Game 19: Fordham University, Saturday, January 19th, 7 PM, ESPN+

[Herndon]

He was 3 for 3. Again, he's a solid player but he's way more of a role player than a game changer.

And 2-2 from the line.

I'm not saying he's Michael Jordan, but he just had an ultra-efficient game. It's ok to acknowledge that.

If the best you can manage is not upset, you need to cjange your expectations.

 

[Herndon]

Gotta disagree on this one. In no way should a person who can’t jump over a piece of paper be on the floor to rebound at the end of the game. He got bailed out three times by kier and Greene at the end for rebounds he didn’t jump for and didn’t jump to try and block the air ball three turned missed ally oop. He plays far too much and is pretty damn horrible other than passing the ball

..... How is what you said in any way related to what I said?

 

[dr. gunnie]

Watching the 2nd half again. The first 3:30 of the 2nd half was some of the best ball Reuter has played all season. Not just his two baskets on offense, but he really closed off the screens on Otis and helped forced two turnovers on the defensive end. He has really improved there. Now, he did get stripped and couldn’t handle a pass from Otis shortly after, so not perfect by any means... but he showed some good signs yesterday.

He’s never going to be a big jumper for rebounds - he’s more physical and and gets his position by boxing out. I think @sleeperpick is right about some of his criticism, but is also way too hard on him... horrible is pretty extreme.

 

[Washingtonian]

Announced crowd of 3892...

You can't blame the marketing efforts. Free tickets for furloughed feds, there were discount tickets for others, students could bring a friend for free, but I wonder if weather turned people off. Paulsen was on 106.7 (Sports Junkies) on Friday, and the game was plugged there as well.

 

[GMUgemini]

Watching the 2nd half again. The first 3:30 of the 2nd half was some of the best ball Reuter has played all season. Not just his two baskets on offense, but he really closed off the screens on Otis and helped forced two turnovers on the defensive end. He has really improved there. Now, he did get stripped and couldn’t handle a pass from Otis shortly after, so not perfect by any means... but he showed some good signs yesterday.

He’s never going to be a big jumper for rebounds - he’s more physical and and gets his position by boxing out. I think @sleeperpick is right about some of his criticism, but is also way too hard on him... horrible is pretty extreme.

Agreed on all accounts. That pass from otis was a good one but a little high and hard. Looks like Reuter was making a move a little too early and just missed it.

I also think Sleeper has some legit criticism of Reuter (being a flat-footed 6’7 isn’t the same as being a flat-footed 6’11), but his defense has gotten much better and he’s moving his feet in a way he just wasn’t earlier in the year. How many times would hedging on screens result in a player getting a free path the the basket and an easy layup early in the year? That’s not happening any more. I still think he could drop 10-15 pounds in the offseason and become more mobile without sacrificing too much of his bulk, but I don’t know if that’s in the plans.

 

[PoorManProfit]

You can't blame the marketing efforts. Free tickets for furloughed feds, there were discount tickets for others, students could bring a friend for free, but I wonder if weather turned people off. Paulsen was on 106.7 (Sports Junkies) on Friday, and the game was plugged there as well.

True Facts. Folks just don’t want to go.

 

[sleeperpick]

..... How is what you said in any way related to what I said?

You said he’s realizing how to use him but he put him in when we needed to protect the paint and rebound at the end of the game. Two things he doesn’t do well. So I’m saying your wrong and Paulsen still doesn’t use him properly

 

[sleeperpick]

Watching the 2nd half again. The first 3:30 of the 2nd half was some of the best ball Reuter has played all season. Not just his two baskets on offense, but he really closed off the screens on Otis and helped forced two turnovers on the defensive end. He has really improved there. Now, he did get stripped and couldn’t handle a pass from Otis shortly after, so not perfect by any means... but he showed some good signs yesterday.

He’s never going to be a big jumper for rebounds - he’s more physical and and gets his position by boxing out. I think @sleeperpick is right about some of his criticism, but is also way too hard on him... horrible is pretty extreme.

I probably am too hard on him. I just really hate unathletic big men. Will try to find things other than his passing to like.

 

[mkaufman1]

I probably am too hard on him. I just really hate unathletic big men. Will try to find things other than his passing to like.

I would take a look at how he directs on defense and hedges off a screen to push the ball handler out, then recovers quickly. He’s gotten much better at doing that. Somehow he’s been efficient on offense, but it’s still definitely a work in progress.

