just fillers; there are no more 1982 UNC type of teams that had Jordan, Worthy, Perkins and Doherty. Purdue was the No. 1 ranked team for most of last season, and they weren't anything special other than Eddy, who was Player of the Year. So, it shouldn't be that hard to field a competitive team, although this is PSU basketball so you never know.
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I agree that things can change fast with the portal. The question is what can Rhodes offer to get guys to come to PSU.
Chambers was able to get some good players (Carr, Stevens, Watkins, Lundy). I think he got the team to the point where it was competitive enough that Shrewsbury was able to attract a player like Jalen Pickett. I don't think that's where we are anymore so can Rhodes build it back? Does he have NIL money?
Yeah, the amount of money is the real issue and question. Isn't it amazing that we are discussing how much a college athlete needs to be paid to come and play? What a different world this is now from when Curtis Enis got suspended from a bowl game in 1997 for accepting a suit so that he could wear it to an awards show.
That one is easy, a couple of years ago under Ferry. We lost most game that year because of defense. I had thought that Rhoades Forte was defense, yet we have less of a problem of scoring as we do from stopping the other team from scoring. I agree with you that the biggest problem is terrible footwork, but we also do not communicate well, we have poor weak side help in our half court defense, and we have trouble maintaining defense for 30 seconds. Other than that we are fine.
We have 3 coming in, and Miles Goodman is a 4* 6'10" center along with his teammate Dominick Stewart a 6'5" shooting guard to join Carter. We will also have Favour Aire back also, barring him entering the portal. If everyone else stays that can stay there will be no room to bring in from the portal, and probably no need.
No they don't, but it will usually happen that someone who can't hit the Atlantic Ocean goes on a scoring spree against us.
That's been a common occurrence in the annals of PSU basketball.
FWIW, that Ferry team was the 52nd best team in the country defensively (according to Pomeroy)…this year, we’re currently 147th.
We’re creating turnovers (11th in the country), but 222nd in defensive rebounding, and 207th in 2 point %. Those both have to get better. I’d expect that the 2point % will, but Rhoades’ teams have always struggled with defensive rebounding (you’d assume due to the style). Believe it or not, this teams is doing better on the defensive glass than his last 5 teams at VCU (in terms of national ranking).
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Good DIII players can't hit > 50% of their 3 pt shots if left unguarded. Gotta speed them up and close out.
Like I said, baffling, the lack of toughness. Rhoades without specifically stating that after Bucknell loss alluded to @ least the team lacking in mental toughness.
I don’t think so…it’s about being able to help more aggressively from the weak side without fear of leaving shooters open, not having to close out on shooters quite as aggressively, not overplaying the passing lanes on the perimeter as aggressively, being willing to double in the paint, etc.
Young could get it going from deep, though he’s been cold this year…beyond him, there isn’t anyone I’d worry about…protect the paint first and foremost.
Defense requires team work. Our players haven't been together that long. Maybe the team defense will jell shortly. Or it will be a long season.
When you can’t shoot (and PSU can’t) you have to create offense through fast breaks and layups….gotta do that through full court pressing just like WVU did a few years ago. We aren’t going to beat anyone with our half court defense and our outside shooting.
Hicks is supposed to be able to shoot but not so far this year. Regardless we need Clary healthy to penetrate and kick out to our shooter(s)
And why do we play O’Boyle? Isn’t he supposed to be able to shoot? I’ve seen better shooters in middle school.
That year Lundy was terrible on defense. We gave up 98 points to a so so Seton Hall team, 90+ to Illinois, 92 and 83 to Ohio State, 87 to Indiana, all games we could have won if we played any kind of defense. We did not have anyone behind Big Harrar, and lost a game to Nebraska because we didn't know enough to foul a player with 10 seconds left when we had a foul to give. We were poorly coached and played very little defense during the season. Defense must have been down all over the country for that team to be 52nd.
He's had success against higher level opponents in the past. I'm still thinking he'll be ok at this level (at least offensively)...defensively, he'll be a bit overmatched at times playing the 4.
Which may be part of the reason some of these guys ended up in the portal. I was at Temple's opener last year vs Wagner. Hicks looked really interesting in 1st half making shots.
2nd half he was not so good on either end, loafed, and displayed just poor awareness/decision making as the team lost to a 25 point underdog in a shameful manner. My buddies' daughter was a senior Nursing student and she was booing him as the crowd booed the team. Aaron McKie was probably dead in the water, but then beat Villanova 3 nights later.
Other than the VCU guys who followed the coach there are probably cracks in the armor of each guy...which is why we were able to sign them. UNC castoffs, a Patriot League guy trying for the big time, two guys w size who are moving around and Hicks, who sure looks like a basketball player- all bus team getting off- but isn't playing like one (yet).
Can Coach take a collection of talent (some realized and some hopeful) and turn these guys all wearing PSU jetseys into a team?
Hope so.
Much better effort at the defensive end tonight. Really playing Maryland well at that end and making it tough for them to get the looks they want. Still need to find a way to stop giving up so many offensive boards.
Offense got bogged down for a while there late, and we didn't get to the line much or create extra opportunities with offensive rebounds. I really like the shot selection though, and the fact that we weren't jacking up quick 3's tonight.
Offense got bogged down for a while there late, and we didn't get to the line much or create extra opportunities with offensive rebounds. I really like the shot selection though, and the fact that we weren't jacking up quick 3's tonight.
Pretty good first half for PSU at least taking the lead into the locker room. Lots of intensity which is what we can expect coach Rhoads to mold the team into as the players buy in and get better at his style of play.
Kerns has some bounce but he could use a transfer to the football S&C program after this season. For being a few years out of H.S. he seems pretty lean to win battles in the B10.
Kerns has some bounce but he could use a transfer to the football S&C program after this season. For being a few years out of H.S. he seems pretty lean to win battles in the B10.
PSU hangs on to a 2 pt lead at half after leading by 11. Clary has 13 of PSU's 30 pts.
MD has 9 offensive rebounds vs 2 for PSU. Once again they give up too many 2nd chances. Not blocking out and not crashing the boards.
Clary & Baldwin both had 2 fouls early but Rhodes kept them in. I think he knows the team couldn't afford to let an 11 pt lead turn into a big halftime deficit or things might completely unravel.
IMO we need to see more of Lilley. Reese seems too strong for Wahab so another big body from time to time could help.
MD has 9 offensive rebounds vs 2 for PSU. Once again they give up too many 2nd chances. Not blocking out and not crashing the boards.
Clary & Baldwin both had 2 fouls early but Rhodes kept them in. I think he knows the team couldn't afford to let an 11 pt lead turn into a big halftime deficit or things might completely unravel.
IMO we need to see more of Lilley. Reese seems too strong for Wahab so another big body from time to time could help.
O'Boyle transferred from a Patriot League team and we just got beat by Bucknell from that league. Let's give him some leeway to adjust.
This is the biggest thing. This isn't a basketball blue blood bringing in top 50 recruits and major portal guys to blend and win with superior athleticism.
Have to create a team out of what is basically the island of misfit toys.
They are really overplaying Wahab going over his left shoulder...I'd love to see him spin the other way on one of these.
Agree except I think we have some excellent athletes (speed & agility) on this team. They're just soft and don't work hard with their feet on defense.
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