RJ Cole Appreciation Thread

[Kemba Time]

RJ has taken a lot on this board so far, and today we saw what the hype was about. 24 points, 7 assists, 1 turnover. 5-for-7 from 3. In a Big East win at Xavier. And two key free throws at the end.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Don’t forget the two charges drawn!

 

[BGesus4]

Imagine if he wasn’t in over his head at this level. Would’ve had 40 and 15

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Best game as a Husky!

 

[TheChamps990411]

Ive been telling people this dude is a stud. Ive gotten frustrated with him at times but ive kept the faith. I hope this is him finally turning the corner.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Cole and Gaff have been taking turns for a while now. Today was Cole's turn.

 

[uchusky32]

Played very well. Knocked down 3s. Made himself a threat with the ball.

 

[3rdbass]

I have been steady on my praise about Cole. He just looks like our best option at point and at least he has the scoring knack that most of the other players don't. He plays solid d and his assist to turnover ratio is almost 2 to 1. He just needs to stop the 1 on 4 drives he sometimes does.

 

[elmcityboy]

what was he doing playing out there today??? i thought that the boneyard cut him from the team...

 

[Umami Zen]

In rhythm on shots and not out of control(too much) going to the hoop. Nice comeback game for him.

 

[mussels]

The entire game changed when he came in. Like someone flipped on a light switch.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Cole and Gaff have been taking turns for a while now. Today was Cole's turn.

Sorry but not really. Gaff has largely been a liability. He had one good game. Cole has fluctuated offensively but defensively he’s been consistently solid and those commenting on our defense regressing as it did in the first 10 min of today’s game were feeling RJs absence. Gaffney starting appears to be as much about motivating RJ as it is about Motivating Gaff but we are a much better team with RJ at the wheel and it’s been that way all year.

 

[UconnU]

Played unreal today.

 

[superjohn]

He hasn't been nearly as bad this season as many posters have made him out to be, today he was excellent.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Sorry but not really. Gaff has largely been a liability. He had one good game. Cole has fluctuated offensively but defensively he’s been consistently solid and those commenting on our defense regressing as it did in the first 10 min of today’s game were feeling RJs absence. Gaffney starting appears to be as much about motivating RJ as it is about Motivating Gaff but we are a much better team with RJ at the wheel and it’s been that way all year.

Maybe you are right. But my prediction is Gaff will out play Cole in 2 or 3 of our remaining games. We'll see.

 

[superjohn]

John Fanta on Twitter: "Dan Hurley sprinting to RJ Cole after he takes a charge is an electric factory https://post original url/dTGB7zsofo" / Twitter

 

[OkaForPrez]

Maybe you are right. But my prediction is Gaff will out play Cole in 2 or 3 of our remaining games. We'll see.

I hope so! Gaffneys improvement is critical to our success. RJ’s efficiency on the season needs to come up for sure, but I think if you go back and look at his scoring and ATO vs Gaff you’ll see what I’m talking about.

 

[XLCenterFan]

Cole is making me eat my words and I'll be the first to admit it. Happy for him. Shame on me.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I hope so! Gaffneys improvement is critical to our success. RJ’s efficiency on the season needs to come up for sure, but I think if you go back and look at his scoring and ATO vs Gaff you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Thinking about it some more and I'm sure the stats back you up. Cole's ability to shoot when he gets his feet set makes Cole statistically a better scorer.

Cole kinda fails the eye test for me at times. In particular when he drives into the paint. He's gets so little lift when he jumps. All his contested shots look pretty bad. At times Cole looks like someone who isn't a major conference athlete.

Conversely, Gaff sometimes passes the eye test. When Gaff plays well he makes some really nice drives to the hoop. Looks athletic.

So Gaff's sporadic athletic ability may be tricking me.... and others. Statistically Cole is winning.


Edit: I apologize for adding some Cole criticism to the Cole appreciation thread. Sorta bad form on my part. Cole played great today. He did a lot of what he does well today. He avoided doing everything he does poorly.

 

[Kitaman]

Thread needs to be pinned because, well . . . . . . . you know.

 

[CTBasketball]

I’ll eat my crow too - kid played well today hope he keeps it up. We need it!

 

[OkaForPrez]

Thinking about it some more and I'm sure the stats back you up. Cole's ability to shoot when he gets his feet set makes Cole statistically a better scorer.

Cole kinda fails the eye test for me at times. In particular when drives into the paint. He's gets so little lift when he jumps. All his contested shots look pretty bad. At times Cole looks like someone who isn't a major conference athlete.

Conversely, Gaff sometimes passes the eye test. When Gaff plays well he makes some really nice drives to the hoop. Looks athletic.

So Gaff's sporadic athletic ability may be tricking me.... and others. Statistically Cole is winning.

Yeah I get that. Gaff’s length and at times selective aggression are his strengths. It’s his shakey handle that causes issues and his youth will cause him to jump in the air with the ball. Both cause live ball turnovers that create baskets on the other end. You can see he’s a work in progress and when we get more of the good and less of the bad we’ll be better off.

I’m just a bit chippy about those who have called for him to run the team because of the turnovers and how his ball handling disrupts the offense when he’s doubled by the man guarding the screener in our sets.

 

[Ts5034]

He hasn't been nearly as bad this season as many posters have made him out to be, today he was excellent.

Cole can really be an X factor for us. This team has a lot of weapons, we knew that going in, but Cole always stood out to me. Hes proven that he can score the ball, and he has experience. Today we saw what Cole can be.

 

[freescooter]

Kid played well. Good. But it doesn’t mean he is anything other than another kid who had a great game. Let’s not make him out the be Michael Jordan just yet. He’s a small guard who averages 11 ppg and shoots 35%. Occasionally those guys will score 24 and shoot shoot 55%. Occasionally they’ll shoot 20% and score 5. Tray was the former. But one game, however great, doesn’t make him another Shabaz Napier or another Boatright. If he does it next game it will be different but thus far he hasn’t strung a bunch of really good games together.

 

[superjohn]

Kid played well. Good. But it doesn’t mean he is anything other than another kid who had a great game. Let’s not make him out the be Michael Jordan just yet. He’s a small guard who averages 11 ppg and shoots 35%. Occasionally those guys will score 24 and shoot shoot 55%. Occasionally they’ll shoot 20% and score 5. Tray was the former. But one game, however great, doesn’t make him another Shabaz Napier or another Boatright. If he does it next game it will be different but thus far he hasn’t strung a bunch of really good games together.

If he does it next game it won't make him Jordan, Napier or Boatright either. Yawn.