Agreed on all accounts. That pass from otis was a good one but a little high and hard. Looks like Reuter was making a move a little too early and just missed it.

I also think Sleeper has some legit criticism of Reuter (being a flat-footed 6’7 isn’t the same as being a flat-footed 6’11), but his defense has gotten much better and he’s moving his feet in a way he just wasn’t earlier in the year. How many times would hedging on screens result in a player getting a free path the the basket and an easy layup early in the year? That’s not happening any more. I still think he could drop 10-15 pounds in the offseason and become more mobile without sacrificing too much of his bulk, but I don’t know if that’s in the plans.

Agreed. He’s definitely still a bit of a stiff, but I think he’s somewhat of an anchor in the defensive scheme mason plays, with his directing and hedging off the screens he sees. On offense he does help create space even if it’s getting Otis a better look or being in the middle against the zone. He’s just not the prototype 5 that we thought we’d be getting with post up moves.

 

[GMUgemini]

You said he’s realizing how to use him but he put him in when we needed to protect the paint and rebound at the end of the game. Two things he doesn’t do well. So I’m saying your wrong and Paulsen still doesn’t use him properly

How many points in the paint did Fordham get in the last 3:00 of the game?

I’ll answer that, 2 points. They scored a total of 4 points in the last three minutes: a layup and a pair of free throws (two of three off an Otis foul on a corner three).

 

[ephoops]

You said he’s realizing how to use him but he put him in when we needed to protect the paint and rebound at the end of the game. Two things he doesn’t do well. So I’m saying your wrong and Paulsen still doesn’t use him properly

Regarding Reuter’s rebounding, I think he has done a much better job boxing out his man, thus enabling both Kier and Greene to rebound. I believe his improvement in boxing out is directly correlated to Kier’s emergence as an elite rebounder from the guard position. As long a Reuter is boxing out and not allowing his man to get offensive rebounds, I think the coaching staff is comfortable having him out there.

 

[sleeperpick]

How many points in the paint did Fordham get in the last 3:00 of the game?

How many rebounds did kier jump over Reuter’s unboxed out man to grab in the final 2 mins? Answer is 2

 

[gmujim92]

You said he’s realizing how to use him but he put him in when we needed to protect the paint and rebound at the end of the game. Two things he doesn’t do well. So I’m saying your wrong and Paulsen still doesn’t use him properly

What’s the alternative? Calixte can’t play at the end of close games because if he gets fouled, it’s basically a turnover.

Speaking of which, I’m mystified that teams don’t just foul Calixte every time down the court. He’s 7 of 27 from the line. I’d use Hack-a-Shaq until he proved he could consistently make at least 1 of 2.

 

[GMUgemini]

What’s the alternative? Calixte can’t play at the end of close games because if he gets fouled, it’s basically a turnover.

Speaking of which, I’m mystified that teams don’t just foul Calixte every time down the court. He’s 7 of 27 from the line. I’d use Hack-a-Shaq until he proved he could consistently make at least 1 of 2.

I think that’s the point: having Calixte out there in a close game is a liability because if he secures the rebound he being put on the line for sure and that isn’t good. At least Reuter is a reasonable free throw shooter. If AJ were healthy, he wants to always make the homerun play and might be more prone to foul rather than play good position defense.

Reuter is our best option at the 5 if it’s close.

 

[sleeperpick]

I think that’s the point: having Calixte out there in a close game is a liability because if he secures the rebound he being put on the line for sure and that isn’t good. At least Reuter is a reasonable free throw shooter. If AJ were healthy, he wants to always make the homer in play and might be more prone to foul rather than play good position defense.

Reuter is our best option at the 5 if it’s close.

fair enough @gmujim92 and Gemini.. both have good points.

 

[dr. gunnie]

How many rebounds did kier jump over Reuter’s unboxed out man to grab in the final 2 mins? Answer is 2

Ok, I just went back and watched the final three+ minutes again, and I have no idea what you are talking about. When did these happen? The only time he maybe didn’t box out was at about the 3:22 mark where I think Boyd’s man came free and Reuter had to split two men. I’m not saying your wrong or trying to call you out, just trying to understand what I’m missing. I watch and see him finding his man/boxing out pretty well.

