Robert Morris fell to 1-3 after losing to Georgetown 80-66. Some thoughts:
-First, don't let Georgetown's non-ranking fool you. Preseason rankings are always a shot in the dark and Georgetown is a talented team. KenPom has them ranked 23 in the country. Not only are they talented but also they're big and experienced. RMU was expected to be overwhelmed with their size.
-Just to reiterate, Georgetown is big. [/I]Center Joshua Smith stands at 6-10, 350 pounds. THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS. IN BASKETBALL. THERE ARE NFL LEFT TACKLES WHO ARE JEALOUS OF THAT. GO PLAY FOR THE REDSKINS JOSH SMITH.
-I don't think the defense is a problem. Guys are definitely getting more comfortable in the 2-3 and this early in the season are just facing more talented opponents. Georgetown only shot 6-22 from three. The zone is doing its thing.
-The biggest thing that will help the defense is offense. Through four games, RMU is averaging just 59.0 ppg and shooting 33.8 percent from the field. They could play lock down defense and still lose with numbers like that. You can't play an effective zone defense if teams are running in transition and getting easy buckets. When RMU starts to knock down shots they'll be able to setup their base defense.
-Rodney Pryor again paced the scoring with 16 points on an efficient seven shots. He went 3-6 from three.
-Speaking of new players, Elijah Minnie is close. So close. His box score won't jump out at you (9 points on 3-6 shooting, 0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line, 2 rebounds) but I was encouraged with just one foul in 25 minutes. The best thing a young player like Elijah can do is learn and you do that by staying on the court, which he has had trouble doing. Definitely the best game of the young kids career.
-A few factors that indicate success is coming: 23-30 from the line, 12 assists on 18 field goals, ten steals, and just 11 turnovers.
-Lucky Jones had a rough day, going 4-14 and 2-9 from three. I did like that he had a more Lucky-like rebounding day when he grabbed nine boards. This is an adjustment period for all, so while it may be easy to get frustrated with how he is shooting during games, sometimes perspective is good. Teams will do everything in their power to make him work and the fact that he still took 14 shots is good.
-25 three-point attempts. THIS IS GOOD. Keep bombing from three. That's how this team is built and will eventually win
games.
-Kavon Stewart had his most relaxed game of the year. He just played well. We'll have a piece centered more around him
tomorrow.
-I like love David Appolon, and this is not in any way a knock on him or what he brings to the game, but I do believe RMU would be better served matching Lucky Jones with more of a scoring option to start off games like Pryor or Marcquise Reed. We'll see.
That's all I'd like to touch on for now. Oodles of stories are set to run this week for more. Comment share!
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella
-First, don't let Georgetown's non-ranking fool you. Preseason rankings are always a shot in the dark and Georgetown is a talented team. KenPom has them ranked 23 in the country. Not only are they talented but also they're big and experienced. RMU was expected to be overwhelmed with their size.
-Just to reiterate, Georgetown is big. [/I]Center Joshua Smith stands at 6-10, 350 pounds. THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS. IN BASKETBALL. THERE ARE NFL LEFT TACKLES WHO ARE JEALOUS OF THAT. GO PLAY FOR THE REDSKINS JOSH SMITH.
-I don't think the defense is a problem. Guys are definitely getting more comfortable in the 2-3 and this early in the season are just facing more talented opponents. Georgetown only shot 6-22 from three. The zone is doing its thing.
-The biggest thing that will help the defense is offense. Through four games, RMU is averaging just 59.0 ppg and shooting 33.8 percent from the field. They could play lock down defense and still lose with numbers like that. You can't play an effective zone defense if teams are running in transition and getting easy buckets. When RMU starts to knock down shots they'll be able to setup their base defense.
-Rodney Pryor again paced the scoring with 16 points on an efficient seven shots. He went 3-6 from three.
-Speaking of new players, Elijah Minnie is close. So close. His box score won't jump out at you (9 points on 3-6 shooting, 0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line, 2 rebounds) but I was encouraged with just one foul in 25 minutes. The best thing a young player like Elijah can do is learn and you do that by staying on the court, which he has had trouble doing. Definitely the best game of the young kids career.
-A few factors that indicate success is coming: 23-30 from the line, 12 assists on 18 field goals, ten steals, and just 11 turnovers.
-Lucky Jones had a rough day, going 4-14 and 2-9 from three. I did like that he had a more Lucky-like rebounding day when he grabbed nine boards. This is an adjustment period for all, so while it may be easy to get frustrated with how he is shooting during games, sometimes perspective is good. Teams will do everything in their power to make him work and the fact that he still took 14 shots is good.
-25 three-point attempts. THIS IS GOOD. Keep bombing from three. That's how this team is built and will eventually win
games.
-Kavon Stewart had his most relaxed game of the year. He just played well. We'll have a piece centered more around him
tomorrow.
-I like love David Appolon, and this is not in any way a knock on him or what he brings to the game, but I do believe RMU would be better served matching Lucky Jones with more of a scoring option to start off games like Pryor or Marcquise Reed. We'll see.
That's all I'd like to touch on for now. Oodles of stories are set to run this week for more. Comment share!
--Chris Cappella
--@C_Cappella