 

[Cedric Dempsey]

You said he’s realizing how to use him but he put him in when we needed to protect the paint and rebound at the end of the game. Two things he doesn’t do well. So I’m saying your wrong and Paulsen still doesn’t use him properly

So you put Greg in and they play hack-a-Shaq. I get you killing the player, but he is a piece of the whole picture and is trying to evolve in the rotation. FT’s, picks and passing have value, but you obviously have a set theme on the young man’s potential in the system. I also think the harsh take on Oduro is very pre-mature. If they red-shirt him, young men like this develop physically, mentally and in skill-sets. Look at Jordan Miller’s confidence now versus when he supposedly admitted not being ready. You are two years ahead imo of a complete and fair assessment of his value.

 

[sleeperpick]

So you put Greg in and they play hack-a-Shaq. I get you killing the player, but he is a piece of the whole picture and is trying to evolve in the rotation. FT’s, picks and passing have value, but you obviously have a set theme on the young man’s potential in the system. I also think the harsh take on Oduro is very pre-mature. If they red-shirt him, young men like this develop physically, mentally and in skill-sets. Look at Jordan Miller’s confidence now versus when he supposedly admitted not being ready. You are two years ahead imo of a complete and fair assessment of his value.

While I can agree with your assessment on my Reuter thoughts, I have never said a poor word about Miller because I honestly know nothing about him. I love his stroke and tenacity attacking the rim.

I have seen Oduro play and I would take about 7 other PVI kids over him. That is just my opinion which matches the lack of schools that are worth a damn that didn’t recruit him at all.
I am very high on JDS and always have been and I think Hartwell will prove to be a huge steal as well.
I don’t care if AJ has a ruptured spleen yesterday when they had portley and honor shooting uncontested floaters for that small run they went on would have been a perfect time to use him. But he sits on the bench. He is such a good teammate and the first one to congratulate people but is consistently underutilized for seemingly no reason (except for games like navy where his skill set doesn’t fit)

Sorry TLDR on this response haha

 

[Cedric Dempsey]

While I can agree with your assessment on my Reuter thoughts, I have never said a poor word about Miller because I honestly know nothing about him. I love his stroke and tenacity attacking the rim.

I have seen Oduro play and I would take about 7 other PVI kids over him. That is just my opinion which matches the lack of schools that are worth a damn that didn’t recruit him at all.
I am very high on JDS and always have been and I think Hartwell will prove to be a huge steal as well.
I don’t care if AJ has a ruptured spleen yesterday when they had portley and honor shooting uncontested floaters for that small run they went on would have been a perfect time to use him. But he sits on the bench. He is such a good teammate and the first one to congratulate people but is consistently underutilized for seemingly no reason (except for games like navy where his skill set doesn’t fit)

Sorry TLDR on this response haha

I simply referred to Miller regarding the player development potential of a red-shirt. Bigs (Oduro) who have limited performance backgrounds and experience can make huge strides. I would imagine the type of development he would receive away from the court would be crafted to his movement, strength, leaner muscle mass, coordination, nutrition and skills as well, if their staff is as good as it appears. You have a tough take on an 18 yo prospect, but that’s the world we’re unfortunately in. In two years we’ll get to revisit this discussion.

 

[GMUgemini]

While I can agree with your assessment on my Reuter thoughts, I have never said a poor word about Miller because I honestly know nothing about him. I love his stroke and tenacity attacking the rim.

I have seen Oduro play and I would take about 7 other PVI kids over him. That is just my opinion which matches the lack of schools that are worth a damn that didn’t recruit him at all.
I am very high on JDS and always have been and I think Hartwell will prove to be a huge steal as well.
I don’t care if AJ has a ruptured spleen yesterday when they had portley and honor shooting uncontested floaters for that small run they went on would have been a perfect time to use him. But he sits on the bench. He is such a good teammate and the first one to congratulate people but is consistently underutilized for seemingly no reason (except for games like navy where his skill set doesn’t fit)

Sorry TLDR on this response haha

You might take 7 other PVI players over Oduro, but those 7 are all guards, I would bet (their other forwards are 6'6 or 6'5 at this point and are underclassmen).

I don't think anyone is saying right now Oduro will be a star or anything. He might never even be a starter on this team (we're going to need to get a big in 2020 or 2021, because Reuter, Calixte, and AJ will all be gone by then and Oduro (unless he develops faster or is better than we think he is right now) will never start over those three.